Thanks Russell for the heads up on two new TV scripts up on The BBC Writer’s Room. There are the first episodes of House of Saddam (which is about what you think it is about) and the supernatural series Being Human which Russell tells me has been renewed for a second season. The premise of Being Human, as Russell points out, sounds like the beginning of a joke: a vampire, a werewolf, and a female ghost share a house…

Check them out on the TV Scripts page. – Don

Thanks to Trevor for the heads up on the “Raiders Story Conference Transcript” (7MB in PDF format). This 125 page transcript documents the five day story conference in 1978 between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan for a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark.

If you don’t want to download the transcript (it is hosted on a “sendspace” site), I’d highly recommend Mystery Man’s blog post where he has a number of excerpts from the transcript and commentary on the discussion from which he gleens 10 Screenwriting Lessons. – Don

Thanks Alex for the heads up on this interesting and informative article by Amy Kaufman (picture left) at The Wrap about the Fade In Magazine screenwriting contest called “Fade In Awards”. The article, Are Aspiring Writers Being Lured With Promises Fade In Can’t Keep?, does a deep dive on the purported inter workings of the Fade In Awards contest.

Update:(fixed the broken links) Here is The Wraps take on Fade In Magazine’s initial response and The Wrap’s response to the response.

Update #2: Here is Fade In Magazine’s response to The Wraps original article.

Also, Screenwriters Utopia will have an interview with Amy on Wednesday March 18, 2009 at 6 PM, PST time over on ScreenTalk Radio where they will talk about the Fade In contest and screenwriting contests in general.

Regardless, it always helps to check out the Movie Bytes contest directory before forking over your hard earned cash for a contest. – Don

ScriptGirl script sales report for week ending 3/13

Hardened captain leads young recruits again dangerous aliens, an Eddie Antar biopic, accused wife killer goes back in time an hour at a time, and the Seven Samurai in medieval times.

Pugumentary

Will be shown at:
Downing Film Center
19 Front Street
Newburgh, NY 12550
800 974 8592 / 845 561 3686

Saturday March 14th

Showtimes:8:00 and 9:15

Tickets are $8.00 USD. Seating is limited.
The premiere will benefit the Pugweiser Fund for Pug Dog Encephalitis research (no, I’m not making this up). Partial proceeds from ticket, DVD and t-shirt sales will be donated to this pug charity.

Q/A following each showing with Director, Rick Bak and Writer, Phil Clarke, Jr. (oft contributor to SimplyScripts)

Pugumentary is a documentary about Thomas Sloan, a life-long NYC resident who died on June 5, 2005 of a heart attack, leaving behind no family except for 22 pugs.

In this documentary, we try to learn who Mr. Sloan was through interviews with his neighbors and friends, and follow the fate of his ‘children,’ from their unfortunate situation to their new, and happy homes.

check out the trailer

Talk about it on the Discussion Board

Over on the Movie Scripts page we have the famous unproduced work of Alfred Hitchcock – Mary Rose, written by Jay Presson Allen (pictured). This script has seen the light of day thanks to Steve DeRosa’s excellent site Writing with Hitchcock.

Mary Rose is a ghost who returns to the house in Sussex where she grew up where she is confronted by her own son, just 2 years old when she vanished, now a 41 year old man. But because he has grown up and she has not, there is no possibility of reunion, only of release back to the spirit world she has inhabited.

Mystery Man on Film has an excellent script review of Mary Rose

Thanks to “Lair” of Horror Lair for the heads up on
Mirrors – January 5th, 2007 4th draft script by Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur – hosted by: horrorlair – in pdf format

An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

There are more scripts over on the Movie Scripts page. – Don

Thanks to Fernando for the heads up on his fantastic screenplay site Roteiro de Cinema with a pretty big collection of scripts in Portuguese.

Among the scripts is the 2004 Oscar nominated screenplay Cidade de Deus (City of God) – December 2001 draft script by Bráulio Mantovani (based on the novel by Paulo Lins) – hosted by: Roteiro de Cinema – in pdf format

Brazil, 1960’s, City of God. The Tender Trio robs motels and gas trucks. Younger kids watch and learn well…too well. 1970’s: Li’l Zé has prospered very well and owns the city. He causes violence and fear as he wipes out rival gangs without mercy. His best friend Bené is the only one to keep him on the good side of sanity. Rocket has watched these two gain power for years, and he wants no part of it. Yet he keeps getting swept up in the madness. All he wants to do is take pictures. 1980’s: Things are out of control between the last two remaining gangs…will it ever end? Welcome to the City of God.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

You can find this and other non-English scripts and screenplays on the Non-English Scripts page. – Don

Mr. Gloom by Mike Shelton was filmed in the spring of ’08, and premiered at the Naperville Independent Film Festival last August.

Below is the first cut, but they’re working to get the final cut with the original score and improved sound done sometime in the near future.

Mr. Gloom is a day in the life of the unluckiest man on Earth. – Short, Comedy

Mr. Gloom 1st cut from Matt Peace

Read the script (14 pages pdf format). Discuss the script. Listen to the script as read by Macblade Productions : She and He Voice Overs

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{note: This audio recording is released under a Creative Commons, attribution, noncommercial, no derivatives 3.0 license. You can share the audio recording in its entirety, but you can’t change it or sell it. }