Very well organized and well attended. We received valuable feedback from the diverse audience. The moderator was great and jump started their participation. I definitely recommend it for all creators and filmmakers!
A conflicted professor desperate to hide her lifestyle from her Jehovah’s Witness family faces her fears when she begins proceedings to gain custody of her bi-racial brother and sister, emotionally abused by her mother. With outrageous musical numbers, Big Love Meets Community…all based on real events.
It’s year 2437. 3000 meters under the icy crust of earth, the last remaining pocket of humanity struggles to answer the question: Is life for the sake of living any life at all?Extinction is the rule. Survival, the exception.
What happens inside and outside Station Galápagos is a harsh examination of the things we don’t understand and the things we refuse to understand; the leaps of faith we take; the tough choices we are forced to make; and the fine points that can make our existence worthwhile.
It tries to answer the question: is hope for good or for bad?
2. Why should this screenplay be made into a TV show?
This show contains a darkness I have not yet seen on TV. This will not be about sfx and pretty people, but real conflicts and characters in extreme situations. Galápagos would be able to shine a light on a future that could very well become a reality.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Dark. Uncompromising.
4. What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
I don’t watch much TV, but i did enjoy Black Mirror.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
This was originally a screenplay I wrote 5 years ago. Took me a year. The toughest script to date I have written. I always felt it would make a great TV show, and so adapted parts of the screenplay into a TV pilot to learn the format better. The pilot adaptation took another 4 months.
6. How many stories have you written?
I have written 6 screenplays (4 of which I’m really happy with), 2 short screenplays (both made into succesful short films – “Into the Dark” and “The Son, the Father…”), and TV pilot.
7. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
“One More Kiss, Dear” from Blade Runner
8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Not having written for TV before – spending a lot of time understanding the structure of a feature film screenplay – I had to adapt my format and technique to fit a different medium. I learned a lot about the differences in the media.
9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Staying present, being kind, standing up for myself, owning my strengths and weaknesses, fighting injustice, highlighting ignorance, questioning manmade religion.
10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I had been fortunate enough to have won before with a different script, and really enjoyed watching the reading (via youtube link). I knew it would be helpful to me. The positive feedback was extremely welcome at a time when i was doubting the strength of my material.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
FilmFreeway is great. User friendly and easy.
12. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Locate writers who are better than you, and get feedback. Rewrites are essential. Don’t be afraid of sharing your work. The most common mistake I see with films out there on the festival circuit is that the script wasn’t ready. It was not fully developed/thought through. Never think your script can’t improve.
Watch the August 2016 Winning TV PILOT screenplay.
RICK & MORTY “The Rickgotiator” by David Cryan
SYNOPSIS:
Genre: Comedy, Animation
When Morty accidentally gets his family kidnapped while trying to stop an alien war, he and Rick must execute an elaborate plan to rescue their family and trick the aliens into calling a truce.
What is your Rick & Morty TV SPEC screenplay about?
My Spec is about Rick learning where he can get some Chromosome Infinity, an elusive and rare substance he’s been after for a while. Rick finds out that it is located in the neutral zone, and if he tries to get it, it could spark an alien war, but he’s selfish. Meanwhile, Jerry tries to get a job and deals with his overall lack of confidence.
How does this screenplay fit into the context of the TV show?
It fits well into the context of the show because it has the big high concept sci-fi A story and a low key down to earth B story that collide at the halfway point.
How would you describe this script in two words?
I wouldn’t.
What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
Oh boy, one? I have an obnoxiously long list including: The Simpsons, Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep, Futurama, The Critic, Frasier, Community, The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and of course Rick and Morty. That’s me cutting my list short. Like I said it’s obnoxiously long.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I spent roughly two weeks on the outline, another two weeks on a first draft, and then did periodic rewrites over the course of a couple months.
How many stories have you written?
I have written lots of sketches. Two pilots, one of which goes in drawer marked as a learning experience and is to never see the light of day. As well as three specs of existing shows, including Veep, Rick and Morty and an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which I just finished a first draft of and am beginning to rewrite.
What motivated you to write this screenplay?
Fear of failure.
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Also fear of failure.
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Personal privacy.
What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I’m at a point where I have enough writing samples that I’m happy with. So I’ve begun actively trying to get my stuff read, be that by submitting to agencies or entering contests. As far as the feedback, some of it I agreed with some of it I didn’t, but it definitely helped make my next draft stronger.
Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?