PRESS RELEASE

EMPIRE SCREENPLAY CONTEST

FEBRUARY 20, 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FURTHER INFORMATION: http://www.oocities.org/empirecontact/

FOURTH ANNUAL CONTEST WINNERS
Competition Ends with Fifth Cycle

The winners of the Fourth Annual Empire Screenplay Contest are as follows:

HOLLYWOOD OR BUST: (relatively expensive to produce)

BELLE CHARLOTTE by Bill Koch
(romantic comedy)
The headstrong daughter of an abolitionist dons the persona of a Southern belle to aggravate a narcissistic plantation owner. Her misadventures in the pre-Civil War South lead them both to question their strongly held beliefs--and to fall in love.

GENEVA by Beth Szyperski
(historical romance)
The heir to the throne of Callendria refuses to marry until her father dissolves the conditions which will prevent her from ruling the kingdom. In the process, she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous political intrigue and discovers love.

SCHOOL FOR LOVERS by Kal Wagenheim
(bio-drama)
Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's "libertine librettest", tirelessly seeks glory in an 89-year life that starts in Venice. Jew, defrocked Catholic priest, fugitive from justice, brilliant poet, friend to Casanova, bookseller, querulous complainer--he ends up in New York, where he founds the city's first opera house.

HIGH VALUE: (relatively inexpensive to produce)

LAGUNA MONSTERS by Larry Newnam
(comedy)
Precocious teenagers set out to make a sexy low-budget monster movie, when an offshore earthquake unleashes a real beach monster and changes everything.

SASHA SAYS by Daniel Louie
(drama)
In an isolated corner of the snowy woods, two estranged brothers fight for the affections of a mute girl named Sasha, while eluding the simmering rage of their domineering mother.

WHEN HARRY TRIES TO MARRY by Ralph Stein and Nayan Padrai
(romantic comedy)
A young Indian man seeks to find "arranged" love through the quirky avenue of arranged marriages.

No Contest winners will be announced for the Fifth Annual competition. Due to the quantity and quality of submissions, the judging has ceased at the quarterfinal round (as outlined in the Contest guidelines). To have gone forward with selection of scripts that were unlikely ever to be showed to Hollywood producers would have been a misapplication of time, effort, and resources. Each quarterfinalist has been offered a free professional critique (as discussed at the website).

The Empire Screenplay Contest has ended with its fifth cycle. All related Contest commitments are expected to be met by the end of calendar year 2002, as described in:

http://www.oocities.org/empirecontact/contest/progress.html

In keeping with the tradition of the competition, all winners are slated to receive goods and services in excess of what was originally promised.

The Contest website:

http://www.oocities.org/empirecontact/

has been converted to a free screenwriting course and free resource for screenwriters. It includes sections on writing fundamentals, Magic Star of Dramatic Writing, Story Dynamics, word use, Expanding Your Universe, readability, presentability, and marketing. Exercises are provided to check understanding of the material presented at the site, which can be reviewed at weekend workshops offered in various U.S. cities September through December of 2002.

This website serves as the foundational vehicle for resolving Contest commitments, as revenue from weekend workshops and professional critiques goes to satisfying outstanding cash prizes.

Due to administrative and other reasons, all information will continue to be relayed via the above website address, and through an e-mail list posted there. Individual e-mails cannot be responded to directly.