6.26.2011
Howard Allen Interviews
Howard Allen is interviewed in two online magazines on screenwriting: Script Magazine and Script Links. Check out these interviews!
6.01.2011
ScriptDoctor's Contest of Contest Winners
FOR RELEASE:
April 15, 2011
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 – more than 50 entrants -- in this the sixth year of our Contest. To show our gratitude, we took the extra time and expense of getting two Writer Judge’s coverage-style evaluations sent 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 (rated No. 1 in a national survey), Howard Allen. And Chris 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 Pictures, Inc. 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. And Victoria Lucas with almost 20 years of experience as a development and production executive at both major studios and independent film companies.
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 the prize 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 just being Quarter-Finalists or Semi-Finalists in certain contests like the Nicholl Competition (see our web site for details).
And now our winner:
JENNA'S GONE by Russ Meyer
When the waitress they both love goes missing, an untried deputy and an exceptional hunting guide strain their friendship tracking the kidnapper across the desert--each suspecting the other of playing a role in her disappearance.
Contact: tortoise@att.net
And our Finalist Winners in alphabetical order:
FINDING YOUR INNER DOG by Erna Mueller
Can a surly cop enter the gates of heaven? You bet: The Jerk Redemption Program. He just has to become his K-9 Partner dog first.
Contact: images9@comcast.net
JUST KILL ME ALREADY by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
A desperate down'n'out actor takes extreme and temporarily insane measures to make sure he wins the role of a lifetime. How? He hires a hitman to "eliminate" his competition.
Contact: wysiwygprod@compuserve.com
KING'S HEART by Svilen Kamburov
An extraordinary true story: a King risks everything to defy Hitler's Nazi Germany and make his small country the only nation in Europe to save its entire Jewish population.
Contact: svilenpk@yahoo.com
NEW MOMMY by Hamilton Mitchell
A boy falls for his baby sitter, and 12 years later--moving home from college--he discovers she’s going to marry his step-dad.
Contact: ham9875@aol.com
NORTH 40 by Timothy Jay Smith
A Special Ops soldier, whose grief over the loss of a son has torn his family apart, takes them on vacation hoping to relive happier times, when a perilous situation forces them to pull together to survive. Straw Dogs meets Ordinary People in this Hitchcockian suspense thriller.
Contact: timothysmith.paris@gmail.com
RED STAR by Ruth Johnson
She survived the un-survivable. The inspiring true story of Margaret Werner, the only American woman to endure the Gulag death camps in Stalinist Russia.
Contact: ruthiejohnsonofhb@gmail.com
TAKU'S QUEST by Michael Pallotta
An orphaned Japanese boy is chosen to thwart a diabolical scheme by the Lord of the UnderWorld ten years in his future.
Contact: pallotta_m@yahoo.ca
UNDERWOOD by Theresa Giese
While a teenage farm boy fights to save his family’s farm, a young squirrel battles his own fears to follow in his famous father’s footsteps. When their paths cross, both lives change in ways even they don’t truly understand.
Contact: bgiese@centurytel.net
WHEN TIGERS SLEEP by James Walker
In 2009, a Tamil boy arrives in London from Sri Lanka, having escaped the brutal civil war, but becomes embroiled in a violent Tamil gang instead.
Contact: jamesjmwalker@gmail.com
THE VOYEUR by John Bengel
An ethicist and college dean with a voyeurism obsession sees something that creates his ultimate ethical dilemma.
Contact: rbengel@ca.rr.com
And our Honorable Mention:
THE YUAN WIDE MOVIE by Wayne Diu
A fat kid unintentionally wreaks havoc in his hometown after a suspiciously not-so-random draw seals his fate: He will become the unfortunate student chosen to interview candidates in the upcoming election.
Contact: wayne@readmyscreenplay.com
April 15, 2011
ScriptDoctor.com
CONTACT: Howard Allen, thedoc@ScriptDoctor.com
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 – more than 50 entrants -- in this the sixth year of our Contest. To show our gratitude, we took the extra time and expense of getting two Writer Judge’s coverage-style evaluations sent 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 (rated No. 1 in a national survey), Howard Allen. And Chris 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 Pictures, Inc. 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. And Victoria Lucas with almost 20 years of experience as a development and production executive at both major studios and independent film companies.
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 the prize 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 just being Quarter-Finalists or Semi-Finalists in certain contests like the Nicholl Competition (see our web site for details).
And now our winner:
JENNA'S GONE by Russ Meyer
When the waitress they both love goes missing, an untried deputy and an exceptional hunting guide strain their friendship tracking the kidnapper across the desert--each suspecting the other of playing a role in her disappearance.
Contact: tortoise@att.net
And our Finalist Winners in alphabetical order:
FINDING YOUR INNER DOG by Erna Mueller
Can a surly cop enter the gates of heaven? You bet: The Jerk Redemption Program. He just has to become his K-9 Partner dog first.
Contact: images9@comcast.net
JUST KILL ME ALREADY by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
A desperate down'n'out actor takes extreme and temporarily insane measures to make sure he wins the role of a lifetime. How? He hires a hitman to "eliminate" his competition.
Contact: wysiwygprod@compuserve.com
KING'S HEART by Svilen Kamburov
An extraordinary true story: a King risks everything to defy Hitler's Nazi Germany and make his small country the only nation in Europe to save its entire Jewish population.
Contact: svilenpk@yahoo.com
NEW MOMMY by Hamilton Mitchell
A boy falls for his baby sitter, and 12 years later--moving home from college--he discovers she’s going to marry his step-dad.
Contact: ham9875@aol.com
NORTH 40 by Timothy Jay Smith
A Special Ops soldier, whose grief over the loss of a son has torn his family apart, takes them on vacation hoping to relive happier times, when a perilous situation forces them to pull together to survive. Straw Dogs meets Ordinary People in this Hitchcockian suspense thriller.
Contact: timothysmith.paris@gmail.com
RED STAR by Ruth Johnson
She survived the un-survivable. The inspiring true story of Margaret Werner, the only American woman to endure the Gulag death camps in Stalinist Russia.
Contact: ruthiejohnsonofhb@gmail.com
TAKU'S QUEST by Michael Pallotta
An orphaned Japanese boy is chosen to thwart a diabolical scheme by the Lord of the UnderWorld ten years in his future.
Contact: pallotta_m@yahoo.ca
UNDERWOOD by Theresa Giese
While a teenage farm boy fights to save his family’s farm, a young squirrel battles his own fears to follow in his famous father’s footsteps. When their paths cross, both lives change in ways even they don’t truly understand.
Contact: bgiese@centurytel.net
WHEN TIGERS SLEEP by James Walker
In 2009, a Tamil boy arrives in London from Sri Lanka, having escaped the brutal civil war, but becomes embroiled in a violent Tamil gang instead.
Contact: jamesjmwalker@gmail.com
THE VOYEUR by John Bengel
An ethicist and college dean with a voyeurism obsession sees something that creates his ultimate ethical dilemma.
Contact: rbengel@ca.rr.com
And our Honorable Mention:
THE YUAN WIDE MOVIE by Wayne Diu
A fat kid unintentionally wreaks havoc in his hometown after a suspiciously not-so-random draw seals his fate: He will become the unfortunate student chosen to interview candidates in the upcoming election.
Contact: wayne@readmyscreenplay.com
5.31.2011
The Three O'Clock
Over the past two weekends, CoyoteMoon Films completed production on its second short film, "The Three O'Clock," written by Michael Grady and directed by Howard Allen.
CoyoteMoon Films would like to thank the production team, the cast, and everyone who made the film possible. We would also like to thank Madden Media for allowing us the use of their offices.
More updates about "The Three O'Clock" are forthcoming on this blog.
CoyoteMoon Films would like to thank the production team, the cast, and everyone who made the film possible. We would also like to thank Madden Media for allowing us the use of their offices.
More updates about "The Three O'Clock" are forthcoming on this blog.
Howard Allen Q&A
Here's an excerpt from Howard Allen's Q&A from Script Magazine:
Watch this blog for more news from ScriptDoctor and CoyoteMoon Films.
What is your core message or advice with regard to screenwriting?
I use a concept called Dramatic Action to insure writers (plays and novels too) make their POV character pro-active in an organic way. Passive Protagonists of all kinds are the biggest problem I see in client’s scripts. Even non-linear storytelling works best when the audience knows why the ending the movie is the ending of the story.
Watch this blog for more news from ScriptDoctor and CoyoteMoon Films.
5.18.2011
Quick update
CoyoteMoon Films begins production on its second short film, "The Three O'Clock," this Saturday. Production will take place over the two remaining weekends of this month. Watch this space for information regarding the release of this timely comedy.
5.02.2011
Howard Allen Q&A
CoyoteMoon Films' own Howard Allen is featured in a new Q&A at scriptmag.com. In it, he talks about the challenges of working in the film industry while not living and working in LA, how producing and directing films has given him new insights about writing for film, and marketing in the new economy, among other subjects.
3.29.2011
Elizabeth Taylor
With all the talk about Elizabeth Taylor lately, one thing might have been lost. And it's something we screenwriters appreciate even when we don't know why we do.
Look beyond her celebrity, which is something related to movie-making in only the most sideways fashion. She understood celebrity, and in later years used it to help the fight against AIDS for example. She came from a generation that married their boyfriends which led to far too many marriages and More celebrity. Also, her emotion-driven lifestyle related to her skills in making movies in a sideways manner.
Look at her performances: from National Velvet through The Mirror Crack'd. Both amazing for completely different reasons. In the first, she became a Movie Star in her first role as a child. In the last, she became a self-parody in the role of a "movie star." The first one has more to do with the art of acting and the last to do with the art of celebrity.
But I want you to look at a later movie where she was neither brilliant/amazing nor amazing/horrifying. I want you to look at a movie where she had a role that should have been boring in a script that was boring by filmmakers who depended on a great music score and pretty pictures of the beach to fill the screen.
As a professional director and actor before I was a writer and script analyst, I want you to look at her abilities as an actor. Audiences of actors first noticed from National Velvet on that here was an artist whose commitment to her character was so complete and intense that it seemed effortless. All the intensity was there but none of the "work" was showing. Critics said, "Well the character of Velvet Brown was just ever so close to the personality of young Elizabeth Taylor." Critics are famous for this mistake.
Now look at The Sandpiper, the movie with the beach scenes and the great music score. Elizabeth Taylor gives the same commitment to a character here. Playing the home-wrecker girlfriend to the married preacher Richard Burton (her husband at the time), Taylor keeps you involved in a story that suffered from a melodramatic premise and a potful of writers (including Dalton Trumbo)--always a dangerous sign. Director Vincente Minnelli knew enough to let Elizabeth do her thing.
Her one-to-one connection with character leaps off the screen. Always. Every role. There's a fascination in this that goes beyond the strength and weakness of the material. Every writer whose work she interpreted on film--including William Shakespeare--owes her a couple thank-yous. She made unforgettable yet totally honest choices for her character that make the script eminently involving. She made a big difference in The Comedians too.
Try watching someone else do Martha in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and you'll know why writers--including Edward Albee--should thank Elizabeth and actors knew they were doing well just to keep up with her.
This post was written by Howard Allen.
Edited 3/31/11
Look beyond her celebrity, which is something related to movie-making in only the most sideways fashion. She understood celebrity, and in later years used it to help the fight against AIDS for example. She came from a generation that married their boyfriends which led to far too many marriages and More celebrity. Also, her emotion-driven lifestyle related to her skills in making movies in a sideways manner.
Look at her performances: from National Velvet through The Mirror Crack'd. Both amazing for completely different reasons. In the first, she became a Movie Star in her first role as a child. In the last, she became a self-parody in the role of a "movie star." The first one has more to do with the art of acting and the last to do with the art of celebrity.
But I want you to look at a later movie where she was neither brilliant/amazing nor amazing/horrifying. I want you to look at a movie where she had a role that should have been boring in a script that was boring by filmmakers who depended on a great music score and pretty pictures of the beach to fill the screen.
As a professional director and actor before I was a writer and script analyst, I want you to look at her abilities as an actor. Audiences of actors first noticed from National Velvet on that here was an artist whose commitment to her character was so complete and intense that it seemed effortless. All the intensity was there but none of the "work" was showing. Critics said, "Well the character of Velvet Brown was just ever so close to the personality of young Elizabeth Taylor." Critics are famous for this mistake.
Now look at The Sandpiper, the movie with the beach scenes and the great music score. Elizabeth Taylor gives the same commitment to a character here. Playing the home-wrecker girlfriend to the married preacher Richard Burton (her husband at the time), Taylor keeps you involved in a story that suffered from a melodramatic premise and a potful of writers (including Dalton Trumbo)--always a dangerous sign. Director Vincente Minnelli knew enough to let Elizabeth do her thing.
Her one-to-one connection with character leaps off the screen. Always. Every role. There's a fascination in this that goes beyond the strength and weakness of the material. Every writer whose work she interpreted on film--including William Shakespeare--owes her a couple thank-yous. She made unforgettable yet totally honest choices for her character that make the script eminently involving. She made a big difference in The Comedians too.
Try watching someone else do Martha in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and you'll know why writers--including Edward Albee--should thank Elizabeth and actors knew they were doing well just to keep up with her.
This post was written by Howard Allen.
Edited 3/31/11
3.22.2011
Links
CoyoteMoon Films' Megan Guthrie has a new interview with Steve Holy at Lyrical Lifestyle. The interview can also be viewed on YouTube.
Anyone who has taken a screenwriting class from Howard Allen knows that the main character of a film is not necessarily the protagonist. John August explains in his blog here, with Ferris Bueller's Day Off as the example.
Anyone who has taken a screenwriting class from Howard Allen knows that the main character of a film is not necessarily the protagonist. John August explains in his blog here, with Ferris Bueller's Day Off as the example.
3.18.2011
New project
CoyoteMoon Films is working on a new short film, "The Three O'Clock," and we've started work on preproduction. Last week, we held a meeting about the storyboarding of the film.
In attendance were Csenge Molnar (CoyoteMoon Films' storyboard artist), Howard Allen (CMF founder and director of the film), Jim Scott (cinematographer), and Megan Guthrie (storyboard artist and producer).
Howard Allen discusses some of the finer points of the script.
Csenge Molnar listens for ideas on storyboarding a scene.
Megan Guthrie goes over the script.
Photographs by LR Simon.
In attendance were Csenge Molnar (CoyoteMoon Films' storyboard artist), Howard Allen (CMF founder and director of the film), Jim Scott (cinematographer), and Megan Guthrie (storyboard artist and producer).
Howard Allen discusses some of the finer points of the script.
Csenge Molnar listens for ideas on storyboarding a scene.
Megan Guthrie goes over the script.
Photographs by LR Simon.
3.10.2011
Independent Spirit Awards
The recipients of the Independent Spirit Awards were announced on February 26, 2011. Here are some of the nominees and winners of the major categories:
BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Black Swan (winner)
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan (winner)
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Everything Strange and New
Get Low (winner)
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Daddy Longlegs (winner)
The Exploding Girl
LBS.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right) (winner)
Debra Granik, Anne Rosselini (Winter’s Bone)
Nicole Holofcener (Please Give)
David Lindsay-Abair (Rabbit Hole)
Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell (Obselidia)
Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) (winner)
Nik Fakler (Lovely, Still)
Robert Glaudini (Jack Goes Boating)
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener (Monogamy)
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan (winner)
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours (winner)
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
BEST FOREIGN FILM
The King’s Speech (winner)
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Mike Ott, Littlerock (winner)
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
The Academy Awards get most of the attention each year, but the films nominated for Spirit Awards will usually tell you stories that you might find more challenging, more interesting, and more satisfying. The complete list of nominees and winners of the Spirit Awards can be found here.
BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Black Swan (winner)
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan (winner)
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Everything Strange and New
Get Low (winner)
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Daddy Longlegs (winner)
The Exploding Girl
LBS.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right) (winner)
Debra Granik, Anne Rosselini (Winter’s Bone)
Nicole Holofcener (Please Give)
David Lindsay-Abair (Rabbit Hole)
Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell (Obselidia)
Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) (winner)
Nik Fakler (Lovely, Still)
Robert Glaudini (Jack Goes Boating)
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener (Monogamy)
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan (winner)
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours (winner)
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
BEST FOREIGN FILM
The King’s Speech (winner)
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Mike Ott, Littlerock (winner)
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
The Academy Awards get most of the attention each year, but the films nominated for Spirit Awards will usually tell you stories that you might find more challenging, more interesting, and more satisfying. The complete list of nominees and winners of the Spirit Awards can be found here.
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