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

BlueCat Screenplay Competition   



January 13th, 2015

   

 

 

The 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards took place on Sunday, January 11th. Screenwriters Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo were honored when their screenplay, Birdman, won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture.

This win favorably positions the script for a possible Oscar Nomination.

  Read The Hollywood Reporter's Coverage of the Award

 Watch the Birdman Writers' Press Room Interview

Read the Screenplay

IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER:
  • A Decades Long Partnership - Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander
  • Spike Jonze on The Toughest Scene to Write in Her
  • 3 Scripts: A Most Violent Year, Her, Do the Right Thing
  • Ana Lily Amirpour Begins Her Next Project
  • BlueCat Archive: Approaching Dialogue
  • Anatomy of a Scene - A Most Dangerous Year
  • American Sniper Screenwriter Jason Hall - ArcLight Stories
  • The BlueCat Community Corner
  • BlueCat Workshop information
A Decades Long Partnership
from LA Weekly
Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander's writing partnership is now approaching the 30-year mark, and has produced many iconic biopics - Ed Wood, The People vs. LarryFlint, and Man on the Moon. This article focuses on the history of their partnership and their most recent film, Big Eyes.

Spike Jonze on the Toughest Scene to Write in Her
From Vulture

In this article, writer-director Spike Jonze discusses an ever-evolving scene in Her where Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) listens to a song composed by his OS, Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).
 
Approaching Dialogue 
From The BlueCat Archive 

 

Gordy Hoffman, BlueCat's founder and judge, shares his advice for approaching dialogue in your screenplay. 

 

Anatomy of a Scene: A Most Violent Year
From The New York Times

In this episode of The New York Times' Anatomy of a Scene, writer/director J.C. Chandor narrates one of his favorite scenes from the film - a scene where Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is teaching some students sales techniques.
 
HEY, WHADDYA SAY?

 
"I think at the beginning of a project, you decide if you're in love with the idea and what it's about, or what you think it's about at that time at least. Then you commit to it, and once you've committed to it no matter what, no matter how many self-doubts you have, you're in it. The ship's sailed, you can't turn around."

- Spike Jonze
Writer/Director of Her  
SELECTED SCRIPTS
Three Screenplay PDFs

A Most Violent Year
by J.C. Chandor

Her
by Spike Jonze

Do the Right Thing 
by Spike Lee


Ana Lily Amirpour Begins Her Next Project, The Bad Batch
from IndieWire

2007 BlueCat Screenplay Competition Winner Ana Lily Amirpour is not resting on her laurels from the attention her black-and-white vampire drama, "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", has received. Her newest project, "The Bad Batch", will be jointly produced by VICE and Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures. 

  READ THE ARTICLE    

ArcLight Stories: American Sniper Screenwriter Jason Hall
From ArcLight Cinemas

  
American Sniper screenwriter, Jason Hall, provides insight on working with Chris Kyle and making his story come on life on the big screen.

HEY, WHATCHA UP TO? 

The BlueCat
Community Corner:

 

BlueCat is continuing our Community Corner in the newsletter where each week we feature what YOU'RE 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 

(Full Registration Sold Out)  

 

Billings, Montana - March 3rd - REGISTER
 (Only 2 spots left)

Intro to Screenwriting - Montana - March 4th - REGISTER
 

Salt Lake City - March 5th - REGISTER 

 

Online - March 19th - REGISTER 

 

Austin - March 21st - REGISTER 

 

Honolulu - March 28th - REGISTER 

 

San Francisco - May 2nd - REGISTER 

 

Online - May 7th - REGISTER

Los Angeles - May 16th - REGISTER

Phoenix - July 25th - REGISTER
(Only 4 spots left)

Portland - September 9th - REGISTER

Please let us know if you'd like the BlueCat Workshop 

to come to your town!

 

See you soon.