Update: 2017 “Twas the Night Before Black List…” Challenge
Annual writing contest with Black List & Screenwriting Master Class prizes.
Annual writing contest with Black List & Screenwriting Master Class prizes.
I was stymied. Last week I posted the blog’s annual “Twas the Night Before Black List…” Challenge. We received four excellent submissions this year and I just couldn’t decide which three should receive the Grand Prize:
- Black List: One free month script hosting on the website and one free script evaluation.
- Screenwriting Master Class: One free Craft class of the ten I will be teaching January through May 2017.
For those who may have missed it, the challenge was to use this take-off of the traditional Christmas poem penned by screenwriter Chris McCoy:
’Twas the Night Before Black List and all through the LA
Writers were nervous — could this help them get pay?
Their loglines were sharp and polished with care
In the hopes that St. Franklin soon would be there.”
The writers were ambien’d all snug in their beds
While visions of having a sustainable future danced in their heads.
The agent in Prada and the hopeful in Gap
Had just settled their brains (with pot) for a long winter’s nap.
And springboard off that to complete an original Black List Eve parody. Here are links to each of the four finalist poems:
To give you a taste, here is Aaron’s entry:
Twas the Night Before Black List and all through LA
Writers were nervous — could this help them get pay?
Their loglines were sharp and polished with care
In the hopes that St. Franklin soon would be there.
The writers were ambien’d all snug in their beds
While visions of having a sustainable future danced in their heads.
The agent in Prada and the hopeful in Gap
Had just settled their brains (with pot) for a long winter’s nap.
Reading over the winners in the moonlight of La La Land,
The guest announcers knew the time was at hand
But wanted to make sure they read the right names live
Or their PR teams would need to go into hyperdrive.
Sunburned from winter days of eighty degrees,
Everyone in LA was weary from surfing, the ocean breeze,
And driving through traffic on three spare tires,
But those of us still awake wondered — “Where is Scott Myers?”
We worried he was delayed by freezing temps and snow
Or trapped beneath The Bean of cold, cold Chicago.
If Santa needs reindeers and a sleigh to leave the North Pole,
How could Scott help herald the Black List from DePaul?
So writers around the world wished him some creative juju!
Worthy submissions stacked to the top of his igloo,
Scott sacked the best stack and grabbed a rideshare,
Bundled up tight he caught a red-eye out of O’Hare.
Writers dreamed of a spec sale, or at least an option,
Agents snored over ten percent, Lawyers counted gross fractions,
Studio Execs and Producers fantasized about finding the money,
And what did Scott dream of? Forecast: SUNNY!
Greeting the flight at LAX in shades and swimming trunks,
Franklin Leonard told the snowman, “We both need a tux.”
So off they went while each writer Facetimed his or her Mom
And clicked refresh a hundred times on twitter and gointothestory.com.
Each hopeful’s calendar circled on December 11, a Monday,
Except for folks in China or Australia, where it’s Tuesday.
The Black List arrives with great joy for all filmmakers everywhere,
Whether your neighbor is another struggling artist or polar bear.
Every year the Black List is a time to celebrate the story,
When the writer is an unknown, long before Oscar glory,
And it offers a shining hope to all backgrounds, all voices,
So here’s a simple “Cheers” to the 2017 Black List choices.
Clever stuff, yes? And all four entries are great. So I reached out to Franklin Leonard and he kindly offered to extend the free month of hosting on the Black List website and one free script evaluation to all four writers. And in the spirit of the season, I will match that generous gesture and give one of my Craft classes to each of the four writers as well. All of it for free!
Congratulations, Aaron, Brian, Elisabeth, and Marc! Email me for details: GITSblog at gmail dot com.
Thanks, everyone, for participating in this annual event!
Happy Holidays!