Hi, Greg. I am sure you have plenty of people submitting from all over the world. I wondered if when the scripts are being judge if you take into consideration that english may not be the writers first language.
Greg, how is it that people are contacted with their positions for each level of the competition. Am I correct in that you send out letters for Quarterfinalists and Semifinalists...and then you call for the Finalists and Fellows? I read somewhere that that's how it was done.
Just to make this clear, every entrant receives notification of their status throughout the competition. Regrets to most entrants, congratulations to the quarterfinalists. Regrets to many quarterfinalists, congratulations to the semifinalists. Regrets to the semifinalists, congratulations to the finalists.
Honestly, I don't know what we'll do this year. The majority of entrants will have online accounts, which means they can access records, which means we could put some results online. Nearly everyone has an e-mail address, so perhaps we could e-mail the regret and congratulations letters throughout the competition. Perhaps we would do both.
On the other hand, letters have a softer edge and a little more formality, and we could decide to continue to send letters to everyone. If we do make this decision, I suspect it will be the last year prior to switching over to e-mail and/or Web site announcement.
When we reach the finalist stage, we almost certainly will continue to call the 10 or so writers both as finalists and then as fellows (or not).
Greg, how is it that people are contacted with their positions for each level of the competition. Am I correct in that you send out letters for Quarterfinalists and Semifinalists...and then you call for the Finalists and Fellows? I read somewhere that that's how it was done.
Nicholl Qualifications
Screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing fictional work for film or television.
I earned more than $5k when a producer optioned my screenplay, which was based on an autobiography I had optioned. It wasn't fictional, it was true. Movie never got made.
Does that mean I am eligible to submit to the Nicholl now?
No, it doesn't mean that.
Scriptwriting for feature films = fictional. Not eligible if earnings over $5,000.
Writing news or documentaries or reality = non-fictional. No effect on eligibility.
Can someone clarify a very important point for me?
Nicholl Qualifications
Screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing fictional work for film or television.
I earned more than $5k when a producer optioned my screenplay, which was based on an autobiography I had optioned. It wasn't fictional, it was true. Movie never got made.
Does that mean I am eligible to submit to the Nicholl now?
I always thought I couldn't submit because I had earned more than $5k, but this language implies it's for fictional work.
What a concise response that really answers the question of what is an adaptation by Nicholl standards. Thanks again Greg for stopping by so frequently and answering so many questions.
I would also like to know if Galahad would have been disqualified. I have a script "inspired by" a public domain short fantasy story (6 pages) that is over 100 years old. My version is completely different (the original didn't even have dialogue). Only the set up and a couple early plot points are shared. I suppose my question is this: When does "inspired by" become "adapted from"?
Galahad is not similar to this case. In that, it's tough to point to the source material. Was it Once and Future King, Morte d'Arthur or some combination of many different sources?
In your case, clearly you used a sole source as your "inspiration." Would the script exist without the sole source?
Kudos to Greg Beal for answering questions with such frequency. I'm impressed and humbled. I think it's admirable. From what I've seen, a more common practice seems to be a big post announcing a competition, then nothing until they starve for more entries and post the deadline extension.
Best
/J
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