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CARL SAUTTER WINNERS FETED AT HISTORIC ROOSEVELT HOTEL
(September 2003) |
On Saturday, September 13, over 80 Scriptwriters Network members, their significant others, and honored guests enjoyed a splendid dinner in the Oscar room at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, site of the first Academy Awards presentation. The occasion was to announce the winners of the 13th annual Carl Sautter Memorial Scriptwriting Competition for Film and Television.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Bill Lundy acknowledged his gratitude for being a member of the Scriptwriters Network. He stressed that every contact and advance he’s made in his career has been due to his participation in the Scriptwriters Network and, is the number one reason his career is progressing (Bill recently wrote the Sci-Fi Channel movies SILENT WARNINGS and the upcoming ALIEN BLOOD). Bill also outlined his vision for the Network becoming the number one training ground for professional screen and television writers, and separating itself from all those people, organizations, websites and companies looking to make easy money off gullible wannabes.
Bill then introduced the guest speaker, Marc Zicree, who, along with his wife Elaine, is a motivational coach specializing in assisting writers, actors, directors and other professionals in developing their careers. The Zicrees have over 100 writing credits between them, including such shows as STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION, SLIDERS and DEEP SPACE NINE. Marc spoke about the larger picture of why writers write. For him, it is “because it’s the only way I know how to stop time.” The old adage of ‘writing what you know’ is not about intellect, but “what you know - here”, pointing to his heart as he continued to say, “Write what you care passionately about.” He encouraged writers to “be in life”, not sit on the couch watching it on movies or television.
The evening then segued into the announcement of the awards. Over 300 writers throughout the country submitted their scripts for this year’s Competition. Qualified professional readers within the Network winnowed down those scripts to 5 finalists in Features, 6 in Half-Hour TV and 4 in One-Hour TV. Those finalists were:
FEATURES – Robert Bowersox, BENEATH THE BADGE; Sylvia Cary, THE LADIES WAR; Keith Davidson, ETERNALLY YOURS; Ben Lee, LOVE BY THE BOOK; and Steven Vlasak, TEA PARTY. HALF-HOUR TELEVISION – Andrew Bird, SEX AND THE CITY, “Small Pleasures;” John Broker, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, “Oh Brother;” Ryan M. Harris, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, “Dead Pussy” and THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, “Mac to the Future;” Charles Horn, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, “Happy Anniversary;” and Stu Stuart, KING OF QUEENS, “Now Urine Trouble.” ONE-HOUR TELEVISION – Tom Duff, CSI, “Heroes & Villains;” Doug Molitor, SMALLVILLE, “Slither;” Michael Patrick Sullivan, RED RIGHT HAND (pilot); and Dianne E. Young, SIX FEET UNDER, “The Happiness Habit.”
Esteemed panels of Industry judges (made up of writers, producers, developments executives, agents, literary managers and show runners) read the finalist scripts in each category and made their choices for the winners. In the Half-Hour Television category, Charles Horn (a previous finalist in 2000 and 2001) won for his EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND script entitled “Happy Anniversary.” The One-Hour Television category had a tie between Doug Molitor, who wrote a SMALLVILLE script entitled “Slither,” and Michael Patrick Sullivan for his original pilot script “Red Right Hand” (this marked the first time a pilot had ever even made the Finals). Sylvia Cary won in the Features Category for her historical drama script, THE LADIES WAR. This was the third time Sylvia had submitted her script to the Competition. In her acceptance speech, she particularly thanked the readers of the Competition. She felt her winning this award was a direct result of the notes and comments previously provided by those members in the Network who read her earlier drafts.
The Scriptwriters Network is very proud of this year’s winners and encourages all members to participate in programs such as the Carl Sautter Scriptwriting Competition to hone their skills and learn through the process. We also thank this year’s Competition Committee members: FEATURES – Bob Corcoran, Heidi Mackay, Bill Lundy, and all the anonymous readers. TV – Michael Heister, Lynn Terashita, Michelle Belaskie, Tim Cavallero, Leilani Squire, Paul Hartel, Daryl Gale, Diane Johnson, Kiran Verma, and all the readers.
Entry forms for next year’s Competition will be available on our website in December. Remember – you can’t win if you don’t enter!
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