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Screenwriter Interviews
MovieBytes Interview: Denise Gossett
An interview with Denise Gossett regarding the Shriekfest Writing Competition.
Q: Who sponsors this contest, and what is their background in the industry? When was the contest founded?A: Our contest was founded in 2001. 2007 marks our 7th year!
We have many different kinds of sponsors...we've had GE, Final Draft, DTS, Inktip, Write Brain, Good In a Room, Silver Creek Pictures, Writers Boot Camp, Danie Cortese, So you Wanna Sell a Script, Digital Express, and many, many more!
A: I am the festival founder and festival director.
Q: Have any of the winning scripts from the contest been sold or produced?A: Yes, we've had many get optioned, some have been made and we've helped many people get agents too. We really try to help out the writers as much as we can without being an agent.
Q: Who judges the early rounds of the competition? What are their qualifications? Who judges the final rounds?A: We have 10-12 judges each year. About 5 help narrow down to the finalists and then the rest come in to help pick the winners. We have writers, agents, producers, production companies, directors, etc act as judges.
Q: Do the early-round judges read the entire script, or do they stop after a certain number of pages?A: Our judges are required to read the entire script and the way we ensure that they do is by having them fill out a synopsis of the script. We think it's only fair that the entire script be read. Writers put their heart and soul into these scripts and we should respect that fact.
Q: Are the judges looking for any specific type of script? Are scripts of a certain genre more likely to do well?A: Our judges are not looking for any specific type of script, however our festival does focus on horror/thriller and scifi/fantasy scripts though.
We also have a short screenplay category and an under 18 category for the young writers out there.
A: Our winners are promoted on our site and in press releases that go out to all the usual entertainment publications. We also have deals with our sponsors where the writers get extra publicity for winning. Plus, we refer scripts to people all the time. All through the year we get contacted from people looking for scripts and I will refer scripts that are winners, finalists, and scripts that I personally enjoyed whether they won or not.
Q: What advice can you offer to writers entering your contest?A: Really flesh out your ideas, make each page count. Alot of writers tend to make their scripts too long when they could've gotten the point across in less time.
Posted Thursday, April 19, 2007
