The announcement in The Hollywood Reporter!

I know I’ve stated this already, but thank you to everyone who participated in the contest, thank you to everyone who followed the contest, and thank you to everyone for their patience, especially my contest sponsor, Grey Matter (whose film “Lights Out” comes out in late July – go see it!), COO Ben Everard, and president Lawrence Grey. I’m sure these guys had a more accelerated schedule in mind when I first pitched them the idea behind the Scriptshadow 250. Mainly because I told them the schedule would be more accelerated.

Regardless, we finally made it here, and it feels like the hard work paid off. We found some great scripts, one of which has already been packaged and sold at Cannes, and that one didn’t even win! The battle between the top two scripts, in particular, was heated. I had some great debates with Grey Matter about who the winner should be, and it went down to the wire. So who won? Well, for all of you who say it’s impossible to make it unless you live in Los Angeles, you may be surprised…

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Disorder
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Logline: A recluse who suffers from random episodes – in which he commits violent acts without remembering them – is forced to babysit a neighbor’s 8 year-old daughter for an afternoon. After suffering an episode, he wakes to find the girl has disappeared – a violent wreck in her wake. With himself as the only possible suspect, he must retrace his footsteps to find the girl.
Writer: Zed Warren
Location: UK

Thoughts: More than any other script in the competition, this one nailed three things the industry looks for: A fresh concept, a marketable genre, it can be made cheaply. Of course, a lot of writers achieve these things, then don’t execute the actual script. Zed executes the hell out of his concept and from the discussions we had, the thing we kept saying to each other was, “This feels the most like a movie of all the scripts.” It just felt special. And good things are already happening for Zed. He’s currently about to sign with UTA. So congrats, my friend!

THE FINALISTS

Bait
Genre: Dark Comedy
Logline: When Leonardo DiCaprio believes he’s finally found the script that will win him an Oscar, he travels in secret to visit the unknown writer. What he finds instead is a serial killer, who keeps him captive with a group of other A-list victims, all tempted by the same script. Will Leo escape and, more importantly, will he get to make the movie?
Writer: Sam Boyer
Location: Los Angeles

Thoughts: All of us really really loved Bait. And then Leo had to go off, win the Oscar, and screw everything up… Or maybe not! Grey Matter is still really high on this script and are working with Sam to target a new famous actor for the lead role. Sam has a bright future ahead of him. He’s a 23 year-old USC grad and has been placing high in numerous competitions and writer’s programs (Universal is one) all while this contest was going on. If we didn’t discover him, someone else was about to. He’s the youngest writer on the list by far and you get the feeling he’s one of those guys who’s just extremely talented, to the point where normal rules don’t apply to him. I’ve also met Sam and he’s a really nice down-to-earth collaborative “let’s buckle down and crack this story” kind of guy. The sky is the limit for Sam.

Wheelman
Genre: Thriller
Logline: An ex-con reconnecting with his fourteen-year-old daughter is forced to take a job as a getaway-driver to pay off prison debts when he gets hijacked mid bank-robbery by a mysterious caller who threatens his family.
Writer: Jeremy Rush
Location: Los Angeles

Thoughts: The little twist with this one is that it’s like Drive, but if Ryan Gosling never left the car. When I first read this script, my immediate reaction was, “Holy shit, this is a movie.” I knew it was Top 5 then and there. So I wasn’t surprised when, a few months later, I heard that Rush had sold Wheelman at Cannes, attaching Frank Grillo, Brandon Routh, and Nicholas Hoult to play the main characters. Rush (what a perfect name for this script, huh?) will be directing as well.

Miss Universe
Genre: Comedy
Logline: A vapid beauty queen is abducted by aliens who think her title means she’s Earth’s ambassador to the universe.
Writer: Colin O’Brien
Location: New Jersey

Thoughts: Those who have been reading the site for awhile are familiar with this one. It’s one of the most popular Amateur Friday scripts we’ve hosted on the site. What’s cool about Miss Universe is that Grey Matter wasn’t sure they’d respond to any of the comedies, as the genre isn’t typically in their wheelhouse. But they flipped for this and we had some really excited conversations about it. We all think Colin is a comedy voice that’s going to break out soon.

A Quickening
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Logline: A woman working as a surrogate for a powerful New York couple gets treated like dirty laundry, until the couple’s marriage falls apart and they ask her to abort the pregnancy, leading her to turn the tables on them and blackmail her way to the American dream.
Writer: Jacob Albert
Location: Austin, Texas

Thoughts: A Quickening ropes you in immediately. The writing is sharp and dark! But what really grabbed me about the script was how charged the subject matter was. It’s rare that you read something where the characters’ actions physically affect you, where you feel anger building up inside. And that’s the dynamic that pulls you in here. A Quickening is delightfully edgy and has the feeling of something David Fincher could do wonders with. Some of the best pure writing in the contest.

SPECIAL MENTION

The Pyre
Genre: Horror
Logline: A fragile young mother has three days to get the body of the immigrant she killed from the bottom of a deep dangerous lake and cremate it on a pyre, before its spirit destroys her.
Writer: Caroline Carver

Thoughts: This one came close but just missed the cut. I wish we’d had more female entries but either my style of blogging doesn’t appeal to the female screenwriting demographic or most women are focusing their efforts on TV. Still, it was nice to see one of the ladies crack the top 6. Hopefully, we’ll have more female writers in future contests.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A couple of other scripts that I liked were “Lies, Blackmail, and other Egregious Behavior,” by Aaron Brooks, for its standout voice. And “The Watcher” by Michael J. Klassen, for bringing a Hitchcockian story into the present day. You can reacquaint yourself with all the scripts that made the Top 25 here. I will, of course, keep you updated on any developments with these scripts, whether they come through Grey Matter or someone else. Congratulations to Jacob, Jeremy, Colin, Sam, Zed, and Caroline. I see bright futures for all of you.

Also, for those of you frustrated that you didn’t make the top 5, the top 25, or the top 250, I can say with total conviction: KEEP AT IT. It takes awhile to master this quirky craft. You really have to study your butt off, write a bunch of scripts, and stick with it. I promise you, you will get better. And sooner or later, the quality of your screenplays will catch up with your ambition. I’m sure we’ll find this to be true for a few more of you at the end of our 3-Month Write-a-Screenplay Challenge. Now get to writing!

Hey guys. I know you’re all eager to find out who won the screenwriting contest. And I’m just as eager to tell you! Unfortunately, this is the first time I’m coordinating an announcement with several different parties (writers, production company, trade websites). And we’re still ironing out some last second things. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post the winners at some point today. So stay tuned. Since you probably don’t want to refresh until your fingers fall off, you can follow me on Twitter, where I’ll announce that the post is up. Sorry for the delay!

Here they are folks, in no particular order, the top 25 scripts from my contest. Congrats to to the finalists. I’ll be announcing the Top 5 in a couple of weeks. If you didn’t make it, don’t fret. That next script could be the one. Keep fighting!

Title: Albion
Genre: Period
Logline: The Dark Ages, 865AD, Britain: A sheltered scholar must unite his people and defeat the Viking invasions to become the first King of England: King Alfred the Great.
Writer: Blaise Hesselgren

Title: Fourth Time’s a Charm
Genre: Comedy
Logline: Tom is a thrice-divorced marriage therapist seemingly destined to repeat a Sisyphean cycle of superficial romances. But when a blind date with an uncouth woman named “Angus” highlights everything missing from his past courtships, Tom must choose between perpetuating his hollow past, or taking a walk on the wild side. The thing is, Angus might not give him a choice.
Writer: Steve Dente

(obviously submitted long before this year’s Oscars)
Title: Bait
Genre: Dark Comedy
Logline: When Leonardo DiCaprio believes he’s finally found the script that will win him an Oscar, he travels in secret to visit the unknown writer. What he finds instead is a serial killer, who keeps him captive with a group of other A-list victims, all tempted by the same script. Will Leo escape and, more importantly, will he get to make the movie?
Writer: Sam Boyer

Title: 19 Floors
Genre: Action/Horror
Logline: Against military orders, a Special Ops Sargent attempts to rescue his wife from a quarantined tower infested with monstrous creatures. He has 19 floors and 19 hours.
Writer: Lee Brandt & Christopher Lawrence

Title: This Close
Genre: Drama
Logline: Jeremy Pearl intends to shoot up his high school and take his own life. He comes ‘this close’ to proceeding, but the plot is thwarted before he can act. Seven years later, after coming out of prison a repentant man, Jeremy returns to his hometown to try to make a normal life for himself.
Writer: Randy Steinberg

Title: Drone
Genre: Action
Logline: A drone pilot in the Mojave Desert begins to question his strike orders when evidence begins to pile up of a government conspiracy to inflame tensions in the Middle East.
Writer: Justin Perry

Title: Jack Curious
Genre: Sci-fi
Logline: A legendary but drug-addicted cop tries to solve a murder using time travel.
Writer: Bryce McLellan

Title: Serpentine
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Logline: Upon realising she is reliving the last day of her life, an injured SWAT officer must protect her family from the dangerous cult that want them dead.
Writer: Paul White

Title: Lies, Blackmail, and other Egregious Behavior
Genre: Dark Comedy
Logline: When Sarah, a strong willed Pastor’s wife thinks her husband is cheating on her, she enlists the help of a charming young man to find out. When he catches the pastor cheating, he blackmails him behind Sarah’s back.
Writer: Aaron Brooks

Title: Disorder
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Logline: A recluse who suffers from random episodes – in which he commits violent acts without remembering them – is forced to babysit a neighbour’s 8 year-old daughter for an afternoon. After suffering an episode, he wakes to find the girl has disappeared – a violent wreck in her wake. With himself as the only possible suspect, he must retrace his footsteps to find the girl.
Writer: Zed Warren

Title: Flyuxaphine
Genre: Horror
Logline: Seen through the eyes of a mechanic as he makes his way through a Terraforming facility, with the help of his girlfriend by headset, after a malfunction has turned the crew mad.
Writer: Ellis Ripley

Title: The Passage
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Logline: Back in small-town Maine to bury his estranged father, a young man discovers the drawbridge his family tended is a gateway to the afterlife for spirits lost at sea. After a historic ghost ship wrecks on his watch, he and a few friends new and old must find passage for one of its crew before a malevolent spirit aboard can get in their way.
Writer: Paul Marchant

Title: Wars of Eternal Spring
Genre: Martial Arts/Period
Logline: A rebellious-minded woman in ancient China seeks the help of Shaolin Temple to save her family and village from a love-obsessed General and his bloodthirsty Captain.
Writer: Elizabet Barilleaux

Title: Wheelman
Genre: Thriller
Logline: An ex-con reconnecting with his fourteen-year-old daughter is forced to take a job as a getaway-driver to pay off prison debts when he gets hijacked mid bank-robbery by a mysterious caller who threatens his family.
Writer: Jeremy Rush

Title: Ghosts of Dickens
Genre: Biopic
Logline: Crushed by financial burden, evaporating success and increasing depression, Charles Dickens struggles to piece together A CHRISTMAS CAROL to regain his fleeting fame.
Writer: Matt Bishop

Title: The Coyote
Genre: Action/Thriller
Logline: An ex DEA agent turned Coyote is blackmailed to take on his toughest job yet; smuggling the man who killed his partner across the Mexican border.
Writer: Nir Paniry

Title: A Quickening
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Logline: A woman working as a surrogate for a powerful New York couple gets treated like dirty laundry, until the couple’s marriage falls apart and they ask her to abort the pregnancy, leading her to turn the tables on them and blackmail her way to the American dream.
Writer: Jacob Albert

Title: Seventy Times in Black
Genre: Crime Thriller
Logline: In the jungle-like heart of Arkansas, a resourceful young woman’s coming-of-age tale makes a terrifying descent into survival. Stripped bare by her own paralyzing fears, she must confront the deranged, familial obsessions of a rogue lawman, whose unchecked savagery threatens everyone close to her.
Writers: Kyle Rynicki & John Rodgers

Title: The Man Who Killed Samuel Lodge
Genre: Western
Logline: As a gang of outlaws chases him, a lawman with a mysterious past reluctantly partners with a headstrong widow so he can cash in the bounty for the man he killed.
Writer: Zac Lovelace

Title: Miss Universe
Genre: Comedy
Logline: A vapid beauty queen is abducted by aliens who think her title means she’s Earth’s ambassador to the universe.
Writer: Colin O’Brien

Title: The Watcher
Genre: Thriller
Logline: A middle-aged voyeur named Roman Powell witnesses his new tenant, young Jane Gordon, commit a grisly murder and struggles through his own urges of going down the evil path by being drawn into the murders himself.
Writer: Michael J. Klassen

Title: Liberty Island
Genre: Action
Logline: When domestic terrorists seize control of Liberty Island during July 4th celebrations and threaten to blow up the Statue of Liberty, a lone New York City cop trapped on the island must save his hostage-held family and foil a presidential assassination.
Writer: Jared Sandman

Title: The Pyre
Genre: Horror
Logline: A fragile young mother has three days to get the body of the immigrant she killed from the bottom of a deep dangerous lake and cremate it on a pyre, before its spirit destroys her.
Writer: Caroline Carver

Title: The Nothing Man
Genre: Action/Thriller
Logline: A secret Government crime solving division clones America’s most wanted criminal to be able to get into his mind and his memories to predict his future actions while being teamed up with the FBI Agent who has been hunting him for years.
Writer: Brian Penn

Title: Yesterday
Genre: Sci-fi
Logline: Randy had it all–a loving family, a dream job. But after a long, hard fall from grace leads to deadly consequences, he’s forced to relive his life backwards. Yesterday by yesterday, Randy tries to understand where it all went wrong, and how he can possibly put things right in a world where tomorrow never comes.
Writer: John Bradley

I will be announcing the TOP 25 scripts from my contest this Wednesday!

And as we get closer to the big day where worlds will be moved, lives will be changed, I can offer some thoughts on the process, a process that has given me even more insight into the system than ever before. The biggest takeaway I’ve gotten so far? That it takes a long time to get this craft right. Almost inevitably (with a few exceptions), when I like a script and go back to read the writer’s pitch e-mail, I see it mentioned that the writer has been at this for 7 years or 8 years or 9 years. Screenwriting, unlike any other form of writing, has a mathematical component. You’re supposed to hit beats by certain pages, divide things up into acts, keep the script under a certain page count. To get used to that restriction – to be able to write freely within those guideline – takes time and practice. And you can feel it on the page. You can feel that ease, that lack of fear. With new writers, they’re mostly just writing whatever comes to mind at the time. Filling up pages, hoping to have enough before they write “The End.” The stories feel unformed, random, like we’re on a bus ride to nowhere. This doesn’t mean you’re screwed if you’re new to this. But if you’re going to compete with these people, you’re going to need to work a hell of a lot harder. READ, STUDY, WRITE. That needs to be your life. READ, STUDY, WRITE. If you’re not doing one of those three things, you’re not catching up to the people who have been doing this so much longer than you have.

TWO DAYS LEFT!

Okay, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is, I’m finishing reading the Scriptshadow 250 contest scripts this week. The bad news is, that means I won’t have time to post the rest of the week. But this leads us to some better news. Next Wednesday, I’ll be posting a list of the TOP 25. And from there, things will move rather quickly, as I post the top 5 soon after, and finally the winner, who will get an option from Grey Matter. So buckle up everybody. The day you thought would never happen is finally within reach. I’ve found some amazing writers so I’m really pumped to finally share them with the world!