Meet the 5th International Screenplay Contest WINNERS

	Stone's Thunder, by Owen Maxwell Grand Prize Winner Stone's Thunder is a tense and unflinching story about Art, a man who returns to his hometown of Boston to deal with his father's death...a father Art doesn't even really know. Art enters the orbit of Kevin Stone, the brutal and hulking -- but surprisingly erudite -- leader of a local motorcycle gang. Bit by bit, as Art is sucked deeper and deeper into this world, revelations flow -- about himself, about his father, and about Stone. Stone is more brutal and dangerous than Art ever imagined. And as things come to a head, Art faces a devilish decision -- and a moral crossroads that will define the rest of his life.
Owen Maxwell, 26, was born and raised in working-class Clinton, MA -- the longtime US record holder for most bars per capita. STONE'S THUNDER grew out of his blue-collar background. "Being tough was vital to your survival... I always hated it. College gave me a new perspective. I spent six years in upstate New York, playing basketball and reading Plato." But the friends he left behind, laying brick in the morning and getting in bar fights at night, were never far from his mind. "My best friend came from a long line of tough guys, most with outlaw motorcycle club affiliations. It seemed he was being groomed for this lifestyle from an early age. And it made me wonder -- what would have happened if he had grown up sheltered...then was suddenly thrust into this world? How would he have adapted? Would his values of compassion and goodwill withstand the change...or would they turn out to be a liability? Simply put -- what holds more sway over human character: nature or nurture?" From these questions of morality and human nature came the inspiration for Maxwell's prizewinning screenplay.
	A Year Without Ordinary Time, by Kevin Sedelmeier 2nd Place Winner Micah, 42, is an aging priest with a young heart, leading a parish in Cookeville, Tennessee. He begins to wonder if one man can really make a difference in such a place. And what is life about, after all? Through his friendship with a troubled young woman, and his ties with the various people in the community -- and through his confrontations with a high-strung, possibly murderous baptist minister -- Micah learns something about the nature of life, the power of love, and the meaning of faith.
"A comedy script about a priest dating a parishioner" was the inspiration for this script, which subsequently took writer Kevin Sedelmeier in a direction he never expected. Sedelmeier -- a longtime music critic, technical writer, and contributor to scores of local websites, who's been writing as long as he can remember -- found a relatively simple story about the funny moments when two worlds collide...turning into something else. The death of his mother in 2010 put a halt to the project, as he took time off to focus on his family and get his feet under him. The conflicts of faith he felt in the days after her death became an integral part of the script. "After losing my mom, I realized that my faith wasn�t as strong as it used to be, that even praying was difficult. These feelings helped shape Micah and Tommy as well as specific events and dialogue in the script." Age and perspective were key in crafting a script that dealt with the subtle and weighty issues that trouble all of us. As was the experience writing the many scripts that preceded this one. "I could not have written this script, say, at 20 or even 30. Over the past twenty years, I have registered about eighteen scripts with the WGA... they were all important and necessary for me to have completed in order to write this one."
	Love Is Blind, by Richard Brett 3rd Place Winner Temporarily blinded in a freak photography accident, Jonathan meets the incredibly beautiful Mandy. And because he doesn't know how hot she is, he avoids being the uptight weirdo men always seem to be around her. The fact it's a temporary condition somehow never becomes a topic of conversation -- and when his sight begins to come back, disaster looms! So Jonathan must go on pretending to be blind, and hope that Mandy doesn't figure out what's going on. But Mandy's not as blind as he pretends to be...
"Marilyn Monroe," writer Richard Brett replies, when asked about the inspiration for his screenplay. "She did not perceive herself as being beautiful, and deeply desired a relationship with a man that was not based solely on physical appearance." So what kind of man would be perfect for a woman like that? A man who is unable even to perceive (by sight anyway) those physical attributes. A student of film, and of the classics, Brett teaches film analysis, production and screenwriting at McDaniel College in Maryland. Recipient of a Cine Eagle and a Regional Emmy for his short films, LOVE IS BLIND is his 5th screenplay -- and his first romantic comedy. Another of his scripts is currently under option.
	Passing Through, by Robert Rhyne 4th Place Winner While driving through the trackless Louisiana bayou, Dr. David Ring strikes something unseen. The only clue -- an iPod, lodged in the windshield wiper. Still playing. Unable to face the possibility he's hit someone, David flees... Thus begins this tense, affecting drama about guilt, responsibility, and the true strangeness of love. Concealing his identity, David becomes obsessed with caring for the young woman, then falls in love with her -- even as her father zeroes in on the true identity of her assailant.
While driving through the trackless Louisiana bayou, writer Robert Rhyne thought to himself -- "What's the worst thing that could happen after a few drinks and a cup of gumbo?" Idea in hand, Rhyne developed the script in an advanced screenwriting class at UCLA. The script went on to win the UCLA Screenwriting Competition, and gave a strong showing in several other noted competitions before winning in the StoryPros International. Rhyne is not a writer interested in playing it safe and easy. "I write stories that force the characters to question who they are morally. You never know what's in your heart unless you look. A good story should make the protagonist look." With a literary manager and a script under option, it's clear this Rhyne's strategies are making people sit up and take notice.
	Militant Midgets, by James Fant 5th Place Winner Michael starts prep school on a chess scholarship. This fact, combined with his diminuitive stature, pretty much seals his fate. To avoid being beaten to a pulp on a regular basis, Michael teams up with the enigmatic Lionel and a group of other short kids to form the Militant Midgets -- "a short kids' Navy Seals". What follows next takes the kids to some very strange places, especially when Michael and Lionel disagree on the new, darker turn the group is taking...
James Fant is a second-year MFA screenwriting student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he won the Jack Oakie Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Comedy Screenwriting. There, James learned the importance of crafting unforgettable characters, developing a unique voice, and mining one's own experiences to create powerful and compelling plots. James dug down, thought of his own experiences as a short 9th-grader who joined the chess team (believing it might boost his cool quotient) -- and a screenplay was born. A fan of John Hughes, James explores the conflict between fitting in and being true to one's self with a comedic touch. But MILITANT MIDGETS also explores a deeper theme: what is the appropriate response to oppression? Layering theme and humor together, James crafted a unique screenplay which edged out another of his own scripts to snare the prizewinning spot.