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Always mindful of his own struggles to break into Hollywood, Carl went out of his way to help other writers and creative people on their path to success. He wrote a book entitled How to Sell Your Screenplay: The Real Rules of Film and Television, which is still considered one of the best in its field. Carl was also a regular presence at such events as Selling to Hollywood, the New Writers Awards (sponsored by NBC), the Hawaii International Film Festival, and virtually any other place where writers gathered to commune and support each other. For the Scriptwriters Network, Carl was a frequent guest speaker and friend to many members of the organization, including former Chairwoman (and current Chair Emeritus) Bettina Moss. In 1991 Carl pushed the Network to start an annual screenwriting competition and personally mentored the Competition during its first two years. After his untimely death in 1993, the Network received permission from Carl's family to name the Competition after him, in honor of a man whose ideals of what Hollywood can and should be set a standard that this organization continues to strive for to this day. Carl's life philosophy can be summed up in perhaps his most famous quote, which has become the unofficial motto of the Scriptwriters Network: "Be Happy. There are enough miserable people in this business. We don't need any more."
Past Feature Winners and Finalists
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An award-winning writer and beloved friend to emerging writers everywhere, Carl Sautter (1948-1993) started his professional life as an urban planner for local government. Unsatisfied by his career choice, he turned to writing, never thinking that he would actually be successful at it. After seven years of writing screenplays and teleplays and struggling to get his foot in the door, Carl finally landed a writing assignment for an episode of Trapper John MD. He was then hired on staff at a new TV show called Moonlighting. Together with his writing partner, Debra Frank, Carl penned five episodes of that landmark series, while also working as story editor for the first two seasons. Carl and Debra earned two Writers Guild Awards and an Emmy nomination for their work on Moonlighting, with their most famous episode being The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice. Carl then went solo, breaking into the film industry with several scripts, including The Jetsons Movie and an uncredited rewrite on My Stepmother Is an Alien. He later worked with his life partner Paul Waigner on the popular drama series Beverly Hills 90210.