We thank everyone for their patience in awaiting this news. Once again our judges had some tough decisions to make. To find out who the semifinalists are, simply click here.

This was an incredibly competitive year and the judges read many, many wonderful screenplays. We thank each and every writer who entered for allowing us to consider their work.

To see a full list of this year’s Quarterfinalists, click here.

As the first round judges tally scores and make their final determinations, CineStory thanks all the writers who entered the 2009 CSA’s for their patience. The announcement of which scripts are advancing into the next round is only days away.

Finally. A unique immersion experience for screenwriters that provides a safe, quiet place to escape and explore your craft. This year’s instructors include Joe Forte (writer, FIREWALL), Meg LeFauve (producer and former President Jodie Foster’s Egg Pictures), Amy Salko Robertson (producer, former agent CAA) and Barri Evins (producer, former President of Debra Hill Productions).

Let CineStory mentors guide you through an in-depth examination of your existing projects, as well as help you develop ideas that will make a splash in the real world.

‘I came to Idyllwild expecting to learn more about the craft of screenwriting. What I got was far greater… I learned about my own craft and how I write. I learned the basics of screenwriting at a college, but I learned more of the guts and glory at Idyllwild.’ Mary Conroy, Camp ‘06

Session I: Script Craft - Building Your Fire (July 5–8)
Work one-on-one with pro instructors who will guide you through that rewrite or first draft. Writers turn in pages for mentor and peer feedback daily.

Session II: Faster Than a Speeding Bullet - Targeting the Idea That Can Catapult Your Career (July 9–11)
Whether your goal is to win contests, get representation, attract producers, direct your own film or have a million dollar spec sale, you need the idea that will get you there. This session is devoted to crafting and pitching brilliant stories.

Now in its fourth year, CineStory’s Screenwriting Summer Camp is held in conjunction with the summer program of the Idyllwild Arts Academy. To sign up or for more information go to the online course description.

Yes, I am aware that I am always a week late blogging the wrap-up of the retreat.  CineStory fries your brain, and it takes awhile to start functioning again.

But I took copious notes, so here I am again with the closing session.

Barri was running down the mountain to catch a plane, so she opened the session by saying that one of her mentees had commented that the notes she had received from her two mentors had been like a Venn diagram–they only partially overlapped.  She said it’s a mistake to go back down the mountain and say, “I’m just going to make it more better.”  The urge may be to take all the notes and shove them willy nilly.  Instead, Barri reminded us to work on “scratching the itch”–those differing notes may root back to the same issue, it’s up to us to figure out what it is.  So she suggests going back to the blank page.  “This is a story about . . .”  Go back to the spine of your story, focus on your choices carefully.  Stay on a single sheet, and write down your structure from start to finish.  (Whew–on a single sheet?????)

Nana continued the closing, as she was in Barri’s car and had to leave with her ride.  Nana remarked that the weekend had been a lot like speed dating, as we hopped from mentor to mentor.  But her advice was to digest the instincts behind the notes, then put them aside and translate them into your own creative process.  Another way of saying, don’t just shove all the notes into your script.

Glenn then blew the room apart with a fantastic detailed analysis of how writing is like Method Acting.  I’m not going to go into it here (after all, I should leave some things only for the people who actually were there), but an enterprising writer might pick up Stanislavsky and figure it out for himself.  (You didn’t hear that from me.)

Glenn was a tough act to follow, but Phil gamely picked up with ball by announcing “I love you,” to Glenn and publicly wishing he had taken notes as the rest of us had.  Of course, he did have a few things to add:  a great tool to find out if your script is good is to read it aloud.  And have other people–non-actors–read it to you.  Good actors can cover up weaknesses in a script, but non-actors will really let you hear what is there.

Regina got back to the theme of scratching the itch and not taking the notes wholesale.  If the meal is not tasty, just adding salt will not mean you’re done.  Take a note and reconsider the project as a whole.

Gloria added that “everyone’s agenda is the same.”  Everyone wants to get the movie made.  And the mentors on a CineStory retreat have no agenda at all, they are here to help the writer most fulfill the writer’s vision.  However . . . then she went on to contradict herself and make the point that everyone down the mountain does have their own agenda.  Gloria and Regina were double-teaming here, I’m not sure who was saying what, but the point was made that execs need to put themselves in writers’ shoes in order to figure out how best to communicate with writers–and vice versa.  The execs want to get the best results from their notes.  On the other hand, the communication between each mentor/writer pair up on the mountain was just pretty amazing.

Phil then put in that “write what you know” is bullshit.  Write what you’d pay to see on the screen.  Glenn added that you know a lot more than you think, and Phil said that what you don’t know, you make up–that’s your job.

Amy closed the session by reminding us that we are preparing for success.  Take all the big risks, prepare to have all these great ideas.  Have five scripts, have 20 ideas.  Now is the time, because once you’re working, there’s no time.

And I really can’t think of anything to add to that.

So here I am at CineStory again.  This time I’m here as a writer, and I gotta tell you, it’s a whole lot less stressful.  The only person whose heart I’m going to break this time is mine.

There are some new mentors here this time, including writer Glenn Gers (Mad Money, Fracture) and producer Gloria Fan (Mosaic Media Group — The Dark Knight, The International).  And the usual suspects like Barri Evins, Amy Salko Robertson, Phil Eisner and Regina Lee.

In fact, I’m sitting in Barri’s famous hat-trick informal as we speak.  And since I’ve blogged at length on Barri’s methods for picking your next idea, I don’t feel too guilty listening with one ear and simultaneously blogging.  Isn’t multi-tasking what it’s all about?

I’m here as a writer this time because I have a new script this year, and people are actually going to see it–soon.

To give you some exposition, I recently changed agents.  (Former agent–whom I met at a CineStory retreat–quit the business.  New agent is also someone I met through CineStory.  Just as a side note.)  I have a new project that’s got some heat even before it’s gone out, and it’s about to go out.  It’s a kids’ movie.  But until now, nothing in my portfolio was a kids’ movie.  So I’ve spent the last six months cranking out another kids’ story.  Because when you get into the room with the people who are interested in your Pinocchio movie and they say to you (which they always do), “So what else have you got?”–you can’t then pitch them The Opposite of Sex.  You have to have something else in your portfolio that they will be interested in.  There’s no point in pitching a sensitive family drama to Jerry Bruckheimer.

So I’ve got this first draft kids’ screenplay that will have to follow my big project, which has been honed and polished.

Am I nervous?  You bet.  But where else am I going to get the notes that I know I need to turn the rough first draft into the honed, polished script that will be going out all too soon?

This is the beauty of CineStory.  I had my two one-on-one meetings today–with producer Nana Greenwald (North Country) and with Glenn Gers.  I got–yes–producer level notes and notes from a very well-employed, high-priced writer.  And they were good.

* * *

Had to take a break there for two minutes to do the hat trick.  (To refresh your memory–Barri passes out a section of the newspaper to each writer, gives us two minutes to find something–anything–that we can turn into a story and a quick pitch.  Just to show you that stories are all around you, everywhere, and you should be constantly collecting these quick, unedited ideas in your idea file.)  I got the sports section–with the inspiring ad headlined, “I love my high performance man!”  (“Great Sex Forever–all for only $199.00 total.”)  Off the top of my head, I pitch a story about a woman who’s a high-level cube dweller, never meets anyone new, is very lonely, and sends away for an android lover.  She educates him, he develops a consciousness, and he leaves her to go and liberate androids the world wide.  So you see–possible ideas are everywhere.

* * *

But back to my narcissistic musings.  The notes I got were extremely encouraging.  For a first draft–which I had shown to almost no one thus far–it’s in pretty good shape.  And I now know exactly what I need to do to bring it up to the level where it can be sent out.  And all in the space of two days!

As a non-CineStory writer, how long would it take me to figure out these notes by myself?  Or who would I get to give them to me?  It could have taken me six more months to do the re-write that I’ll now be able to do THIS WEEK.  It’s a beautiful thing.

As writers and mentors wend their way up from the desert floor to the beautiful mountain range in which Idyllwild is nestled, the Retreat staff is ready and waiting. In addition to the usual one-on-one mentor meetings and ‘informal room’ discussion groups, writers will be treated to a special screening of the critically acclaimed feature film DISFIGURED followed by a Q&A with writer-director Glenn Gers, who is also participating as a mentor.

The other participating mentors are: Philip Eisner (writer EVENT HORIZON), Barri Evins (producer Be Movies, former President Debra Hill Productions), Gloria Fan (VP Film Production and Development Mosiac Media Group), Nana Greenwald (producer SE7EN, OUTBREAK, THE FUGITIVE), Regina Lee (development executive in charge of 20th Century Fox’s WOLVERINE and DECEPTION for Hugh Jackman’s Seed Pictures), Amy Salko Robertson (producer THE O IN OHIO, former agent CAA).

With all the seats for CineStory’s Thematic program snapped up, this is set to be a great evening. Many thanks to our mentors and guests who are making this event possible and to the Academy for its generous support.

Apologies to anyone who missed out this time around. Keep up with all of CineStory’s events and programs by signing up for our newsletters using the box on the right hand side.

Seats for CineStory’s Thematic event are moving fast. Get yours now by clicking here.

No sales at the door, all tickets must be purchased in advance.

Join the writers of FIREWALL, CHILDREN OF MEN, IRON MAN, MAD MONEY, FRACTURE and DISFIGURED for this intimate program that will change the way you approach screenwriting forever.

Joining Academy Award nominee Mark Fergus on the panel for CineStory’s ‘Finding Your Thematic’ program are Joe Forte and Glenn Gers.

Joe is not only the writer of FIREWALL (starring Harrison Ford), he is also adapting the award-winning novel OUT for New Line and directing the up-coming A LIFETIME IN HEAT (starring Nicholas Hoult).

An Emmy Award winner, Glenn is the writer of MAD MONEY (starring Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah), FRACTURE (starring Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling) and the writer-director of DISFIGURED.

Seating for this event is extremely limited. Click here to get your tickets now!