Screenwriting : Search for New Blood contest -- who submitted? by Pat Alexander

All. I submitted my horror script "ABOLITION" to the Search for New Blood contest. This is my very first horror script. It took a lot of bravery to write this because I never wrote a horror and don't consider myself an expert on the subject. Luckily, I took numerous horror writing classes (some with Stage32) and webinars on the genre. This script has already won one festival! Wish me luck and good luck to all of the entrants.

I have two entries, one horror in a comedic tone called "Jump Scare." And one with edge called "Scare Me to Death." Congrats to all entrants including Anthony McBride, who's already a winner!

Break an egg (Hate the alternative and I'm a playwright) with ABOLITION, Anthony. Sounds like it could make a cool GET OUT period horror movie. I'd love to hear its progress. I too never wrote a horror film, but I just submitted an adaptation of a weird horror novel written in 1936 by Lord Berners, an eccentric Brit, called THE SONG OF SOLOMON. It's PD and I was able to take liberties with it by setting it in 1921 and made it more socially relevant (women suffrage) especially with the rights taken away from woman in the Dobbs decision. I've gotten 2 RECOMMENDS on it, one from Stage 32.

I submitted my first series, Zeeka and the Zombies, in my five-series sci-fi thriller, Zeeka Chronicles. The series was inspired by the zika virus and is horrifying. Congratulations to all who entered this contest.

I submitted my horror feature, "Darlins." Here's the logline: After a horror novelist is abducted and brutalized by a crazed fan, she retreats to her childhood home to heal, only to be haunted by her own creatures. Good luck, all!!

Bob Canning Great job, Bob! It takes a lot of courage to step outside of your comfort zone. I really like the premise of your script. Having a social background makes it more interesting. Good luck with this.

I like your logline, Heather. Sounds creepy. I also like the idea of sharing our Loglines. Here's the Logline to mine, THE SONG OF SOLOMON: After an unexpected meteor storm, an albino camel mysteriously appears on the doorstep of a starchy English vicar and his suffragette wife, she soon finds herself under the beast’s malevolent spell, the vicar goes mad, and villagers begin to disappear! (COMPS: The Birds meets The Village)

Title: The Dulce Incident

Thank you @Bob. Your feature sounds amazing!

Thomas Ortiz This is really interesting. It's very close to my series pilot, "Maleficent".

submitting your script West (Pilot) to the 11th Annual Search for New Blood Screenplay Contest. Its about “Eighteen-year-old Charles must hire a group of mercenary cowboys to retrieve stolen information from his recently inherited multi-billion-dollar b's about. “

I submitted my feature, HORROR-FEST, which has earned "Finalist" status in its first three out of four contest submissions (2024 Block Island Film Festival, 2024 Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards, and the 2024 South Carolina Underground Film Festival). Winners for the South Carolina competition will be announced on November 10th in Columbia, S.C., so I'll be in attendance.

COMPS: HALLOWEEN meets SCREAM 3

LOGLINE: Reality and cinema become blurred when an unhinged, horror star seeks revenge against targeted enemies, setting off a killing spree that rivals his most iconic film. But will his on-set "Final Girl" discover the truth in time to stop additional bloodshed?

The really cool thing about this script (other than the brutal murders) is the iconic Los Angeles locations I chose to tell this story. ALL are within walking distance of each another:

The Roosevelt Hotel, The TCL Chinese Theatre, IN-N-OUT Burger, and the Cinerama Dome Theatre.

I highly recommend the Stage 32 webinar, HORROR SCREENWRITING 101 WITH SEAN KELLER. Learned a great deal, as this was my first horror script. Thank you, Mr. Keller!

I also wish to thank John Mezes' "The Writers Buddy" script consultation service. Bravo, Johnny!

Good Luck, Everyone! All this amazing talent makes this competition REALLY SCARY!!!!! (See what I did there?)

Stan Evans JUMP SCARE is an Awesome title, Stan. Good luck with it!

All these sound great and make me feel like I have no chance haha. I submitted my feature script DUE which is a psychological horror that follows a survivor of generational abuse who finds herself thrust into the world of motherhood, while facing the added challenge of being tormented by an entity that has its sights set on her child.

Kathryn Zizek I think DUE sounds terrifying!!!

I submitted Springwaite. Springwaite is a psychological folk horror set in Northern England and the Lake District. It follows a married couple who have drifted apart due to their careers and in a bid to reconnect they embark on a holiday to the Lake District. The first half of the film plays out like a romantic comedy, but events take a sinister turn when they decide to go off grid and stumble upon a remote community, Springwaite. The inhabitants are warm and welcoming, if a little quirky, but gradually reveal their true intentions, which leads to a shocking and horrific climax.

It has hints of Midsommar, The Ritual, Get Out, Woman of the Hour and Parasite, along with strong female characters and LGBTQ+ representation.

Awesome! I wish everyone happy writing and success!! My screenplay, "Isolation," is a claustrophobic survival thriller that blends elements of sci-fi horror and psychological tension.

Logline: When a catastrophic meteor storm cripples a space research lab and damages its AI, a lone astronaut must battle both a malfunctioning artificial intelligence and a deadly, mutated chimpanzee to restore the ship’s life support systems before her air supply runs out.

The variety of storylines here is fascinating. Good luck to everyone!

My entry is titled TUSK. LOGLINE: Astronaut Brie Foley fights to escape from an alien planet, battling time, trauma, and transformation after being abducted by Space Harvesters for agricultural purposes.

COMPS: The Wicker Man meets The Fly

DD Myles Great story and poster, DD! Best of luck!

Hi everyone! I’m excited to have two entries in the contest.

One, AMERICAN ZOMBIE, is a political horror script focused on reporters who uncover a gruesome conspiracy involving the U.S. president. Following his assassination, he has returned as a zombie, feasting behind the scenes on Washington D.C.’s homeless population. Think of it as a twisted cross between DAWN OF THE DEAD and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN.

My second entry, PATTY, is a horror comedy focused on a famous southern chef and TV personality who may also be moonlighting as a cannibalistic serial killer. It’s THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE meets STEEL MAGNOLIAS.

Good luck to all!!

I didn't realize we could add posters. Here's mine.

Wooooo congrats on getting those submissions in everybody! STOKED to see what happens next. Good luck and godspeed! :)

To Hell-a horror adventure about two priests and a group of death row inmates that must go to

hell and retrieve the Cup of Christ, which was stolen from the Vatican by demons. They must

battle their own inner demons if they want to succeed as they travel through a version of Dante’s

Hell.

So many great projects in this bunch! I know we're gonna have a great time diving into all these scripts!

Hi everyone! I submitted the first script I wrote after graduating film school. I decided to go into extreme horror, a genre I love. Choosing a title is still driving me mad, but for now I'm going with Blood of Corruption: "A vampire holds a lonely woman hostage, entangling them in a twisted web of pain and obsession." It's a mostly two-hander inspired by New French Extremity. Whatever happens, I'm really happy about how it turned out.

Pat Alexander What happens to the winner of this horror contest? And, if I enter another contest, how can I pay for the contest if I cut up my credit card? Too many scammers out there.

Claude Gagne most importantly, YOU WIN! Which is awesome to find out your script impressed the most out of a ludicrous amount of submissions. From there, Stage 32 will give you unprecedented industry access by setting you up with a full slate of meetings with lit managers, producers, and development executives where you'll get to pitch your script and start building personal relationships with people who can make a difference in your career. Additionally, Stage 32 sends your script out to a very large amount of industry executives, giving you insane exposure and putting your winning project in front of as many working execs as possible at studios, agencies, prod cos, development cos, lit mgmt firms, and down the line. Winners also get a free Writers Room membership, a code for free webinars on every topic under the sun, and a branding/marketing workshop for you as a writer to learn how to put your best foot forward!

For New Blood this year, the winner also gets a year-long mentorship with Nathan Samdahl, the SVP of Features @ 18Hz, and who was behind the development of films like Smile, Smile 2, A Quiet Place, Orphan: First Kill, and Pet Sematary. This is Stage 32's first year doing mentorships, and so far, already one of our winners, who developed their script with their mentor over the course of 8 months, recently signed an option agreement with a producer on the project. It just happened this week and we can't release full details on it all yet, but that's pretty A-to-B the kind of impact working with a mentor can have taking a great winning script to an excellent pro-level script that producers will spend money on.

If you don't have a credit card, that can be worked out too. Email contests@stage32.com and they'll set you up with a submission through our backend and you'll pay via PayPal, all handled by Stage 32's accounting department so it's as secure and seamless as possible.

Thanks, Pat Alexander for your impressive reply. I'll check for other contests in the type of genres I write if you decide to continue. Only one problem though! There's no assurance our win will be produced, but it can open a few doors for someone. Nothing ventured; nothing gained, so they say.

Pat Alexander Thanks for the opportunity Pat, I submitted my horror comedy "When JIM met TIM" to the competition. It's my first feature film script. The great success of my horror short film

"The Invitation", which I also directed, inspired me to write it.

It's about a man with a dog phobia who gets the worst possible therapy animal, an ancient dog demon.

"When JIM met TIM" is a unic character journey set against a backdrop of mythological terror and personal fear. I hope it is both scary and entertaining, and will stay with viewers long after the credits roll. COMPS: The Omen meets Turner&Hooch meets Shaun of the dead

Hi everyone! I'm Chris. I submitted a horror/comedy feature called Let's Kill Santa. Yes, that Santa. It's a story about letting go of your strongly held beliefs in the face of harsh realities. Also Santa Claus goes on a murder spree. It's layered, I guess. Happy to be here!

Hello! My name is Cobe. I submitted a Pilot titled "Out There, Somewhere, Probably". It's a horror comedy about two teenage outcast girls who become the unlikely sleuths on a missing persons case in their hometown as clues take a supernatural turn.

I submitted my supernatural horror, THE PRESENCE. As I wish all of you luck, wish me luck, too.

Good luck, Maria!

Good morning all! Lots of intrigue here as I read the previous posts. Well done. I submitted my Fantasy Feature "Elven". When a mother and her teen daughter travel to Scotland to retrieve an unexpected inheritance, a necklace that has been lost for hundreds of years leads them into a mystical and dangerous adventure as they are thrust into a centuries-old battle waged between families. Elven has received a previous "Quarterfinalist" mark, but with the help of some recent feedback, and vital changes, optimism prevails. Good luck all!

Claude Gagne, mt friend, if you are worried about credit card theft, your credit card company should have a "virtual number" for you to use. This prevents identity theft or fraudulent charges.

Stephanie O'Leary: Your message made me smile. Thank you.

DD Myles I had to change my credit card twice. I don't own a credit card anymore. What a good feeling! No one will compromise my card. I laugh when they try with messages saying your card from such and such a bank...!

Good on you, mate!! But if you ever do in the future, get a "virtual number" but never, ever use your real credit card info online. Too many online companies go up for sale or sell database info to third parties, then get hacked in the transfer/transition process because of compromised servers. I worked as a network administrator for 4 years. This is common now because of how many people log into all these new social media accounts and buy from a multitude of online merchandise companies.

Wishing you all the best, Maria! You are a very talented personality by your accomplishments!! I hope to see all my Stage32 familia reach their goals and successes. We can make the world a better entertaining place with our stories! Thousands of years from now when they excavate and find some of our written stories, future humankind will decipher in awe and wonderment what it was like in their past, as we do with our ancient writings!! So keep writing!!

Thanks, DD Myles I didn't know about the virtual number. I hope you helped a whole bunch of other Stage 32ers with your helpful comment to me. God be with you, mate.