The Steeltown FILM FACTORY Is Now Open!

The Steeltown FILM FACTORY Is Now Open!

Offering $25,000 in Film Production Prizes, Local Students & Aspiring Screenwriters Are Asked to Submit Film Ideas, Learn From Pros

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Everyone dreams about writing that big Hollywood movie, but now Pittsburghers are getting their chance thanks to the Steeltown FILM FACTORY. Aspiring filmmakers can win a $25,000 production prize by submitting a 10-12 page Pittsburgh-inspired screenplay and learning how the film business truly works from some of the top producers, directors, executives, editors, and actors working in film and television. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091118/DC14028LOGO)

On November 7, 2009, the first panel discussion for the FILM FACTORY was held at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room and was moderated by Steeltown's co-founder, Pitt professor and screenwriter Carl Kurlander ("St. Elmo's Fire," "My Tale of Two Cities"). Amidst Oscar buzz, panelist Geoffrey Fletcher, screenwriter for "Precious," gave an inspiring account of the many years he struggled before this breakthrough project and reminded the audience of how important it is to write from your own unique voice. This message was reinforced by fellow panelists including working Hollywood screenwriter Rob Lieber ("Septimus Heap: MAGYK"), who described selling his first screenplay out of his NYU college dorm and learning the ropes of being a studio writer; University of Pittsburgh alumna Lauren Elmer of Sony Pictures Classics Acquisitions, who gave the prospective screenwriters an idea of what studios look for in scripts; as well as local screenwriters Stephanie Lord (Academy Award winner of the Nicholl's Fellowship in Screenwriting) and Janyce Lapore, Action on Film International Film Festival's Best Screenplay award winner for "Screaming My Heart Out."

For the Steeltown FILM FACTORY, local students and aspiring filmmakers are asked to submit screenplays and take their shot at winning the $25,000 total prize package. The prize will be used to produce the selected one to three short films, with the funds being divided and awarded at the discretion of the judges. Applicants are required to submit a 10-12 page screenplay for consideration through the competition website at www.SteeltownFilmFactory.org by December 31, 2009. The winning film or films will be produced in the SWPA region during Summer 2010 and screened at the 2010 Three Rivers Film Festival.

The Steeltown FILM FACTORY seeks to connect talent in Southwestern Pennsylvania with entertainment professionals from LA, NY, and Pittsburgh. The ever-expanding list of talented, well-known entertainment professionals, many with SWPA ties, who have signed on to review the submissions and participate on panels includes:

   --  Peter Ackerman, Writer, "Ice Age"   --  David Conrad, Actor, "Ghost Whisperer," "Wedding Crashers"   --  Doug Crise, Editor, "Babel"   --  David Dalessandro, Writer, "Snakes on a Plane"   --  John Dellaverson, Lionsgate Executive, Producer, "Diary of a Mad Black       Woman"   --  Faith Dickinson, Executive Director, Women in Film and Media       Pittsburgh   --  Todd Eckert, Producer, "Control"   --  Lucy Fisher, Director of Film Studies, University of Pittsburgh   --  Asher Garfinkel, President, Readers Unlimited, Author, "Screenplay       Story Analysis: The Art & Business"   --  Bernie Goldmann, Producer, "300"   --  Rick Hawkins, TV writer/producer, "The Wayans Brothers," "Carol       Burnett Show," and Point Park University screenwriting professor   --  David Hollander, Writer/Producer, "The Cleaner," "The Guardian"   --  Charlie Humphrey, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Filmmakers   --  Dawn Keezer, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Film Office   --  Mark Knobil, Cinematographer, "The Bread My Sweet," "My Tale of Two       Cities"   --  Rob Leiber, Screenwriter, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, New       Line Cinema, MGM   --  Melissa Martin, Writer/Director, "The Bread My Sweet"   --  Jeff Monohan, President, 72nd St. Films   --  Shirley Saldamarco, Owner, Interactive Media Productions   --  Harish Saluja, Executive Director; Silk Screen Film Festival,       Writer/Director "The Journey"   --  Marty Schiff, Actor, "Dawn of the Dead," "Creepshow"   --  Minette Seate, Senior Producer, WQED Pittsburgh's "OnQ"    --  John Yost, CEO/President, Mogul Mind Studios, Actor; "The Korean"   

The competition will continue to grow as more advisors sign on and screenplays begin to come in. After submissions are received and reviewed by the judges, Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama students will perform staged readings of the ten (10) semi-finalist works on Saturday, January 30, 2010 during the FILM FACTORY'S next public event. This event, and others planned for February and March, offers the public, as well as the competitors, the opportunity to learn from entertainment professionals how to navigate the process of creating a well-received and commercially viable short film.

About Steeltown Entertainment Project

The mission of Steeltown Entertainment Project is to connect entertainment professionals, with Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) ties, to projects, people and partnerships in order to support and invest in the socially and commercially significant film and media industry of the Pittsburgh region. Steeltown Entertainment Project sponsors several media initiatives in the area, including the FILM FACTORY and its Youth & Media Initiative. It is also working toward completing the documentary "The Shot Felt 'Round the World: The Untold Pittsburgh Polio Story," and creating an Entertainment Incubator and Investment Fund. For more information, please call 412-622-1325 or visit www.Steeltown.org. For more information on the Steeltown FILM FACTORY, including submission guidelines, rules, and registration for the competition and events, please visit www.SteeltownFilmFactory.org.

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091118/DC14028
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Steeltown Entertainment Project

CONTACT: Jodi S. Klebick, Executive Director, Steeltown Entertainment
Project, +1-412-622-1325, Jodi@steeltown.org

Web Site: http://www.steeltown.org/
http://www.steeltownfilmfactory.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment