Writer E.M. Forster once wrote in Aspects of the Novel, defined a story as ‘a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence.’ Forster wrote: ‘it (a story) can only have one merit: that of making the audience want to know what happens next. “The king died and then the queen died” is a story.’

‘A plot’, Forster wrote, ‘is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality.’ Thus, ‘“The king died and then the queen died” is a story.’ But ‘“The king died, and then the queen died of grief’ is a plot. The time-sequence is preserved, but the sense of causality overshadows it.’

Confused? That’s ok. The Moose is here to explain the difference between plot and story in a less abstract manner. To put it simply, “plot” is the sequence of events that happen in a story. On the other hand, “story” is what the work is all about. Another way to put it is that plot is what happens, story is what it is about. Still a little abstract, I know. That’s why I’m going to illustrate these concepts with the following three examples. Let’s start with one of the Moose’s favorite movies, Rocky.

Rocky

Plot:

The champ, Apollo Creed, needs a new opponent when his scheduled opponent pulls out due to injury. In a decision of promotional genius, Creed gives a title shot to down-on-his-luck journeyman Rocky Balboa on the country’s 200th anniversary. Rocky goes on to shock the world by going the distance with Creed in a competitive fight.

Story:

Rocky, the underdog, overcomes great odds to find love and self-worth in going the distance with the champ.

The Godfather

Plot:

Michael Corleone, the son of Mafia kingpin Don Vito Corleone, returns home from the war. In a meeting with other mob bosses, Don Corleone refuses to get into the heroin business. Someone attempts to murder Don Corleone who is shot several times in the attempt. Don Corleone’s top man, Tom Hagen, is abducted and an ultimatum is issued to Sonny, the oldest Corleone son. Sonny retaliates by killing the son of another mafia boss.

Michael, the lone Corleone son who stayed away from the family business, volunteers to kill a mob boss and a corrupt cop to avenge his father and succeeds in doing so. Michael is sent to Sicily for his protection and Don Corleone is distraught to learn that Michael has taken up the family business. Sonny is gunned down at a toll booth. Don Corleone meets with the mob bosses and agrees to back the drug trade in an effort to end the mob war.

Michael returns from Sicily and takes over the family business. He promises to his girlfriend Kay that he will legitimize the family business within five years. Michael attempts to get into the casino business and is forced to resort to tactics even more brutal than his father’s to get his way. He also confronts his older brother Fredo, who was passed over because of his weakness, and warns him to never again takes sides with anyone against the family.

Vito passes away from a heart attack. Michael arranges for the murder of the heads of the Five Families. This completes Michael’s rise to power as the new “Godfather” and finishes his revenge against those who attacked his family.

Story:

The movie is about the corruption of Michael Corleone as he takes over the family business replacing his father after his death.

Sling Blade

Plot:

Karl Childers, a simple, bordering on retarded man, is released from the psychiatric hospital where he was committed for the murder of his mother and her lover. He wanders back into the town he was raised and befriends a young boy named Frank. Karl becomes a kind of father figure for Frank and moves in with him and his mother Linda and soon meets Linda’s abusive boyfriend Doyle. Realizing that Doyle’s abusive behavior will bring unending misery for Frank, Karl kills Doyle and turns himself in. He is returned to the psychiatric hospital from which he was released at the beginning of the movie.

Story:

A simple man bonds with a young boy, becoming the father figure and protector the boy never had.

Final Thoughts:

As you can see from the examples above, plot is almost aways more complicated and long winded than story. Plot is nothing more than the logical progression of events that is used to tell the story. Story is what the movie (or book, etc.) is about. Very rarely are the two ever the same. Some of the Bond movies come to mind as examples when plot and story are the same. When in doubt, just remember that plot is what happens and story is what it is all about.

Feel free to leave comments or your own examples of movie plots and stories.

Many of those screenwriting sites have gone to a paid subscriber format. It’s a harsh world and that’s a tough pill to swallow for many struggling writers. But you shouldn’t really worry as there is still one free script sales archive available online – Hollywood Lit Sales. This isn’t the greatest site in the world, but it’s free. Here you can go through their sales archive and look at every script sold as reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Does that mean they list every script sold? No. Just the ones reported in the Hollywood trades.

The good news is that the sales archive is searchable. You can filter your script sales search by parameters such as agent, agency, writer’s name, date, buyer, producer, etc. You can even search by writer’s first sale, which is especially useful for fledgling screenwriters interested in seeing how much their stories are worth.

In addition to the script sales archive, there is also a free Story Database that lets producers or whoever search for a type of story. Will you or your story be discovered by a producer and bought through this service? Highly inconceivable but stranger things can happen. The Moose, personally, would not submit to this database as almost any producer who is capable of greenlighting a film or buying your script has a giant stack of scripts that they need to read from established writers. I doubt that they would spend their free time trolling through a free database that anyone can submit when they could be spending time with their kids.

Hollywood Lit Sales also has many other features such as a advice forum and a coverage service. Not really useful, but they are providing you with a service for free. Why not get your script covered by them and subsidize their site? If the coverage is useful, then all the better.

In actuality, the only other useful feature on this site other than the searchable script sales archive is their Hollywood Address Book and their Examples page. The Hollywood Lit Sales Address Book is essentially a bare bones version of the Hollywood Creative Directory. It lists agencies, management companies, production companies, entertainment law firms and guilds. Their Examples page gives examples for a basic screenwriting page, a bad query letter, a good query letter and the script title page. All in all, this site is a decent resource for screenwriters if you just ignore the lame advice they try to give.

Some people have a natural knack for creating beautiful and memorable dialogue. Others labor at it and it shows in the final product. So what do you do if you’re great at writing everything but dialogue? Is there anything you can do to help? Of course there is.

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As writers, you often hear the saying “write what you know” ad nauseum but it can apply to writing dialogue as well. How? By taking the words you hear everyday from your friends, enemies, coworkers and anyone else you know and adapting them for your script. To that end you should carry a note pad or some type of recording device with you at all times so that when you overhear someone saying interesting, you can write it down so that you can refer to it and use it later. You should be writing notes or recording speech every time you hear something that catches your ear whether it’s a rant on a why spaghetti sauce is too salty or some dirty joke a co-worker told.

Ok. So you’ve got a pile of every day conversations from real people written down or recorded. Now what? Just because the conversation is interesting doesn’t mean it will fit your script. What you can do is create a library or notebook or computer file full of these lines and conversations. Then, when you’re stuck for dialogue, you can go through this library to see if you have anything that fits.

The best case scenario is when you find some gem that someone said and it perfectly fits the scene you are writing. Most of the time, this is not the case. However, many times you will find some lines or conversations that are similar enough for you to adapt to your story. Maybe you’re writing a scene about someone who is competing for a promotion with a co-worker and is making a case for themselves to their boss. While it’s not the exact same situation, you might be able to take a speech by a political candidate running for office and change it to fit your scene.

The situation may be different, but the desire to prove yourself worthy of something is similar enough that you might be able to take the rhythms and phrasing of the candidate’s speech and alter it to fit your needs. Or by looking over other people’s words, you may find something completely different that inspires you to write the dialogue that you need. That being said, this library should only be one of your tools in your writing toolbox. Don’t feel the need to take all your dialogue from every day conversations.

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that real life conversations are often fragmentary and non-linear and filled with too many ah’s and um’s and other pregnant pauses. Unless you need the half finished thoughts and pauses for effect (David Mamet is the reigning king of this technique), you will need to adapt adapt the real life conversations you recorded into lines more suitable for film and television. So how do you do that? First, take out all the stuttering and the um’s and ah’s unless they fit the scene. For example, if your character is trying to stall someone, they may use um’s and ah’s and what not. The pauses and stuttering of everyday speech would fit that situation. But generally speaking, the stuttering and pauses and extra syllable will sound long winded and boring on film so cut them out.

Next, cut out all your “well” and “you know” at the beginning of people’s lines. These introductory words and phrases are unnecessary and serve no purpose. You want your dialogue to be real, but you want them to be concise as well. No one wants to hear an actor ramble. Which leads into the next step, cut out anything from the conversations that do not pertain to what the scene is about. Real life conversations wander almost randomly from topic to topic. You can’t do that on film unless you’re going for some kind of slice-of-life verite drama (re: boring). So take out all the little asides and random bits and pieces that found its way into the conversation and streamline it down to what is relevant to the scene.

Finally, the last tip for adapting real life conversations to filmic dialogue is vocabulary replacement. People speak with the vocabulary that they know given their education and background. This same should be true of your characters. If you tell someone the story of how your car was towed which made you late to a court hearing which caused the judge to charge you with contempt of court and fine you $1000, an English professor may reply, “That’s unfortunate,” while a plumber is more likely to say, “that sucks,” or “shit happens.” You need to make sure the vocabulary of the dialogue you adapt is appropriate to your characters.

Of course, this is only one way to craft realistic sounding film dialogue. I hope these tips help and good luck on your writing.

While Warhol is dead, the pop art movement continues on. The Moose discovered this site for LA Pop Art the other day while surfing the net. What this site does is sell pop art that mixes iconic images with the language associated with those images. For example, take a look.

This poster of Rocky recreates the unforgettable image of Rocky at the top of the steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum using nothing but the dialogue from the movie itself.

The technique used to create this cool poster is known as micrography. A brief history of the technique of micrography can be found on the LA Pop Art website but here is a brief excerpt

Micrography, the scribal practice of employing minuscule script to create abstract shapes or figurative designs, is an art form that has been used by Jews for over a millennium. This intricate decorative technique was first practiced in Egypt and the Land of Israel in the tenth century. Micrography developed within the Islamic cultural milieu in which the written word was frequently transformed into elaborate decorative patterns. This abstract ornamentation, emphasized in Islamic art, strongly influenced the artistic creations of the Jews living in many Near Eastern countries.

Pretty cool stuff. These posters would make great gifts for all your writer or movie quoting friends

The World Is Yours. – Scarface

An Offer You Can’t Refuse. – The Godfather

It’s times like these when you need to step back from your writing and relax. Take a deep breath and then immerse yourself in all the sick and perverse crap that humans do to each other. Explore the depths that human behavior will plummet to and the wide range of unthinkable deviant behavior that humans are capable of. Why? To put everything in perspective and hopefully inspire you with some new ideas because sometimes fiction can’t compete with reality and you just need to see or read about something different to start your mind racing on a new idea. And what better way to do that than by reading all the sick crap that humans are capable of at the Rotten Library.

For those of you who don’t know, the Rotten Library is a collection of articles about all the sick and perverse and deviant things that have happened in history. If it’s outside the range of what most people call “normal”, then you can find something about it here.

What is the Rotten Library? The Rotten Library is a part of the site Rotten.com which is a shock site operated by Soylent Communications with the slogan “An archive of disturbing illustration”. Do not go to Rotten.com unless you want to see shocking and disturbing images. The Moose does not recommend you visit the main site which succeeds beyond expectations your idea of a shock site.

Instead, go straight to the Rotten Library which is a less graphic portion of the site cataloging what they call “an unforgettable collection of all that mankind swore to forget, but which we have trapped in agonizing clarity to remember always.” The articles you find here are intelligently written and researched with a definite point of view and a sense of humor. They all deal with historical events, the occult, strange sexual acts, biographies of truly perverse people, terrorists, conspiracy theories, strange and disturbing facts about every day ordinary things, urban legends and more.

Some of the things you will find at the Rotten Library include articles on:

• Scientology
• Indian Call Centers
• Secret Societies
• September 11 Conspiracy Theories
• Sugar
• Trepanation
• Nostradamu
• Paris Hilton
• Rasputin
• Bermuda Triangle
• Skull and Bones
• Floridation
• Secret Archives Of The Vatican
• Practical Uses of Pee
• Armageddon
• Apocalypse
• Designer Vaginas
• Aleister Crowley
• Knights Templar
• Vagina Dentata
• Freemasonry
• Orgone Box
• Rolodex Of Love
• Hello Kitty

And much, much more. So visit the Rotten Library and amaze yourself at how sick the human race is. With such a wealth of funny and perverse information, you’ll be sure to rid yourself of writer’s block and a lack of ideas.

Not to worry, there’s a printing company in Los Angeles called Digital Express that caters to the entertainment industry. Using the web address www.scriptcopier.com, Digital Express offers printing from digital files at the low price of 2¢ a page.

That comes out to $1.80 to $2.40 for your average script. Quite a savings compared to your local FedEx Kinkos. On top of that, Digital Express will add script covers and bind your screenplays with brass brads for a professional presentation for a nominal fee (10¢ for white covers, 20¢ for the brads).

Best of all, Digital Express can ship your copies to you if you don’t live in Los Angeles. They can also directly submit your scripts to screenwriting contests, agents, studios and production companies. All you have to do is include a cover letter and address with your script file and they will print, bind and mail your babies directly to whomever you want. You can even print your script on different color pages to help you keep track of all the revisions. It’s as simple as emailing your script files to them and they’ll take care of the rest.

While I have fallen victim to this tendency myself and have plenty to say about it, I thought I would share a little gift with you, loyal readers. Knowing that I’m a big fan, a friend of mine sent me a memo that Pulitzer Prize winning writer David Mamet sent to the writing staff of his show on CBS The Unit.

Here is that memo, retyped for you typos and all, from David Mamet talking about the essence of screenwriting and the difference between drama and non-drama.

TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT

GREETINGS.

AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.

THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.

EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR.
WE ARE TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.

OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.

BUT NOTE:
THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION.
YOU WOULDN’T, I WOULDN’T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL.
THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.

QUESTION:
WHAT IS DRAMA?
DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE
THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.

SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.

1) WHO WANTS WHAT?

2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?

3) WHY NOW?

THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER.
APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS
DRAMATIC OR NOT.

IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE
DRAMATICALLY ACTED.

THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR
TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY
SCENE IS DRAMATIC.

THIS MEANS ALL THE “LITTLE” EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE
TALKING ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT
ON THE FIRST DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD
FORBID, GET FILMED.

IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE
THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING
TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.

SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB
(THE ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB.
HIS OR HER JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE
ACTORS TO TALK FAST. IT IS YOUR JOB.

EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.

THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR
ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,
TO FAILURE – THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE,
WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.

ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.

ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STAND
ALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS
EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.

YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF
WRITING IN ALL THAT “INFORMATION?”

AND I RESPOND “FIGURE IT OUT” ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND IS) TAUGHT TO SAY “MAKE IT CLEARER”, AND “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM”.

WHEN YOU’VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS
HAPPY, BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.

THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO
SUGGEST TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, “BUT, JIM, IF WE DON’T ASSASSINATE THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN FLAME”

WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE
INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.

AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.

HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND
VOUCHSAFING INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE
DRAMATIST. AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM
THE LESSER SPECIES IN THEIR BLUE SUITS.

FIGURE IT OUT.

START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE:
THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero
HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.

LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE
DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE
DRAMA FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.

THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN
TRUTH, YOU ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.

HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS.
ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A
CROCK OF SHIT.

ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT
IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE
AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.

DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN
MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.

REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION
WRITING, OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -
LITERALLY. WHAT ARE THEY HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION, WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.

IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT
MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.

IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,
INDEED, OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM -
TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)

THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN
YOURSELVES TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.

I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.

IF THE ANSWER IS “NO” WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT.
IF YOU’VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.

LOVE,

DAVE
MAMET SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05

(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS
YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT
Questions OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I
BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)

Sure, you get a little exposure and a few scripts have been sold as a result but no careers have been launched off any contests except the Nicholl and the Chesterfield. So for the rest of the contests, you’re basically just competing for cash. That being said, the contests with a large cash prize give you poor odds of winning because of the sheer number of entries. And since screenwriting contests are judged based off of subjective criteria, you’re probably better off going to Vegas to try to win money.

That being said, there are a few contests that are worth entering. One of them is the filmmaking festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico known as the Duke City Shootout. Although Albuquerque may be best known as the place where Bugs Bunny should have made a left turn…

…aspiring filmmakers should get acquainted with the city as the Duke City Shootout could become a fertile training ground and launch pad for writer-directors.

Launched in 2000 as the Flicks on 66 Wild West Digital Shootout, the idea of this film production festival was to take an entrants script in one week from the page to the screen. The first festival produced ten 10 minute shorts. The festival changed its name to the DigiFest SouthWest in 2003 and finally to its current name the Duke City Shootout in 2005.

What makes this contest stand out is from other screenwriting contests is that the finalists actually get produced. The way the contest works is filmmakers submit a script for a short film 12 minutes or less. Using the industry standard estimate of 1 page equals 1 minute of screen time, your script should be no more than 12 pages. If your script is over 12 pages, you will get penalized per page over the limit. The deadline to submit your script is May 15th.

Once all the entries have been received, the judges will then pare down the entries to ten finalists who will be given script notes and suggestions for revisions to help rewrite and strengthen their stories. Then the finalists will be given five days to re-write their script. The judges and producers will then select 7 of the 10 final scripts to be produced.

The Duke City Shootout will then fly each of the seven finalists out to Albuquerque where they will each be assigned a producer and creative team to help them film their short. The contest will pay for all costs of equipment rentals and labor and supply each filmmaker with $1500 for location expenses, expendables and other expenses. Filmmakers will then have from the crack of dawn on July 26 to midnight of August 1st to shoot and edit their films. The Gala Premiere for all the films will be on August 2nd.

From watching the finalist films of the past two years, I can tell you that the production value of the Duke City Shootout films can be quite impressive. Some of the films have a little CGI and others have used aerial photography from a small plane or helicopter

While the production value of the films made through the Duke City Shootout are high, the quality of the writing and filmmaking leave a lot to be desired. After watching the films and reading the scripts, I have to say that the bar has been set pretty low. Many of the scripts are one note or just one joke.

I think this is largely because the Duke City Shootout contest is still relatively young and not as well known as other contests that have been around longer like Scriptapalooza. That’s good news for you as it means that you’ll have a better chance of becoming a finalist. None of the finalists that I have read or seen so far actually has a story with any resonance. If you can write a story with a beginning, a middle and an end with even a little bit of resonance, I think you would easily make the finalist stage.

I’m so sure that the Moose is going to write and submit a short script for this contest this year. I will keep you updated on the progress and results from my entry, but I urge all you aspiring writer-directors and filmmakers to write and enter your own script. This year is the first year where all the films will be shot in hi-def. With this contest, you can shoot a short film or calling card on someone else’s dime using toys and other fancy equipment and techniques that might not be available to you on your own. That’s a pretty sweet deal if you think about it.

That’s the allure of the Nicholl Fellowship, officially known as The Don & Gee Nicholl Fellowships In Screenwriting. Run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the same people who bring you the Academy Awards, the Nicholl Fellowship is the granddaddy of all the screenwriting contests.

Started in 1985 by Gee Nicholl, this international screenwriting competition is the most significant contest for screenwriters in the entertainment industry. In addition to the large cash stipend of $30,000, this contest has launched the careers of many writers and screenwriters. Famous alumni of the Nicholl Fellowship include:

• Oscar nominated screenwriter Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, 28 Days, Ever After)
• Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jeffrey Eugenides (Middlesex)
• Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Dennis Clontz
• Andrew W. Marlowe (Air Force One, End of Days, Hollow Man)
• Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, The Ring)
• Mike Rich (Finding Forrester, The Rookie)
• Doug Atchison (Akeelah and the Bee (Widescreen Edition))

The Nicholl Fellowship has a $30 entry fee with a deadline of May 1st. At the present, there is no electronic submission process and only hard copies of your screenplay entry will be accepted. Adaptations are ineligible for competition and your screenplay must be written originally in English.

All scripts are read at least once in the competition. About half are read a second time and about one-sixth are read a third time. About 5 percent of entries advance to the competition quarterfinals, about 2 percent advance to the semifinals and about ten reach the finals.

All entrants will receive notification of their status by mail sent no later than August 1 of each year. Quarterfinalist letters are mailed by August 1; fellowship recipients are announced in late October. Entries are judged by industry professionals and Academy members. The finalist scripts are judged by the Nicholl Comittee.

Winners receive $30,000 distributed over one year in five installments of $6,000. The first installment on day one and the second through fifth at the end of each quarter. The winners are expected to finish one original screenplay of their choice in their fellowship year as the fellowship was designed to help writers write by paying for expenses and getting them away from a “day job”. Fellows have two years to complete their script to fulfill their fellowship requirements.

The entertainment industry views the contest as a great way to weed out all the bad scripts floating around. This is one of the reasons why this particular screenwriting contest is so significant. The ten finalists are virtually guaranteed a read by every company that matters in the film industry. From there the trickle down effect helps many of the semifinalists and even some of the quarterfinalists to get there scripts read. Tell a literary agent you won the Arkansas’s Best Screenwriting Competition and they’ll hang up on you. Tell them you’re a Nicholls semifinalist and they’ll probably read your script.

So what’re your chances of winning this thing? In 2007, there were 5,050 entries so your chances were five in 5,050. This year, there’ll probably be more but don’t let that stop you. Good luck.

Table of contents for Famous Writers and Books In The Public Domain

1. Famous Writers and Books In The Public Domain: A-G
2. Famous Writers and Books In The Public Domain: H-P
3. Famous Writers and Books In The Public Domain: Q-Z

Continuing the list of famous writers and books in the public domain. This is by no means a complete list, merely a starting point for entrepreneurial screenwriters and filmmakers. Please remember that this list is for the original stories by these authors. Many of these works have already been produced for film and television and contain famous story elements particular to that adaptation that are not in the original works. Those story elements are not in the public domain. Only the original story from the original work by these authors.

For example, the original story of Snow White by the Brothers Grimm differs greatly from the story in Walt Disney’s more famous animated version. If you were to adapt a version of Snow White and used elements from Disney’s version like the Prince waking Snow White up with a kiss, then you would be in violation of Disney’s copyright. Another example is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which is in the public domain. If you’re adaptation includes a version of Frankenstein’s monster with bolts in his neck, then you would be in violation of Universal’s copyright of Frankenstein with Boris Karloff.

If you know of other famous books and writers in the public domain, please let me know and I will update this list.

Rudolf Erich Raspe

All of his works are in the public domain including his most famous story The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

William Shakespeare

The Bard’s been dead for a long time, hence, all of his work is in the public domain. Knock yourself out with your own version of Hamlet, Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet.

Mary Shelley

All of her writing is in the public domain including the ever popular Frankenstein. Her other famous books include The Last Man and Matilda.

Robert Louis Stevenson

All of this writer’s work is in the public domain including the popular stories Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, and New Arabian Nights.

Bram Stoker

All of this writer’s work is in the public domain including Dracula, The Jewel Of Seven Stars, The Lady Of The Shroud and The Lair Of The White Worm.

Mark Twain

All of this amazing American literary genius’s work is in the public domain. His most famous stories are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Jules Verne

All of this entertaining French writer’s work is in the public domain. His most famous works include Journey to the Centre of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Mysterious Island and Around the World in Eighty Days.

H.G. Wells

Only some of Wells’s stories are in the public domain but they include The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The War of the Worlds.

Oscar Wilde

All of this witty playwright’s work is in the public domain. His most famous stories are The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Johann David Wyss

This writer’s most famous story The Swiss Family Robinson is in the public domain.