A few months ago we submitted an in-progress draft of Detox to the Wildsound Screenplay Contest as they provide feedback on every script submitted – whether or not it “wins” and is given a live reading with live feedback. I never heard anything back from them and contacted them to check on the status. Their records showed feedback had been sent; however, I never received anything. So they said to resubmit, and it would go through the process again. So I did and, not knowing exactly which version of the script I’d sent through before, I sent the final version. That was a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully in about a month we’ll hear something.

We also submitted the script to two other contests. The first is The Movie Deal. Their grand prize is getting the script produced. By them. Not exactly my favorite option as I want to direct the film myself, but, if it does win, we have the option of not accepting the offer. So why enter? They can also offer a cash prize in lieu of a production deal. And, really, if it did happen to win, at least we know it’s good. Winners will be announced November 15th.

The third contest is the Cinequest Screenplay contest. That one’s a bit more appealing. The grand prize is $5000, a consultation with a “seasoned” producer and a physical award (cool!). The top ten finalists (including the grand prize) get a roundtable with producers, agents and experts on the business of writing and some other cool little things. The top ten finalists are notified mid-January and have a month or so to polish the script based on feedback from the judges before final judging.

Fingers crossed on all of the above.

The script has also been sent off to a couple of friends (Kurt Rauf and Dan Kauppi) to get feedback from them as well.

Until we get some outside notes, we’re taking a break from working on it and from submitting it to any other contests. Chris and I both think the story is rock-solid, and only anticipate issues with the characters’ arcs, motivations, etc. But you never know.