Why I don't like (most) contests

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  • #91
    Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

    Originally posted by Sinnycal View Post
    What did Comic-Con ever do to you?
    Sinny, you crack me up.
    GirlinGray

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    • #92
      Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

      Wow. It's amazing what happens here when I am not around. While I'm driving down to L.A., all of my thoughts about contents are being confirmed. Now I have to figure out how to get that pdf.
      Never let the competition know what you're thinking... and never tell the unseen masses your story idea.

      -- Rule 85, Ferengi Rules of Acquisition (updated by cmmora)

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      • #93
        Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

        Personally, I think ALL contests should have the disclaimer in their FAQ: Will my entire script be read?

        Folks will know what they're paying for then.

        Originally posted by Knaight View Post
        PURE was like this for me. The first ten pages were pretty lackluster, but I kept reading because a trusted friend loved it so much. By the end, I was wowed, and I think it's probably one of the best dramas I've read.
        PRISONERS was like that for me too. It started off looking like a typical family drama. But as soon as you hit the first turning point at around Pg 8 -- BAM -- it became a script you just had to finish -- and one of the best reads of the year.

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        • #94
          Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

          I see a storm in the horizon.

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          • #95
            Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

            A topic that's gone viral in mere hours. This means something. People have unstated concerns that are now being justified. Every competition needs to be seen to be listening now, not just saying "it's those other guys".

            Originally posted by TheKeenGuy View Post
            Jeff, here's the part I think is a bit unfair. "I was trying to make a general point so as not to bury any one contest." Instead, you want to BURY THEM ALL.

            Case in point...

            Originally Posted by catcon
            But when I asked over a month ago elsewhere how this very thing can be proven, once we've submitted our fee and our scripts, all I did was get hammered. Naturally, I ignored this and am now being proven correct in my concern.
            I think I did most of the debating with this guy, and it wasn't about how all contests should be trusted, but how you can't paint all contests with the same brush, and how there's ways of determining whether a contest like Nicholl is more reputable in its practices and results than a contest like SilverScreenwriting. Now he's following your lead of "look, they're all the same!" (even though you dismantled the specific argument he was making a month ago).

            I think it's pretty misleading to approach this with "Look, I found one screenplay contest with shoddy practices, and I'm not going to tell you which one, because this proves that all of them do this!" It doesn't mean all contests work like this, just like it doesn't mean the contest in question is the only one that works this way.

            So, I'm not saying there isn't a valid point being made here, but you sorta overstated it to support an overall bias against all contests.
            and...

            Originally posted by sppeterson View Post
            For every one contest reader dumb enough to go online and publicize how they're not reading contest scripts, how many are doing that silently?

            If this reader is getting handed 75 scripts and so little time to read them, isn't it safe to assume that EVERY reader is so overloaded that they couldn't possibly actually read the stuff they're given?

            This isn't some anomaly. This is something we keep seeing over and over again in these unvetted contests.
            But the Blue Cat readers do read 'em, because they provide feedback (however poor). To prove this, I unabashedly posted my feedback from them here:
            Blue Cat Notes? (page 2)

            What I didn't expect was when DDPee'ers followed-up to gang up on me and my writing. If I'd posted the coverage, or 5 pages of my script under the "Script Pages" forum, I'd understand that's what I was asking for. As far as I'm concerned, judging a script by somebody else's "notes" is as bad as only reading the first 10 pages; maybe worse.

            At least the lady who's the unfortunate subject of this topic-gone-viral had the scripts in hand.

            And at least those criticizing my story weren't or aren't judges of any contests so we have nothing to worry about.

            I mean... none of them are, are they?

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            • #96
              Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

              This isn't new news...chris Lockhart complained on this back in 2007 on his blog that I linked in this thread...he even said that Scriptapoolooza offered him 80 scripts to read at no pay. Think thoses judges read scripts from beginning to end??

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              • #97
                Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                i'm wondering if people take into account that people can't write. 9-10 can't write. what other job placement for such a high paying job takes applicants from people who aren't qualified. okay, so it's a lot like life, people aren't qualified but they still apply.

                if you can't write within 10 pages then it's obvous. though i agree that the process has a lot of possibilities to be flawed, i think it's 'very, very obvious when you read pages from people how good of a writer they actually are.
                You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

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                • #98
                  Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                  wow, this thread is getting raw. i think if the first letter isn't a 'f' i'm not reading on. that's my rule and i love to sit on the couch wishing i was doing something else.
                  You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

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                  • #99
                    Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                    Originally posted by catcon View Post

                    What I didn't expect was when DDPee'ers followed-up to gang up on me and my writing. .............

                    And at least those criticizing my story weren't or aren't judges of any contests so we have nothing to worry about.
                    this is b/c you're a girl... and don't forget it! it's a dog eat dog world out there and male screenwriters can be dogs just like any other males. they need to be buttered up and treated like all good ideas are their ideas.

                    sorry doods but she called you out and with the stuff to back it up

                    and guess what - shane black is losing his hair and gained about 40 pounds since he got big. bummer if that's what success does to you.

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                    • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                      I don't get what all the fuss is about. The only contests worth entering are those that don't charge fees.
                      Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

                      Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!

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                      • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                        So avoid Nicholl?

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                        • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                          Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                          So avoid Nicholl?
                          Hi, Jeff!

                          Did you enter the Nicholl before your pro career? If you did, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the process.

                          I have my own opinions formed--not that it matters to anyone.
                          Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

                          Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!

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                          • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                            I was focused on television when I was breaking in. Even though I was writing screenplays concurrently with tv scripts, I don't think I even queried to try to get one read until after I was already working in tv.

                            So I know I entered WB and Disney. (I interviewed for both, which is how I remember.) I may have sent a screenplay to Nicholl - I'm honestly not sure. (Greg may know if he's reading this thread.) But I know a lot of people who Nicholl has helped - there really is zero reason not to enter if you're a screenwriter.

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                            • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                              Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                              there really is zero reason not to enter if you're a screenwriter.
                              And after more and more sobering articles like the one below, top-tier contests are legitimate alternatives many should exploit whenever possible. Open up your options folks, there's not many left these days...

                              http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,1718766.story

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                              • Re: Why I don't like (most) contests

                                Can we pitch in to hire a "San Francisco detective" (I actually know one...) to find out what contest she DID judge for this year, if it wasn't Silver Screen?

                                L.
                                "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                                Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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