I've sent several scripts off to iScript.com.  iScript will be making the final selection.  This is how the selection process unfolded.  I read every single script twice.  In all but two cases I did not know who the writers were.  So, except for those two writers, there was no 'favoritism' bias.  I then divided the scripts into three categories of six scripts each in order of which I enjoyed the most to the least:

Low side Young Adult: appropriate in theme and language for my 8 year old son to read. (no bad words and theme mild enough not to send him to therapy).  Well, a couple of bad words here or there were ok as it gave him an incentive to read.

High side Young Adult: appropriate in theme and language for my 13 year old son to read (stronger themes and a few curse words were ok).

Extreme Young Adult: I don't want my kid reading this, but I enjoyed it.

I then forced the boys to read the first two pages of each script in his stack.  They were then offered $5.00 for each complete script they read.  Two days and $35.00 later I asked them to each pick two scripts they liked the most.  

Two scripts from each category were sent to iScript for the final selection.

Stay tuned on Friday the 31st to find out which script iScript selected.

Don

EDIT: I left out the whole point of this post:

Because of the process I used to select the final six scripts scripts, there was a lot of randomness injected into it.  

I see you put a lot of emphasis on the "Young adult" theme... can't wait to hear the winner.

Thanks for hosting this contest Don as well as for everything else on this site. Your effort is much appreciated!

So, if my script included the 27 page girls locker room showerroom scene, your kids wouldn't be allowed to read it. The older one would probably enjoy it.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe So, if my script included the 27 page girls locker room showerroom scene, your kids wouldn't be allowed to read it. The older one would probably enjoy it.

Phil, the 27 page girls locker shower room scene you included was totally pointless. One expects nudity, and all you had was girls standing around a locker discussing books on Amazon.com that they were viewing on a laptop in a locker using wi-fi. Not only that, but you specified that the locker used wasn't even near the shower but had a great view of the hot 54-year old PE instructor's office in the background. I was beyond disappointed.

See?  That's why Phil is who he is.

If the girls were using a Kindle, it would have been SO much hotter.

Thanks Don for arranging this competition.

I made a few mistakes, I hope that will be overlooked.  

Fingers-crossed

Quoted from bobtheballa I see you put a lot of emphasis on the "Young adult" theme... can't wait to hear the winner. Thanks for hosting this contest Don as well as for everything else on this site. Your effort is much appreciated!

NOTE: OWC SPOILERS HERE

Yes, it was supposed to be young adult, but a lot seemed to slip into the teenager mode. It's interesting because the ability for a script to reach a wide audience is something that is reflected in the last Harry Potter movie. If they would have just dealt with Harry's internal struggles, it would have been a completely different movie; instead, they really played up the Doloris Umbridge character.

An entirely different sort of movie with a different mood could be created from The Order of the Phoenix if we were dealing more specifically with Harry's internal turmoil, but it might not be as well received for a younger audience.

What I've noticed in this challenge is that a lot of the writers really did try to be creative with their take on Halloween's fear factor, or in some cases-- adding a fun factor.

In Things From the Grave, two kids emerging out of tween mode work up the courage to sneak into a big teens' party. It seems a brilliant idea after all-- they can put on masks and nobody will know the difference, but alas, something about them gives them away as intruders-- maybe their size and they are told to scram. This scramming however leads them to discovering an alien zombie ship that invades the area. Neither the Big Teens and their cool party people nor anyone else will believe these two as they try and warn of the attack of the zombies.

Things From the Grave didn't have your regular Trick or Treating thing going on, but it showed a couple of kids "trying to be older" and I think that that's what makes this one ring true. Younger kids sneaking into an older kids party. The rest-- the zombies and everyone thinking it was a joke/hoax-- it met the challenge well I think.

The Bus of Doom was a very memorable script. The premise was really good-- I really liked the fright car being introduced and then the Bus of Doom showing up as competition. This one was a creative piece of work that could be toned up in the fear factor and switched to teen horror genre or toned down and made more for a general audience.

Ants to the Gods rang true for me with one of my favorite analogies being used as the title. It was a completely creative and unique piece of work that stripped itself clean of all Halloween associations until the very end with the proclamation at the end when "The God" hands the un-technified native a chocolate bar and says, "Happy Halloween". I wasn't sure, but I thought these Gods were supposed to be just military people from an advanced civilization.

Mark of The Fiend exemplifies a simple, but well done script. It reminded me of Passover. The last line of dialogue was perfect: "Rotten kids. Always joking."

Thanks Don for setting this up and running this.

Sandra

I think the Young Adult was a good choice for the challenge. Just how wide open it is to interpretation.

My thoughts on it are that there is no age limit to the characters but there must be 'a coming of age' experience for the main protag. Ideally the script must deal with a situation that young adults could associate with. Language and excessive gore should be pretty low-key, probably aiming at a 12a certificate content-wise.

Gremlins was an example I thought of and read the script of before writing my entry. Main protag in that is 26 but still lives with his parents, is very child-like in his interests. I still think that is Young Adult but not as sure as I was. What do people think?

Thanks Don for running this and the time taken to read all the scripts...twice! Well done to everyone who took part.

Quoted from George Willson Phil, the 27 page girls locker shower room scene you included was totally pointless. One expects nudity, and all you had was girls standing around a locker discussing books on Amazon.com that they were viewing on a laptop in a locker using wi-fi. Not only that, but you specified that the locker used wasn't even near the shower but had a great view of the hot 54-year old PE instructor's office in the background. I was beyond disappointed.

That's because, prior to deleting the 27 page locker room room, I deleted the 48 page lesbian lovemaking scene.






It was so awesome.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe That's because, prior to deleting the 27 page locker room room, I deleted the 48 page lesbian lovemaking scene. It was so awesome.

I dunno Phil. A game of "poker" (yeah, all the fabulous innuendo wasn't lost on me throughout) while discussing the pickling process of cucumbers (in all its glorious and painstaking detail, again with lots of innuendo) hardly constitutes a "lesbian lovemaking scene." It wasn't even strip poker. I guess there was some nudity, but breastfeeding the women's infants isn't the kind of scene to get anyone going, no matter how much description you put into the process. It was more like a scene from Desperate Housewives than Skinemax at night.

Quoted from George Willson I dunno Phil. A game of "poker" (yeah, all the fabulous innuendo wasn't lost on me throughout) while discussing the pickling process of cucumbers (in all its glorious and painstaking detail, again with lots of innuendo) hardly constitutes a "lesbian lovemaking scene." It wasn't even strip poker. I guess there was some nudity, but breastfeeding the women's infants isn't the kind of scene to get anyone going, no matter how much description you put into the process. It was more like a scene from Desperate Housewives than Skinemax at night.

More like Deperate Housewives than Skinemax?  Sorry, but I don't understand the comparison becaiuse I don't watch Desperate Housewives.

You see, I'm a man.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe You see, I'm a man.

True, but one could be forgiven thinking you're a woman when looking at your wavy hair ;)

Quoted from sniper True, but one could be forgiven thinking you're a woman when looking at your wavy hair ;)

My hair isn't wavey; it's very straight.

But it's fabulous!


Phil

After reading just about all the OWC scripts I have to tip my cap to you all. I am relatively new to the board and writing (5 years) but I have one feature under my belt and I must say that everyone did a great job and the ideas were for the most part original and interesting.

Keep writing!

Don
It was fun to produce something within a short timeframe and then let it go out there................
Thanks for the opportunity
regards Walford