THE 7th ANNUAL FCPUG SUPERMEET: Tickets on Sale Now

The 7th Annual Macworld FCPUG SuperMeet

Join San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking, Boston and SF Cutters, and FCPUGs from around the world at Macworld for the largest gathering of FCP users and Gurus on the Planet.

Robertson Auditorium, Mission Bay Conference Center - UCSF
1675 Owens Street
San Francisco, CA 94158
Phone: 866/431.UCSF
Check out the space:
http://www.ahl-missionbay.com/gallery/index.cfm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 - 7:00PM - 10:00PM (Doors open 5:00PM)

Why? Because you need to learn something.
How Much? - $10.00 per person. $15.00 at the door. Ticket will include 2 raffle tickets.
Any raffle prizes? Of course.
Who should attend? - Anyone and everyone who wants to learn something
What's on the agenda? - It's Super Secret.

Tickets on sale NOW. Click here . .

http://fcpugsupermeet.eventbrite.com/

Buy your tickets Now - the MacWorld Final Cut Pro Users Network Supermeet has sold out for the last three years in a row, as ticket sales are now climbing, we anticipate a possible early sellout, maybe the organizers get to have a holiday meal.

Click this link to view . .

http://www.lafcpug.org/macworld_08.html

Raffle Prizes listed on the left, nearly $20,000 value of products and services and climbing.

Event Sponsors on the on Top Banner and to the Right - great education on who's who in digital video and film. Many of the Sponsors' top managers will be on-site at tables to explain their products and services, answer questions, and everyone has a great time. Click on the Logos and learn a lot about editing and producing Digital Video and Film.

Shelby Stricklin
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking
415/522.1200 ext.111
http://www.SFDigiFilm.com

Attend BAWIFT's Annual Not-to-Be-Missed Holiday

You are cordially invited to attend BAWIFT's annual not-to-be-missed Holiday Party.

DATE: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
TIME: 7:30 pm -­ 10 pm
LOCATION: The Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street @ Potrero, San Francisco, CA

Gather with Bay Area Women in Film & Television in celebration of all things seasonal with great music, food, drink and a chance to meet up with your fellow film and media folks, see old friends, meet new ones, or just enjoy the holiday cheer.

You'll also have the chance to take part in our Raffle featuring amazing prizes and packages from esteemed local film and media companies, festivals, organizations, studios, schools, filmmakers and more.

BAWIFT's Annual Holiday Party has always been the perfect opportunity to connect with the women of BAWIFT and others in the film community, talk shop, catch folks up on current projects and make connections for the future.

If you are a member of Chicks-Chat or work in film or media in the Bay Area and have been "meaning to make it to a BAWIFT event" this is a great introduction.

By supporting our Raffle at the party (tickets are $5 each), you can win yourself a fantastic Prize, Package or holiday gift for someone at the same time you are helping support BAWIFT. Your support helps us to continue to provide our monthly events, networking opportunities, membership, website resource & Chicks-Chat User Group for women in film and media in the Bay Area.

COST:
Attendance to our Holiday Party (like all BAWIFT events) is Free for current BAWIFT members and only $5 for non-members and $3 for non-BAWIFT Members with Student ID.

The BAWIFT Holiday Party is open to ALL the BAWIFT community - both Men and Women alike - so feel free to bring your partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, colleague(s) you want to connect with the BAWIFT community, your co-worker, neighbor.

Let us know if you can make it by visiting our site and RSVP-ing on the evite link. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Verdi Club on Wednesday, December 12th.

Happy Holidays from the Board of Directors of BAWIFT!

Shelby Stricklin
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking
415/522.1200 ext.111
http://www.SFDigiFilm.com

UPCOMING FESTIVALS & CALL FOR ENTRIES: December 2007

THE BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL seeks diverse, expressive and passionate short films and videos by independent makers. The festival is named after Thomas Edison’s motion picture studio, and is known for its support of spirited, cutting-edge and otherwise singular film and video. The Black Maria is committed to works that explore the potential of the medium to illuminate, provoke, enrich and engage viewers. The festival tours 60 cinematheques, colleges, museums, libraries and community organizations, from Maine to California and Alaska to Florida, reaching over 20 states across the USA. For more information, please visit http://www.blackmariafilmfestival.org.

Filmmakers are encouraged to submit their films to Northern California's fastest growing film festival by December 31, 2007. The 10th Annual CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL will take place in Northern California's Livermore Valley Wine Country Wednesday, April 16 through Sunday, April 20th, 2008. Over 60 feature films, shorts, music videos and documentaries from all over the world will be screened during the five-day event, where several Hollywood legends will be honored for their work in independent motion pictures. For more information about the event, visit the festival site at http://www.caindiefest.com.

The JACKSON HOLE FILM FESTIVAL’S regular submission deadline is January 31st, 2008. Submit now for a chance to be a part of a premier competitive film festival that keeps the spotlight on the independent filmmakers. Their 5th annual Film Festival will take place June 5-9, 2008. Eighty films will be screened to over 6,500 attendees. Lively evening events, unforgettable bands, high profile forums will enrich the festival and give filmmakers a chance to network with film industry veterans. Find out why past filmmakers are raving about June in Jackson Hole and be a part of a truly independent film festival. Visit them at http://www.jacksonholefilmfestival.org.

The PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL is now accepting films and screenplays for its April Festival. Go to http://www.phoenixfilmfestival.com to submit your film today. The Phoenix Film Festival is the largest festival in Arizona and accepts features, shorts, animated shorts, student films and foreign films in both short and feature length. The festival has repeatedly been called "the best filmmaker festival" by filmmakers that have attended. The screenplay competition offers a cash prize and studio exposure.

The PORTLAND WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL (a.k.a. POW Fest) focuses on the cinematic contribution of women filmmakers from around the world. Scheduled for May 15-18 2008, the roster of events will be comprised of exhibition of films made by women, filmmaker panels and workshops. Check http://www.powfest.com or contact justjohnd@sourappleproductions.com for submission deadlines.

SAN LUIS OBISPO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL—March 7-16, 2008. Celebrates and supports the films and filmmaking community of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Located on California’s Central Coast halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, SLOIFF offers you the opportunity to showcase your film before a wide array of active and influential members of the international filmmaking community. Now accepting foreign and domestic features, documentaries and shorts. Regular Deadline: November 1, 2007; Late Deadline: December 1, 2007, Withoutabox Extended Deadline: December 15, 2007. Best of Competition Award is $500. To submit, visit http://www.slofilmfest.org.

The STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL, located on the campus of Stony Brook University on the North Shore of Long Island, is a filmmaker favorite. Big audiences, big screen. Go to http://www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com and click on Info Film to learn about the festival. No entry fee. Deadline May 1st.

The 14th annual VICTORIA FILM FESTIVAL presents the most exclusive industry event of the year. Trigger Points Pacific has only 50 openings for producers who'll have the opportunity of a lifetime to meet with 25 top industry acquisition execs in 30-minute meetings for incomparable access and results. With historic architecture and fabulous vistas, downtown streets are lined with theatres, shops, museums and cafes that provide the perfect backdrop for the home of the boutique schmooze. A great package is available at the legendary Fairmont Empress to make your business trip unforgettable. Online registration and information at http://www.victoriafilmfestival.com.

For more information on advertising in MovieMaker's FLASH e-newsletter, contact Ian Bage at 800/677-4424 or ian@moviemaker.com.

The Chicago Screenwriters Network

The Chicago Screenwriters Network

Founded in the spring of 1995 by Ed Bernero through messages posted on-line, then subsequently organized in the flesh by Christiana Miller, CSN has since grown at almost a geometric rate, with some fifty-plus members actively involved, and a west coast branch gaining momentum.

The members meet every month and welcome anyone who is interested to stop by, pull up a chair, and "plug in" to the network.

Recent "celebrity" guest speakers have included:

Harold Ramis who is a Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor of such films as Analyze This, Groundhogs Day, Ghostbusters, Stripes, etc.

Plus:

* Author and Screenwriting Consultant Linda Seger;
* Co-Headwriter of the Young and the Restless Kay Alden;
* Film Editor Maise Poi;
* Development Executive Eric Poticha; and
* many others!

Free DVD Box Set With Sign Up

Whether it's ghostly flicks, outlandish treats, wild west adventures or heart-stopping thrills you crave, MovieMaker has the ultimate DVD box set to carry you through the holiday season and the rest of the year-absolutely free with your paid subscription.

"Thanks-for-Giving" spreads the holiday joy with a free DVD box set when you sign up for 18 issues of MovieMaker at just $25 (a savings of more than 75% off the newsstand rate).

Choose from among four DVD 20-packs, courtesy of DVD Mega Packs:

*Beyond the Grave, a box set of 20 horror films that will not die with titles like Dead Men Walk, House of the Dead, The Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave and Revolt of the Zombies.

*Cult Classics, a collection of some truly bizarre tales, including Escort Girl, Slaves in Bondage, Chained for Life, Test Tube Babies and the iconic Reefer Madness.

*Mean Guns, a collection of spaghetti western favorites chock full of blazing saddles and damsels in distress with stars like Donald Sutherland and Dennis Hopper.

*Rule of the Gun, a set of high-flying action films with classic action tough guys like Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci.

This offer is only good while supplies last-and they're going to go fast-so sign up today.

Log on to https://www.moviemaker.com/subscribe/cs_holiday to take advantage.

MovieMaker Magazine: The Art & Business of Making Movies

Creative Screenwriting News
email: info@creativescreenwriting.com
phone: (323) 957-1405

CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2008 BlueCat Screenplay Competition

The BlueCat Screenplay Competition is open for entries of feature length scripts for our tenth year.

*Grand Prize:$10,000
*Four Finalists: $1500
*Every writer who enters receives written script analysis

EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: JAN 2, 2008

All screenplays submitted by JAN 2 will receive their analysis by FEB 1 (entries must be received by midnight Wed, Jan 2)

Entry fee $50

SUBMIT NOW: www.bluecatscreenplay.com

Since 1998, BlueCat has become the screenwriter' s screenplay contest, with unmatched and genuine support for all writers. More community than contest, BlueCat writers rally, stopping, listening and looking for their space to grow as screenwriters.

BlueCat Screenplay Competition
Hollywood, CA 90038
www.bluecatscreenplay.com
www.myspace.com/bluecatscreenplay
info@bluecatscreenplay.com

INTENSIVE SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP ENROLLING NOW

San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking is now enrolling...

INTENSIVE SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP I

* Learn the art and craft of screenwriting
* Taught by feature film writer/director James Savoca
* Develop a solid idea for a script
* Produce a finished treatment to a feature-length screenplay

San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSDF), the most innovative film school in the Bay Area bridges the gap between traditional education and professional moviemaking. Utilizing state-of-the- art high def equipment and a professional sound stage, students make lots of movies, work on HD feature films, and launch their careers. Offering intensive, hands-on Digital Filmmaking Programs, Digital Filmmaking Workshops, NEW! Screenwriting Workshop and Acting for Film Classes.

For more info: http://www.sfdigifilm.com

Or call: 415/522-1200

Learn more at our next OPEN HOUSE & FILM SCREENING:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 at 12:00 NOON
2565 Third Street, Suite 337
San Francisco, CA 94107

RSVP Online: http://www.sfdigifilm.com/open_house.html
Directions: http://www.sfdigifilm.com/contact.html

Thanks and we hope to see you here!

Send a Card to a Soldier

If you go to LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card, Xerox will print it, and it will be sent to a soldier currently serving in Iraq.

The cards are all drawn by grade-school kids across the country. You have to see them to believe them.

You can't pick out who gets your card, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How nice it would be if everyone sent just one.

Send a card. It's free and it only takes a second.

(And it might leave you crying like a child like it did me.)

Script Sales Report: November 2007

Eighty script deals have been recorded since the strike deadline. Book deals and rewrite assignments comprised most of the volume. Spec deals and pitches were obviously nil, so there will be no monthly sales breakdown.

Notable deals included Sidney Lumet's original screenplay "Getting Out." Lumet, now 83, signed a two-picture deal with the production company Funky Buddha Group. The children's classic ALICE IN WONDERLAND will be adapted by Linda Woolverton and shot on 3-D by Tim Burton. Zanuck Company is producing.

Darren Aronofsky and Richard Siegel are set to write THE WRESTLER, a story of a down and out wrestler attempting to get back in the ring one last time. Mickey Rourke is set to play the title role.

Joe Stillman sold PLANET 51 to Handmade Films International. This story is set on a Planet whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home.

Roman Polanski will direct a film adaptation of "The Ghost," the best-selling political thriller by Robert Harris. Random House Group, the book's publisher, said Polanski and Harris are collaborating on a screenplay. Filming is due to begin in northern Europe next year.

Finally, Eric Bress' FINAL DESTINATION 4, to be directed by David R. Ellis with New Line Cinema.

From Script Pimp December Newsletter.

Screenwriter As God

"Briefly -- I enjoyed this book immensely. Whether it's any good as advice to aspiring writers I couldn't say, but I hope its audience won't be limited just to them. It's made up of short punchy bits that didn't tax my attention span, and many of them were laugh out loud funny. It won't be appreciated by those who don't care for rough language, but, having read two of the author's previous works, I was pretty well prepared for that and found it actually rather milder than expected. It had little relevance to my own life & hard times, and it won't revolutionize my world. Nevertheless it was worth the time and money."

From Customer Reviews at Amazon.com.

Screenwriting Workshop with Marc Lapdula

REGISTER TODAY TO ASSURE YOUR SEAT

SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
With MARC LAPDULA
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
CHARLES COMMONS
10 EAST 33RD STREET
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21218

DECEMBER 8, 2007

ITEMS THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE WORKSHOP:

FINAL DRAFT #7 Software: $190 (comes with 1 license and multiple activations for two computers)

--Copies of screenplays: 2 for $25 or $15 each -- there will be a big selection of classic, contemporary and just released titles. It's important to read screenplays if you really want to learn how to do it!

-- Course packet: $25

GET REGISTRATION FORM ONLINE AT: www.wifvmd.com

Marc Lapadula is a full-time lecturer at Yale University, where he runs the screenwriting program in the Film Studies Department. Marc also lectures and conducts screenwriting workshops on both graduate and undergraduate levels at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University . He has also lectured on film and conducted screenwriting seminars at Columbia University Graduate Film School , as well as the Screenwriting Series at the Smithsonian Institution. He is a consultant for film producers and New Line Films studio. Marc produced the short film, 'Angel Passing', starring Hume Cronyn, which was screened at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award at WORLDFEST, the Houston International Film Festival.

MARC'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Most recently Marc co-produced the film 'Mentor' starring Rutger Hauer, which premiered at THE TRIBECCA FILM FESTIVAL 2006. Marc also produced the film RAISE YOUR VOICE and has more films currently in production.

ABOUT MARC LAPADULA'S STUDENTS:

Yale Professor Marc Lapadula's students have won many major National Screenwriting Competitions (Disney, Nicholl, Chesterfield, and Austin to name only a few). Marc's students have been nominated for Emmy's for their writing on SCRUBS and FAMILY GUY.

Former students write for LAW AND ORDER, THE SIMPSONS, SVU, OLIVER BEENE, THE AGENCY, and STEP BY STEP. His student's have had their screenplays sold and made into movies like THE BREAK UP with Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn, CRY WOLF, MENTOR and others.

Something new is brewing at MovieMaker.com

It’s been months of testing and waiting, designing and comparing, debating and preparing—but it’s finally here: The all-new MovieMaker.com.

As the online component of MovieMaker Magazine, MovieMaker.com offers readers more of the content that you’ve come to rely on throughout the years. From the latest details on moviemaking equipment to financing strategies and interviews with cinema’s top players, MovieMaker.com is the place to go for daily and weekly updates on Hollywoood, Indiewood and beyond.

In addition to sneak previews of the bimonthly print version, the all-new MovieMaker.com will feature its own interviews, reviews, previews and content, while sharing in the magazine’s 15 years of articles and resources.

Log on now to check out the rest of MovieMaker’s exclusive interview with Francis Ford Coppola, parts of which were featured in the Future of Moviemaking and Summer 2007 print editions. The video interviews touch upon what this renowned moviemaker is doing now, why the upcoming Tetro is his most personal film yet and why it took the legendary Oscar-winning director so long to make another film.

Plus, enter to win new weekly and monthly prize packages from such companies as The Criterion Collection and Fox Home Video. Interact with others and make your voice heard in the new forums section and weekly polls, and check back daily for the entertainment industry’s latest headlines, or subscribe to the Newsfeed to get up-to-the-minute posts right on your homepage.

So drop by MovieMaker.com and find out what all the fuss is about. This month you can read interviews with director Ed Burns, producer Robin Swicord and Kevin Lima, director of current box office giant Enchanted. While you’re there, enter to win tickets to see The Golden Compass and $250 worth of goodies from The Criterion Collection.

We’ve got plenty more in the weeks ahead—so be sure to check back often for more on the latest on the art and business of making movies.

First-Time Writer Sells Comedy Spec to Universal

Newcomer Ben Frahm, who had been working as a special-needs teacher at a middle school, has sold his comedy spec Dr. Sensitive to Universal in a deal valued in the mid-six figures. Shady Acres will produce. The script, in the vein of Liar, Liar, is about a doctor with the world's worst bedside manner who undergoes a transformative experience that makes him overly empathetic. The screenplay was discovered by Frahm's reps at Underground Films through a query letter, and was developed for a year prior to going Shady Acres, where it was developed further.

From http://www.moviebytes.com/.

David Goyer Screenwriting Lesson

Can screenwriting be taught?

Callie Khouri Screenwriting Lesson

Jim Uhls Screenwriting Lesson

Paul Haggis Screenwriting Lesson

Syd Field with Stuart Beattie

We, The Screenwriter

The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Blake Snyder has bravely subtitled his book, "The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need." But as they, "it ain't braggin' if you can back it up."

If, like most wannabe screenwriters, you've already purchased screenwriting books by the shelf-full, Snyder's might indeed be the last book you'll ever need. It's that good.

Unlike most "how-to" books, "Save the Cat" goes beyond the "how's" and gets to the "why's." Embedded in the "why's" are some very powerful secrets of great storytelling. More important, also embedded are the secrets to getting scripts sold.

Perhaps the most powerful secret Snyder reveals is that writing a successful script ("successful" = "a script that gets sold") is a process. And that process can be reduced to a series of simple, reliable steps.

Snyder takes us behind the mystery of creating scripts that Hollywood loves. He actually provides the formula he uses to write big-selling screenplays.

Throughout the book, he validates his concepts by showing us how they play out in real, very successful films. After all, if it's good enough for "Miss Congeniality," it's good enough for us, right?

From http://www.amesmedia.org/html/save_the_cat.html