Got an email to say I've made it through to the quarter-finals of the 2007 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. This sounds a lot more impressive than it actually is, before anyone rushes to congratulate me. The competition is divided into nearly a dozen categories and these received a total of 3,411 entries. All have now been read and the top 25% were chosen for the quarter-finals. That's about 870 scripts. From these the top 25 in each category will be selected for the semi-finals. Those 25 get thinned out to the top 10 in each category for the finals, and so on.
It's so long since I entered the competition, I was struggling to remember what I'd submitted. Looks like I threw a primitive, early version of Danny's Toys into the Short Film category [defined as anything under 40 pages]. It was the only script I had worth entering at the time. I guess I should be chuffed it snuck past the initial cull, but I wish I could replace that version of the script with the current draft. Anyways, semi-finalists will be announced at the end of the month, so Danny's Toys should have been kicked to the curb by then.
The current issue of Doctor Who Magazine includes results of the 2006 Reader's Poll. People were asked to rate various spin-off merchandise, including Big Finish audio dramas, Doctor Who fiction and DVDs. The four Sarah Jane Smith audio dramas I wrote all got high scores in the 'Other Big Finish Audio Dramas' section, with average ratings of between 7.39 [for Buried Secrets] to 7.04 out of ten [for Fatal Consequences]. They came 5th-8th in their category, beaten only by the four story Davros range. If put into the main range of Doctor Who audio dramas, Buried Secrets' rating would have placed it third. That's a pleasant surprise, especially after the less than effusive reviews DWM gave the SJS audio dramas.
I do like pleasant surprises, don't you?
4 comments:
Well done, you scary-shoed genius!
They're good people at the PAGE Awards. It was the production company behind it, Polaris, who ended up optioning my Panik script.
Good luck with the rest of the comp. Such a shame I was in Cardiff while you were in That Fancy-Schmancy London, or we could have had a Scariest Shoe competition.
Jason, we seem destined never to meet, but I do covet large chunks of your career, like being an official DWM correspondent on new Who.
I sincerely doubt the early, early version of Danny's Toys I submitted to the PAGE awards will emulate your success last year. Still, it's the first time I've ever entered such a contest, so it's nice not to fall at the first hurdle.
Regardless what you say - congratulations, David!
Post a Comment