Nicholl Fellowship
Zach Jansen (Level 4) ~ 2/14/2012 4:10 PM
www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html
Marnie Mitchell Lister (Level 5) ~ 2/14/2012 4:23 PM
It's the cream of the crop, that's for sure. You plan on winning Zach? ;)
William Bienes (Mod Emeritus) ~ 2/14/2012 4:25 PM
I think I'm going to give it a go this year.
Zach Jansen (Level 4) ~ 2/14/2012 4:53 PM
I can't enter. By the contest's end I'll have earned more than $5,000 screenwriting for the year. Unless that deal falls through, I'm on the outside.
Marnie Mitchell Lister (Level 5) ~ 2/14/2012 5:15 PM
Not a bad reason to be out Zach! :) My fingers are crossed for you either way!!
Best of luck Bill...what sceeenplay are you thinking about entering?
I'll enter for sure...if I ever get to FADE OUT on a feature again. ((huge eye roll))
JeanPierre Chapoteau (Moderator) ~ 2/14/2012 5:56 PM
Zach, you get paid for your work? That's cool man. Shorts or features?
I want to enter Nicholl with an action sc-fi. Is there a 99.9% chance that I am wasting my time and money? Of course.
But then there's that .1% chance...
Zach Jansen (Level 4) ~ 2/14/2012 7:04 PM
The director I'm talking with wants a few shorts and then a feature. He has similar film tastes as I do, so it should be an enjoyable partnership.
Tim Aucoin (Level 4) ~ 2/14/2012 9:03 PM
It seems to me that the Nicholl only gives out awards to specific genres, mainly drama. Am I imagining this? Not like I have anything dramatic to submit, just curious.
JeanPierre Chapoteau (Moderator) ~ 2/14/2012 10:56 PM
@ Tim
Yeah, you're right. Or if you have a really smart comedy.
Zach Jansen (Level 4) ~ 2/14/2012 11:22 PM
From the website's FAQ:
Genres of Nicholl Fellows’ Entry Scripts (1989–2011)
action-adventure – 9
animated comedy – 1
comedy – 7
romantic comedy – 5
comedy-drama – 10
coming-of-age drama – 8
drama – 32
romantic drama-fantasy – 2
horror – 3
science fiction – 2
thriller / crime / caper – 19
war / terrorism – 12
Western – 3
William Bienes (Mod Emeritus) ~ 2/15/2012 12:09 AM
Not sure, Marnie - possibly two.
Marnie Mitchell Lister (Level 5) ~ 2/15/2012 12:13 AM
Nice Bill...the Giants winning the Superbowl really got you going, didn't it?!?! ;D
William Bienes (Mod Emeritus) ~ 2/15/2012 12:43 AM
I was unable to write while they were on that run. I can now sit down and get back to business.
Sean Chipman (Level 4) ~ 2/15/2012 8:50 AM
By those numbers, does that mean that a crime drama would have a decent shot...? I may have to consider entering next year (if I can afford to, that is). =)
Zach Jansen (Level 4) ~ 2/15/2012 9:31 AM
Go for it, Sean.
Early entry is $35 -- that doable, right? No coffee shop lattes for week, maybe ration the booze and smokes, and you're in.
Sean Chipman (Level 4) ~ 2/15/2012 9:34 AM
Yeah. Like I could really afford coffee, liquor and cigarettes (even if I liked any of them). Lol.
After all, Ehren Kruger won the Fellowship so can it really be that hard? Then again, Arlington Road is a good times movie but at the same time, it's not a good one.
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 8:27 AM
I'm in the Quarterfinal Round and I'm excited to see how it goes.
Margaret Ricke (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 9:37 AM
Congratulations, Philip!
Kelley Allen (Level 3) ~ 8/1/2012 11:41 AM
Philip, good luck and congratulations! That's quite an accomplishment. In your letter, what did they write in the PS?
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 12:51 PM
Thanks.
There wasn't a P.S. on the notification. It's a different message that begins "Congratulations! You have advanced into the Quarterfinal Round of the 2012 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting."
MJ Hermanny (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 1:06 PM
Congrats Phil! Which script?
Matthew Fettig (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 1:07 PM
Philip - Congrats and good luck! Have we seen the script?
Khamanna Iskandarova (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 2:29 PM
Congrats, Philip! I remember the short it's based on - it was readers selectee for that OWC, am I right?
JeanPierre Chapoteau (Moderator) ~ 8/1/2012 3:54 PM
Dang, Philip! Excellent, excellent job there my frere!
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 4:09 PM
Thanks. The script is "Dumb Animals". A few people here have seen it and given me useful notes on it.
The short version was written for a OWC. As far as I can recall that OWC didn't have a formal vote, although I think mine was one of the better received entries.
Pia Cook (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 4:23 PM
Congrats Philip!!
Which OWC was that? I read most of them. :)
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 5:42 PM
Pia, I looked it up and it was the May 2010 OWC, which you commented was "the worst OWC ever", but you were positive about my script. It was the vegan/carnivore OWC, which attracted quite a few joke entries and resulted in the rules being tightened up.
KP Mackie (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 7:47 PM
Quite an achievement.
Congratulations and good luck!
Pia Cook (Level 5) ~ 8/1/2012 7:49 PM
Oooops!! I think I entered a joke one too. :D
Good work on you getting a feature out of a OWC!
MJ Hermanny (Level 5) ~ 8/2/2012 5:43 AM
What's OWC?
Chris Keaton (Level 5) ~ 8/2/2012 10:55 AM
Congrats Philip! I only made the top 15%.
David M Troop (Level 4) ~ 8/2/2012 3:00 PM
Congrats and good luck, Phil!
@MJ
I believe OWC (One Week Challenge) is a contest on Simply Scripts wherein you submit a script based on certain genre, props, characters, etc. Much like our contest but you only get 7 days to finish and submit.
Bill Sarre (Level 4) ~ 8/2/2012 3:33 PM
Well done and hope you make further progress.
I would strongly recommend the OWC, even though I've only entered three, but be aware, it can be a bit of a bar fight!!
Sally Meyer (Moderator) ~ 8/4/2012 12:04 AM
Awesome, awesome Philip!!!!
Chris Westfield (Level 3) ~ 8/4/2012 10:21 AM
Congratulations on making the quarterfinals.
@Chris Keaton How did you determine that?
Chris Keaton (Level 5) ~ 8/4/2012 10:37 AM
They told me in their dink letter.
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/27/2012 11:45 PM
I'm now in Semifinal round, which is a thrill!
Sally Meyer (Moderator) ~ 8/28/2012 12:03 AM
That is fantastic Philip!!!!! Well done!
Rick Hansberry (Moderator) ~ 8/28/2012 5:36 AM
Congrats, Philip! A thrill indeed!
Chris Keaton (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 8:34 AM
Awesome!
Khamanna Iskandarova (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 8:35 AM
Congrats Phiip! That's goooooood!!!
Ayal Pinkus (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 10:29 AM
A semi-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowship contest, wow. Congratulations!
William Bienes (Mod Emeritus) ~ 8/28/2012 1:50 PM
That is excellent work, Philip ... congratulations, indeed!
Tim Westland (Moderator) ~ 8/28/2012 3:33 PM
Congrats, Philip.
Another person about whom we all might be able to say, "I knew him when..."
I wish you every ounce of luck, sir.
MJ Hermanny (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 6:07 PM
Fabulous news Philip! Well done!
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 11:15 PM
Thanks everyone. This next round has much longer odds against getting through, but also has the benefit of being read by four Academy members, so it's good whatever happens.
Pia Cook (Level 5) ~ 8/28/2012 11:22 PM
Giant congrats Philip!!!
I have a few friends in the same spot. I'm keeping my eyes/fingers/ears/toes crossed for you!!!! :)
Philip Whitcroft (Level 5) ~ 9/27/2012 9:01 AM
I didn't make the finals. I'm going to take a another run over the logline and synopsis before they publish their results. I'm hoping that being in the Science Fiction genre will be worth a few read requests. Thanks for your support.
Sally Meyer (Moderator) ~ 9/28/2012 12:05 PM
Aww I'm sorry, but you did amazing to get so far. I hope that it gets many many reads and those reads lead to production!