Posts Tagged ‘Josh Zetumer’
Kodjo's LA Adventure
April 9th, 2010 | 
Author: | 2009 Silver Screenwriting Competition Winner Kodjo Akeseh Tsakpo Kodjo Akeseh Tsakpo, the Silver Screenwriting Grand Prize winner, after being absolutely exhausted from flying to and fro and all of his meetings, etc. has returned to Merry Olde England, gathered his strength and sent us his brief take on what his trip was like:
**** So by winning The Script Department’s opportune Silver Screenwriting Competition 2009, I’ve been flown to Los Angeles for meetings with Hollywood insiders and won a cool haul of prizes. So here I am – back in the UK, suitcase empty, study area a mess and the script to my left boasting the win in thick bold type – the latter is all I wanted but I ended up getting so much more. I’ve spent the best part of a year in hibernation writing and rewriting SHIFT, and, whilst script-editors and writer-friends encourage, read and feed back nothing beats the accreditation of placing at competition. Nothing beats the accreditation of winning. Whilst always harbouring a passion for SHIFT I’ve always been aware that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Though employing the tenets of a standard thriller, its narrative hook gives it complexity and, hopefully, depth. It’s labyrinthine and multi-layered and, at times, convoluted but necessarily so. In short – it does itself little favours when presenting itself to readers. But I don’t care. I’ve loved it. I’ve loved writing it. I’ve loved re-writing it. And, up until now that fulfillment was a satisfactory reward. Due to the time difference, I awaited Julie’s call long after all my colleagues had gone home. I simply expected more questions about my eligibility to be in the competition – why can’t she just email me? So in that regards, being told – “You’ve won.” – pretty much made my year. Seriously – to go back to LA, meet agents, managers…taste root beer (which, for uninitiated, tastes like Coke but with MORE sugar in it) was more than I could have hoped for but exactly what I wanted when I entered the competition. So what did I take away from LA 2009? That Los Angeles is populated with more generous people than the rest of the world gives it credit for. From Julie and The Script Department going well above and beyond their capacity for hospitality to the writers, agents and executives that took time out of their heavy schedules to read some Japanese-sounding Brit’s ‘metaphysical thriller’ – and from them giving one-to-one advice and support regarding the maintenance of a Hollywood career to the yet-to-break-in writers who I was blessed to befriend at the Screenwriters Expo a few days later. Aside from the airfare, the hotel and the unrivalled access to inner-Hollywood, winning this competition has ensured that I’ve left town with two of the most valuable commodities any career-forging writer and/or director should have – validation and friendship… …and a Macbook Air, Final Draft 8 and money. In short, I’ve been humbled and I’ve had a blast but now the real work begins. So, till next time, which won’t be long, adios y buena suerte and my thanks to The Silver Screenwriting Competition and Julie Gray. |
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Kodjo and Steve Faber (WEDDING CRASHERS) one of my favorite people in this world.
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With the wonderful Jeff Bushell (BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA)
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Three time black list writer, Josh Zetumer (DUNE, BOURNE IDENTITY)
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Yay! Brand New MacBook Air!
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Posted in Misc Screenwriting | 
Tags: competition, contest, hollywood, Jeff Bushell, Josh Zetumer, Los Angeles, mac book air, movie, option, rewriting, screenplay, screenplay contest, Steve Faber, writers | 
1 Comment »
2008 Quarterfinalists
A
A Soldier’s Honor, Mike Scherer
All The King’s Horses, Richard Huber
Another Time, Another Place, Skip Berry
Apricot Harmony, John Killeen
Aurelious Rising, Paul Cooper
Away Games, Michael Cheung
B
Bad Rap, Mark Grisar
Bananafish Sandwich, Kevin O’Malley
Battle Mountain, Kristine Hurst
Blood Money, Michael Eging
Blood Snow, Adam Hong
Blowback, Jeff Travers
Body Work, Haik Hakobian
Bridie Molloy, Daniel Donnelly
Bull’s Eye, Tamara Farsadi
Business or Pleasure, Sara Zofko
C
Chapman, Justin Owensby
Christmas 1914, Robert Milius
Cross My Heart…, Rich Sheehy
Cul-De-Sac, Galen Young D
Devil Of Sorrow, Robert Lewis
Devil’s Due, Neil Cumbria F
Family First, Patrick Barb
Feed the Monster, Rob Rex
Felix the Flyer, Christopher Canole
Fort Miserables, Leonard Lawson
Freebird, Hilary Graham
Free Skate, Caitlin McCarthy E
G
Garbo’s Last Stand, Jonathan Miller
Ghoul, Kelly Parks H
Hanging On, Matthew Kaplan
Hate Day, David Kempski
Head Games, Scott Marengo
Hunger, Michael Hogan I
In God’s Name, John Killeen
In Trust, Justin Owensby
Influence, Dov Engelberg J
Jam the Flow, Galen Young
L
Lights on the Lake, Jason Tucker
Loss of Innocence, Eric Gaunaurd
Lucifer’s Bounty, R.D. Wright
M
Marry Me, Daniel Korb
Mr. Unlucky, Tony Nichols O
P
Phantom Noise, Yvette Bou
Powder Brown, Philip Dorr Q
Qumran, Mike Scherer R
Red Card, P Montgomery
Relative Terms, Deborah Stenard
Revived, Jennie Von Eggers
Running Gun, Mike Bencivenga S
Salt and Light, Natalie Zimmerman
Scavengers, Diana Kemp-Jones
Scent of Jasmine, Israela Margalit
Scents of Justice, James Albert
Searching for Ernie, Ron Vigil
She’s Got A Way, Elise Stempky
Shooting Bambi, William Goins
Sisters in Arms, Barry Leach
Sleeping With the Lutefisk, Wenonah Wilms
Sliding Into Home, Rich Sheehy
Snilderholden’s Jungle, Jennifer Thomas
Something For Me, Juan Sebastian Jacome
Sonny Takes to Peru, Mark Hammer
Soulmating, Christopher Bosley
Stakeholder, Stephanie Branco
Stolen Sky, Dan Fabrizio
Stuck on Love, R.J. Berens
Stupid Love, Steven Zelman
Swing, Christie Havey-Smith T
The 6, Brandon Vega
The ABCs of Mr.D, Alex Darrow
The Adventures of Zara Zancón in Cactus Canyon, Amy Quick Parrish
The Bermuda Prawn, Patricia Semler
The Bottomless Puzzle, Patrick Daly
The De-Haunters, Bryan Bagby
The Devil in Saint Nick, Christopher Burns
The Doll, Rich Figel
The Fire Store, Allen Colombo
The Friendliest Evil Clown Around, Michael Pauly
The Goddess, Rafael De Leon Jr.
The Hinge, Vining Wolff
The Knuckleballer, Michael Murphy
The LAM of God, Drew Langer
The Magic of Merin: Inside the Lamp, David Kiez
The Nazi Method, Matthew Grant
The Nutcracker, Connie Tonsgard
The Orchard, Diane Stredicke
The Placeholder, Amy Neswald
The Price of Vengeance, Patrick Hoeft
The Prisonaires, Mike Freeman
The Saxon, Nigel Grant
The Spinning Wheel, Natashia Saunders
The Terminals, Matt Umbarger
The Tooth Fairy, Michael Hogan
The Warrior Within, Nicholas Wright
Through The Grapevine, Shequeta Smith
Through the Night, Edward Martin III
To The Sea, Elizabeth Robinson
Tool, G.T. Field
Tooth Lake, Richard Topping
Truthies, Carlo DeCarlo
Turnabout, Mike Scherer
Turning Annie, Bruce Stirling
Twilight, Sebastian Moretto U
Unity, Eugene Langlais
Unsigned: The Feature, Christopher Wasmer
Utopia, Kevin Norman W
Wait For Me, Brantley Black
White Niggers in the Woodpile, Paul Van Zyl
World Wide Web, Jason Arnopp
Wrocklage, Stephen Daniels
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Yard Sale, Irin Evers
Posted in Misc Screenwriting |
Tags: competition, contest, Hilary Graham, Josh Zetumer, quarterfinalists, screenwriters, screenwriting, script competition, script contest, Steve Faber, winners, writers |
1 Comment »
