CSW Script Search: Pittsburgh to Hollywood

http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/?ref=mail_sw_december&et_mid=592896&rid=233262809

Understanding Amazon Studios We think this will be an effective way to develop commercially viable feature films and episodic series. There are three distinctive characteristics of the Amazon Studios process:

CSW member & Script Search participant Michael Buzzelli is now a published author, too. His book, BELOW AVERAGE GENIUS, is available on Amazon.com

Order a copy and he'll be glad to sign it for you!

http://www.amazon.com/Below-Average-Genius-Michael-Buzzelli/dp/1605949310/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342325383&sr=8-1&keywords=below+average+genius

Mike's description:
I’m not smart enough to hang with the intellectuals, but stupid people annoy me mightily. I’d be a genius on Wheel of Fortune but a dummy on Jeopardy. Take this example from a Final Jeopardy question: “This cheese was created in 1892 by Emil Frey and named for a singing society whose members loved the cheese.” None of the contestants answered correctly, “What is Liederkranz?” That’s a pretty tough question. I don’t think I’ve ever spread a Liederkranz on a cracker. I can only name a few cheeses anyway and as far as I know Cheddar, Havarti, Swiss and Goat were never singing groups. Cheese maker Frey is also credited with creating Velveeta. Apparently, he was a real cheese whiz. Below Average Genius is a collection of narrative essays culled from Michael Buzzelli’s weekly humor column the Observer-Reporter newspaper, Patch.com and a variety of other sources. Each essay is a brisk, humorous tale about ordinary, daily situations blown up ridiculously big. “It’s a Blurry, Blurry World” chronicles Buzzelli’s inability to snap a decent photograph at Disneyland. “Come On, Come on to My House” explores the dynamic of watching a movie or television show in someone else’s home. The titular essay explains why Buzzelli is considered by himself, and occasionally by others, a Below Average Genius.

Below Average Genius I’m not smart enough to hang with the intellectuals, but stupid people annoy me mightily. I’d be a genius on Wheel of Fortune but a dummy on Jeopardy. Take this example from a Final Jeopardy question: “This cheese was created in 1892 by Emil Frey and named for a singing socie...

For Immediate Release: Pittsburgh, PA

Date: 1/25/12

Carnegie Screenwriters Announce Results of Script Search – “Pittsburgh to Hollywood”

A Pittsburgh area writing group, headed by writer, theatrical director and actor Bob Scott, posed a question - Just how many talented writers are there in the “Burgh.” After all, filmmakers are flocking to the area, including the most recent installment of “Batman” as well as Tom Cruise’s “One Shot,” to name only a few. And of course a number of expats enjoy tremendous success in the film industry; there are far too many to name.

So how about the folks who have remained in Pittsburgh and want to try their hand at creating the foundation of any good film, the screenplay? Does the “Burgh” have any good writers? Well, what Bob and the Carnegie Screenwriters (CSW) discovered was surprising and very positive. The question was posed - Has anyone written a screenplay that has advanced to the final rounds of a nationally recognized screenwriting competition, or who has a script that has been optioned by a production company?

The group expected a handful of responses - well, not even close. Via a word of mouth effort and some modest Facebook messaging, the results came in; twenty-six scripts were submitted. That’s twenty-six feature-length projects written by Pittsburgh area writers that have reached a level of proficiency, as identified by Hollywood professionals, which may someday be made into a motion picture – WOW!

The next step for the CSW is to get these screenplays in front of the “players,” as they say. There are already several film and TV producers who have expressed an interest in reviewing the list. Of course, Bob, the CSW and the screenwriters know that the task will not be easy. There are virtually thousands of projects registered with the Writers Guild of America every year. And as in any business venture, these writers know that persistence is the key, and matching the right screenplay with an agent, manager or producer, is simply a matter of time and making the connections.

Perhaps the most pleasing and proudest takeaway from the efforts of the CSW is to discover that Western Pennsylvania, “the cradle of quarterbacks,” would also produce so many talented amateur screenwriters; folks toiling at their kitchen table, or cramped dusty desk in the basement, turning out material that may very well make it from Pittsburgh to Hollywood.

Bob Scott can be reached at [email protected] or 412-583-2154.