2012. Year 7. Scripts. aka THE WRITER.
CRITERIA: Teams were given finalist scripts from 72 SCRIPT FEST to adapt into a short film.
WATCH 2012 ENTRIES
72 FILM FEST 2012 WINNERS
- Cinematography: “The Rising” by Missing Link Cinema
- Editing: “The Christmas Present/Past” by Lounge Rat Productions
- Acting: “The Flame” by Chiet Productions
- Music/sound: “Made for Each Other” by Crowded Elevator Pictures
- Best Student: “The Christmas Present/Past” by Lounge Rat Productions
- Best Amateur: “Patricia’s Box” by Unimental (Or How I Learned to Love the Fest)
- Best Pro: “Made for Each Other” by Crowded Elevator Pictures
- Best of the Rest: “Alien Love” by Pecos Bill and the Wranglers
- Best of the Fest: “Made for Each Other” by Crowded Elevator Pictures
- Flying Dog Shock and Awe: “Trip or Treat” Henlivision Productions
- Audience Choice: “Chowder House Love” by Noticeable Grain
2012 FINALISTS and FRIDAY NIGHT AUDIENCE CHOICE
Finalists From Block One:
Lounge Rat Pictures
Saved by the Merv
JKI PRODUCTIONZ/Extrospect Entertainment
Audience Choice From Block One:
Chimney Sweep Pictures
Finalists from Block Two:
Gross
Unimental
Lambda Kappa Tau
Films of the Magnificent Pirate
Chiet Productions
Pecos Bill and the Wranglers
Missing Link Cinema
Crowded Elevator Pictures
Noticeable Grain
Verité
Henlivision Productions
Audience Choice From Block Two:
Ah Muh Face
First Block
JKI Productionz/Extrospect Entertainment – Student – “Psych Out” – Written By Keith Acton – PG
Directors from the Black Lagoon – Student – “Resolution” – Written by Michelle Herrin – PG-13
The PUNishers – Student – “Made for Each Other” – Written by Jordan Littleton – PG-13
Team Molten Llama – Student – “A Bad Day at the Office” – Written by Casey Morin – PG-13
SavedByTheMerv – Student – “And the Stars Sang” – Written by Dave Imboden – PG
Forthright Films – Student – “Wishes” – Written by Norman Guice – G
Ashley Ellis Productions – Student – “The Pariah of Aquimon” – Written by Joseph Patrick Richards – PG-13
Ophiuchus Pictures – Student – “Night Walk” – Written by David Ebri – R (Adult themes/violence/drugs)
One Step Films – Student – “Witness in the Shadows of Westfield High” – Written by Ashley Henley & Jason Henley – PG
Lounge Rat Productions – Student – “The Christmas Present/Past” – Written by DC Cathro – PG
Turbo Duck – Student – “Principles” – Written by Pat Riley – PG
D.D. BRA – Student – “Patricia’s Box” – Written by Darren Joe – R (Language/Violence)
Stepdad Productions – “Elysium Beach” – Written by Ems Ginsburg – PG-13
Chimney Sweep Pictures – “The Lebeaux File” – Written by Kirkland Morris – PG
Second Block
Unimental (Or How I Learned to Love the Fest) – Amateur – “Patricia’s Box” – Written by Darren Joe – R (Language/Violence)
Lambda Kappa Tau – Amateur – “Waiting for the New Light” – Written by The Outsider – PG
Films of the Magnificent Pirate – Pro – “An Ill Wind” – Written by John Drummer – PG-13
Chiet Productions – Pro – “The Flame” – Written by Bob Johnson – PG-13
DallasWhiteFilms – Amateur – “The Vanishing Field” – Written by Phil Bromhal – PG-13
Henlivision Productions – Pro – “Trip or Treat” – Written by Drew Edwards and Mark Burchick – PG-13
Crowded Elevator Pictures – Pro – “Made for Each Other” – Written by Jordan Littleton – PG-13
Never Shut Up/Live Out Loud – Amateur – “Baking Bad” – Written by Michael Ryan – PG-13
Noticeable Grain – Amateur – “Chowder House Love” – Written by Chris Setten – R (Adult Themes/Language/drugs)
Filmlovables – Pro – “Shakes” – Written by Tripp Laino – PG-13
Verité – Pro – “Worst Nymphs Ever” – Written by Brianna Lux & Kay Marvin – PG-13
Bright Boy Alert – Amateur – “Principles” – Written by Pat Riley – R (Adult Themes/Violence)
Pecos Bill and the Wranglers – Pro – “Alien Love” – Written by Chris Dancy & Lisa Chau – PG-13
Gross – Amateur – “David’s Day” – Written by Max Wyman – PG-13
Short Fuse – Amateur – “Tussin’ and Turnin’” – Written by Drew Edwards and Mark Burchick – R (Language/drugs)
Missing Link Cinema – Pro – “The Rising” – Written by Bob Johnson – PG-13
Ah Muh Face! – Amateur – “Dick Dangerous Returns” PG-13
JUDGES: Kelly Trigger, Jack Gerbes, Rhett Murphy, Matt Edens, Eric Reickel, Nicole Dowlearn, Rona Mensah, Evan Guilfoyle.
Kelly Trigger
Chair, 72 Film Fest Jury
Kelly Trigger has been a member of the 72 Film Fest jury since its inception and has chaired the panel for the past five years. An associate professor of English and honors faculty at Frederick Community College, Ms. Trigger teaches media studies, composition, reading, popular culture and film as literature. Her doctoral research in the American Studies program at University of Maryland focuses on media, youth, and cyberculture.[/one_half]
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Jack Gerbes joined the Maryland Film Office in 1992, and was named Director of the Film Office in 2002. During his tenure, Jack has worked on over 125 feature films and television series. His credits include: “Ladder 49”, “Enemy of the State”, “Runaway Bride”, “Wedding Crashers”, “ 12 Monkeys” and the HBO series “The Wire”. He is on the advisory board of the Maryland Film Festival and Women in Film and Video of Maryland. Jack has represented Maryland at the Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, London Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival and American Film Institute Festival. In 2006 he served on the jury of the Kratkofil Film Festival in Bosnia. Jack has received the Guardian Angel from Women in Film and Video and was named a Baltimorean of the Year by Baltimore Magazine in 2004
Matt Edens
From children’s animation to true-crime documentaries, Matt Edens has written more than 100 hours of television programming for broadcast and cable. He’s currently the story editor for Snapped, a true-crime series that airs on the Oxygen Network.
Rhett Murphy
Rhett loves story. A graduate of Florida State University’s renowned creative writing program, Rhett focused his studies on screenwriting and film — completing his first feature length screenplay to fulfill the program’s undergraduate thesis requirement. Rhett has had several feature screenplays optioned and has a produced feature film credit. He specializes in HDSLR videography, is an Apple Certified Pro Editor, and is an Adjunct Professor for Towson University’s Electronic Media & Film Department, where he teaches Screenwriting and Story & Concept Development. Rhett is also the founder of RedWhoosh Productions, a small-scale media production company in Baltimore.
Eric Reickel
Eric Reickel holds degrees in literature and liberal arts from the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins. He has been an English teacher in Frederick County for the past 28 years. He wrote the curriculum for a new Film Studies course in Frederick County Public Schools, and has taught the class to over 500 students over the last eight years.
Rona Mensah
Rona Mensah, is super stoked to return as a judge to the 72 Fest. She says that she’s most excited to see the what team takes Audience Favorite (is that what you call the award?) each year. Rona is an Ensemble Member at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) and can be found hosting the Morning Show on Lite 97.5 in Martinsburg, WV. When she’s not doing that stuff, she’s volunteering all over Frederick for Alive @ Five and Celebrate Frederick. Best of luck to all the teams and participants of this year’s 72 Fest!
Nichole Dowlearn
Since 2001, Nichole has worked documentaries on Discovery, History, and A&E, as well as performing script consulting and doctoring for a number of broadcast television shows, nationally broadcast advertising campaigns, and internationally released films.
Nichole began her career in the entertainment industry 13 years ago, assisting in development and production for legendary Hollywood stars Ann-Margret and Burt Reynolds and was even a personal assistant for actor/comedian Pauly Shore. While living in Los Angeles, she was also Marketing Coordinator for a youth-themed television network, and was poetry editor for The Southern California Anthology. Nichole earned her Master’s degree in Professional Writing at the University of Southern California, and went on to attain her Doctorate in Education, focusing on the effects of depression on creative writers.[/one_half_last]
Evan Guilfoyle
Tim Martin
PRODUCER’S NOTES:
2012 was the year that almost broke the Fest. We tried something totally new, a script contest where the prize for the finalists is getting your film made into a short. Many filmmakers loved this (and still ask every year for us to do it again), some did not like it at all. Some hated it. And we heard about the hate, quite often. In the end we were thankful that so many teams ended up jumping on board the experiment as there was some great films in the mix. It was definitely an interesting experiment. We wanted to show the different sides behind the camera, starting with THE WRITER. Every movie may “begin” with the writer, but with most scripts in Hollywood going through dozens of rewriters and script doctors, it’s difficult to see exactly who is responsible for both the best and worst coming out of Tinseltown. Here we wanted the writers to experience how a Director might approach their work (include them, not include them) and also show Directors that sometimes you gotta work on projects that are not 100% your own… but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to MAKE it your own. Some scripts were handed out twice, so the audience was able to see two different director’s takes on the same material. Perhaps the best way to experience the feeling of 2012 for us is to watch Team Gross entry. Their adaptation is surreal while at the same time seemingly commenting on the act of adaptation that so many of the teams had trouble with.
For some reason in 2012 we decided to do a spoof on Horror films with Mikael Johnson, Doug Powell and of course Jeff Keilholtz. Growing up on horror, there were two very specific scenes that Clark wanted to play with – neither of them ended up being shot due to schedules (always with the schedules) as well as the complexity of the set needed. In the end, the sketches riff on some horror tropes and movies like Saw, Friday the 13th, Blair Witch Project, Evil Dead, The Ring, and a few others. The idea was Doug and Mikael would be trapped by THE WRITER “Jigsaw” and end up bouncing around various horror films as they tried to escape to get to the Festival in time.
Mike Yamrus’ young son Stone put on the Jigsaw mask for the TV, and Jeff Keilholtz reprised his role of “Serious Actor”, this time looking for advice. A few endings were brainstormed and an alternative even shot. One final scene was supposed to be a bunch of Film Fest patrons zombie-ly walking towards the theater with 0 percent on their cellphones crying for “batteries” instead of brains as they went in. A different final scene was a somewhat inspiring ending where Doug and Mikael convince Jigsaw to let them out and do their public service by supporting the arts and filmmakers. It was to be a comment on how we can all inspire each other to make new art. It was probably the sappiest thing we’ve tried and it kinda worked. But instead, Clark was frustrated with all the complaints about Scripts on Friday Night, so he revoiced Jigsaw as bitter and a bit bitchy at the filmmakers only hours before the big event on Saturday Night. No one really knew it changed until it screened, including the hosts Mikael and Doug.
We did one other 72 Script Fest, which also had mixed results (but that’s for another time). Maybe one day we’ll do a third Script Fest, but it will remain outside the Main Fest.