Austin Fest - Once Upon a Time in August...

[EddieKaay]

Nada in my mailbox, nada on the website, nada here on the board --

Who has the connections to see about these notification letters? My last-minute travel deals are quickly evaporating--

[AvenueD]

someone on moviebytes says that letters will be mailed today.

Also, I've heard that semi-finalists got phone calls last year.

[kosmikgurl]

I'm eagerly waiting by my mailbox as well. What did you enter, screenplay or teleplay? I entered a Six Feet Under.

Good luck to everyone who entered!

[suzbays]

I just got today's mail and there wasn't anything from Austin. I live in Houston. That means Tuesday, at the earliest. ugh

[EddieKaay]

website updated to:

"Writers and filmmakers who submitted their work to the 2003 screenplay or film competition will receive notice about their submission the first two weeks of September"

more time for them - less time for us.

[suzbays]

somebody said he got his rejection letter. I guess it'll be sooner rather than later.

[jesbro]

I advanced to the second round but not to the semis. It was a weaker version of my current script, so I'm happy with that.

[bp]

What part of the country do you live in? I'm on the East Coast and I'm trying to guess when I might get a letter.

[goldman]

Did anyone get, oh, I don't know -- a phone call from Austin over the weekend?

[Riskbreaker]

Jesbro:

Did you find out both rounds at once? Is that how they're doing this?

[AvenueD]

Riskbreaker,

Yes, you find out if you made the semis, made the second round but not the semis, or didn't place at all.

[Pittsfield642]

Made it to the second round and was notified by e-mail an hour ago.

[jesbro]

bp, I'm in the Midwest.

Riskbreaker, what AvenueD said.

[Jami]

I have friends here in Maryland who got their 2nd rounder and rejection letters today, via snail mail. I'm surprised to hear they're sending out results via email.

Jami

[EddieKaay]

*
I'm surprised to hear they're sending out results via email.
*

Must be the "Congratulations - You're A Winner!" email I just deleted -- damn my impulsiveness!

EK
Miami

[Jami]

Dinked! On a cleaner version of a script that made the second round last year, with a nice note saying how close I'd made it to the semis!

Time to drink heavily and re-evaluate my life.

Jami

[kullervo]

If the cleaner version got dinked, it's time to put the dirt back.

kullervo

[Bill Marquardt]

Jami - same thing happened to me. Better draft, worse results. Must be a different set of readers or the old ones recognized our material and are telling us to move on to other things.

[Riskbreaker]

Made the Quarterfinals, eliminated for the Semis. I love the "one-two" combo of the "Congratulations/You Suck" Austin letter. :D

[Jami]

Bill, I'm glad I'm not alone in my anguish.

I think it's a matter of when you get to 3000-4000 entries, a lot more good stuff gets dinked. We just drew the short straw this go-round.

Or maybe I just need to drink more.

Jami

[Bill Marquardt]

Jami - after making the Second Round three times with two different screenplays, I cannot take this rejection as an indictment against my writing ability. The first draft of this screenplay actually won Grand Prize in a minor contest.

Undaunted, I carry on. I trust you will do the same. And so should the rest of you!

[EddieKaay]

Are all these received letters for screenplays? I heard from a friend of a friend that the TV letters go out next week.

Grrr. More waiting. Less time to book a flight.



EK

[sixridgeroad]

Does anyone have any firm stats on the number of entries, the number of quarterfinalists, the number of semis, etc.? "Informed" ballpark is good too.

[kosmikgurl]

I'm waiting on TV results also, nothing so far.

Good luck!!!

[Riskbreaker]

4,000ish total entries, 10% or 400 Quarterfinalists. Don't know how many were Semi-Finalists, but I think that is usually 1% and then Finalists are the top 10 scripts.

[EddieKaay]

More news --

Word from a semifinalist in Screenplay - he got a phone call.

TV People get the letters and a phone call for Semi's next week.

Keep the cell phones on--

(props to Ad Comic)

EK
Miami

[kosmikgurl]

Did he get a phone call in addition to a letter or just a call?

Just curious.

Thanks!

Good luck!

[EddieKaay]

Got my nice thin envelope form Austin today - no dice. You guys'll be going to Austin with out me.


See you at the CS Expo next month!

Eddie Kaay
Miami

[suzbays]

I understand wanting to advance in the contest, esp. with the discounts offered, but there are other discounts one can use to buy a pass. Please don't stay away from Austin just b/c some reader didn't take to your script. The Conference is so much more than just a place where they give out awards.

The Austin Heart of Film Screenwriting Conference and Film Festival are both incredibly fun, informative, inspiring and educational. You get to meet real working pros and have real conversations with them. They aren't escorted into an auditorium by militant volunteers who are instructed to keep attendees at bay.

Trust me on this. I've been to events in LA and the atmosphere is not the same. It's better in Austin.

FYI, my script didn't advance either but I'll be there. :D

[kosmikgurl]

Just got my thin enevlope in the mail too, second rounder but no semis... guess I won't be seeing you folks at Austin either.

Have fun! Maybe next year.

[Paula413]

Does Austin have commissioned salespeople? I've been called 4 times now by the same guy wanting me to buy a pass.

[Sulky Girl]

Ugh. Well, I got TWO thin envelopes (entered both a drama and a sitcom). Not even the second round on either, and for the first time, I'm not just disappointed, I'm also surprised. These are the exact two scripts that got me signed at a pretty good agency a couple months ago and I didn't even make the second round with either of them...??!! Wow. I really feel like shite. And there were only 500 entries or something. I feel ill. I was at least expecting second round. Sigh.

[Jami]

Suz, I was going to go if I made the 2nd round. Not having done that, I don't want to walk around being a big loser.

I'd rather stay in Maryland and hide.

Jami

[suzbays]

You're not even a little loser. A friend of mine whose script is a semi-finalist in the Nicholl (no S, Greg) didn't make it to the second round either. Another friend had the same thing happen a few years ago and another!

I know it hurts the ego when we're not validated. Trust me, I know. But the conference is not just about the contest.

Wait! Why am I trying to convince more people to go? If not many of you go, then I'll have more time with the panelists! Stay home, all of you! ;)

Susan

[Wasup Jude]

Hey Jami ~ Didn't you win a Horror SP contest earlier this year? That hardly makes you a loser. If anything, you've got ammo to take to Austin with you (if you choose to go). I'd love to make the trip if I could afford it.

The two scripts I entered failed to advance as well. One was a Nicholl QF. So, what the hell does the AFF readers know? It's totally subjective.

I like Metallica - my wife likes Mirah Carey. Go figure!

WJ

[Bill Marquardt]

It seems a lot of us who are former second-rounders and some who have placed in other prestigious contests were not in the running this year.

What is different about this year? Better competition? Different readers with different tastes?

Just curious.

[Jami]

Yes, I won Screamfest last year (anyone heard of that? ;) ) with an earlier version of the same script that got dinked at Austin this year (which got me 2nd round and that nice note... blah blah blah...)

I just can't see myself going to Austin having gotten no where in the contest this year. OTOH, if Bill, Suz and I, along with other writers who have proven themselves elsewhere, can get a special discount and a nifty badge saying "Wrongly Dinked!" maybe I'll change my mind...

Jami

[suzbays]

Maybe being 'wrongly' dinked gives us a special perspective on gatekeepers. We're now keenly aware of one more of the archetypical characters that Chris Vogler talks about...and Vogler's going to be in Austin...we can meet him on a new, spiritual plane! Or, just buy him a drink in the Driskill bar.

Susan