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What's New, BlueCat?
The Official Newsletter of the
Bluecat Screenplay Competition
June 18th, 2013
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IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER:
- 50 Great Movies You Can Watch for Free
- Zack Snyder's Rules of Filmmaking
- David Goyer Interview
- 55-Minute Talk with Matthew Weiner, Aaron Sorkin, and More Showrunners
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Selected Scripts: MAD MEN, NEWSROOM, HOMELAND, HOUSE OF CARDS
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Martin's Scorsese's Film School: 85 Films to See
- How Hollywood Internships Are About to Change
- Steven Spielberg 1990 Video Interview
- LightHouse Writer's Workshop
- Willamette Writers Conference
- Upcoming Workshops: Philadelphia, New York, and online
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2014 Call for Entries
We are now open for submissions!
Official Call for Entries
Next Deadline: July 1, 2013
Entry Fee: ($60 Features, $40 Shorts)
All screenplays submitted by July 1 will receive written analysis by July 15.
This year, BlueCat establishes one of the largest cash prizes in the world for a Short Screenplay, with a Grand prize of $10,000, along with an increase in our Feature prize to $15,000.
Students will be eligible to submit their short screenplay at a discounted rate of $29 for the duration of the competition.
Each Short Screenplay submission will receive one written analysis, while each Feature Screenplay entry will receive two.
Best Feature Screenplay
$15,000 Grand Prize
Four Finalists
Best Short Screenplay
$10,000 Grand Prize
Three Finalists
$1,500 Prize
The Cordelia Award
Best Feature Screenplay from the UK
$1,500 Prize
The Joplin Award
Best Feature Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada or the UK
$1,500 Prize
Movie Title Contest:
Three Winners $250 each
SUBMIT YOUR SCREENPLAY
Recent achievements by BlueCat Alumni include:
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Young Il Kim's script, RODHAM, a 2012 Blacklist Script, recently attached director Jason Ponsoldt (THE SPECTACULAR NOW). Young recently won the 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant from Sundance, where he will write a biopic on Stephen Hawking.
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Aaron Guzikowski's PRISONERS, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Melissa Leo, will be released September 2013. The Sundance Channel recently bought Aaron's TV pilot, THE DESCENDENTS, making it their second scripted show after RECTIFY.
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Ashleigh Powell sold her script, SOMACELL, to Warner Brothers, with David Goyer attached to produce.
- SOMACELL, along with RODHAM, were two 2012 Blacklist Scripts written by BlueCat Alumni.
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50 Great Movies You Can Watch for Free
No Netflix Account Needed
Start the popcorn.Here's a great find for all cinephiles out there. The folks at Flavorwire.com compiled a list of 50 movies that are currently available to watch on the internet at zero cost. No subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon are required. The list includes films from the likes of Hitchcock, Linklater, Kurosawa, Welles, Romero, Eisenstein, and Murnau, among many others. From Flavorwire: " ...there's an overabundance of free movies streaming at this very moment as well - many of them legally (it seems!), thanks our old friend "the public domain," whereby films whose copyright has lapsed (or never existed in the first place) can be made available for public consumption. Others are hosted gratis by services that simply want to share the wealth of great cinema."
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Drama Showrunner Roundtable
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter delivers another great roundtable with a handful of showrunners from the top shows on television right now. Participating in the roundtable discussion were Alex Gansa of HOMELAND, Aaron Sorkin of THE NEWSROOM, Matthew Weiner of MAD MEN, D.B. Weiss of GAME OF THRONES, Kevin Williamson of THE FOLLOWING, and Beau Willimon of HOUSE OF CARDS.
Follow the link below for a great group of writers discussing their craft. From THR:
"There was nary a tough topic left unexplored by the six drama writer/creators who gathered on a foggy April morning in downtown Los Angeles to chat about their craft on the eve of Emmy season. In the frank, freewheeling discussion, five showrunner veterans...share their lingering insecurities about writing, the pain and pleasure of adapting source material, how they cope with unexpected plot twists and why being a control freak just might be the secret to their success."
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Written by Matthew Weiner
NEWSROOM
(Season One, Episode One:
"We Just Decided To")
Written by Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff
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Steven Spielberg 1990 Video Interview
From /Film.com
 | | 36-Minute Interview "Barry Norman with Steven Spielberg" (Film 90 Special) |
Steven Spielberg talking about film. 'Nuff said. From /Film:
"This 1990 interview catches Spielberg in what looks now like a transitional phase, before the staggering success of JURASSIC PARK and the first flowering of the digital effects age and the opening of the DreamWorks era. The director talks about many aspects of his career: his non-blockbuster choices (THE COLOR PURPLE, ALWAYS, EMPIRE OF THE SUN) and lack of Oscar nominations for some of his work. He talks about his desire to make RAIN MAN, which took director Barry Levinson to the Oscars in 1989, and which Spielberg directed before commitment to INDIANA JONES interceded."
Click here for the article and video.
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Martin Scorsese's Film School
The 85 Films You Need To See To Know Anything About Film
In case the 50 free films compiled by Flavorwire weren't enough, here are 85 more you can add to your "Must See" list. These selections come from Martin Scorsese during an interview with Fast Company. The list includes some of Scorsese's personal comments about the films. From Fast Company:
"With 11 nominations and five wins for
HUGO at the 2012 Oscars, Martin Scorsese remains one of the most influential directors in Hollywood. But what influenced him? Here's an A-Z list of the films that mattered to Scorsese."
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Interview with MAN OF STEEL Screenwriter David Goyer
CraveOnline
With the release of MAN OF STEEL last weekend, David Goyer once again had his name attached to a summer blockbuster. Goyer recently took part in an interview with CraveOnline and discussed his work with the DC Comics universe, including tackling Superman.
From CraveOnline:
" We owe our modern comic book movies to David Goyer. Let's face it, folks. In many ways, that's the truth. It wasn't until 1998's BLADE that Hollywood had the confidence to turn X-MEN into a reality, which in turn gave us SPIDER-MAN, and the growing popularity of the genre led back to BATMAN BEGINS, scripted by David Goyer. He took superheroes seriously..." Follow the link below for Goyer's interview.
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Zack Snyder's Rules of Filmmaking
MovieMaker Magazine
With the MAN OF STEEL being released last weekend, MovieMaker Magazine recently republished Zack Snyder's "10 Golden Rules of Moviemaking."
Follow the link below to learn Snyder's thoughts on topics such as suffering, respect, passion, and point of view.
From MovieMaker Magazine: " Zack Snyder began his career directing TV commercials for such car companies as Audi, BMW and Nissan. He launched into features with the gloriously gory remake of George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD. His ambitious follow-up, 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, had critics hailing him as a technical genius."
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Connect With BlueCat!
Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, for your opportunity to win a FREE ENTRY. Recent Facebook topics include sharing ideas with others and uncomfortable notes received as feedback. Follow the conversation on Twitter and look for writing tips, videos, and screenwriting articles.
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Hollywood Internships Are About to Change
Interns Win in Ruling Against Fox Searchlight
"What might look on paper like an opportunity to work under experienced professionals and hone your skills may turn out to be a summer of coffee runs and making close friends with copy machines." That very problem is at the heart of a recent court decision against a major production company could alter the role of a summer intern in Hollywood.
As Film School Rejects explains:
"Exactly what constitutes an internship - and what justifies an unpaid internship - was the subject of a recent lawsuit between Fox Searchlight and two unpaid interns (Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman) who worked on the set of Darren Aronofsky's critical and commercial darling BLACK SWAN...Representatives for the interns argued that they essentially acted as unpaid labor, the bulk of their work consisting of menial errands typically covered by paid employees."
Follow the link below for the full story.
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Workshop With Gordy at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Enjoy Gordy's workshops? Lighthouse Writers Workshop is a week long or weekend intensive writing workshop for advanced fiction, poetry, screenplay or non-fiction writers. Register and find out the details here.
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Hey, Whaddya Say?
"The point to stress is that anyone seriously interested in making a film should find as much money as he can as quickly as he can and go out and do it."
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See Gordy at the Williamette Writers Conference
Portland, OR - August
Enjoy Gordy's workshops? The Williamette Writers Conference will be held August 2-4th at the Portland Airport Sheraton Hotel. "Willamette Writers' goal is to provide and encourage a creative environment and support system for current and aspiring writers." Register and find out the details here.
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Advertise With BlueCat
Would you like to advertise in our newsletter? Interested in a dedicated e-blast? We have nearly 13,000 screenwriters who read our newsletter every week. To discuss, please contact Heather at info@bluecatscreenplay.com.
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BlueCat Workshops
BlueCat Screenplay Workshops are a one-day, intensive opportunity to certifiably improve your script in a small group environment, led by award winning screenwriter and BlueCat founder Gordy Hoffman.
Your script will be read in advance both by Gordy as well as the other workshop participants; everyone receives in-depth feedback on their script from a number of different perspectives.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:
Online Script Workshop - June 27th - REGISTER
Online Workshop - September 26th - REGISTER
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