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What's New, BlueCat? 
                                        
The Official Newsletter of the

BlueCat Screenplay Competition   



December 16th, 2014

 

 

Meet the star of Dog Bowl tonight on Gordy Hoffman's Screenwriting Sitdown. During the live Ustream broadcast, Marci and Gordy will talk about their journey making this official 2015 Sundance Film Festival selection. 


Gordy will also discuss all your screenwriting questions.
Feel free to ask away on our UStream chat!

 

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW BLUECAT ON USTREAM   

 

IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER:
  • E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman Discuss Foxcatcher
  • Ten Lessons on Filmmaking from David Lynch
  • 3 SCRIPTS: Batman Returns, The Family Man, Die Hard
  • BlueCat Archive: How do I produce my short film script?
  • Writing a Hollywood Blockbuster - Tips from Tony Gilroy
  • Graham Moore on The Imitation Game
  • 6 Rules on How to Write a Biopic from the Writers of Big Eyes
  • The BlueCat Community Corner
  • BlueCat Workshop information
Interview with Foxcatcher Screenwriters
from NY Times

Foxcatcher writers E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman talk about how they created a cohesive script from the true story of John du Pont.
 
10 Filmmaking Lessons from Writer/Director David Lynch
From Filmmaker Magazine


Writer/director David Lynch recently received a lifetime achievement award at the Lucca Film Festival. Filmmaker Magazine compiled Lynch's best advice throughout the festival in this article by Ariston Anderson.

How to Produce Your Short Film Script 
From The BlueCat Archive 

 

Gordy Hoffman, BlueCat's founder and judge, gives advice on the steps to take after writing your short screenplay.  

 

6 Rules on How to Write a Biopic
From The Wrap


Big Eyes
co-writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski list six of their rules for approaching biopics in this article from The Wrap.   
HEY, WHADDYA SAY?

 
"One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I'm going to do my five or ten pages no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I'll have lost nothing - writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off."

- Lawrence Block
Co-writer of My Blueberry Nights  
DRESS FOR SUCCESS

 
Looking for the perfect style to ring in the new year? Check out our cool Dog Bowl t-shirts and hoodies on sale now at the Dog Bowl website.
 
SELECTED SCRIPTS
Three Screenplay PDFs

Batman Returns
by Daniel Waters


The Family Man
by David Diamond & David Weissman


Die Hard    
by Jeb Stuart & Steven E. De Souza


Writing a Hollywood Blockbuster
From BBC News

 
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Tony Gilroy, shares his top ten tips for writing a Hollywood blockbuster.     
 
Graham Moore on The Imitation Game
From Movie City News

  
Graham Moore discusses the screenplay's interlocking stories, the liberties he took with the story, and the research he did to bring Alan Turing's life to film.

HEY, WHATCHA UP TO? 

The BlueCat Community Corner:
Gino Martinelli

 

BlueCat community member, Gino Martinelli, has been presenting his script, Out of the Storm, scene by scene on lifesentences.org. Each month he posts the scene, storyboards, and writers commentary. He hopes that his method of explaining a script scene by scene inspires writers to produce even more innovative ideas. Thanks for sharing, Gino!   

 

 

What are you up to?   

 

Do you play in a band, paint, write books, draw, sculpt, make short films or web series, etc.? Do you participate in an arts organization our community should know about?

 

Share your accomplishments as well as upcoming fairs, shows, screenings, and gatherings by emailing:

info@bluecatscreenplay.com 


Please use the subject line Community Corner Submission  

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.
BlueCat Screenwriting Workshops
 
BlueCat Screenplay Workshops are an 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.

Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival for LOVE LIZA, Gordy Hoffman has taught screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, as well as led workshops all over North America, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. He has served as a panelist for the IFP Script to Screen Conference in NYC, Women in Film's Script DC Conference in Washington, DC, and the George Eastman House Film Festival, as well as a judge for the McKnight Screenwriting Fellowships in Minnesota. Gordy Hoffman founded the BlueCat Screenplay Competition in 1998 and remains its judge.

  

THE FULL SCRIPT WORKSHOP

Participants read all screenplays in advance of the workshop. During the workshop, Gordy provides direct and in-depth feedback on each screenplay, with everyone encouraged to contribute his or her own thoughts and concerns.

  

Each writer will leave with a great sense of what they can do specifically to improve their screenplay, as well as a better awareness of where they might properly develop as a professional screenwriter as a whole. Writers benefit from the direct focus placed on their screenplays by the workshop, along with the analysis of the other scripts.

  

Screenplays can be first drafts or rewrites, incomplete or partial, with first time writers and veterans all welcome. Scripts are due 10-14 days prior to the date of the workshop.

  

Note: Screenplays submitted to the workshop are not eligible to be entered into the BlueCat Screenplay Competition.

  

  

Regular Registration Option

Do you want to participate, but do not have a script to submit at this time? Regular registration for the workshop allows you to attend without submitting written material, read the scripts in advance and still participate in the discussion.

  

  


UPCOMING WORKSHOPS: 
 

Los Angeles - February 21st - REGISTER 

(Only 3 spots left)

 

Billings, Montana - March 3rd - REGISTER  

 

Salt Lake City - March 5th - REGISTER 

(Only 5 spots left)

 

Online - March 19th - REGISTER 

 

Online - May 7th - REGISTER  

 

Please let us know if 

 

you'd like the BlueCat Workshop 

 

 to come to your town!

 

See you soon.