2011 CineStory Screenwriting Awards Quarterfinalists!

We thank each and every writer for allowing us the opportunity to review this year's entries. After much deliberation, here are the scripts and writers advancing to the next round:

1 - Bryan Marvis & Lynn Marvis, Oceanside OR
49th DAY - Craig Peters, Eagle Rock CA
A COWARD NEVER BLED - Eduardo A. Garcia, Austin TX
AMAZING RED vs DR GREEN - Nic Izzi, Ontario CANADA
AMAZON GIRL - Ken Pearson, Tempe AZ
APARTMENT 5D - Sharon Lennon, Brooklyn NY
APATHETIC SUICIDE - Jordan Thorton, Sasktchewan CANADA
ASK ME - Jonathan Eig, Potomac MD
BANK ROBBING FOR DUMMIES - Robert Keith Watson, Sherman Oaks CA
CRICKET - Tammy Duffy, Sherman Oaks CA
DISPATCH - Bryan Dick, Manhattan Beach CA
GIRL ON MAIN - Christine Hinz, New York NY
GROWTH SPURT - Matt Flanzer, Venice CA
HEAVEN SENT - Alison McMahan, Pompano Beach FL
HORROR COMIC - Stephen Hoover, Baton Rouge LA
HOW DO I LOVE THEE - Susu Langlands, New Hartford CT
IN THE BEGINNING - Michelle Motoyoshi, Fremont CA
KINDNESS - Hallie Tassin, Santa Fe NM
LAB RATS - Sari Karplus, Los Angeles CA
LET THE GAMES BEGIN - Stephan Bugaj, Richmond CA
LITTLE MUTINIES - Angie Powers, Berkeley CA
MARIE HIGHFIELD'S MOVIE - Laure Jullia, La Garenne-Colombes FRANCE
MASTER'S KEY - Kelly Anelons, Harvard MA
ONE IN A MILLION - David Smith, Escondido CA
PEACE OF VIOLENCE - Judy Vann, Santa Monica CA
PRIMITIVE ANARCHY - David Lawrence, Los Angeles CA
PURGATORY CREEK - Chuck Pollycutt, Imperial CA
RESISTANCE - Hannah Patterson, London UK
RUNNING WILD - Eric Diekhans, Evanston IL
SEE-THROUGH HEART - Diana Caldwell, Los Angeles CA
SNOWBIRD - Jack Zafran, Granada Hills CA
SPOTNIK - Celeste Chan Wolfe, Los Angeles CA
STEALING BALLOONS - Kathryn Waters & Jesse Waldman, Portland OR
TEDDY BOY - Sean Jourdan, Denver CO
THE AMAZINGLY TRUE STORY OF A MIDDLE-AGED, OVERWEIGHT DAD WHO DECIDES TO PLAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL WITH HIS SON - Lisa Kors, Los Angeles CA
THE CONCEALED - Jeffrey Wright, Lawndale CA
THE COST OF LIVING - Kellen Hertz, Los Angeles CA
THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF SWAROOP JONES - Drew Freeman & Bella Shing, Santa Cruz CA
THE JINGLE MEN - Gabriel Martinez, Brea CA
THE KNIGHTHOOD OF MAC STEINER - K J Crane, Washington DC 
THE LAUGHING MAN - Steve Wisniewski, Astoria NY
THE LION AND THE EAGLE - Christine N Wenger, Pewaukee WI
THE LONER - Bryan Marvis, Oceanside OR
THE MONEY TREE - Shiva Ramanathan, Irvine CA
THE OCTOBER STRATAGEM - Paul Littell, Rowayton CT
THE SWITCH - Irin Evers, Scarsdale NY
'TIL ROSES BLOOM - Chuck Pollycutt, Imperial CA
TINKER, TAILOR - Ian Snyder, Bellevue NE
TUNNELS - Henry Crum, Beverly Hills CA
WELCOME TO AKRON - Stephan Bugaj, Richmond CA   

Each writer now vies for a coveted place at the CineStory Retreat, being held from Sept 25th-29th 2011. In addition, each will be considered for the grand prize, the CineStory Fellowship, a 12-month mentorship program during which the winner works with two Hollywood professionals.

May 10th From Script to Screen: Academy Award Nominee Mark Fergus

In concert with our friends at Filmmaker Junction, CineStory is proud to announce the next guest in the From Script to Screen discussion series. CineStory alum and frequent mentor Mark Fergus is an Academy Award nominee and writer of films such as FIRST SNOW, CHILDREN OF MEN, IRON MAN and the upcoming COWBOYS AND ALIENS.

Come hear about how Mark broke into screenwriting and built a successful career.

No normal writer Q&A, From Script to Screen is a creative and practical autopsy of how a script goes from the the written word to the silver screen. These evenings will provide detailed insight into how produced writers conceived their story, approached the writing process, had their screenplay picked up and what happened to their script during production.

Second in the series: Mark Fergus

Tuesday April 10th, 7-9pm

The Station @ The Working Village

212 Marine Street suite 100

Santa Monica CA 90405

Ph: 310-450-7070  

$20 in advance, $30 at the door 

 
Coming in July: CineStory mentor Glenn Gers (FRACTURE, MAD MONEY, DISGFIGURED)! Stay tuned.

CineStory writers receive 15% off From-Script-to-Screen and all other Filmmaker Junction events with coupon code: Cinestory.  

Visit www.filmmakerjunction.com for tickets and other information. 

First From Script-to-Screen Event - April 6th!

No normal writer Q&A, From Script-to-Screen is a creative and practical autopsy of how a script goes from the the written word to the silver screen.  

These evenings will provide detailed insight into how produced writers conceived their story, approached the writing process, had their screenplay picked up and what happened to their script during production.  

First in the series: Bob DeRosa 

Wednesday April 6th, 7-9pm

The Station @ The Working Village

212 Marine Street suite 100

Santa Monica CA 90405

Ph: 310-450-7070  

$20 in advance, $30 at the door 

Things kick off with Bob DeRosa, screenwriter of KILLERS (Asthton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl) and THE AIR I BREATHE (Kevin Bacon, Forrest Whittaker, Andy Garcia). Bob will be there to answer questions and will also be joining us for more networking in the bar after the event.

Look for special CineStory guests in the coming months!

CineStory writers receive 15% off From-Script-to-Screen and all other Filmmaker Junction events with coupon code: Cinestory.  

Visit www.filmmakerjunction.com for tickets and other information. 

Interview with Writer-Directer and CineStory Alum Daniel Barnz

When Daniel Barnz heard his name announced as the grand-prize winner of CineStory’s annual screenwriting awards for his screenplay Phoebe in Wonderland in 1996, he was thrilled.

“I remember this really vividly. We were in this auditorium, and they were announcing the winners. Mine was the last name that was called,” Barnz said. “It was very suspenseful, and I felt elated, because it was the first competition that I had ever won as a screenwriter.”

Read more here.

Academy Award Nominee and mentor Mark Fergus on the CineStory Screenwriting Awards

Writing duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby first became involved with CineStory when they won the Grand Prize in 1999 with their script, FIRST SNOW (2006). Since then they’ve gone on to become Academy Award nominees and work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood on films such as IRON MAN and COWBOYS AND ALIENS.

Read more about their story here.