Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Competition Alert - The Great American Screenplay Competition


One of the members of our Facebook group recently gave me a heads up about the following contest: the GREAT AMERICAN SCREENPLAY COMPETITION, presented by ACEFEST.

For 3 years now, ACEFEST has been one of the most anticipated annual events on the industry calendar. The American Cinematic Experience goes far beyond film exhibition and into the very most primitive stages of production - writing. The Great American Screenplay Competition is seeking the best American writers from coast to coast and it could be you! With an always impressive roster of judges, a growing bundle of prizes and nearly 4,000 industry players waiting eagerly to see the winner's work, this is your chance to get your script seen!

We are accepting screenplay submissions in all categories from October 16, 2008 - January 16, 2009. Submit early and save on fees!

Visit http://www.acefest.com/screenplays to Submit Your Script Today!

Obviously, the League cannot endorse this contest from our own experience, since none of us have submitted to it before. However, I can tell you - as a vote of confidence - that the company I work for works closely with NYFA, one of the sponsors, and in fact a number of my former coworkers have left jobs here to go work there.

Here at the League, we've all tried the contest route before, to varying degrees of success. The Great American Screenplay Competition might not be one of the better known comps. out there, but that's no reason to cast it off. All competitions are unknown at some point in their history (uh...usually at the beginning), and even the smallest ones can be a great stepping stone and resume builder. *Any win can look great on a query letter.* So, especially for you New York based writers - NYFA, or the New York Foundation for the Arts, is a source of funding for many NYC artists - it's worth checking this one out. It might just be the competition for you.

Anyone who has participated in the past, either in ACEFEST or the Great American Screenplay Competition, please let us know what your experience was.

Great MST3K writers interview over at the AV Club


From my weekly Trailer Trash posts, you can probably guess I'm a big fan of the late Mystery Science Theater 3000. Keith Phipps has a great interview with a few of the former writers (and stars) of the show over here at the AV Club.