Champion Schedule Updates

 Friday Night, Feb 3 


Am still plowing through scripts.  I am hoping to be done Monday or Tuesday.


I will make up for the delays. We will let top 12 into Ellen's class and I will give away a few extra seats into the Champion Lab.


In trying to synch schedules, I discovered that we may have to push Champion Lab back for a few months. This actually means we can announce winners sooner. I will give the feature top 20 a few options like maybe wait for the Lab, get the DVD set for free or get a $300 credit toward services or one of the ten-day retreats.  No one has to worry about rushing to the lab.


A newsletter with a video blog and top 20 features will go out next week.  


Jim




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I have to read about 50 more quarterfinalists.  Best case scenario would be that I am done in a week.  I am going to make February 2 the drop-dead deadline. I will either make it or drop dead.  ;-)

I will make sure that writers have three weeks' notice for the Champion Lab.  Estimate for CL dates: 2/25ish.

Until February 5, entrants will be able to sign up for the remaining seats for a STEEP discount.  I will post details after I announce the lab dates or top 20 features.

During or after the Champion Lab, we will begin to distribute the $20,000 in non-cash goodies to the winners and (some) semifinalists.  For example, here is the list of prizes a top 20 feature writer wins.

• A seat in the Champion Screenwriting Lab     
• 10 pitches from VirtualPitchFest.com 
• A year-long membership to itsonthegrid.com
• Proofreading sample and Logline/Query help from Reader Ready
• Two career coaching sessions with Rhona Berens, Ph.D.
• One logline listing in an issue of InkTip Magazine
• Script and/or synopsis to be read by several production Companies

February or March - We will do the scene class and begin coaching for the Pitch winner.  Some scene entrants will also get an offer to have their scene(s) and/or their rewrites used in a book, eBook or DVD.
 

Quarterfinalists for the 2011 Champion Screenwriting Competition

Congratulations to the Quarterfinalists

Including all of the categories, we received more than 1200 entries and are proud to announce the quarterfinalists in all categories.  We apologize for falling behind.  We are aiming to have semi-finalists chosen by middle of January or so.

Quarterfinals represent approximately the top 20% of entries.  It's an achievement to even have made it this far.  Thanks to everyone who has been part of this community.  I am going to be announcing a few things in 2012 that will grow our community and bring more writers together with some great teachers.

Check out the new newsletter - link at Facebook -- and "like" us there, too.

Happy Holidays!

Peace,
Jim Mercurio

PITCH QUARTERFINALISTS

Congratulations to the last writers standing out of 110 pitch entries.  I like the fact that a few names have more than one entry.  You, go, Writers!

 April Fool's Killer by Romy Michel
Brand Me by Matthew Haley
Brucey Baby by Lew Sherwood
Chasing Losses by Graham Calvert
Clipper by Kathy Panzella
Cyberkat by Carrie Bradstreet
Dallas, 12:30 PM, CST by Mark Trapanese
Dogwood by Emilie Clark
Doubles by Thomas Galvin
Halloween Heroes by Lew Sherwood
Heaven-Sent by John Leary & Alison McMahan
King of Kings by Nellie Meyers
Leather and Lace by Kelly Frey
Meatspace by Geoff Inverarity
Miss Old Freshman by Ashley Spears
No Cigs in Space by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
Once You Kiss a Bad Boy by Penelope Swan
Payback's a Bitch by Deprise Brescia
Seeing Red by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
Special Needs by Geoff Inverarity
Taking Up Serpents by Cash Anthony
The Bin by Derek and Kimberly Coleman
The Bounty by Vishaal Desai
The Last Remaining Light by Andrew Henderson
The Road To Shambala by John Alarid
Trail's End by Kelly Frey
Undercover Ugly by Ann Kimbrough
Yellow Trees by Aimee Condayan

SCENE ENTRY QUARTERFINALISTS

Congrats to the scene writers!

All The Wrong Places (poetry scene) by Sean Connolly
Apostle Of War -  scene 2 by Marina Albert
Bad Pistachio by Daisy Ho
Betrayal Consultants by Daisy Ho
Breach of Confidence by Lisa Scott
Bump Off by Nellie Myers
Club Night by Renana Hancock
Mean Creek by Dan Goforth
One of Many by Ken Embery
Revolution by Derek Coleman and Kimberly Coleman
Set For Life - scene 3 by Lew Sherwood
Shoot... Mr. President - scene 1 by Marina Albert
Shoot... Mr. President - scene 3 by Marina Albert
Sister Secrets by Alison McMahan
Soldier System 14 by Alison McMahan
Taking Up Serpents by Anthony Cash
The Café Society by Millar Prescott
The Free and the Brave by Ed Rathje
The Harder We Fall by April Wolak
The Long Shot by Lorrie Smith
Tower of Rapunzel (Laura/Gordon) by Robert Mules
Trick Riding Mamie - scene 3 by Ian J. Craine
Warrior Soul by Jim Kenney
Worshiping Sophia by Lew Sherwood
Yellow Trees by Aimee Condayan

SHORTS QUARTERFINALISTS - COMPLETE LIST

We received almost 200 shorts and if you made this list, that means you were in the top 20% of all shorts entries.  Congratulations to everyone and congrats to Daniel for having THREE scripts advance.

A Fine Day for It by Deborah  Grimes
A Life Relented by Michael Miceli
A Ride Into Darkness by Michael Farley
Autumn Leaves by Millar Prescott
Banana Bone by Mike Janowiak & Joan Easley
Classroom Things by Mike Goforth
Collision by Katherine Beattie
Death's Toll by Nicholas Young
If You Do Not Wish To Accept... by Daniel Chomistek
Infomercials We'd Like to See by Daniel Chomistek
Inside Out by Dawn Johnston
It's Tea Time by Sandra Gabrych
Joan by Yvette Farmer
Looking for Seoul by Eric Day
Lunch by Doug Nelson
Marked by Ramon Zapata Jr.

Mean Creek (3-page version) by Dan Goforth
No Way Home by Joseph Mancini
Nobody by Tracy Sunderland
One Day Left by Michael Quintana
Pageant People by Neil Valentine
Pitchfork by Kevin Conner
Prombies by Jonathan Klemke
Riding Goode by Kimberly Coleman
Saint Anthony by Matthew Feely
Sex Love Revenge by Darnell Brown
Situation 5 by Curtis Melroe
So Awkward by Matthew Stevens
St. Anthony's by Matthew Feely
Still Life by Joy Armstrong
Tag Sale by Judith Conway
The Butterfly's Rude Awakening by David Paster
The Chick by Jessica Farris
The Fallen Protege by Tim Buttner
The In Between by Max E. Stone
The Magic of The Star by J.B. Mathel
The Shape in the Mirror by Dennis Shutty
Ye Old Recruiting Station by Daniel Chomistek
Zip It by Jan Stanton

FEATURE QUARTERFINALISTS

Congratulations to the quarterfinalists.  They are in the hunt for the top 20 spots and almost $50,000 in cash and prizes. 

3D at the Palace by Robert Kent Wilson II
7 Seasons by Seryna Thai
A Baseball Story by Thomas Pace
A Country of Strangers by Sean Armstrong
A Flash of Light by Daniel Cubias
A Man of His Word by Seth Bartholomew
Abomination by Ross Raffin
Absolution by Michael Lupariello
All You Can Eat by Patrick Trillo
Amsterdam XXX by Joseph Wiggins
An Unlikely Prey by Mike Murphy
Anatomy of a Town by Patricia Fox
Anderson Falls by Giles Daoust
Appearances by Frederic Richter
Beast by Conor Duffy
Black Moses by Peter Zachara
Bleeding Kansas by C.J. Morris
Bloody Dawn by Brendon Slee
Broken Sinclair by Elizabeth Ashby
Canaries by Craig Cambria
Cargo by Samuel Bartlett
Chairman of the Party by Wendy Pierce
Chance Elliott And the Book of Ultimate Power by Jeff Trently
Chasing Bugs by Debbra Jansen
Child of the Disappeared by Michael Holliday
Chromosome 21 by Maryann Beckman
Chronos by Patrick Chao
Claim Denied by William Roth
Come Back, Shane by Robert Weinberger
Conduct Unbecoming by Jon Wright
Cowboys In Heaven by Thomas Kronlage
Daddy King And Me by Francis Presley
Dearborn Hotel by Peter Gaffney
Death Wind by Travis Heermann
Department of Lost Souls by Ryan Blackwell
Distracted by Lutz Reissmann
Dreamland Confidential by Sean Agard
Dueling Hearts by William Slough
Dust Devil by Mark Bankins
Elementary by Jeff Hower
Empire of the Dead by John Liang
Esperancia by John Edward Flynt
False Sense by Craig Cambria
Family Plots by Harvey Jacobs
Fin Chaser by Maria Cozzi
Final Words by Lyndon Mcgill
First Under Heaven by Ellwyn Kauffman
Flat Pennies by Robert Ward
Flying Shoes by Melissa Brewer
Furious Angels by Nathan Ruegger
Girl On Main by Christine Hinz
Gone by Patrick byrne
Haber by Daniel Ragussis
Halloween Baby by Sandra Bowes
Happy Trails by Michael Rhodes
Haunted by Darryl Anka
Heaven Or Bust by Stephen Mack
Hellfighters by Will Burgess
Historia by Leo Sardarian
Hoop by Dianne Dempsey
In A Small City In Belgium by Carlo Bordone
International Waters by Stephen Gill
Jenna's Gone by Russ Meyer
Jesse James vs. Jack the Ripper by Alasdair Mcmullan
Kill Me Already by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
Land of the Free, Home of the Slave by Cliff Zimowski
Left Behind by Yuri Shallan
Love the Hive by Derek Cavens
Media Circus by Charles Emery
Medusa - A Story of Love and Revenge by Elizabeth Reams
Mr. Clark by June Escalante
My Greatest Mistake by Rebecca Rocheford Davies
Newton's Laws of Emotion by Eugene Ramos
Next of Kin by Shane McCabe
Nigel & Me by Annie Bénichou Macdonald
Nobody Likes You by Justin Muschong
Off Record by Patrick T. Lo
One Million Words by Vince Bailey
One of Many by Ken Embery
Pinocchio: The Wooden Boy Soldier by Samuel Bartlett
Pirate Queen by Lee Costanzo
Plan B by Rick Doehring
Playing For Home by Kathy Pyatt
Ponytail by Jason Ginsburg
Rebound Man by Robert Fox
Red Hats by Michael Toay
Red Khmer by Jonathan Shepard
Red Snow by Nathan Ruegger
Redemption 37 by Edward Mann
Reich by Andrew McPherson
Ressurected For What Exactly? by Simon Carter
Reunions, and Other Lies by Kenneth Lemm
Roughin' It by Jason Pizzarello
Secret Asian Man by Mary Krell-Oishi
Seven Thousand Islands by Gary White
Silence by John Edward Flynt
Silent Night by Kate Mandalov
Sleep, My Daughter by Tom Walters
Sons of Molly by Peter Gazdag
Spike Driver Blues by T. Steed
Spirit of the Rain by John Tupper
St. Brigid's Cross by Jan-Christian Sorensen
Suicide Squeeze by Sonny Wareham
Sultana by Lee Costanzo
Sweet Emotion by Michael Perri
Table For Two by Warren Paul Glover
The Afterlife Hotel by Claudia Arndt
The Breaker by Josh Lovison
The Cracked Menagerie by Ian Kelly
The Dead Sister by Mike Sherer
The Demons Down Below by Jim Kenney
The Earth Cantor by Kim Brantley
The Enemy In The Castle by by Letty Hummel
The Extraction Team by Mike Koivisto
The Fallen King by Alexandre Bailly
The Free And The Brave  by Ed Rathje
The Friend Zone: The Sad, Comical Chronicles of a Sideline Guy by Kenlon Clark
The Ghostwriter/ Plan B by Rick Doehring
The Humane Façade by Sally Richter
The King of Staten Island by Andrew Gaty
The Last Suicide Note by J R O'hara
The Launch by Edward Martin III
The Night by Sean Hartofilis

The North Puddle by Rick Fonté and Don Zolidis
The Outer Banks by Collin Jay Blair
The Outliers by Linda Haltmaier
The Pardon by David Rakowiecki
The Pied Piper by Sara Caldwell
The Spider's Web by Valerie Nordstrom
The Truth By Walden Matussey by Tim Boughn
The Twenty-First Truth by Scott Wallace
The Unseen: Rise of The Highwayman by John Miles
The White Death by James Poirier
The Winter Wars by Anton H. Gill
Through the Night by Edward Martin III
Totem - A Zombie Story by Sean Escalante
Trapped in Cinemascope by Nicholas Erasmus
Treasure in the Park by John Barlowe & Irin Evers
Uncle Hoppy And The Pecos Kid by Clinton Braly
Undiscovered Country by Peter Tamaribuchi
Valley of the Dragon by D.T. Siddhartha Fraser
Vindication by May Chaplin
War Dogs by Julian Surface, Travis Parke and Pat Gaston
When Darkness Falls by Arturo Portillo
Wings of Beauty by David Bintliff Johnson, Jr. & Mike Gilmore
Wright Or Wrong by Brooks Elms

TELEVISION QUARTERFINALISTS 

Congratulations to the quarterfinalists.  About one-quarter of you will be invited to Los Angeles to join Ellen Sandler for a TV workshop in Los Angeles.

TV – Pilots
CTA by Aaron Rollins
Death & Taxes by Carolyn Kras
First Church of Dave by Alex Logan
Friends Academy by Jessica Weinberg
Full Tilt Boogie by Amber Crawford-Idell
Gates Flying Circus by Dennis DeBon
Gone (Shadows & Light) by Skip Berry
Happy Pines by Aaron Rollins
Holbrook by Justin Paquette
Rebound by Nantale Corbett & Lauren Tuck
Rest in Peace by Jill Weinberger
Retouch Me by Kevin Kautzman
Searcher by Jennifer Hahn
Sleepers by Frederick Kim
Starship Infinity by Colby Day
Storyville by Abigail Bean
The Harbinger by Travis Opgenorth
The Incumbent by Alexis Perkins
The Pharm by Matthew Sagona
The Romero Strain: An Undead End by Ted Sterns
The Scene by Azia Squire
The Vienna Clan - by Isaac Richter
Vigilante by Ophir Gottlieb
Witchman House by Milly Sanders
X by B.R. Stanley
Z-Force by Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm

TV – Spec Comedy
Archer - Soft Target by Gregory Boytos
Community - Competitive Physics by Jessica Kelley
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Dennis and Dee Commit A Little Incest by Amy Taylor
Modern Family - Friendly Fire by Charity Paniamogan
Modern Family - Gun Fights On The Shore by Jonathan Rincon
Modern Family - Sweet Child O Mine by Aadip Desai
Modern Family - Throw it Back by Jason Voegel
Modern Family - Electile Dysfunction by Amanda Parham
Parks and Recreation - Drag Queen Bingo by Carlos Cisco

TV – Spec Drama
Battlestar Galactica - Twelve Faces by Jessica Alexander & Dana Melton
Body of Proof - Heaven Help Us by Katie Hennicke
Breaking Bad - Kingpin by Stephanie Stanley
Dexter - Rita's Requiem by Dennis Luu
Fringe - Its Bark by Noah Edelson
Hawaii Five-O - Kumakaia by Greg Benevent
Southland - Say What You Want by Audrey Webb
The Killing - Square One by Rebekah Suellau
The Vampire Diaries: My Brother's Keepers by Karen O'Connor
True Blood - Dark Blood by Allison Phelan

UPDATE - Dec 11

By Tuesday, the few people whose scripts weren't uploaded correctly should all be contacted.  I will announce quarterfinalists on Wednesday even if it's a list that covers all but a handful of scripts.  Those quarterfinalists will be added over the next few days.

Jim

Update - Sort of

Hey Everyone,
This year, in addition to our Withoutabox presence, we also had our own entry system.  It has created an extra hundred hours of extra work for us but in the long run the money saved makes running the contest viable.  Without those savings, we would probably not even be able to have a contest next year.

The downside is that we are a bit behind in the reading.  I think we should be able to announce quarterfinalists this month and give the class winners four to six weeks to prepare for an LA trip.  I don't have an exact time-frame.  I am a one-man band here and am working on several projects simultaneously -- scene writing book and DVD set -- which will impact the screenwriting community in a positive way.

Make sure you are signed up for contest updates via Constant Contact.  (Sign up for the newsletter and then adjust which lists you want to be on.)  And follow us on Facebook.  I give some real-time updates there which also go out on Twitter.

There should be a few extra seats in the Champion Lab available for sale, so start thinking about January.  ;-)

Thanks for your patience.

Peace,
Jim

UPDATES FOR CHAMPION SCREENWRITING

Hey Everyone,

People have been asking about announcement deadlines.  I don't want to over-promise and make 1000 entrants mad when we miss it.  I have been SWAMPED with the last month of my book deadline and working on the post-process for my feature.  And truth be told (those who know me will verify), scheduling and estimating time is not my forte.  My stepkids have invented a word called "jim-time" where you double any time estimate I make.  ;-)

The last few years, we finished earlier and rushed to get the Champion Lab in before the holidays and I think some people weren't able to attend, so here is a guess.  Some time in November -- I wanted to say 11-11-11 but I might be at AFM then -- we will announce quarterfinalists.  And then as quickly as possible, we will try to put out the top 20 feature and top 10 TV list so those writers can plan to attend the Champion Lab or Ellen's Class. I will try to have the classes near each other in case some want to attend both.  I think the time that works for me and Ellen and which won't be a rush for the winners is mid-January.

In the past we have had a dinner and sort of an informal party for the top writers where I announce the winners.  But I am a storyteller at heart, so if the tension begins to lag before the classes maybe I will improvise and announce the winners beforehand. 

I have a lot of cool new things to tell you all about that will impact you and that involve past winners, my new DVD set as well as some of my friends from the old school Creative Screenwriting days and several amazing screenwriting teachers.

In touch soon.

Peace,
Jim Mercurio

May 2011 Updates for the Champion Screnwriting Competition

REGULAR DEADLINE IS FRIDAY - MAY 27 

Enter by May 27 and...

• If you are a semifinalist in film or TV you are entered into a random drawing for $200 travel stipend to come to the Champion Lab or Ellen Sandler TV Lab.
• You save money.  Pitches and Scenes are only $12.
• Order Champion Development notes and you get a free copy of Killer Endings or T-Word Theme
• Order at Champion site or email us at info@ch...mpionscreenwriting.com.
• Use the CD Notes or the Coverage category and you have time to resubmit a new draft.
• Also, we are giving away 20 copies of Killer Endings to 20 random Craft & Career subscribers who are on our list or entered the contest by this deadline.

 SCENE AND PITCH 

Remember, pitches are free-form.  And setups are optional with the scenes.

Since no one has entered a total of five scenes or pitches, I might offer a special where you can enter five scenes from the same script or five pitches for a discounted price.

CHAMPION DEVELOPMENT NOTES

Directly from Jim Mercurio:

My senior reader who is doing the development notes is ridiculously amazing.  She is a produced writer herself and does the intensive notes for this price only because I give her full-time reading work.   When I promote these notes, I literally take business away from myself, so believe me, it's an amazing deal.

Also, the movie I directed and the book on scene writing might take me away from teaching anything but the Champion Lab.  It's really an amazing class.  I put 150 hours into into near the end of the year.  I think it's value is second in the entire contest to the $10,000 Grand Prize.  Check out the testimonials.
 
CHAMPION SHOPPING CART

If you are using our system to enter, remember, the email confirming  payment is proof that you are entered.  If you don't get that, most likely the script  uploaded. You can email us (replace the two x's when you click this link) with the title, categories extra services (coverage, notes, JPM consulting) and we will send an invoice that you can pay with PayPal or with a credit card.  If you try to enter before the deadline and there is a problem, just contact us and we will make sure your script is considered for that "deadline period" and price.

ENTER TODAY

TO ENTER THROUGH WITHOUTABOX, CLICK HERE

EXPANDING UPDATES ON OUR NEW SYSTEM

The 2011 Champion Screenwriting Competition is up and running.  You can still enter via Withoutabox but you also have the option of using our own entry procedure.  We are also introducing the Champion Screenwriting Scene & Pitch Competition, which only accepts submissions through our system.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATES

The problems have been relatively few.  A few people are having problems with the check out cart "dropping" their products.  It's working better.  Hit "start over" when you begin and if for some reason, it won't let you pay, most likely your scripts were uploaded.  Email us and we can send you a PayPal invoice which can be paid with PP or any CC. 

GOOD NEWS!

Also, since the cart didn't allow for Champion Development Notes after-the-fact, we are going to announce that until the March 11 deadline, all feature writers can add Champion Development Notes and still be eligible for resubmission.  Email us and we will make it easy for you.

And f you are going to do multiple scenes, now is the time.  They are $10 apiece until the Early Bird Deadline.