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

BlueCat Screenplay Competition   



May 5th, 2015

IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER:
Read our Winner Interviews!
  • Feature Finalist Alex Rollins Berg Interview
  • Feature Finalist Joseph O'Driscoll Interview
  • Feature Finalist Theodore Schaefer & Patrick Lawler Interview
  • Feature Finalist Palmer Holton Interview
  • 13 Ways to Keep Smart Movie Fans Happy by Indiewire's Anne Thompson
  • 2 Scripts: MAD MAX & Pitch Perfect
  • 'Boyhood' Producer John Sloss on a Possible Sequel, How to Release Films Yourself and the Scene Heading into Cannes
  • Ask BlueCat Video: How Important is Structure?
  • Sponsor: Get Repped Now! Deadline May 10th
  • Sponsor: Catharsis Retreat-Like Seminar
    Deadline June 1st
  • 'This Is For The Writers!' A Coversation with Diablo Cody
  • BlueCat Workshop information
2015 Feature Finalist 

 

 

 

by Alex Rollins Berg

Q:  What advice would you give to writers who are      

    just starting a screenplay?

 

A:  Read! The more you read, the better you'll write. Reading is your fuel. Find time to write every day if you can, even on weekends. Technically you'll have more bad days, but they won't affect you as much, because you'll also have more good days - and some amazing ones. Don't worry about the marketplace. Let your passions and instincts guide you. Write something you desperately want to see. Write it from the heart.

  2015 Feature Finalist

 

Scriptures and Cigarettes

 

by Joseph O'Driscoll 

  
Q: After all of your hard work, how do you know when a script is done?
 
 
A: I know my script's at 98% when I bring it to my weekly workshop and my five friends/workshoppers only have micro notes to give me, no large story or character issues or scenes that aren't working. This often takes months and extensive rewriting. They're tough customers and if there is an issue to bring to light, they will find it. At that point, I'll go through and address the final notes and consider it finished. I still go through the script and tweak lines every now and then though. 

2015 Feature Finalist 

 

Taking the Toll - The Life and Life of Gilbert Booth 

 

by Theodore Schaefer  

& Patrick Lawler
 

Q:  How do you overcome writer's block? Is this done as a team? 

 

A: PL: What is the opposite of writer's block?  I'm a victim of writer's deluge.  I have boxes of ideas that can strike at any time.

TS: I think writer's block happens when you haven't been writing in a while. The best way to avoid writer's block is to always be writing more than one thing, they'll feed off each other. The moment you stop writing it takes time to start the engine of your brain back up. To overcome it, you have to force yourself through writing some really bad words that you'll throw out until the engine is fully revved again.


  2015 Feature Finalist

 

The Anxieties of Peter Wilhelm 

 

by Palmer Holton  

  

  

Q: What types of source materials have influenced your writing the most, and which ones in particular?
 
 
A: The biggest influences on me as a writer, especially on this script, have been writers like Terry Southern, Evelyn Waugh, and Ian McEwan. They all have different approaches to mixing "funny" with "creepy" at times, and that's something I really respond to. I actually wrote The Anxieties of Peter Wilhelm as a novel before trying to adapt it into a screenplay, and it was a lot of fun to find out what worked in one format vs. another.
 

13 Ways to Keep Smart Movie Fans Happy by Indiewire's Anne Thompson
From BlueCat Blog 


Indiewire's Anne Thompson offered the following tips to a roomful of independent theater owners.   
 

'Boyhood' Producer John Sloss on a Possible Sequel, How to Release Films Yourself and the Scene Heading Into Cannes
From BlueCat Blog

  

  

John Sloss discusses a possible Boyhood sequel, the new distribution landscape and why there's no longer an advantage to being a major studio.  


 

Dog Bowl Movie Merchandise


Support Gordy Hoffman's new short film, Dog Bowl, by purchasing a 

hoodie or t-shirt!




 
 Follow us on Twitter!
@BlueCatPicture

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 'This Is For The Writers!' A Coversation with Diablo Cody
From the BlueCat Blog 



Diablo's latest script, Ricki and the Flash, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield, opens August 7 (USA).


SELECTED SCRIPTS
Two Screenplay PDFs

Mad Max 2
by Terry Hayes & George Miller & Brian Hannant 

Pitch Perfect
by Kay Cannon
ASK BLUECAT Video Series
 
Over our history, BlueCat's often been asked questions from our community, topics ranging from script formatting, improving dialogue or finding representation.  BlueCat founder and judge Gordy Hoffman attempts to answers your questions in our video feature, Ask BlueCat.

Q. How important is structure?

How Important is Structure in a Screenplay?

How Important is Structure in a Screenplay?

Get Repped Now!
 Screenplay Competition

Final Deadline May 10th




Story Cartharsis



THE SCREENWRITER'S PREQUEL

A great movie character needs a backstory.  So does the writer of a great movie.

Catharsis Retreat-Like Seminar
August 1-8, 2015
La Caņada, California

FINAL APPLICATION DEADLINE:  JUNE 1, 2015

The creation of every great movie starts way before the writer types "FADE IN." The concept must brew in the heart and mind of the writer in a prequel to the writing that will have everything to do with if the finished screenplay will work. At Catharsis, we are invested in you as a writer first of all - what do you bring to the table as a visual storyteller? What are your strengths in talent and training? What skills and information do you need to set you on a successful course? What medium of screen storytelling is the best starting point for you and the stories you have to tell?


For more info, visit:  storycatharsis.com/prequel

Waive the $25 application fee:
Use promo code "noappfee" at checkout.

Advertise With BlueCat
Would you like to advertise in our newsletter? Interested in a dedicated e-blast? We have nearly 18,000 screenwriters who read our newsletter every week.

To discuss, please contact:  advertising@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 H
offman.

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:

Online - May 7th -  REGISTER
(Full Registration Sold Out)

Los Angeles - May 16th - REGISTER
(Full Registration Sold Out)
 
Atlanta - June 28th - REGISTER 
(Full Registration Sold Out) 

Columbus - July 18th - REGISTER
(Only 3 spots left)

 Phoenix - July 25th - REGISTER
(Full Registration Sold Out)

Chicago - August 8th - REGISTER

(Only 1 spot left)  

  

Chicago - August 9th - REGISTER

  

Vancouver - August 29th - REGISTER

Seattle - August 30th - REGISTER
(Only 3 spots left)

 Portland - September 9th - REGISTER
(Only 4 spots left)

Los Angeles - September 13th - REGISTER

Washington DC - September 19th - REGISTER
(Only 3 spots left) 
 
New York City - September 20th - REGISTER 
(Only 1 spot left)
 
Austin - October 11th - REGISTER 
 
New Orleans - October 17th - REGISTER 
 
Pittsburgh - November 9th - REGISTER
 
Rochester - November 10th - REGISTER 
 
Please let us know if you'd like the BlueCat Workshop 

to come to your town!

  

See you soon.