Trackinb Contest

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  • Han Shot First
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by nojustice View Post
    You people need to reclaim writing. It's not what's outside of you, it's what's inside of you.
    All that's inside me is the very expensive lunch I just ate.

    Leave a comment:


  • nojustice
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    I'm not dismissing their work. I'm sure they're very talented. I'm dismissing the road hype will take you on.

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  • Geoff Alexander
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by nojustice View Post
    It's still just hype. The way Condal talks, you can tell he's never seen anything he's written on a screen:

    "I think there's a formula to screenwriting, and there certainly is, and anybody who says there isn't is either kidding themselves or lying to you..."

    He's on a tangent with all that, there isn't a formula to screenwriting. He would learn that if he watched one of his own movies, which he hasn't had the opportunity to do. It's all still just playing out in his imagination.

    And I don't want to get too far into the "maybes" and "what ifs", it's all hypothetical, but I think he would have got a lot further if he'd gone down a different road.

    What if -XL- hadn't won?

    Maybe he would have pushed the script further locally, and got it produced, and built a career around his own scripts in the UK. And then flown out here with a lot more cred than just an amateur contest win. We will never know.

    They seem to get writing work and "sales" that don't eventuate into anything.

    I don't know if hype is actually the enemy, but I think it can send people off in the wrong direction. I think the most rewarding careers start with getting your own work onto a screen. I think that's what you have to stay loyal to. And I think it's in that process that you learn the most about screenwriting.
    There is so much wrong with the above post, I don't even know where to start--but we could definitely begin with the clearly implied notion that your way is the only way and that, somehow, the road that led to Condal and XL becoming working screenwriters was the wrong one because it may not yet have made them successful enough.

    And, have you even read their work? Don't be so ****ing dismissive of it. It's good enough to get made today. As a working screenwriter who has been produced I would think you'd have a little more respect for your fellow scribes.

    Leave a comment:


  • nojustice
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Seriously dude, you need to read the AS forums, they've got mirror images of you there.

    You people need to reclaim writing. It's not what's outside of you, it's what's inside of you.

    And I'm not going to argue about this anymore. Do whatever the hell you want.

    Leave a comment:


  • joe9alt
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by nojustice View Post
    It's still just hype. The way Condal talks, you can tell he's never seen anything he's written on a screen:

    "I think there's a formula to screenwriting, and there certainly is, and anybody who says there isn't is either kidding themselves or lying to you..."

    He's on a tangent with all that, there isn't a formula to screenwriting. He would learn that if he watched one of his own movies, which he hasn't had the opportunity to do. It's all still just playing out in his imagination.

    And I don't want to get too far into the "maybes" and "what ifs", it's all hypothetical, but I think he would have got a lot further if he'd gone down a different road.

    What if -XL- hadn't won?

    Maybe he would have pushed the script further locally, and got it produced, and built a career around his own scripts in the UK. And then flown out here with a lot more cred than just an amateur contest win. We will never know.

    They seem to get writing work and "sales" that don't eventuate into anything.

    I don't know if hype is actually the enemy, but I think it can send people off in the wrong direction. I think the most rewarding careers start with getting your own work onto a screen. I think that's what you have to stay loyal to. And I think it's in that process that you learn the most about screenwriting.
    I knew this was a gag.

    The jig is up, Farnsworth!!!

    Leave a comment:


  • BurningWorld
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by nojustice View Post
    It's still just hype. The way Condal talks, you can tell he's never seen anything he's written on a screen:

    "I think there's a formula to screenwriting, and there certainly is, and anybody who says there isn't is either kidding themselves or lying to you..."

    He's on a tangent with all that, there isn't a formula to screenwriting. He would learn that if he watched one of his own movies, which he hasn't had the opportunity to do. It's all still just playing out in his imagination.

    And I don't want to get too far into the "maybes" and "what ifs", it's all hypothetical, but I think he would have got a lot further if he'd gone down a different road.

    What if -XL- hadn't won?

    Maybe he would have pushed the script further locally, and got it produced, and built a career around his own scripts in the UK. And then flown out here with a lot more cred than just an amateur contest win. We will never know.

    They seem to get writing work and "sales" that don't eventuate into anything.

    I don't know if hype is actually the enemy, but I think it can send people off in the wrong direction. I think the most rewarding careers start with getting your own work onto a screen. I think that's what you have to stay loyal to. And I think it's in that process that you learn the most about screenwriting.
    I'm sorry, what?

    Leave a comment:


  • nojustice
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by Why One View Post


    For example, Ryan Condal landed a read from Energy Entertainment after a Nicholl QF placement. They ended up repping him. They then sold a different script (GALAHAD) to The Film Department.

    .
    It's still just hype. The way Condal talks, you can tell he's never seen anything he's written on a screen:

    "I think there’s a formula to screenwriting, and there certainly is, and anybody who says there isn’t is either kidding themselves or lying to you…"

    He's on a tangent with all that, there isn't a formula to screenwriting. He would learn that if he watched one of his own movies, which he hasn't had the opportunity to do. It's all still just playing out in his imagination.

    And I don't want to get too far into the "maybes" and "what ifs", it's all hypothetical, but I think he would have got a lot further if he'd gone down a different road.

    What if -XL- hadn't won?

    Maybe he would have pushed the script further locally, and got it produced, and built a career around his own scripts in the UK. And then flown out here with a lot more cred than just an amateur contest win. We will never know.

    They seem to get writing work and "sales" that don't eventuate into anything.

    I don't know if hype is actually the enemy, but I think it can send people off in the wrong direction. I think the most rewarding careers start with getting your own work onto a screen. I think that's what you have to stay loyal to. And I think it's in that process that you learn the most about screenwriting.

    Leave a comment:


  • sc111
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
    It's not silly. It's common sense. Emailing a query containing a logline that's followed up with a sentence saying, "The script was a Nicholl semi-finalist" or whatever is better than emailing a query containing just the logline.

    If the rep is on the fence about the logline, maybe the Nicholl placement pushes him over and gets him to request the read? It definitely can only help.

    I'm not saying people should enter contests (and I'm not talking about ANY contest...the big ones) solely to beef up their query emails. People should be entering contests to win them.

    Her argument is entirely valid and in a way supports yours. A contest win or placement referenced in a query letter only entices the rep and supports the material even more.

    Thanks for summing up her argument (is Sundown a her or him?).

    Sure, a mention of a contest win may give your query email an edge. But I don't think it will give an edge so game-changing it's worthy of this long debate. That was my point re: silly remark. I didn't mean Sundown's quoted post was silly, persay. Sorry for the confusion.

    If "edge" means a rep requests your script, for that matter, lots of other things mentioned in your query email may nudge the recipient into requesting your script.

    But, ultimately, it's concept followed by execution. That's the way I see it.

    My opine -- I wouldn't give the contests more weight than necessary because there are so many variables. A number of folks have placed in Nicholl, or other well respected contests in one year, only to get dinged on the same script in the same contest the next year. Different year, different readers, tougher entry competition, etc. ... And we've all heard of a couple folks who seem to win or place in gobs of contests yet still find themselves at square one.

    Leave a comment:


  • joe9alt
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by sc111 View Post
    I have no problem with contests -- especially those respected within the industry. But this argument seems silly to me.
    It's not silly. It's common sense. Emailing a query containing a logline that's followed up with a sentence saying, "The script was a Nicholl semi-finalist" or whatever is better than emailing a query containing just the logline.

    If the rep is on the fence about the logline, maybe the Nicholl placement pushes him over and gets him to request the read? It definitely can only help.

    I'm not saying people should enter contests (and I'm not talking about ANY contest...the big ones) solely to beef up their query emails. People should be entering contests to win them.

    Her argument is entirely valid and in a way supports yours. A contest win or placement referenced in a query letter only entices the rep and supports the material even more.

    Leave a comment:


  • Matias
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    An hungry Fox with fierce attack
    Sprang on a Vine, but tumbled back,
    Nor could attain the point in view,
    So near the sky the bunches grew.
    As he went off, "They're scurvy stuff,"
    Says he, "and not half ripe enough--
    And I 've more rev'rence for my tripes
    Than to torment them with the gripes."
    For those this tale is very pat
    Who lessen what they can't come at.

    Leave a comment:


  • figment
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    OT, probably, but Sundown, your ire seems odd, since you previously mentioned you've never entered a contest of any kind.

    Leave a comment:


  • figment
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by nojustice View Post
    Your focus should always be on your writing.
    Let's see, it took me less than five minutes to enter the Nicholl. And about five months -- off and on -- to write that script. Hey, I pass!

    Leave a comment:


  • sc111
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by SundownInRetreat View Post
    Exactly! I don't understand the disdain here. A win in a legit competition pushes you to the front of the queue. It's not guaranteed to sell your script and it doesn't guarantee your rep won't drop you a year later but getting a rep through querying and hustling doesn't guarantee a sale or that your rep will stand by you forever, either - so there's no legitimacy about nojustice's comments.

    Winning/placing in a prestigious competition is simply generating heat for you and delivering you on a silver platter to the people who matter. How that is a bad thing is beyond me. It cuts out having to query and the high risk of being overlooked by a busy rep who's inundated with requests. Anyone who would prefer to forgo that in preference to slog it out in the trenches, hoping to catch attention when there's nothing about you to make you stand out from every other query is baffling.

    I have no problem with contests -- especially those respected within the industry. But this argument seems silly to me.

    You don't need a contest to push yourself to the front of the queue ... you can stand out from other queries ... with a compelling logline that shows commercial promise. I queried my first comedy and got a read request from Brooklyn Weaver -- back in the days when he was more readily taking blind queries. He read it. He passed. And I know why ...

    I. Was. Not. Ready.

    My concept had commercial viability but my execution was green as green can be. My bad. But the point is I got the read from an email and I live a couple thousand miles from LA.

    The contest success stories mentioned here -- people like XL or Han Shot First -- I read those scripts (back in the days before I realized it was illegal)... those guys would have gotten repped and eventually achieved success based on their skills and quality of their scripts. BOTH of them were writing at pro level, in my opinion, when they entered contests. You can't get around that.

    If you're not writing at pro level, my opinion is -- save your money on contest entry fees and don't prematurely query people like Weaver (which was my mistake) and burn bridges.

    A commercially viable concept executed with pro level skills = magic bullet.

    Leave a comment:


  • SundownInRetreat
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by Why One View Post
    The aim for all of us is to get read. And placing in a prestigious screenwriting contest is one way of netting a bunch.

    Though there are lots of other avenues to explore and a writer shouldn't put all their eggs into that one basket, it doesn't make contests any less valuable.

    But how many of those scripts ended up selling?

    Well, I think you're looking at the wrong statistic.

    Spec sales are so rare anyway. Who's to say there aren't writers with professional careers thanks to a read from a contest placement?
    Exactly! I don't understand the disdain here. A win in a legit competition pushes you to the front of the queue. It's not guaranteed to sell your script and it doesn't guarantee your rep won't drop you a year later but getting a rep through querying and hustling doesn't guarantee a sale or that your rep will stand by you forever, either - so there's no legitimacy about nojustice's comments.

    Winning/placing in a prestigious competition is simply generating heat for you and delivering you on a silver platter to the people who matter. How that is a bad thing is beyond me. It cuts out having to query and the high risk of being overlooked by a busy rep who's inundated with requests. Anyone who would prefer to forgo that in preference to slog it out in the trenches, hoping to catch attention when there's nothing about you to make you stand out from every other query is baffling.
    Last edited by SundownInRetreat; 02-24-2012, 05:29 AM.

    Leave a comment:


  • Why One
    replied
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    The aim for all of us is to get read. And placing in a prestigious screenwriting contest is one way of netting a bunch.

    Though there are lots of other avenues to explore and a writer shouldn't put all their eggs into that one basket, it doesn't make contests any less valuable.

    But how many of those scripts ended up selling?

    Well, I think you're looking at the wrong statistic.

    Spec sales are so rare anyway. Who's to say there aren't writers with professional careers thanks to a read from a contest placement?

    For example, Ryan Condal landed a read from Energy Entertainment after a Nicholl QF placement. They ended up repping him. They then sold a different script (GALAHAD) to The Film Department.

    There are probably countless similar stories that you just don't know about.

    We're all in the same place. We just want to get our work out there and get read.

    Leave a comment:

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