Members: Please email us any achievements, big or small. We'd love to hear from you.
Steve Edmiston's 2009 short film, The Day My Parents Became Cool – which he wrote, directed, and co-produced – continues to thrive on the festival circuit and in new media distribution channels. The film was released in August by IndieFlix as part of the distributor’s new “Film Festival in a Box” program. The film continues to delight audiences on the festival circuit coast to coast – it is currently scheduled to play in Brooklyn, New York at WilliFest (September 24-26, 2010) and locally at both the Gig Harbor Film Festival and Gig Harbor Children’s Film Festival in October.
Congratulations to NWSG FINALISTS in The Great American Short Screenplay Contest 2010, sponsored by The Film School:
Jim Endecott, NO SUCH THINGS
Michael Stuckey, ADDIE’S GIFT
Congratulations to Richard Nagle whose second screenplay PROCLAMATION 2526 made the quarter-finals in the Scriptapaloosa Screenwriting Contest. It is one of 377 out of 3541 entries to make it this far.
Kristin Kirby was one of five Finalists in the NPA/SAG Screenplay Competition with her screenplay, MAZE.
Hats off to two NWSG members. Jim Endecott’s short script, “No Such Things” and Michael Stucky’s short script, “Addie’s Gift” were both selected as finalists for 2010’s Great American Short Screenplay Contest sponsored by TheFilmSchool. This is Jim’s first year competing at the GASSC and Michael’s second. Michael’s script, “In the Bag” was a finalist in 2009 as well.
Osiris Entertainment released Crimes of the Past, written and co-produced by Steve Edmiston, on DVD this April. The locally produced film, directed by Garrett Bennett, was picked up for all international distribution by MarVista Entertainment immediately following its world premier at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Stephen Farber's full-page review in The Hollywood Reporter described the film as a "unique thriller about the deep devotion and repressed love that reunites a father and daughter following two decades of separation," and proclaimed the film to be "an engrossing, superbly acted movie that will please audiences.” He added, "Steve Edmiston's screenplay brings a lot of texture to these characterizations, and the actors enrich the script."
Mark Ramquest wrote and directed a short film for the Seattle Times and SIFF-sponsored "3 Minute Masterpiece" contest. His film “Dangerous Game” was one of the top 10 finalists.
"It was fun to be the writer, director, and producer for this project. The contest required participants to film their movie on a cell phone, so I decided to make the cell phone more than the camera - it became part of the story," says Mark.
To see the movie, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY-CEyjdD7U
NSWG member David Rothmiller's award-winning documentary film "for my wife..." has secured word-wide distribution through Cinema Libre Studio. The DVD is set to release September 21, 2010. The film charts the makingof an activist as Seattle local Charlene Strong fought discrimination and exclusion from her partner's deathbed after a tragic flooding of their Madison Valley home. The film has been featured in festivals around theglobe, garnering press attention and six festival awards. It is Rothmiller's directorial debut.
Wolf's Movie is a Wrap
Nazz Productions (NWSG guest in late 2005) has wrapped filming on a thriller feature 'Good Day For It' starring Robert Patrick, Lance Henriksen, Kathy Baker, Samantha Mathis and Emmy winner/Oscar Nominee Hal Holbrook. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1565063/
You may be asking, Who was the writer? It was our own James Wolf!
Way to go James!
Steve Edmiston's sixteen minute short, The Day My Parents Became Cool — which he wrote and directed — completed its 2009 festival run with a "Best Short Comedy" award from the LA International Family Film Festival, and was an official selection at the Sedona International Film Festival, Big Island Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and KidsFirst! 2010 Film Festival, among others. The film has two distributors lined up for a 2010 release in all formats.
Congratulations, Steve!
www.thedaymyparentsbecamecool.com/
Congratulations to Alex Pedersen! His script, "Escaping" aka "The Bombardier" is a finalist in the 2010 Charleston International Film Festival Screenplay Competition AND a quarter finalist in Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope competition.
Congratulations to Beth Szyperski whose script, "Now You See Me" won the Expo Contest's Writers Book Camp Fellowship Award (chosen from 1500 scripts entered).
NWSG Vice President, Kim Cunningham, recently signed with the Brant Rose Agency in Hollywood, California.
Peter Ong Lim has been accepted into the 2009 American Film Institute's Catalyst Workshop in which each screenwriter is paired with an AFI screenwriting alumnus to collaborate on the screenwriter's script.
Bill Schreiber's two scripts, Chasing Echoes and Switchback advanced to the second round at Austin.
Dave Larson's two screenplays: Snakefighter and Z-Rex both made the semi-finals of the 2009 Shriekfest Screenplay Competition.
Julie Umbreit Bliss's The Youngest Convict advanced to the second round of the Austin Film Festival (top 10% of 4,000 submissions)
Jeffrey Marks advanced to the Semifinalist in the 2009 Scriptapalooza Contest with his script, Avatar.
Bill Schreiber's Chasing Echoes has advanced to the Quarterfinal Round of the Nicholl competition.
Michael Stucky's short script, "In The Bag" was recently awarded a runner up at the Great American Short Screenplay Contest sponsored by The Film School.
PAGE International:
Quarterfinalist (top 10%): Vlada Knowlton's Love Business,
Bill Schreiber's Switchback.
Second Rounders (top 25% of 4,394 entries): Maid
of Dishonor by Aadip Desai, Skyliner by Mark
Martino, and No Playground For Little Kids by Dave Larson.
BlueCat Quarterfinalists from NWSG (top 20% out of 3,200+
submissions):
Closer to the Field by Sue Berg, The Disciple by
Kim Cunningham, Maid
of Dishonor by Aadip Desai, Eden
by Thomas Zmiarovich, and So Guys, Why Are We Naked? by David McRae.
Eden by Thomas Zmiarovich made the top 20 finalists (out of 2,500+ entries) in the ScriptPimp competition.
Bryan Tranel, had his script, NEWTON'S CRADLE, reviewed by G10 Writers. http://g10writers.com/Getting_it_Right_.html.
David Larson got 2nd place in the Slamdance Short Competition for No Playground For Little Kids.
James Canfield Wolf was just hired to pen an adaptation of Pol McShane's novel "Blue Moon" for LA-based Walla Films. This is his third writing assignment in less than a year.
Actor/Producer, ROMANY MALCO requested the following
scripts:
GAME ON by Betty Kim & Carin Michele
HOPELESS CASANOVA by Randy Webb
SUGAR & SPIES by Pat White
DEAD LETTERS by Debbie Kellogg
WORTH THE WEIGHT by Debbie Kellogg
CAST AWAY VACATION by Debbie Kellogg
HOW TO KILL YOU NEIGHBOR'S TREE by Lisa Scott
JELLY by Julie Jansen
Great news from NWSG Member, Royce Buckingham. Sam Fell, director of the animated films "The Tale of Despereaux" and "Flushed Away," is attached to direct "Demonkeeper," a live-action adaptation of the Royce Buckingham novel and screenplay for Fox 2000. The rewrite of the script is being written by Laeta Kalogridis, who scripted the upcoming Martin Scorsese-directed "Shutter Island" for Paramount and "Battle Angel," which James Cameron will direct for Fox.
AEI's Ken Atchity and Chi-Li Wong are producing "Demonkeeper." The story follows a Seattle teen who inherits responsibility for a house filled with demons. When the youth finally breaks free of his charges to go on a date, he returns to discover that kids have broken into the house, unleashing its most vicious demon, the Beast, Killer of Lost Children. Studio bought rights to the book before it was published by Penguin. Royce says he is delighted with the choice of director and the fact that the book has hit the bestseller list in Germany and sold in seven foreign territories.
David Larson's short scripts MALLED and NO PLAYGROUND FOR LITTLE KIDSmade the top 25 at the Slamdance Short Screenplay Competition, and are still in the running.
David Larson was a finalist in the fourth submission period of the COWRITE competition, sponsored by Benderspink.
Joe Hawkins had his script, COMMUNITY MURDER, requested by Spitfire Films.
James Canfield Wolf has been hired for his second writing assignment in the past seven months. He's writing a thriller for LA-based Americana Films.
Sonya Lea wrote an adaptation of a Sandra Brown novel for a Hollywood prodco and had a TV series concept and pilot picked up by two producers, now under consideration by several cable subscription networks