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!
