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You're gonna be a star, kid

Internet screenwriting competition provides routes to Hollywood

By Sean Lehosit

The film industry could be considered one of the main pillars of our society. In fact, getting a group of friends together to venture out to the local cinema and check out the latest blockbuster has been a weekly activity for many students as far back as they can remember. For some of these people, it's an escape from whatever present stresses exist in their lives, for others, it's simply tradition, and there may even be a few who love the cinema as a way to look at reality through a different character's eyes in order to better analyze their own lives. Whatever the motivations may be, and to whatever degree of love one may have for movies, there's one phrase everyone has heard spilled from a friend's lips in the past, usually after the retelling of some bizarre or bewildered experience: "That could be made into a movie!"

"I kind of see my life as a movie," said aspiring screenwriter Sarah Montag. "Once [in] a while, when a situation arises, even if someone else sees it as mundane and ignores it, I see it almost as a plot or a movie."

While we all have stated this or heard it said by acquaintances, for those souls out there who have taken it to the next step and actually written a screenplay, the Web site Script P.I.M.P. has made this filmmaking aspiration a little closer to reality.

"ScriptPimp.com, a screenplay analysis Web site and full-service resource hub for screenwriters, producers and other film industry professionals, is now accepting submissions to their international Feature Screenwriting and TV Writing contests," according to a news release.

Recently named one of the top 50 Web sites for filmmakers by Moviemaker Magazine in August 2009, P.I.M.P. is an acronym for Pipeline Into Motion Pictures, and they backup this claim with a vast array of resources that range from editing software, to industry databases, to writer workshops.

"It sounds like it benefits writers because it's on the Internet, so people outside the cities that are major studio hubs can gain access to people they otherwise might not know how to reach out to," commented Montag.

Founded in 2000 by Chadwick Clough, they have since become a leading resource for the screenwriting community. Clough has not only produced his share of featured films, but has also lectured on screenwriting and the moviemaking industry at USC and UCLA.

Additionally, the Screenwriting Competition, launched in 2003, has also become a true gem to many aspiring screenwriters. Through the services they offer, writers are connected with studio and network development executives in every corner of the industry. Through their events and competitions, many of the registered members like Evan Daugherty have landed major studio assignments with production companies such as Warner Brothers, which has hired Daugherty to pen the motion picture "Grayskull." Daugherty was the winner of the 2008 Screenwriting Competition, and became just one of the many individuals that have benefited from the Web site.

"In 2008 Clough helped raise millions in investment capital for an original ScriptPimp.com recommended project, 'Rogues Gallery,'" continued the news release.

With an early 2010 release date, "Rogues Gallery" is now being produced by Darko Entertainment and Infinity Media and will be starring Ving Rhames, Rob Corddry and Zach Galifianakis.

In the past, writers have found assignments to write not only their original screenplays but even episodes for hit television series, such as "Dexter," "Bones" and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia."

"That makes me want to participate in this competition," said Montag. "Once you start doing something more professional, it could be easier to make better progress in the field."

This year's competition will have screenwriters from all across the nation competing for collectively over $100,000 in cash and other prizes, and "will have their work read by a qualified judging panel composed of literary agents, development executives, managers and producers," said John Royal, spokesperson for P.I.M.P..

"Clough's core mission has remained the same: to assist aspiring writers with an array of resources to improve their craft and to provide professionals with the tools they need to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace," stated Royal.

The competition will choose four grand prize winners and twenty finalists, but everyone who enters will become eligible for an entire list of prizes, including subscriptions to various writers' magazines, databases and professional consultations by such individuals as "Donnie Darko" producer, Sean McKittrick, who serves as Script P.I.M.P.'s Senior Story Analyst.

For those interested in submitting work to the 8th Annual Screenwriting Competition visit www.scriptpimp.com click on the contest page. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 31, 2009 and there is a $40 entry fee.

Originally Published: November 4, 2009

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