Thursday 30 April 2009

2009 Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award

Okay everyone - first and fastest, I wanted to let people know that the 2009 Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award is now open!

This is the award I won last year so needless to say I highly recommend entering it if you're eligible. The basic rules are:
The Applicant must be a non-U.S. citizen residing outside of the U.S.
The Applicant must not have reached his/her 30th birthday as of December 31st of the current year.
The Applicant must deliver an original completed DRAMA script for television, written in English.
The script must be a minimum of a half hour and a maximum of one hour in length.
The deadline is July 15th 2009.
For more information and an application form, go to here

And don't forget, for that vital script feedback before you send off your entry - contact me at the usual address!

Thanks and good luck!

10 comments:

Adaddinsane said...

Under 30? Harrumph. Harrumph.

30 was soooo long ago.

Good luck to all the spring chickens that can enter.

Harrumph.

Sofluid said...

Thanks Jez! In fact, I've had an idea for a drama in my mind for quite some time now. this will be a good opportunity to get it written!

Yehudah Jez Freedman said...

excellent! And if you want to ask anything just email me. If I can help, I will! That goes for everyone else too of course!

Unknown said...

If someone can give me one good reason why people over 30 years are not eligible for this award I am not going to apply.

Why are all competitions - short story, screen play, writer, whatever - always only for young people? If you are over 30, even over 40, you can still have the urge to try new things (George Eliot said "It is never too late to be what you might have been" and she was right), you are still full of imagination, passion and energy. On top the older you are, the experiences you have made in your life, which I think, is a big advantage when writing fiction. Aren't older people usually the best story tellers?

Anonymous said...

Jez, just to make my views clear, you are wrong to dine out on this. You have virtually nothing to your name, and what you do have is of minimum significance for the simple fact you've done nothing with them.

You can't just win one award and presume that this gives you adequate qualification to be a script reader.

If you were a semi-decent screenwriter you'd have taken your award and done something with it. You have no agent, you have no credits whatsoever to your name, and here you are making money out of other people that you con into believing that your opinion counts.

You have a loose entrepreneurial instinct; but frankly that's all.

Yehudah Jez Freedman said...

hahahaha - mum, is that you? Is this a joke - Toby?

No? Okay. Well...

Everyone's opinion counts, even yours (ballsy as it is by retaining your anonymous status) which is why I haven't moderated it.

Do I bother responding - oooh I just can't resist.

Okay so point by point. No one has yet bought me dinner for winning the award. A coke, an orange juice and maybe a bottle of water here and there. My producer did buy me a nice chinese meal when he optioned my latest script - so suck on that spring roll.

Next, I was a script reader loooong before I won the award. You are correct - the award makes me no more or less qualified. My script analysis skills do though.

I have done something with my award - it's hanging on my wall. It's pretty heavy too so I can club douchebags over the head with it. But an agent and credits - a jedi craves not these things.

I have never conned anyone out of anything in my life - apart from one dodgy fantasy football league transfer I conducted when I was at school - but even then it wasn't a con as such.

Finally, I wish my loose entrepreneurial instinct would be reflected in my bank balance.

Yehudah Jez Freedman said...

On an unrelated topic - Isabelle, I apologies for the delay in responding to your comment - er, erm, forgot.

I actually discussed this with Tracy Oliver, who administers the award. I believe scrapping the age limit was considered but there was a strong desire to keep it for people just starting out.

NOW - I know what you're going to say. Older people can also just be starting out in a new career etc. And I personally agree. So I guess I don't have a GOOD reason for you. But that's the only one I've got.

Janice said...

Hi,

Yeah, I am very irritated by the age limit on scriptwriting. I only began screenwriting when I was past 45 and now I'm completely over the hill at 52. But I refuse to lie down (unless asked to do so by George Clooney - and not in some medical drama, just to be really clear). Where was I - oh yes, Alzheimers has set in and I've forgotten what I was saying.

Just also wanted to say that people who write stuff like that guy(ess) who slagged you off shouldn't actually be given airtime. I wouldn't have approved the comment let alone bothered to answer it.

But I'll answer you. Keep on trucking Jez, you're fabbo.

Yehudah Jez Freedman said...

thank you janice - gunning the truck as we speak

Anonymous said...

I tried to "dine out on" a BAFTA once. I wouldn't recommend it Jez -- really hurt my buttocks and I am now forbidden to go within 50 metres of a Pizza Express.