Where did the year go? It's Red Planet Competition time once again: the annual search for new screenwriting talent, courtesy of that nice man Tony Jordan (EastEnders/Life On Mars) and his production company.
I entered the competition last year, but didn't get through to the second round. I'd love to say the RP readers just didn't understand my script's obvious genius, but in hindsight I can see its overall problems myself. Mind you, the competition only asked for the first 10 pages, and my script's "opening ten" were pretty polished. I thought. Oh well, I'm actually pretty good at dealing with rejection -- because, the way I see it, everything boils down to peoples' opinions. And rejection is usually faceless in the scriptwriting world. I'd feel very different if RP rang you and said "that was utter shit" before hanging up.
Anyway, that's all in the dim and distant past. Time to think about 2008. My tastes are reflected in this blog, so I'm obviously interested in high-concept, sci-fi, horror, fantasy and thriller-type shows. There would be no point in me writing something else. I wouldn't have the enthusiasm, or the insight into the genre. You have to write what you know, I think. You don't see Ronald D. Moore deciding to move onto a romantic comedy after Battlestar Galactica, do you. No, he's back with another sci-fi TV epic called Virtuality. You'd have to be supremely talented to jump around in genre, and be successful doing that. Most people specialize, I think.
So, despite the fact last year's winner Joanna Leigh wrote something more unusual (a true story about a man involved in creating the first dictionary), that shouldn't mean everyone follows her lead. While there's an argument for choosing a less-obvious genre to write in (your script would stand out from the crowd a bit more), I think it's better to write a brilliant script in a genre you know inside-out, then a half-decent script in a genre you chose just to be different.
This year there are a few notable changes to the rules, too:
1. The deadline is 30 September, so you have three months.
2. All entries must be for a 60-minute TV Pilot.
3. Scripts can't be e-mailed.
4. Only one entry per writer.
5. You must include a one-page series outline.
I always have plenty of ideas for a script. The problem is choosing which one would work best as a TV Pilot. A lot of my ideas would make better films than TV series -- the old problem of a great Pilot idea not really having "legs"; so you'd be struggling to keep the story going in a theoretical eighth episode. It's actually very difficult to dream up a TV series idea that lends itself to multiple (ideally, never-ending) episodes -- without being just another cops/docs drama. I have nothing against those types of shows, I just think there are too many. I prefer putting twists on old concepts, a la Life On Mars -- which is a '70s cop show seen through the prism a modern man, thanks to the time-travel.
So, best of luck if you're entering the competition this year!
More details at the much-improved website.
I entered the competition last year, but didn't get through to the second round. I'd love to say the RP readers just didn't understand my script's obvious genius, but in hindsight I can see its overall problems myself. Mind you, the competition only asked for the first 10 pages, and my script's "opening ten" were pretty polished. I thought. Oh well, I'm actually pretty good at dealing with rejection -- because, the way I see it, everything boils down to peoples' opinions. And rejection is usually faceless in the scriptwriting world. I'd feel very different if RP rang you and said "that was utter shit" before hanging up.
Anyway, that's all in the dim and distant past. Time to think about 2008. My tastes are reflected in this blog, so I'm obviously interested in high-concept, sci-fi, horror, fantasy and thriller-type shows. There would be no point in me writing something else. I wouldn't have the enthusiasm, or the insight into the genre. You have to write what you know, I think. You don't see Ronald D. Moore deciding to move onto a romantic comedy after Battlestar Galactica, do you. No, he's back with another sci-fi TV epic called Virtuality. You'd have to be supremely talented to jump around in genre, and be successful doing that. Most people specialize, I think.
So, despite the fact last year's winner Joanna Leigh wrote something more unusual (a true story about a man involved in creating the first dictionary), that shouldn't mean everyone follows her lead. While there's an argument for choosing a less-obvious genre to write in (your script would stand out from the crowd a bit more), I think it's better to write a brilliant script in a genre you know inside-out, then a half-decent script in a genre you chose just to be different.
This year there are a few notable changes to the rules, too:
1. The deadline is 30 September, so you have three months.
2. All entries must be for a 60-minute TV Pilot.
3. Scripts can't be e-mailed.
4. Only one entry per writer.
5. You must include a one-page series outline.
I always have plenty of ideas for a script. The problem is choosing which one would work best as a TV Pilot. A lot of my ideas would make better films than TV series -- the old problem of a great Pilot idea not really having "legs"; so you'd be struggling to keep the story going in a theoretical eighth episode. It's actually very difficult to dream up a TV series idea that lends itself to multiple (ideally, never-ending) episodes -- without being just another cops/docs drama. I have nothing against those types of shows, I just think there are too many. I prefer putting twists on old concepts, a la Life On Mars -- which is a '70s cop show seen through the prism a modern man, thanks to the time-travel.
So, best of luck if you're entering the competition this year!
More details at the much-improved website.
