Kid In The Front Row Disaster Filmmaking Competition, WINNER!!!

A reminder of the competition:

The world is about to end. A poisonous gas has descended over the planet, and everyone is about to die. With this knowledge and realisation, you pick up your video-phone, and capture the final two minutes of your life, and in fact, the last moments of humankind on the planet. 

All films must be NO LONGER than TWO MINUTES.

All films must take place in ONE SINGLE SHOT ONLY. NO CUTTING. NO EDITING. 

The WINNER in the Kid In The Front Row Disaster Filmmaking Competition is "LUCKY" by Chloe Thorpe.



The guest judge, actor PETER JAMES SMITH (The West Wing) chose Chloe's film because, against the competition he said he "felt more from it." I agreed. What made this film compelling was not that she had cancer -- but the concept that the actor/director built around it -- that she now feels equal again to those around her, because everyone is dying, not just her. It was a touching concept, which worked due to her subtle performance.

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Kid In The Front Row Disaster Filmmaking Competition, 2nd Place

A reminder of the competition:

The world is about to end. A poisonous gas has descended over the planet, and everyone is about to die. With this knowledge and realisation, you pick up your video-phone, and capture the final two minutes of your life, and in fact, the last moments of humankind on the planet. 

All films must be NO LONGER than TWO MINUTES.

All films must take place in ONE SINGLE SHOT ONLY. NO CUTTING. NO EDITING. 

The runner-up in the Kid In The Front Row Disaster Filmmaking Competition is "The Last Man Breathing" by Nabil Shaban.


You can watch it here:





I chose this film as a finalist because I thought it was very unique, and intriguing throughout. It also had a quietly hilarious undertone throughout -- especially towards the end when he justifies using the gas mask over giving it to his girlfriend.


The guest judge, actor PETER JAMES SMITH (The West Wing), had a hard time deciding on a winner; it was down to this and one other. Here's what he liked about "The Last Man Breathing":


"I liked his use of visual--it wasn't just his face the whole time." He also said that it was "accomplished, intellectually and visually". However, unfortunately for Nabil, it didn't quite grab first place. But Nabil, if you're reading --- you should know that Peter and myself both loved your work!

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The Kid In The Front Row Disaster Filmmaking Competition

Writers! Directors! Actors! This is a competition for YOU!

The Kid In The Front Row Disaster Competition

Here's the deal: 

The world is about to end. A poisonous gas has descended over the planet, and everyone is about to die. With this knowledge and realisation, you pick up your video-phone, and capture the final two minutes of your life, and in fact, the last moments of humankind on the planet. 

Maybe you leave a calm message of love. 

Maybe you witness the pandemonium.

Maybe you're in denial of the whole thing. 

Here's the rules: 

All films must be NO LONGER than TWO MINUTES.

All films must take place in ONE SINGLE SHOT ONLY. NO CUTTING. NO EDITING. 

There are no limits on how many characters you have or how you tell your story. It could be one person talking to the camera, or it could be someone documenting events on their phone. Be creative!

Here's your opportunity:

Are you a writer? Write an amazing scene about the last moments on Earth as recorded by a character on their smartphone. Get it made. 

Are you an actor? There's no excuse! Even if you don't know any writers or directors, you can pick up your phone and make a movie!

Are you a director? How would you stage this scene? How can you use a phone and actors to make it compelling? Show us! 

Here's the deadline: 

SATURDAY 14th JANUARY 2012. 

Here's The Outcome:

You upload your video to YouTube. 

You send the link to:

There will be shortlists for awards: 

BEST ACTOR (one award, not separate gender-categories)

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST SCREENPLAY

BEST FILM

Now -- your film may have no script, it may have no actors. Don't worry about it. Your job is to make the best film you can make and send it to me. 

After I have made the shortlists, the final choices will be made by a judge or judges from the film industry, who I will name nearer the date. The previous judge for a KITFR competition was Joe Leonard (Editor on 'Glee', Writer/Director 'How I Got Lost')

Good luck... get writing! get directing! get acting!!

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Let's All Remember The True Meaning Of Sunday

As most of you will know, Sunday is an important day for billions of people all around the world. That's right, Sunday is traditionally known through many cultures as the day of the movies. Whenever possible, it is important to rest on a Sunday and watch as many films as possible. This will make sure that you are adequately rested, refreshed and inspired for the week ahead.

Today I managed to watch four films. I have provided a screenshot of each film. If you think you can identify each film then email me your answers ASAP. On Monday morning I will be selecting a correct entrant at random - who will be sent SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION on DVD.

Please send your answers to the email address below. Even if you only recognize two or three of the films, feel free to enter; as people don't always get these things right.

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5 Page Screenwriting Competition - Only A Few Days Left!

"I am a writer," he said, and the girl got impressed. "But I couldn't do the competition because I had to work and then I had to clean the cat and then I had to log onto Facebook."

Don't be one of them people. Be the writer you know you are, or be the writer you want to be, or --- if you've never written before...... find that creative soul that's hiding deep within you and let it out, be a part of our competition.

There are THREE PRIZES: Best Screenplay, Funniest Screenplay and Most Original Screenplay. I will also give a few gifts to the winners, namely a few books and DVD's.

Here are the rules.

• Your script must be no more than 5 pages long (6 including the cover page)
  
• The entire film is set in one place - the kitchen.
  
• You must use industry standard formatting.
  
• There are three characters: Anna, Mike and Hank.
  
• Anna wants something from Mike, but there's no way Mike is giving it away.

That's your brief. You can only use those three characters - and at some point, Anna is going to need something from Mike that he won't be giving (it could be sex, a monkey, a wedding ring, who knows, it's up to you!)

Be creative, be imaginative, be daring, and get your script in by December 2nd 2009.

By submitting you agree for your screenplay to be shared with readers of the KITFW blog. I will read every script sent to me.

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Kids In The Front Row, Complaining About Neck Pains

A few weeks back I asked, "Why Are You A Kid In The Front Row?" and got some great responses. I had three books to give away, so I have three winners.

One of them, is a screenwriting blogger, Michelle Goode. I couldn't resist giving her a prize after she went to effort of writing a poem. Not only that, but the poem was brilliant! Here's an excerpt:

"I am a kid in the front row

Because I get that fluttery feeling before it's about to start

and get sucked into the story as it latches onto my heart

all the while immersed in that buttery popcorn scent

until I find myself wondering where all the time went"

By Michelle Goode.

Another winner is Emma Robertson, from Australia, who's excitement and passion for film is plain to see:

"I am extremely in touch with my inner-child & Films always bring this out in me. Making me feel highly energised and more & more IN LOVE with Films & Film Making with every Film that I see. Yes, that's me...always FALLING IN LOVE (again) with MOVIES! It is for ALL of these reasons and many more that I believe I AM THE KID IN THE FRONT ROW!"

The final prize goes to Heather Parks, an actress; who finished her great email with;

It takes thirst for knowledge and a listening ear. Now, I've learned I can't acquire the knowledge I need if I'm sitting in the back row. And the view may be a bit skewed if I play it too safe (near the emergency exits) at the side. So I'm the kid in the front row because to me, it's the only place to be.

Thanks to all who entered, I loved receiving your emails.

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Competition Winners.

Congratulations to Alyson in South Carolina, USA - who'll be receiving 'Lost In Translation' on DVD, and Oliver in West Sussex in the UK who won 'Jaws' on DVD. They both correctly identified the quote I posted as being the words of Tom Hanks.

For everybody's viewing pleasure - here is Tom Hanks' acceptance speech for his AFI Lifetime Achievement award. His words sum up everything that is wonderful about the movies; and it really makes you realize how remarkable Tom and his career are.



Thanks to everyone else who entered the competition.

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Competition - Who Said This?

Here's a little competition. I'm going to have it run for a few days and then randomly pick two winners. The quote below was said by somebody in the film industry, it's one of my favorite quotes/speeches; and all I need is for you to email me and tell me who said it!.

"Hey, I got an idea -- let’s go to the movies. I wanna go to the movies. I want to take you all to the movies. Let’s go and experience the art of the cinema. Let’s begin with Scream Of Fear, and we are going to have it haunt us for the rest of our lives. And then let’s go see The Great Escape, and spend our summer jumping our bikes just like Steve McQueen over barbed wire. And then let’s catch The Seven Samurai for some reason on PBS and we'll feel like we speak Japanese because we can read the subtitles and hear the language at the same time. And then let’s lose sleep the night before we see 2001: A Space Odyssey because we have this idea it’s going to change forever the way we look at films. And then let’s go see it four times in one year. And let’s see Woodstock three times in one year and let’s see Taxi Driver twice in one week. And let’s see Close Encounters of the Third Kind just so we can freeze there in mid-popcorn. And when the kids are old enough, let’s sit them together on the sofa and screen City Lights and Stage Coach and The Best Years of Our Lives and On The Waterfront and Midnight Cowboy and Five Easy Pieces and The Last Picture Show and Raging Bull and Schindler's List -- So that they can understand how the human condition can be captured by this amalgam of light and sound and literature we call the cinema."

I have two prizes. One is a 'Lost In Translation' on DVD (Region 1, USA) and one is 'Jaws' on DVD, Region 2 (UK, Europe). So - who said those wonderful words? Email your answers to kidinthefrontrow AT gmail DOT com

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