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| 1. Save $50 on Final Draft's ScriptXpert Coverage Service |
 Get serious about your screenwriting in 2008 with professional coverage from Final Draft's ScriptXpert. Our Industry readers will help get your script ready to SELL!
Submit your script today and
save $50 off of any order!*
FOR DISCOUNT, ENTER OR MENTION CODE SX28 WHEN PLACING ORDER
*offer expires 2/15/08; cannot be combined with any other offer or discount
To submit your script or to learn more coverage options
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/scriptxpert |
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| 2. The January/February Issue of Script is on Newsstands Now! |
 In the January/February issue of Script, we celebrate Oscar® with our annual picks for the industry's top prize. We also talk to the Academy's official historian, Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osborne, who reveals what makes a screenplay award-worthy. On the cover, Emmy®-winner Aaron Sorkin discusses how he served the true story of Charlie Wilson's War. As part of our "Writers on Writing" series, Oscar-winner Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Love in the Time of Cholera) expounds on the art of adaptation, while The Bucket List scribe Justin Zackham interviews himself. Plus, as The Wire debuts its fifth and final season, series creator David Simon explains why life experience is essential to the writers room.
Subscribe ONLINE: www.scriptmag.com/subscribe
  $29.95 - Special Offer for Script Readers
Get BOTH MovieMaker and Script magazines for only $29.95 per year -- that's a savings of $50 off the newsstand price.*
Get the information you need on writing, selling and producing your screenplay from the publications that take you from FADE IN: to distribution deals. This is a limited time offer!
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/specials and use code SMV8 for discount; offer expires 4/01/08.
*Script and MovieMaker are both published bi-monthly. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of the first issue. Prices stated above are for U.S. delivery addresses and are stated in U.S. dollars; Canada and Mexico add $22; other International subscribers add $51. |
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| 3. Scene Fix: Felix the Flyer |
 With a new year comes our exciting new regular feature, "Scene Fix." Aspiring screenwriter Chris Canole's Felix the Flyer has been collecting awards all around town, but Canole still wants to know how to polish his climactic scene. Enter our sports-genre mentors, Peter Iliff (Point Break, Varsity Blues) and Mike Rich (The Rookie, Radio), to offer valuable scene-fix advice.
For an exclusive excerpt,
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/mm_media/mm_newsletters/080108_script/
vol14no1-scenefix.pdf |
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| 4. Why I Strike: A Working-Class Writer Puts His Livelihood on the Line |
 Contrary to popular opinion, being a produced screenwriter is not necessarily the road to financial freedom. Aaron Mendelsohn explains what the writers strike is really about: the working-class writer's struggle to make a living.
For an exclusive excerpt,
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/mm_media/mm_newsletters/080108_script/
vol14no1-strike.pdf |
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| 5. Script to Screen: Atonement |
 Ian McEwan's critically lauded novel Atonement was full of narrative devices that would never translate to the screen. Or so many believed, including screenwriter Christopher Hampton. However, with director Joe Wright, Hampton crafted an adaptation that critics are calling one of the best novel-to-film translations of all time.
For an exclusive excerpt,
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/mm_media/mm_newsletters/080108_script/
vol14no1-atonement.pdf |
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| 6. Script Extra Edition: The Organization of Black Screenwriters |
Reporting by Robert Piluso
You've heard it a million times: Writing is a lonely profession. But there really is strength in numbers, and support in a creative community. If your goals for 2008 include joining or forming your own writers group, the Organization of Black Screenwriters is an excellent model. With newly-elected President Jennifer Williams at the helm, 2008 is sure to hold great things for the Los Angeles-based OBS.
As to its beginnings, Williams says, “The OBS was founded 20 years ago to help foster good writing and to help up-and-coming writers make it into the business.” Today, the OBS network spans from the WGA to agents, producers, and other industry insiders. The benefits of belonging to OBS abound. First, Williams explains, “We have OBS-sanctioned writers groups that we form which get the writer in the habit of writing good material. Groups of six to 15 members meet on a weekly or monthly basis, coming together and reviewing each other’s work. They do a table-read of 10 to 15 pages [of each script] and then each member  gives the writer feedback. The OBS not only gives the writers information on format and general grammar in some cases, but also if the story is really working, if it’s something the writer should continue with, without changing the writer’s original focus.”
Furthermore, the OBS stages dramatic readings. Williams enthuses, “We choose at least 3 or 4 scripts. We bring actors in, hold auditions, cast the work, and do dramatic readings of the first 30 pages.” On OBS’s agenda for 2008, along with regular monthly meetings, Williams reveals, “We’re moving in the direction of production. We want to produce our own work. We’re trying to gear our writers up, get them attached to writers groups, and really polish their work to perfection to take it to the next level. We have people with filmmaking skills, who know what to do behind the camera, and we’re going to try and pull all that together to see if we can create our own films: webisodes and maybe DVD.”
To aspiring screenwriters Williams advises, “Write until you can’t write again, and then write some more. That’s the only way you’re going to get better. It has to be your passion and you have to be willing to do what it takes to achieve your goals. Although the OBS can [offer] support, it’s still your individual effort and your own self-motivation that’s going to move you to the next level -- you have to be willing to sit and write when nobody else is there.”
For more information, or to join OBS,
Visit: www.obswriter.com |
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| 7. Writers Marketplace |
CineStory
CineStory is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new screenwriters with unprecedented access to industry professionals -- producers, managers, agents, executives and professional writers -- whose goal is to help growing writers advance their craft and careers. The CineStory Screenwriting Awards competition is your chance to win the relationships and advice you need to succeed. Winners receive both grants and the year-long CineStory Mentorship Program. The CineStory Retreat is an intimate intensive with professionals at our exclusive Retreat Center where you'll strengthen your script with in-depth feedback, get your questions on the industry answered, build working relationships within the film industry, and discover your path to becoming a true working writer. Summer Camp offers courses taught by industry pros to develop skills and tools you can rely on for the rest of your career. To join the CineStory Community, enter our contest. The 2008 deadline is January 30. For details,
Visit: www.CineStory.org
2008 Big Break Contest
The 2008 Big Break Contest opens for entries February 1. Big Break is an annual, global screenwriting contest designed to support emerging creative talent. Big Break rewards screenwriters with cash, prizes and A-list executive meetings. Winners and finalists alike have had their screenplays optioned and produced and have secured high-profile representation as well as lucrative writing deals. Since its inception in 2000, Big Break has awarded screenwriters with over $100,000 in cash and prizes and invaluable industry exposure. A panel of notable industry professionals conducts the final judging. The objectives are to bring recognition to promising screenwriters across the globe, to pave the way for the next generation of film artists, and to create inroads into an increasingly impenetrable industry. Robert Frisbee, 2007's first-place winner, has already secured representation with Benderspink and generated attention throughout the industry. To enter for your Big Break,
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/bigbreak
Out of the Computer / Into The Industry
A seminar dedicated to setting the screenwriter's career on a successful track, brought to you by Final Draft and ScriptShark on March 8, 2008 in New York City. Learn how to transition from aspiring writer to working professional by understanding the inner-workings of the industry, and pitching, positioning and promoting yourself and your screenplay effectively. Topics and events will include: Understanding the entertainment universe: How to navigate the industry's tough realities and harsh truths; Defining the writer: What can you expect, and where should you belong?; Networking lunch; Extended Pitch Practice Session; Professional panel of established industry executives to answer your questions. The seminar will be led by Lee Zahavi Jessup, a veteran of film development and production, who has worked with such companies as Tapestry Films, HBO Pictures, Trimark, Gemstone Entertainment and others. She currently serves as the director of ScriptShark.com. Early bird special -- save 10% if you register before February 1. To register,
Visit: www.1automationwiz.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=66621&ProductID=3906456
Script P.I.M.P.
2008 Script P.I.M.P. Competition call for submissions! The 2008 Script P.I.M.P. Competition is searching for the best stories told by the best screenwriters demonstrating the best craft. Each screenplay entered is guaranteed two (2) reads from the Script P.I.M.P. panel of judges, composed of working literary agents, literary managers and development directors from the film industry. Past winners have optioned, signed with A-level agents and sold for six-figures! Final Deadline: May 1st, 2008. Script P.I.M.P., LLC is a community-based research tool designed for writers & film industry professionals. Since June 2000, Script P.I.M.P. has gathered the specific needs and submission guidelines of production & management companies, literary agencies, independent producers, and creative executives searching for new material. Along with extensive resources, this information is now available in Script P.I.M.P.'s Writers Database. For more information, or to enter the 2008 Competition,
Visit: www.scriptpimp.com/writing_competition/home.cfm
Aaron Mendelsohn Script Consulting
Don't "fade in" to your screenwriting career ... smash cut to it! Go beyond script analysis, get expert career consultation from a working Hollywood screenwriter. Aaron graduated from UCLA with a degree in Screenwriting in 1988. He has been working as a professional screenwriter in Hollywood for over 13 years. He made his feature film debut by co-writing the Disney family film Air Bud, which went on to become one of the most successful independently-financed films of all time and has, to date, sired five sequels. Aaron's consulting services include script development from concept to final draft, expert script, character and scene analysis, and career guidance and strategic planning. Consulting services take place via phone or, for Los Angeles residents, in person. Rates are competitive and availability is limited. Mention Final Draft and receive a 20% discount! For more information,
Visit: www.aaronmendelsohn.com
University of California at Riverside M.F.A. in Writing for the Performing Arts
Students enrolled in the M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts graduate program are expected to complete a core of course work in one writing discipline selected from fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for interactive media. Students are also expected to participate in seminars and workshops where they will explore cross-genre writing and the theoretical underpinnings of creative writing. Upon entry, each student will be assigned an advisory committee which will provide advice about an appropriate course of study for that student, based on his/her undergraduate preparation and long-term interests.
Visit: www.palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu/index.php |
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