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Take an idea from any Twilight Zone (or new Twilight Zone) episode and write your own story. Take the idea only. DO NOT rewriting the episode, but turn it into a new story.
This was inspired by Matias Caruso's reworking of a TZ episode The Purple Testament which evolved into the script Numbers.
List of twilight Zone episodes and Twilight Zone (2019) Script Length: Write a 6 page or less properly formatted script. Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama, Dramedy, Dark Comedy, Sci-Fi, Crime (basically any genre found in any episode of "The Twilight Zone".
Participants must read and comment/review in the discussion board at least five other scripts submitted.
Timeline: Scripts Due to SimplyScripts.com/OWC: Friday, October 23rd at midnight edt (11:59:59+1 second on 10/23) Scripts Posted: Saturday, October 24th at (or before) midnight edt. Writers' Choice Due: October 30 at midnight edt.
Budget: Low
Nitty Gritty:
This isn't a contest - it's a challenge. There are no official prizes.
You may submit more than one script but it's better to write one GREAT script than two or three mediocre ones. You may also have a writing partner.
You can revise your script as many times as you wish up until the deadline.
Do not put your real name on your script; this is an anonymous challenge. However, please use your real name when submitting your script.
After the challenge closes you can either have your script removed or resubmit your script with your name on it.
Participants must read and comment/review in the discussion board at least five other scripts submitted.
Submit your script, anonymously to simplyscripts.com/owc.
Any questions about the challenge, post them below.
There will be a review page emailed to you for you to score the scripts you read. Please only give scores to scripts that you have read. Please do not rate scripts in your review.
My life is literally the twilight zone right now, and not just because of COVID...which my daughter has right now. Looking forward to this distraction!
How's your daughter doing, Marnie? I hope she sails through it like a certain other person did...
Thanks for asking, Libby. She's been up and down. Looks like she's on the upswing now. 5 days of high fever and just very sick. Poor kid. 6 people at her work got it and it had to shut down. Shes a bartender and for the last 4 weeks since they reopened it's been very busy. Lots of tourists. The downtown has been packed and now locals are getting sick.
Oddly enough, one of my feature scripts two main inspirations were from a Hammer horror film and my favorite Twilight Zone episode. if I do this OWC, as I most likely will revisit that Twilight Zone episode.
Inadvertent omission on my part. Thanks for the catch. The horror has been restored.tm
-Don
Awesome! Thanks, Don.
I'm in! And I don't know squat about about these shows, shockingly enough. I will research them, and try and bring a decent script that peeps won't hate.
I worry that there's going to be lots of premises based on more famous/infamous TZ episodes in pop-culture (eg. William Shatner seeing a troll on the wing of a plane).
Ben, maybe the answer to that is picking a lesser known episode? There's so many to choose from.
Still got to put a different spin on it too. Can't just duplicate the same plot. Make it your own, you could have something really great, even if someone elects the same premise.
Will post something up in a few minutes as an example.
Written by: Matias Caruso (Mr Z) who took inspiration from a Twilight Zone episode called: The Purple Testament to create an entirely new story with Numbers.
Great challenge, the only, umm… other challenge, is reading through all the opening narrations, or episode plots listed online to find one that stokes an idea.
All good. Curiously, the (Twilight Zone) was a staple in my house when it was in syndication back in the early eighties, just before or after Benny Hill (God rest that comedy genius) and Friday Night Videos, but I can only remember a few episodes off the top of my head; for some reason I keep thinking about the Twilight Zone opening narration at the Hollywood Tower of Terror in Disney Orlando… does that count? Lol.
I worry that there's going to be lots of premises based on more famous/infamous TZ episodes in pop-culture (eg. William Shatner seeing a troll on the wing of a plane). I might be in.
Cool, I wasn’t aware Shatner played the original episode; I only remember the one with John Lithgow, but that was the 1983 Twilight Zone movie, I’ll have to check that (Shatner episode) out for sure.
This excellent short horror film was also inspired by one of the TZ episodes. I have not been able to find a better quality version, but it's not too bad.
Just Murdered by Sean Elwood (Zombie Sean) and Gabriel Moronta (Mr. Ripley) - (Dark Comedy, Horror) All is fair in love and war. A hopeless romantic gay man resorts to bloodshed to win the coveted position of Bridesmaid. 99 pages. https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-comedy/m-1624410571/
I’m sitting this one out. Work is kicking my arse just now and I’m caught up with other stuff to devote much time to write. I will however read and review any submitted scripts. Good luck to all who enter.
If at first you don't succeed........bribe someone.
OK, submitted. Never before submitted this early, but every time I (re)read the script to make sure it’s good to go I feel compelled to change something, which almost always results in the story being out of scope with the initial idea, so I better just go with what I have; ho hum...
Lol, in my defense, I’m a TZ geek, and even though it’s been eons since I’ve watched the series, I could surprisingly remember quite a few off the top off my head, except the actual names of the episodes… that I had to Google.
That being said, in the end, I just went with the first one I thought of. Hopefully, it works…
Jeff, the challenge is to right a 6 page (or less) script based on an idea prompted by an episode of the show... I read the synopsis of the original series, so 156 eps, on Wikipedia and came up with 18 ideas... just read a few and see if anything tickles the muse.
If you use the original episode as a prompt then any of them (well not ANY) could be a slasher... e.g. episode 123 is one of the famous ones where William Shatner sees a gremlin attacking the engine of the plane he's flying on... what if the gremlin was a lot more dangerous, boarded the plane and slashed everyone up.
If you use the original episode as a prompt then any of them (well not ANY) could be a slasher... e.g. episode 123 is one of the famous ones where William Shatner sees a gremlin attacking the engine of the plane he's flying on... what if the gremlin was a lot more dangerous, boarded the plane and slashed everyone up.
See? Nice, easy, relaxing OWC this time. Or, better yet, paranoid non-Shatner thinks that that's happening. Now, it's a psychological thriller. =)
I can't recall any...that said , , a case can be made with 'The New Exhibit" (s4 e13)I'm curious if someone might have a take on Living Doll (s5, ep6)_ as well.
I can't recall any...that said , , a case can be made with 'The New Exhibit" (s4 e13)I'm curious if someone might have a take on Living Doll (s5, ep6)_ as well.
Technicality on The New Exhibit.
As for Living Doll, only one. Zack would be pissed if he watched a slasher with only one death. Lol.
You're only supposed to use the idea... If the original doesn't have any deaths and is a mystery, you can still turn that idea into horror with multiple deaths. You're not supposed to rewrite the show. Just rework the idea.
This is one of my better first drafts that I've written, but I have a tendency to revise as I write. I have 3 1/2 days to revise until the deadline. This was easier than I thought.
are you guys doing Rod Serling intro/outro narrations in your scripts?
I'd list my "work" here, but I don't know how to hyperlink.
"Career" Highlights -2, count em, 2 credits on my IMDB page. -One time a fairly prominent producer e-mailed me back. -I have made more than $1000 with my writing! -I've won 2 mugs... and a thong. (polaroids of me in thong available for $10 through PM)
No. These scripts are not related to the TZ series. You're only supposed to take an idea and put your own spin on it. (
ok. thanks.
I'd list my "work" here, but I don't know how to hyperlink.
"Career" Highlights -2, count em, 2 credits on my IMDB page. -One time a fairly prominent producer e-mailed me back. -I have made more than $1000 with my writing! -I've won 2 mugs... and a thong. (polaroids of me in thong available for $10 through PM)
I think some of them are going to be close anyway Marnie, I mean it'll be purely a personal opinion on how much has been changed, or not, and what will therefore constitute something that is 'inspired by' versus 'veiled re-write'.
Given the usual OWC hangups about criteria we'll probably see a fair few 'it's just a re-write', and we'll also probably get a few 'I can't see where in Episode 31 you got this idea from'
Had a few hours to kill, decided to throw a script together and submit it... can't wait to read everyone's stuff! Twilight Zone is probably my favorite show of all time, definitely a big influence on a lot of my material, especially "The Suicide Theory" (Amazon Prime if you're bored). There are a lot of episodes with very general premises; a woman receives strange phone calls in the middle of the night, man flees a hit and run, etc. You could probably throw together a script outside of this challenge and find a TZ premise in it without knowing it. And there are so many episodes to choose from. Very interested to see the episodes people chose.
Agreed, Michael, the series has touched on nearly everything over the (almost) 300 episodes... going back an looking at some of the synopsis of them has brought back fond memories.
I'm really struggling to come up with an original idea. Every time I think I have one, I realize it's really just a rewrite. Ugh.
I think some people are going to view mine as a re-write, but I prefer to call it a re-imagination. If they do then so be it, I really didn't have the time to review the list of episodes and create a completely original idea loosely based on one. I can only remember a handful of episodes so I picked one I did remember and had a go.
I wish I had more time to give this challenge the justice it deserves. With so much material to draw from, I would have really enjoyed doing this properly.
It's weird, I watched loads of TW in my younger years, alongside Outer Limits, Tales from the Crypt and a creepy British one called Tales of the Unexpected. And yet. my mind is a blank trying to recall most of them!
Ah well, at least I've entered. Looking forward to reading these!
For more of my scripts, stories, produced movies and the ocassional blog, check out my new website. CLICK
Mine sucks a bag of dicks, but it was still a fun way to kill an hour or two. I think I spent way more time watching TZ episodes on Netflix. Got so absorbed, I threw on my Night Gallery DVDs.
Mine sucks a bag of dicks, but it was still a fun way to kill an hour or two. I think I spent way more time watching TZ episodes on Netflix. Got so absorbed, I threw on my Night Gallery DVDs.
Don't worry, mine will suck even more so you won't have the worst entry lol I managed to grab 45mins on my lunch yesterday to hammer out a first draft, and I reckon I can maybe squeeze in a other 30mins tonight before bed to try and salvage something from it.
I have missed spending a week reading comments slating my work, so looking forward to that
Submitted! Think in total I managed to find about 90 minutes to work on this... had to go for a basic story but hopefully, it's not too dull.
No chance to proofread or spell check, not sure if it makes sense or even if I have kept the character names consistent throughout... oh god! what have I submitted?
I had no intention of entering but decided to retell an old favorite. I submit to you a one-hour special! Praise it and rate it low. Like usual. You never know, though.
Lol, I dunno, I'll take a pile of crap over a bag of dicks any day. Especially if they're severed, which they probably would be. Logistically, it's really the only way to get a bunch of them in a bag.
Lol, I dunno, I'll take a pile of crap over a bag of dicks any day. Especially if they're severed, which they probably would be.
Funny...that's pretty close to the only idea I came up with. My fave TZ episode...Instead of being surrounded by books and losing his glasses...he was surrounded by women and lost his wiener.
Before I even read the first one, I've decided I'm just going to judge/score the script on the quality of the story, characters and writing and not worry much about if this is a rewrite, reimagination or completely original take on the story, as I won't really know unless I watch all those episodes and only recognise a couple.
As per usual, I'll be pacing myself and reviewing a few a day but I do plan to get through them all.
For more of my scripts, stories, produced movies and the ocassional blog, check out my new website. CLICK
I'm going to see if it's obvious that it's inspired by the original episode but as that is going to be pretty subjective, I won't be judging on that basis...
Haha, just read through this thread, cue TZ music.
I just got up and thought it was just the one I reported. Behind the times... or ahead, depending. Suffering insomnia lately like Ant. It's a real drag.
Looking forward to reading soon. Hoping they don't put me go sleep. That was a joke btw.
P.S. The haha was also in response to Marnie's idea.
Well, spent pretty much the whole day reading the OWC entries, think I just about read all of them. It was nice to take a break from writing to actually read -- very relaxing. A lot of great talent on display, especially for scripts written on a tight deadline.
I've read the first batch and I'm very impressed with the overall quality. Having a break for the rest of the day so I don't get script reading fatigue but like what I see so far.
Also, thanks to Don for providing links to the wikis for each episode. A helpful reminder or overview if I haven't seen the episode. Much appreciated!
-Mark
For more of my scripts, stories, produced movies and the ocassional blog, check out my new website. CLICK
Oh, no no... I am. So far I’ve read and commented on 100% of 18 scripts! Lol. Just gonna take a short break, crawl under the kitchen sink, curl up into the fetal position, and cry myself to sleep. I’ll get to the last batch pending that
Think I blew my load early lol. Read and commented all of them on pretty much the first day. Can't wait to see who wrote what... will there be a "guess the writer" thread this weekend? I've only ever done one other OWC. I don't even really know which writers were involved. Again, great job by all, it can be hard putting together a story based on someone else's premise and then structuring it into something of your own within a week's time.
Done and dusted. My vote is in. Fantastic entries - congratulations to everyone that entered. No pissers or losers in the bunch. It's getting more and more challenging to win one of these blasted challenges!
Is it me or does it seem a little slow? Did multiple writers write multiple scripts? Feels like I'm seeing more comments from people who didn't submit a script than people who did. Still a few days left, though!
Think it said there were 18 writers... so that should equate to min 17 comments per script if everyone who entered comments - which invariably doesn't happen... and there's some non-entrants commenting too, so yes does seem a little slow at the mo...
This does seem like the slowest OWC I've taken part in.
I've done a quick headcount and found the following.
- 20 different people have commented on at least 1 entry. - Of those, I suspect at least 4 did not submit an entry. (I have LC, Dreamscale, Grandma Bear and Ghostwriters on my list of reviewing but didn't enter) - Currently, 3 of the reviewers are below the minimum of reviewing 5 entries. - Looks like only 5 have commented on all entries so far (excluding their own)
Below is the number of entries commented on per reviewer (I've excluded names)
My ballot is in. The entries were pretty good, but there were 2 that stood out to me -- I rated them based on the overall quality of the script as a stand alone (if I had just read it w/ out knowing it was part of a challenge), the quality of the writing while also considering the rules of the challenge such as budget (low, realistically can be filmed on a modest budget) and creativity (how the writer took the premise and made it original and something of their own).
Looking forward to guessing and seeing who wrote what!
Well, for what it’s worth Jeff, I appreciate the feedback you gave on my script thread, and it was pretty much on par with all the other comments, no worse no better, so definitely fair.
That being said I think my scripts are are dead giveaway at this stage cause I’ve pretty much submitted similar themes, voice, style, etc. for the past few years now, but it’s all good on this end. A challenge is a challenge and without the OWC and feedback there is really no inspiration to go outside the comfort zone and try different things. This is ‘tabula rasa’ wherein everyone is given the same set of paints... in the end, what we do with the given palette falls solely on us as to show what we’ve created from that, if others like it they like it, if not... we’ll, try something different next round, but only if you want to appease the masses, otherwise be true to your vision as a writer and carry on...
Everyone except me? Really? I wasn't honest? I wasn't constructive? Seriously?
WOW...why do I continue to waste my time reading and reviewing? Guess it may be time to leave for a while.
Please disregard my feedback, everyone. It is dishonest and nonconstructive.
Must we do this every OWC? It's almost a ritual anymore. Are you getting thin-skinned these days?
There are a shitload of us that appreciate your take on our entries and actually look forward to reading them. Sure, you hurt some feelings but they'll get over it. I did. Most of the time you're spot on. Sometimes it seems like you had one too many Jagers before pounding out something on the keyboard.
It'll piss me off if you go dark on us. Suck it up, Buttercup!
When you send in your ballots, DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL. I had to re-send a new ballot because I forgot to do that. If you're having any doubts, contact Don to see if yours went through or not!
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