Hear That?

...that's the sound of judges judging. Sorry it's been so quiet on the Rouge Wave lately, Wavers. We have been keeping our heads down at The Script Department, as we judge hundreds and hundreds of scripts for The Silver Screenwriting Competition (a wholly owned subsidiary). We aim to be done sorting through them to see who rises to the quarterfinal round by the end of July, if all goes well. This is the second year I have administrated and judged this competition and let me tell you my resume will be bulging with experience for the rest of my life. Handling all of those submissions, writers, payments, judges, organization. Lemme tell ya, Wavers, this is NOT an easy yob.

I'm giving my judges IVs of Red Bull and weekly shoulder massages. So far we've come across a few gems so I think the next rounds should be interesting. I haven't been judging this round, just administrating it, which, as above, is a herculean job. But the next round, when we have approximately 50 quarterfinalists, I shall be jumping in and doing some reading.

I can tell you first hand that the economy might be slow but writers are keeping busy generating material and getting feedback on it. The Script Department is bulging with orders every single day. My readers are working full time.

At the Great American Pitch Fest on June 13th and 14th, the Marriott was packed with writers from all over the world. Last evening, I joined Gary Goldstein in a teleclass with over 50 screenwriters on the line and the passion of the writers was obvious. So eff the economy, Wavers, keep your head down and write write write. Because when the wet blanket lifts new material is going to be in demand like never before. Sometimes I take for granted the immersion I have had for the past few years and how much I have learned about writers, writing and the industry. Last night Gary and I were talking about the industry and how they want "butts in seats." A caller finally got her turn and asked about two technical terms Gary and I had been using: "first look deal" and "button seats."

In other news, I will be attending a luncheon at Warner Brothers, speaking to a group called WOW - Women of Warners - in early August. What an honor that invitation is! And Wavers know me by now - I still get very excited to have lunch on a lot. Even though I work on a lot. You can take the girl out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the girl.

The Mini-W and I have been engaged in our summer tradition of Movie Marathon Summer, though we've gotten off to a slow start. The Mini-W will be recapping our summer movie bacchanal before she returns to school this fall. While I write this the Mini-W is in a digital filmmaking camp on the UCLA campus. This very afternoon the students will be debuting their finished films at a theater on campus. Very exciting. Of course, it really struck the Mini-W that yesterday she was a scant quarter mile from where Michael Jackson died. Is his death akin to the death of John Lennon in 1980? I remember that very vividly and how sad and upsetting that was.

All right, Wavers, you guys have a great weekend and I promise that I'll try to post more frequently than I have been and keep you posted on the judging.

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