2009

Update as of 11.21.09: The winners of the 2009 AWS Screenplay Contest, Brian Pittman and Rachel Long, have just optioned their brilliant script, "Stranded" to Enderby Entertainment, with Dan Petrie, Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, The Big Easy, Turner & Hooch) attached to direct. They’ll begin shooting September in Ventura. Our crack judging team discovered this gem, and it will be a fantastic movie!



"I think "Stranded" could win an Academy Award if it had the right elements attached. This is a masterwork of art and craft deserving of consideration for a prestigious award.  I hope that one day I can write a script of such high caliber.  In the meantime, I must be satisfied with earning my daily bread as I balance whatever gifts I have with the demands of the marketplace.  I am not an existentialist and do not see the human condition as being so bleak, but the authors’ perspective rings true and the merger of the visual imagery created by direct, brief prose and everyday but poetically evocative dialogue as it illuminates fully developed characters is haunting and will last with me forever.  I really have no suggestions or comments at all on how to change it.  It needs no further work from a writer; only a director can take things from here." - Judge, 2009 AWS Contest

1st Place: 
Stranded by Brian Pittman and Rachel Long

2nd Place:
Colter's Hell by Robin Russin

3rd Place:
Lionheart by Nigel Grant

- Finalists -
God's Assassin by Terry Wright
Eclipse by Ron Brassfield
Magnetic by Michael Toay & Mike Shields
Godspeed by Michael Toay & Travis Mann
Rubicon by Michael Toay
Her Swastica Sword by Chris Canole
Banzai Boy by Curtis Burdick
Stranded by Rachel Long and Brian Pittman
Red Gold by Elizabeth Pfeiffer
Demons & Gargoyles by Elizabeth Pfeiffer
Nothing in Common by Philipp Senn
The Saxon by Nigel Grant
Eke'Bolos by Stephen C. Settle
Colter's Hell by Robin Russin

Sponsored by:   Emergence Entertainment, Mattie Films, Above the Line Agency, 
Hana Road Productions,  Lowbar Productions & Great Dialogue Software !

Judges:  Erin Chapman, Award Winning Screenwriters; Mark Kratter, Emergence Entertainment; Michael Alexander Miller. 

Analysts: AWS screenplay analysts have years of experience providing coverage, and are entertainment industry professionals. Several analysts work as readers for MGM, Fox, Showtime, Comedy Central, Tri-Star, Lionsgate, ICM; as well as the Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Fellowship's; they have sold/optioned their own screenplays and are published book authors; another holds an M.F.A. degree in screenwriting from UCLA. Confidentiality: all readers sign non-disclosure agreements.

Michael Alexander Miller is a member of the WGA, represented by Creative Artists Agency. He has 3 writing credits to date and has written on assignment for major studios and currently has 4 scripts under option with major studios, independents or directors with track records for produced major studio films.  His 24-episode Internet series, "Hardcore Analysis," will premiere on Strike.TV and other websites in May.  He was nominated for a Humanitas Award for his writing on the CBS miniseries, "Joan of Arc."  Before embarking on a career as a screenwriter, Michael was an entertainment attorney and still represents some private clients, mainly writers, but also including a literary agency and a film studio.  His undergraduate degrees were in mathematics, physics, history and political science.  Michael liked school.   

CEO of Emergence Entertainment, an all-purpose entertainment company devoted to developing feature films, television programs, and video games, Mark graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in English, as well as a minor in Creative Writing. He also has an extensive background in business, including experience in Venture Capital financing and securities trading. As a producer, his credits include: Cruel World (Jaime Pressly) and The Devil's Highway (based on a Pulitzer-Prize nominated novel and adapted for the screen by Oscar-Nominee, Ron Nyswaner); and in development are: Dark Horse and a $40M feature with an A-list actor (currently under wraps). His screenplays have won numerous awards, including FADE IN Magazine's Grand Prize, and he recently completed a script-for-hire for Clark Peterson, producer of Monster (Charlize Theron).   Wants:  films from $3M to $50M.  Wants every genre (except: romcoms, animation, Iraq/Afghanistan war-related films and arthouse character-driven dramas).  High concepts preferred especially thrillers, action, horror and some comedies etc. - anything which sells well internationally.

Head of Production and Development with Mattie Films at Sunset Gower Studios, Tim has a wide base of experience in the film industry starting in development at Miramax and then at the Weinstein Co. He has also been privileged to work as a segment producer for The Apprentice 5 and The Amazing Race. Cruz has also freelanced in Commercial form from music videos, producing for 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Nas, Jessica Simpson, PDIDDY, Bjork, My Chemical Romance and other pop stars. Currently in Development for The Jet Set, Kick Flip.  Project financing is raised through private equity groups as well as studio financed development. Tim has an M.F.A. degree from New York University.   Wants: mini epic adventures, action adventures, and public domain literary adaptations.

Literary Agent at Above the Line Agency, Bruce has over 14 years of experience in feature film and television.  Above the Line works with both indy financiers and major studios. Upcoming releases include Nowhereland with Eddie Murphy, Assassination of a High School President with Bruce Willis, and Lori Petty’s directorial debut Poker House. Prior releases include Charlie’s Angels, Constantine, Backdraft, The Prophecy, and Pulse. Wants: well crafted, studio level, high concept comedies, action and horror.   (Note: see Bruce's blog here:  http://bartlettsscreenwritingtips.blogspot.com/)

Producer at Hana Road Productions LLC, which develops feature films, documentaries and television programming; Cerise has been a freelance producer and writer on many reality/documentary television series for networks, including: Discovery Channel, Lifetime, Animal Planet, MTV, Turner Broadcasting Systems and Fox. Her credits include: the feature film "Net Worth," Discovery Channel's "The National Body Challenge," Lifetime's "What Should You Do?", Animal Planet's series "Adoption Tales" & "That's My Baby," MTV's series "Out of Order," TBS's "The Native Americans" and Fox's "1968." She was also a producer on the PBS documentary "The Prize," based on Daniel Yergin's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. On the film side, she was part of the production teams for "The Sweetest Thing," "Scream 3" and "Music of the Heart."   Wants:  suspense thrillers, high octane smart action, and lower budget ($2-5 M) all genres.

Producer and Director at Lowbar Productions, Nate has worked in all facets of the entertainment industry over the last eleven years, starting below-the-line before serving as the Vice-President of New Media at Automatic Pictures and producing and directing his own projects. His most recent release, "Tales From Beyond", starred Adam West; Nate is currently working on two literary adaptations, one as a producer and one as the screenwriter. Wants: high-concept studio fare and under-$10 million indie and genre concepts with a unique voice.

Great Dialogue Software™ helps the screenwriter improve dialogue skills through reading great dialogue in action, and gaining specific techniques that can be used in different dramatic situations. It also contains a database of thousands of samples of the best dialogue from movies, TV, novels and plays, and they are all findable at the click of a button.  Most of these samples also have a detailed analysis to instruct you how the dialogue was constructed and why it works.  Great Dialogue Software™ gives you 101 specific dialogue techniques used by the pros that any writer will find invaluable in creating that perfect scene. The creator of Great Dialogue Software, Peter Colley, was nominated for the 2000 Humanitas Prize for screenwriting and was a semi-finalist for the 2006 and 2007 Eugene O'Neill playwriting awards and a 2008 New American Play Award. Two of his plays have been made into feature films, with Mr. Colley writing both screenplays.  He has written extensively for CBS Television, as well as Fox Family Channel, British ITV, CBC Canada, WNET TV.