You can begin pitching loglines in the comments section RIGHT NOW!
And, oh yeah, the contest is COMPLETELY FREE!
Last year, I created the only contest where you had to pitch the script idea just to get in. I did this because almost every amateur writer writes scripts that aren’t big enough to get anyone in Hollywood’s attention. So I created a contest where I would only accept script ideas that I knew had a shot at selling once they were written. That contest was called “The Blood & Ink” Horror Contest.
If I accepted the idea, you had six months to write the script.
Well, we’re doing it again. But instead of you only being able to pitch horror ideas, this time, you can pitch any genre you want, as long as it’s a high concept idea. What is high concept? Here are some definitions…
Michael Hauge: A high-concept film is one with a unique premise that can be easily communicated and attracts a broad audience.
Justin Wyatt: Movies built around a striking, marketable premise that can be easily promoted through advertising, posters, trailers, and ancillary media.
Carson Reeves: A high-concept is one where the premise itself creates immediate excitement, curiosity, and marketability before execution enters the equation. If I can hear the pitch and immediately see the poster, trailer, and movie, it’s likely high concept.
And here are some examples…
Inception – A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.
The Purge – A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12 hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
A Quiet Place – In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.
Yesterday – A struggling musician realizes he’s the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where they never existed.
Beverly Hills Cop – A rough, street-smart Detroit cop has to investigate a murder in the most polished, wealthy, image-conscious place on earth — Beverly Hills.
Rental Family – A struggling American actor living in Tokyo takes a job with a company that rents out stand-in family members, only to form genuine bonds with his clients that blur the line between performance and reality.
Sketch – When a grieving young girl’s sketchbook falls into a magical pond, her monstrous drawings come to life, forcing her and her brother to stop the creatures before they destroy their town.
Novocaine – When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, a man with a rare condition that prevents him from feeling physical pain turns his disability into an unexpected advantage.
Here are some examples of movies that are NOT high concept.
Is This Thing On? – After his marriage falls apart, a middle-aged father discovers an unexpected talent for stand-up comedy, forcing him and his estranged wife to redefine who they are, both apart and together.
One Battle After Another – When his longtime nemesis resurfaces and kidnaps his daughter, a washed-up former revolutionary reunites his old comrades for one last mission to rescue her.
Sorry Baby – After a traumatic encounter with a trusted professor derails her life, a young academic struggles to move forward while everyone around her seems to move on.
Hamnet – After the death of their young son shatters their family, a gifted healer and her playwright husband struggle to survive their grief, unaware that the tragedy will inspire one of history’s greatest works.
Friendship – A suburban dad falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, but his desperate attempts to turn the relationship into a friendship threaten to ruin both of their lives.
Now that you know what a high concept logline is and isn’t, you can jump down into the comments and start pitching. But, there are a lot of rules so you’re probably going to want to read them first.
To start, what’s the prize for this contest? Well, if you get in, you will have 6-7 months to write your script. Then, I’ll start reading them and reviewing a lot of them on the site. The prize is exposure. What I’ve learned from Blood & Ink is that people in the industry are reading. They’re watching. If you write something good, I’m going to review it and I can almost guarantee you’ll get representation. And if you write something really good, I’m getting on the phone and I’m making sure people in the industry know about your script.
I just got off a Zoom call with a major producer regarding Wildman yesterday. He loved it. And now we’re hoping something comes of it. I want to do more of that with these High Concept scripts.
Okay, let’s get to the rules! There are a lot of them. But I’ve got to list them because I learned many things from the Blood & Ink Contest.
1) There will be 4 pitch weekends. Friday through Sunday. Pitching ends every Sunday at 11:59pm Pacific Time. This is the first of those 4 weekends.
2) You can pitch five loglines each weekend.
3) Make sure you pitch each logline in its own comment. Do not pitch all 5 loglines in a single comment. This is because I need to vote yes or no on individual loglines.
4) I will vote on every single logline pitched. I will give you either a “YES!”, a “yes,” a “strong maybe,” a “maybe,” or a “no.” An all-capital “YES!” Is the Holy Grail. It means you not only get in, but you can also send me a 5 page outline of your script before you write it and I will give you notes on it. This is HUGE because what I learned from Blood & Ink is that a lot of writers went down weak creative paths that I could’ve prevented had I seen their outline.
5) A “yes,” still gets you in. Just without outline privilege.
6) If you get a “maybe,” you can rewrite and re-pitch that logline two more times that weekend to try and turn it into a “yes.” If you can’t turn it into a “yes,” it’s dead. Don’t pitch it anymore.
7) If you get a “strong maybe,” you can rewrite and re-pitch that logline four more times that weekend to try and turn it into a “yes.” If you can’t turn it into a “yes,” it’s dead. Don’t pitch it anymore.
8) The large majority of ideas will get a “no.” Please understand that I’m evaluating a ton of loglines so I don’t have time to give everyone feedback. I will try to add some quick feedback when I have some extra time during the day. But don’t be offended if I only write, “no.” It probably means I’m making my way through 100 loglines in a row and I don’t have time.
9) Upvoted Entries – The highly controversial “user voted in entries” are back. But with an extra helping of quality control. If you get 15 upvotes, your concept gets in. BUT I CAN VETO any of these entries. It’s pointless to have one of these get in if I don’t like the idea. So, I’m just going to veto those on the spot.
10) Golden Weekend Ticket – However, the ‘strong maybe,’ ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ entry with the most upvotes each weekend automatically gets in. So one user-voted entry will get into the contest each weekend. Therefore, even if I’ve voted “no” on something, and you like the idea, you still want to upvote it because that entry might win the Golden Weekend Ticket. I have special plans for those scripts once written which will involve users reviewing them.
11) Posters – You can include a poster for ONE IDEA PER WEEKEND. This is to prevent every single comment from having a poster in it. So, if you love AI posters, save them for your best logline that weekend.
12) You can get multiple ideas into the contest. But you must choose only one to write.
13) You CAN pitch scripts that have already been written (I am aware this is controversial but tough cookies).
A quick reminder that my popular logline consultation service ($25 per logline, $100 for 5) is available. If you want a more extensive reason for why I didn’t pick your logline, order one. If you want to see ahead of time if a logline has a shot, order one. You can also do a deluxe logline consult ($50) where we keep workshopping the logline until it’s perfect. I believe 4 loglines got into Blood & Ink that way. But most of them did not. So, don’t think it’s a guarantee. If you want to use this service, e-mail me at carsonreeves1@gmail.com.
Finally, keep in mind that I am going to be living my life during these weekends. And I also have to sleep 8 hours a night (during this contest, that will likely be between 2am to 10am). So don’t freak out if I don’t vote on your logline right away. I will be coming in and out when available. So, just stay patient. The same goes for anyone who’s new or doesn’t comment much. Your loglines may get stuck in moderation at first. But I will approve them once I’m back at my computer.
I have a lot of confidence that someone here is going to come up with a movie idea so amazing that it’s going to be a sure-thing in script form. Maybe that writer is you.
Let’s rock’n’roll baby!!!!!!!
