9.26.2010
The Graves on SyFy
Don't Take Our Word for It
Your diagnosis arrived on Saturday. It was exactly what we were looking for! We were hoping you would point out areas that needed improvement - we knew we had hit a wall - and you did exactly that. We'd much rather hear constructive criticism than receive flowers and rainbows...
Thank you again,
Jennifer
ScriptDoctors,
Thanks for the diagnosis and medication! I like your style. Your suggestions are very helpful.
This is my first attempt at writing a screenplay and I'm still learning a lot of stuff. I really like and appreciate your positive comments along with the normal criticism. I've used two other script services on this so far and, after getting their evaluations, I felt kind of beat down. They tended to focus mostly on the bad stuff and very little, if at all, on the good stuff. I do understand that the purpose is to be critical. But I feel that, at least with me, it's important to inject some encouragement. So I thank you.
Thanks again!
Tommy Stoval
I found out about you through Creative Scriptwriting Magazine. I thought the evaluation was great. I always get mixed thoughts on the scene heading format. I'm really not sure what to do at this point. I liked your thoughts. I think it's hard to give feedback. I know that everyone is going to have something different to say, and that it would never stop. It's up to the writer to decide when it's great. It seemed like you believed in the same thing.
Tony Ortiz
Here's a little update...One of my Scripts is in Maverick Films Top 100 in
their screenplay contest. Although it is not the same one I sent to you [for] analysis, I pretty much followed your advice to create a top notch narrative! Thanks for your help...
Anthony Perticaro
9.22.2010
Recommendation for Se Habla Español
Randall J. Garland, DDS, of Tucson had this to say about the film:
[My] wife Karen & I were really impressed with your film. We thought the images you captured were gorgeous (e.g., San Xavier). We thought the film nicely blended a light, sensitive approach to a controversial issue with the spirit of Christmas. We loved it. We truly were astounded at how skillfully made the film was. You had some great local humor in the film too (the immigrant ending up in Oro Valley). You’ve really got talent. We’re thinking about buying a number of copies for Christmas presents.
Event: Dead West
You can go on their site here to purchase tickets, and they may be available at the Hut.
Here's more information on the film itself:
Dead West - or The Rise of the Horror Genre and the Fall of the Western is the story of a western movie actor (Johnny Dust) still trying to make it big in a western film studio and theme park, when a 'new management team' takes over the park and turns the film studio into a fright-fest for the month of Halloween. Haunted by the image of his dead western movie hero, who appears to him on the little screen, Johnny unravels the real intent of management and its opening night 'spectacular', which takes place in the depths of the park's cave.
9.10.2010
John August
9.02.2010
Mission San Xavier
The Mission is in the midst of a massive restoration project which, due to the economy, is suffering funding issues. Anyone who would like to help the Mission complete its restoration can donate here.
8.31.2010
Line in the Sand
Chris Hande, a Border Patrol agent, arrives at the scene of a car crash to save a half-coyote (he later names Dog) left on the road to die. But it strikes the memory of his wife and daughter, killed by a Coyote driving van full of illegals two years before.
A couple weeks later, in a dilapidated double-wide trailer in the desert, a hollow Chris awakens in a trashed bedroom next to a framed picture of his wife and daughter. The beaded face of a Gila Monster appears at the edge of the bed. The dangerous lizard crawls toward the semi-conscious Hande. As it draws closer, Chris appears to reach for a pistol on the nightstand only to place a tin plate with an egg on it in front of his “pet” Gila Monster.
At the same time, a world away, in the jungles of Columbia, Maria Orozco and her brother Salvatore plot their escape from her husband, Juan Carlos Jacar, The Jaguar. A drug lord with political connections from South America to the U.S., Juan Carlos’ two obsessions are power and Maria, a strikingly beautiful woman with a kind of S&M hold over the Jaguar. Jacar is equally comfortable brokering a deal for a new Caribbean resort or, as we see, flaying the skin from an underling who maybe stole a drug shipment.
Back in Arizona, Chris’s only link to humanity appears to be rescuing sick and injured animals while on patrol. He shares his shoddy surroundings with Dog, who sleeps in his truck, several abandoned mustangs, a Great Horned Owl and Tripod, a three legged javelina, who is the bane of Hande's neighbor, former Viet Nam Ranger and ATF agent Jesse Stilman, who pushes Chris to stay connected to life.
Maria and Salvatore escape from Columbia, but not before Jacar turns Salvatore into a junkie. Trying to avoid Jacar’s reach, they join the river of humanity in Mexico heading for work in El Norte. Hunted by the Jaguar and his men, they arrive at La Frontera.
Hande, an expert signs tracker, locates the illegals, whose Coyote has abandoned them in the desert heat. Chris rescues the group and quickly realizes the Orozoco’s are not typical immigrants looking for work. Chris does not trust Maria, and she thinks he’s just another crazy American.
Meanwhile, Jacar traces Maria to Tucson, because on both sides of the Line his businesses thrive in a surprising criminal economy involving self-appointed American Rangers on the U.S. side and Las Zetas mercenaries and drug runners on the Mexican side. Chris does have allies, including the whole Villaverde clan, friends on the Tohono O'odham reservation. Chris even speaks their language.
8.25.2010
Creative Screenwriting
Scriptdoctor.com: a new Doctor is in
He has contributed to the development of scores of DW's features, among them "American Beauty," "The Terminal" and "A Beautiful Mind."
Previous to his stint at DreamWorks, Rick worked in the same capacity at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.
Rick has also worked as an executive at Hometown Films, based at Paramount Pictures. At Hometown, he oversaw the production of two first-run syndicated TV series, "War of the Worlds"" and "Friday the 13th - The Series," for which he wrote multiple episodes. Rick was also involved in the development of numerous feature films at Hometown.
Rick began his entertainment career as an agent trainee at the William Morris Agency and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America.
6.10.2010
ScriptDoctor's Contest of Contest Winners
ScriptDoctor.com
CONTACT: Howard Allen, thedoc@ScriptDoctor.com
The WINNERS of the CONTEST OF CONTEST WINNERS ™
There are dozens of screenwriting competitions held annually across the country. But which screenplay from among the winners of all of these quality competitions is the best of the best?
All of us at ScriptDoctor.com are amazed at the response – over 50 entrants -- in this the fifth year of our Contest. To show our gratitude, we took the extra time and expense of getting two judge’s evaluations emailed off to every single entrant in the Contest.
Who is the best of the best? The Contest of Contest Winners ™ hopes to answer that question and shine the spotlight on these accomplished, award-winning screenplays. A good showing in this contest proves your script stands out among the toughest competition. What a priceless marketing tool for your screenplay!
Our top ten Finalists also receive free Final Draft software.
Also as promised, we are directly contacting more than 200 publications, agencies and production companies with the names and screenplays of our 10 Finalists.
Our access to major studios and production companies is aided by the fact that many of our judges are working professionals. This includes ScriptDoctor manager, Howard Allen, and Mary Christine Haughom, who has been in the film business for over 25 years, starting out in the biz as Executive Assistant to the President of Filmways Picture, Inc. (formerly AIP), evaluating all scripts that made it past the Story Department and screened many films for the company for possible pick-up and distribution. And she made the rounds at the Cannes Film Festival and the American Film Market. Over the years, Chris evaluated scripts for AFI, CAA and many production companies, and also wrote many script novelizations. For the past 16 years, Chris has been a Judge for the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships, reading over 250 scripts in a 4-month period each year.
Our First Place Winner receives the cash prize, storyboard software from FrameForge 3D, a free set of Story Notes from ScriptDoctor.com (valued at $700), as well as all of the prizes given to the top ten Finalists.
We would like to thank our sponsors and the great response we got from all of the contest winners who entered. We remind everyone that some Entrants qualified by being Quarter-Finalists or Semi-Finalists in certain contests like the Nicholl Competition (see our web site for details).
And now our winner:
Shrouded in Darkness by James Walker
A man is hunted by the CIA and the Kenyan anti-terror police after he is wrongly accused of a terrorist attack in Nairobi.
Contact: jamesjmwalker@gmail.com
And our Finalist winners in alphabetical order:
The Ace of Aces by Geoffrey Breuder
The true story of Richard Bong, a rookie pilot who makes a brazen bet to beat the kill record of America’s top-scoring ace during WWII. But as the deadly competition spirals out of control, he is forced to confront the bitter realities of war and what it means to be a real hero.
Contact: gbreuder@yahoo.com
Blood is Never Lost: by James Walker
A father rises through the ranks of the Albanian mafia in London in a bid to find his trafficked daughter.
Contact: jamesjmwalker@gmail.com
Canaries by Craig Cambria
An experiment in terrestrial biosphere living goes awry as mysterious changes both inside and out threaten the inhabitants.
Contact: crcambria@comcast.net
Cooper's War by Timothy Jay Smith
In this coming of age story, a deserter from the war in Iraq is given a chance to prove his patriotism, redeem himself for other past failures, and return home.
Contact: timothysmith.paris@gmail.com
The Junior Detectives and the Cities of Gold by Irin Evers
A boy who's afraid of the dark joins forces with other misfit kids to find a hidden treasure on a Caribbean island, but they'll have to overcome their phobias to triumph.
Contact: neuroticboy@me.com
Kheng Kheng Crocodile by Donna Lisa
A boy's life changes forever when he adopts a playful pet crocodile in this comical, action-filled adventure.
Contact: DonnaLisa.scripts@gmail.com
Mad Dog Run by Beverly Smith-Dawson
A vacationing single Mom, her 2 children and their dog pick up a wounded Sheriff's Deputy investigating mass dog attacks in the area. Together they battle canines and rabid pet owners to discover the cause of these mysterious attacks. But will they survive to warn the world?
Contact: ladyblacksmith2001@yahoo.com
Picture Me And You by Robert Keith Watson
An honesty-challenged paparazzo secretly snaps a topless photo of a superstar model but struggles to stop its publication after he falls in love with her.
Contact: robertkeithwatson@sbcglobal.net
Rebirth by T.L. Lewis
Inspired by a provocative true story of a womanizing Renaissance artist who finds the love that changes his life only to risk it all in a fight against the corruption and cruelty of church and state.
Contact: tllewis@mac.com and www.tllewis.net
A Tale of Water by Jason Wallach
When a multi-racial paradise is torn apart by the past they never knew, two teenagers instigate a chain of events that frees the people from their historic prejudices.
Contact: jasonwallach@att.net