Screenwriting Goldmine is delighted to announce that one of their long time customers and valued site contributors, Benjamin Ray of Toronto, Canada, has taken first prize in the Thriller section of the 2007 Pacific Northwest Screenwriters Contest, with his script 'Marcus and Faith'.
Competition judges included Daniel Yost, the screenwriter of Drugstore Cowboy.
Apart for the tremendous validation for Ben's writing, his main prize is a years' agency by 928 Talent Management.
Ben's new script promises to be equally successful. Ben describes it as being set in New York in 1977. It's called Dance, Desire, Violence, and is about a dysfunctional college drop out who answers a classified ad placed by a Crime boss' wife who is looking for a dance partner. She's into dirty dancing and managing her biological clock. He falls in love with her as she's being trampled into the world of schizophrenia by her virile husband.
Here's what Ben had to say about the Screenwriting Goldmine method:
"I'd listened to many coverage providers, which pushed me into a direction where I was getting lost and my vision was eroding. And I'd read too many screenwriting books that placed me in deep depression. These books are not being honest, they just want to make quick money, and don't really care to tell the truth about screenwriting. Then I came across the Screenwriting Goldmine book. It's uniquely honest and works on a sub-conscious level. It awoke the giant in me. I still refer to it and read random chapters for inspiration. There are too many books out there -- most are boring and too academic and there are not enough unique techniques or advice in these books. I only trust Screenwriting Goldmine right now. Your book is to the point and cuts out all the bunk. You're not a film professor, you're a screenwriter with brains, heart and soul and realism."
Read the full interview with Benjamin Ray.
Screenwriting Goldmine is a multi book and CD course created by a highly experienced UK screenwriter called Phil Gladwin. It contains a powerful step by step method detailing how to write a screenplay. It takes screenwriters all the way from generating the initial concepts through to the end of their first draft, and is priced at $97. It can be found at http://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com
Phil Gladwin has been a professional screenwriter and script editor for both the BBC and ITV since 1995. In the last year his broadcast work has included a double feature length murder mystery for Lynda La Plante and her "Trial & Retribution" series, a set of five plays for BBC radio, and two episodes of Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies' brand new "Sarah Jane Adventures."
He was a staff writer for The Bill (one of the UK's longest running dramas) for two years. Other writing credits include Holby, Grange Hill, and the BBC's drama/doc strand What If...?. His script editing credits include work on Doctor Who director Joe Ahearne's movie Trance. He has also been nominated twice for the Dennis Potter Award by top indie television production company World Productions.
The Screenwriting Goldmine program is a rare opportunity for an unrepresented screenwriter to get an inside channel to this level of skilled editorial support