Cold, Rainy Saturday
Man, I sounded cranky last night. Don't know why.
Update on Script Competitions: Since I mentioned this in passing, here's a more specific update. I entered four script competitions in the fall. These are all second or third tier competitions; deadlines for the big ones (like the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting) are coming up in the next few months.
Of those four, I've now heard from three. Well, in truth I've heard from TWO. One of them only posted results on the website, which I discovered today when I was looking around for the date when they planned to post results. So, of the three I've heard from:
- I placed in the quarterfinals (thus far) with two scripts (i.e., both scripts advanced separately). Roughly the top 300 scripts out of about 2000 entries, so top 15%, which isn't bad. I'll hear more by the end of March, I think.
- In other two, I didn't advance at all. I entered two scripts in both of those, and nothing. The same two scripts that I entered in the first one above. It's so subjective
I'll be entering the Nicholl Fellowship again this year (I was a quarterfinalist several years ago, which at the time was top 250 out 5000 entries). I'll also enter the Sundance Institute's Feature Film Lab programs, and Creative Screenwriting's new competition.
The really nice thing is that my department is paying for these entries since they expect me to have my work "peer reviewed" for tenure purposes. I really stopped entering contests a few years ago because I figured I had enough quarterfinalist and semifinalist placings to fill out my resume and make me look legit to producers. And it's expensive. I've already entered more competitions this year than I have in any single year in the past. Something close to $350 in entry fees already.
So, we'll see what comes of all this. I'll keep you posted.
posted by TerminalMFA @ 11:51 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Yeah, the contest bit can be a real drain on finances. It's nice that you've got someone underwriting that now. I always find it's the first thing to go when I need to prioritize my expenditures, and that's a shame.
I hope you post in the future about your HD project! Inspire some of the rest of us who sometimes can't even hustle enough to open the laptop.
eek -- i missed this comment because it was lower on my archive -- sorry! In case you read this...
I will be posting about the HD project... but believe me, I understand not feeling like opening the laptop. I need to work on some rewrites for that same project, including some new scenes that I think will be good -- but I just haven't felt like it. I still don't feel like it. And I REALLY need to lock the script. I need a hard deadline from someone else before I can do this. That's why I used to enter lots of contests -- the deadlines were a good tool for me.
Lawrence Kasdan once said that being a screenwriter is like having homework every night for the rest of your life. There's always SOMETHING we could be doing.
Blogging must have been invented by screenwriters -- we're so good at procrastination that we invent new ways to do it all the time.
Post a Comment
<< Home