2nd Annual Stage 32 Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest

Dark. Twisted. Scary. Creepy. Suspenseful. Psychological mindf***. Bring it.

We want it.

Stage 32 and the Stage 32 Happy Writers are thrilled to bring back our (now 2nd annual) Search for New Blood Contest. We are looking for the darkest, scary, creepy, suspenseful, mind-boggling, most twisted scripts from undiscovered writers from all over the world. We are searching for NEW blood. We are looking for the top 3 unrepresented horror/suspense/thriller writers that come from Stage 32. That means you.

You know that we pride ourselves on creating opportunities that give our talented members access beyond the gatekeepers and this contest is no exception. Last year, our grand prize winner Glenn Forbes was flown to Los Angeles for numerous meetings we arranged and immediately signed with Seth Nagel from Infinity Management International. We set our second place winner, Frank Ponce, with Atlas Entertainment (American Hustle) and he was quickly offered and signed an option agreement. In all, our top three winners met with some of the biggest companies in the industry including Relativity, Revolver Picture Co. and Benderspink. This year we have more incredible judges who work for major management firms, agencies and production companies ready to read your scripts.

But wait, there's more. In addition to our prizes (including direct access to the judges and other industry executives), this year, we're creating even more opportunity. The loglines of all finalists will be posted in a special section of Stage 32 where any of the 300 industry executives will be able to view them. If there is interest beyond the logline, we will facilitate the communication between the exec and the writer.

Also new this year, all writers submitting scripts will receive a scorecard outlining how their script was judged in every category. You will not just submit and be left in the dark.

So bring us your best and we'll give you ours! The search for New Blood is on!

 

What Kind of Scripts Can I Enter?

Stage 32 is looking for scripts in all areas of horror, thriller, and suspense. If your script fits in with any of these examples below, it’s a fit for this contest! **Please note this contest is for full-length screenplays only. No short scripts or teleplays will be accepted.

• Psychological Suspense: Se7en, Silence of the Lambs, The Game, The Usual Suspects, American Psycho
• Crime Thrillers: Fargo, Prisoners, The Town, The Counselor, No Country For Old Men, Blood Simple, L.A. Confidential
• Contained Thrillers: Buried, Phone Booth, Open Water, Hard Candy, Panic Room
• Destruction Thrillers: Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Independence Day
• Revenge Thrillers: Taken, Oldboy, Kill Bill, Death Wish
• Sci-Fi Thrillers: Alien, Inception, The Matrix, Blade Runner, Minority Report
• Spy Thrillers: The Bourne Identity, Ronin, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, True Lies
• Horror: Saw, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist
• Ironic Horror: Scream, The House in the Woods
• Found Footage Horror: Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, The Last Exorcism

Judges

Oh, about those judges, you ask? Yeah, we don’t mess around with that, either. We’ve brought in some of the top executives specializing in the suspense, thriller, and horror genres. Take a look at the Judges tab above to see which executives we are working with.

Testimonials

"I have signed with a management company in LA, Infinity Management International. I met them when Stage 32 flew me down to LA, and now the deal is done. I'm so thrilled to have Stage 32 Happy Writers in my corner for this ride. I've been plugging away for more than 10 years to secure representation. My message is never give up on your dream, and surround yourself with people who can help you get there. For that, Stage 32 has become my lynchpin."

- Glenn Forbes, Grand Prize Winner, Stage 32 Happy Writers Search For New Blood Contest, 2014; Signed with Infinity Management International

 

"My only wish was to find this site sooner for the sake of saving time, discovering in-depth educational value, and making legitimate connections. I have to tip my hat at RB, Joey and the gang for changing the game and helping shape my future in filmmaking. I’m honored to be swimming in a community of like-minded individuals. I’m proud to be Stage 32’s HAPPIEST WRITER right now!"

- Frank Ponce, 2nd Place, Stage 32 Happy Writers Search For New Blood Contest, 2014; His script has been picked up for development by Atlas Entertainment (The Dark Knight, American Hustle)

 

The Stage 32 Happy Writers Search for New Blood contest is not associated with The Blood List.

Winner Announcements

November 16th: quarter-finalists announced on Stage 32

November 23rd: semi-finalists announced on Stage 32

November 30th: Top 13 finalists announced on Stage 32

December 7th: Winners will be announced on Stage 32

Grand Prize Winner

• Plane ticket to Los Angeles
• Meeting With 10 High Profile Companies
• Cocktail hour with various executive contest judges
• Script title listed on Stage 32

1st Runner Up

• Two Skype meetings with the industry executive of their choice (*see executive judges)
• 3 Stage 32 Happy Writers Online Pitch Sessions
• Script title listed on Stage 32

2nd Runner Up

• One Skype meeting with the industry executive of their choice (*see executive judges)
• 3 Stage 32 Happy Writers Online Pitch Sessions
• Script title listed on Stage 32

All Finalists

The loglines of all finalists will be posted in a special section of Stage 32 where any of the 300 industry executives we work with will be able to view them. If there is interest beyond the logline, we will facilitate the communication between the exec and the writer.

Our 2nd Annual Stage 32 Search for New Blood screenwriting contest was a record breaker! We received thousands of scripts from all over the world looking to compete in what has become one of the most highly respected screenwriting contests in the industry. Nearly every one of our screenwriting contest winners has been signed, staffed or put into development!

In this year's Search For New Blood we received an amazing amount of quality scripts. Our judges repeatedly told us how impressed they were by the creativity and imagination of the material and how difficult it was to cut the list down to those listed below.

Today we announce the winners of the 2015 Stage 32 Search For New Blood Contest. A heartfelt congratulations goes out to the winners!

 

Congratulations to the winners!:

 

1st Place

THE INTRUDER - Robert Rhyne

After moving into an isolated farm with a strange history of suicides, a newly-single mother discovers a ghostly intruder living there, and must protect her troubled teenage son from becoming his next victim.

 

2nd Place

GENTLEMAN CALLER - William Jeffrey

After her sister is kidnapped by a psychopath claiming to be the long-dead serial killer known only as The Gentleman Caller, Detective Wendy LaSalle enlists the help of Calvin Roe, the man who hunted down & killed the original psychopath 30 years prior, in a race against time to save her.

 

3rd Place

THE DARK ROOM - John Rice

When adventurous strangers at a psychic party accidentally contact the spirit of a young murdered girl, they discover their host's intentions are much darker than anyone first believed.

 

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The Finalists

A heartfelt congratulations goes out to all who advanced to this round, which was not easy. All finalists below will be posted in a special section of Stage 32 where any of the 400 industry executives we work with will be able to view them.

This group of scripts was judged by executives and producers from some of the biggest companies in the industry including:

• Blumhouse Productions (Paranormal Activity)
• Ghost House Pictures (Evil Dead)
• The Safran Company (The Conjuring)
• Dimension Films (Scream)
• Cross Creek Pictures (The Woman in Black)
• Unique Features (head of company produced films like Lord of the Rings, Nightmare on Elm Street)
• Energy Entertainment
• Revolver Picture Company (Beneath, Haunt)

And, here are the finalists!

 

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And here are the Semi-Finalists!

Adam Baker - WARHEAD

Alexandra Boyd - WIDOW’S WALK

Andrew Hamer - THREE SKELETON KEY

Brien Kelly & Mike Green - REVERSION

Bryan Holm - THE LEVIATHAN COVENANTS

Carol Sabik-Jaffe - SAFE HAVEN

Chris Regan - HE’S INSIDE

Coltrane - THE TANK

Danny Baram - WYLDE

Dave Merlino & Dustin Sweet - AS THEY DO UNTO YOU

David Scullion - BROKEN HOME

Dennis Coleman - ALATHEA

Doug Dilg - DEATH HUNTERS

Kemo, E. Grant - FEEDER

Eduardo Soto-falcon - DHAMPIRA

Edward Goree - ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL

Freddy Boutros - ZOMBIE CRUISE

Gabe Evans & Taurus Lowe - WHO’S THERE

Geoff Holder - A SIX-GUN FOR THE DEVIL

Gerry Greaney - SCHIZO

Guillermo Machado - MIRACLE FARM

Jay Sharron - LIVING NIGHTMARE

Joe Mcgarvey - THE COMMODE MONSTER

Joel Karlinsky - ZOMBIE COP

Joey Ernand - HYBRIDS

John Rice - THE DARK ROOM

Johnny B. Dunn - CUTS OF FEAR

Jon James Miller - SLUG LINES

Julie Merrick - SHADOWMEN

Kyle Piereth - BORN TO DIE

M. Assip, M. Lancucki - DEATH CONVENTIONS

Mark Cerulli - INVASIVE SPECIES

Michael Bordigioni - GUNPOINT

Michael Ryan Assip and Peter Lancucki - IT HAS US

Michelle Lindsay & Rob Baharie - RED VIPER

Natalie Hanson - SAFE AND SOUND

Paul Corricelli - INKED IN BLOOD

Paul Hennessy - HYPNOPHOBIA

Rick Bourn - SK HERO

Robert Dorian - THE KILLING OF KINGMUSTANG

Robert Rhyne - THE INTRUDER

Robi Michael, Gal Katzir - SARA

Ryan Lee - THE DARK PATH

Shelley Reid - PARASITE

Steve Dawson - CUT

Stewart Fergus - THE VERBALEK

Stuart Wright - DEAD SOUL MUSIC

Thom Lonardo - THE BRIDGE

Thom Lonardo - THE TENANTS

Tony Elwood and Michael Prevette - COLD CHILL

William Jeffrey - GENTLEMAN CALLER

 

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And here are the Quarter-finalists:

Exec 123 -

Joan Mao - VP of Production & Development, The Safran Company

Joan Mao is the VP of Production & Development at The Safran Company (TSC), a leading Hollywood production company, in which their supernatural thriller The Conjuring was a hit for New Line last year. The Conjuring was named one of the most profitable films of 2013 and earned $330 million at the box office on a budget of only $20 million. The Safran Company also produced The Conjuring-spin off Annabelle which brought in over $200 million. The company has a slate of 10+ feature projects set up at several studios and with independent financiers with budgets ranging from $500k to $20M in genres including Thriller/Horror and Drama. 

Prior to working at TSC, Mao worked at Millennium Films for almost seven years where she started assisting the Head of Creative Affairs & Production and ended as Director of Development. Mao was involved in Millennium’s successful franchise The Expendables.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Minnesota, Mao graduated from Fordham University with a B.A. in English Literature.

Projects The Safran Company have produced:

 

Drew Smith - Creative Executive, Unique Features

Drew specializes in Horror, Action, Thriller, Sci-fi, and Comedy Features of all budget ranges. He is especially interested in Horror. NO DRAMA.

  

 
"Shadowhunters", produced by Unique Features

 

Drew Smith is the Creative Executive at Unique Features, the feature and television production company founded by veteran producers Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. The duo have produced dozens of high profile films including THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, The A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films, HAIRSPRAY, THE GOLDEN COMPASS, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, "Shadowhunters" (Freeform), THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES.

Unique features recently announced they will produced the contained, horror-thriller NIGHTLIGHT under Sony's Columbia Pictures. The original, spec script was penned by Tyler MacIntyre and Chris Hill, with MacIntyre also set to direct. Their action-fantasy TV series "Shadowhunter" is set to premiere it's 3rd season on Freeform in April, and has already been picked up for a 4th season!

At Unique, Drew is responsible for bringing in project ideas, exposing the company to new talent, and providing insight on current projects to better reach a worldwide audience. Prior to joining Unique, he was the manager of acquisitions at The Steel Company and brokered deals on behalf of some of the biggest international distributors at film markets included Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and the AFM.

 

STAGE 32 exclusive interview with Drew Smith

 

Company and Principle credits include:

Stuart Arbury - Director of TV & Episodic Content, Ramo Law

Stu Arbury has been with Ramo Law since 2017, where he works with the attorneys to review, collaborate, develop, submit and supervise creative materials on behalf of clients within the firm.

Recently, Stu put together the sale of Amazon Prime’s ALWAYS JANE Docuseries on behalf of a Ramo Law client. He’s placed TV projects with a number of high profile producers and actors, including Sophia Vergara and Peter Dinklage, and has projects in numerous stages of development at top buyers and streamers.

Prior to joining the Ramo team, Stu served as Director of Development at Captivate Entertainment (THE BOURNE IDENTITY series) and Creative Executive at Dimension Films (SCREAM).

Stu specializes in TV packaging and sales and helps oversee creative content represented by the firm.

 

Stu looks for all genres and formats of episodic, scripted or unscripted series. Scripted Projects based in IP have stronger prospects, especially genre titles, and unscripted series are in better positions if there is accompanying media and/or celebrity involvement.

 

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Note: If requested, Ramo Law will charge a discounted review fee to fully assess materials and work for an hourly rate to shepherd the project or on percentage if the project has some sellable elements attached. This is all dependent on the project's fit; to read, develop, package and/or sell your content. Questions? Email writerhelp@stage32.com

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Company credits include:

Exec 195 -

John Doherty - Creative Executive, Cross Creek Pictures

Click below to listen to a Stage 32 exclusive interview with John Doherty!

John Doherty, Creative Executive of Cross Creek Pictures, brings veteran development, production and financing expertise to Cross Creek Pictures with the goal of producing thought provoking and commercial films in a filmmaker friendly environment.

Cross Creek Pictures recently signed a 3-year multifaceted co-financing, production and distribution deal with SONY. 

Make sure you check out the trailer for their newest films:

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Click here to check it out!)
• Legend with Tom Hardy (Click here to check it out!)

Joining Cross Creek in 2010, Doherty worked under President Brian Oliver on the Academy Award nominated films:

• Black Swan (grossed over $300MM worldwide)
• The Ides of March with Ryan Gosling and George Clooney
• The Woman In Black (grossed over $100MM worldwide)
• Everest (grossed over $200MM worldwide)
• Black Mass with Johnny Depp
• Golden Globe nominee Rush directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard
• Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Scott Frank’s A Walk Among the Tombstones starring Liam Neeson.

Doherty started his career working under producer JC Spink at Benderspink (The Hangover, Butterfly Effect, American Pie) and then moved to the Motion Picture Talent Department at the William Morris Endeavor Agency. He transitioned over to Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions where he assisted on the development and production of Sandler’s films Just Go With It, Jack and Jill and That's My Boy. Doherty’s interest in independent film financing helped him make a jump to the newly formed film production and financing entity Cross Creek Pictures.

Projects Cross Creek Pictures have produced:

 

Jeff Culotta - Producer,

Jeff Culotta graduated from Texas State University and immediately afterwards moved to Los Angeles to work with Richard Kelly and Sean McKittrick on their follow up film to Donnie Darko, Southland Tales. After Darko Entertainment formerly opened its doors in 2007, Culotta oversaw productions for The Box, World's Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams, as well as I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. In 2010, Jeff served as producer to Bobcat Goldthwait’s dark comedy, God Bless America which premiered at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. He has gone on to produce a number of films including Oscar Winner John Ridley’s Jimi Hendrix biopic starring Andre 3000, a horror/comedy with Tom Lennon and Ben Garant , a dark comedy for Sony Worldwide starring Katherine Heigl, and Jason Bateman’s directorial debut, Bad Words. Jeff left Darko Entertainment in 2014 to pursue his own projects independently. Other producer credits include Home Sweet Hell (SONY), Hell Baby (Magnolia Pictures), All is by My Side (Open Road Films) and Operation: Endgame (Anchor Bay Films).

J.R. Young - Senior Vice President of Production, Ghost House Pictures

J. R. Young has been involved in all of Ghost House Pictures’ releases since their debut The Grudge. He is an Executive Producer on their upcoming remake of the horror classic Poltergeist for MGM and Twentieth Century Fox. The film starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie Dewitt and Jared Harris is scheduled for release Memorial Weekend 2015. Prior to this, Young was an Executive Producer of the 2013 remake of Evil Dead for Sony TriStar and Film District. The directorial debut for Fede Alvarez grossed over $25M in its opening weekend atop the domestic box and went on to make nearly $100M worldwide. This followed The Possession starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick of which Young was a Producer. Distributed by Lionsgate, the movie was #1 at the U.S. box office for consecutive weekends in 2012. He served as Co-Producer on the box office success The Messengers starring Kristen Stewart for Columbia Pictures. This spawned the sequel Messengers: The Scarecrow, which he executive produced. He also served as Co-Producer on Boogeyman II and continued the franchise as Executive Producer of Boogeyman III. As the Senior Vice-President of Production at Ghost House, Young oversees the company’s development slate from inception to release. He was the Executive Producer of the third installment of The Grudge released in 2009. Following this, Young co- produced 30 Days of Night: Dark Days based on the acclaimed graphic novel for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. He has played a key role in expanding the company’s content creation on-line spawning the story for the Fearnet series Devil’s Trade. Prior to joining Ghost House, he served as the director’s assistant on Spider-Man II. A Television-Radio-Film major at Syracuse University, Young graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Newhouse School of Public Communication. He started his film career as an Agent Trainee at International Creative Management and later as an Assistant at Zide / Perry Entertainment.

Energy Entertainment -

Energy Entertainment is led by successful producer Brooklyn Weaver and prides itself on bringing new writers into the marketplace. Client credits include Out of the Furnace, the upcoming Marvel-produced Deadpool with Ryan Reynolds, Extant (CBS) and Bates Motel. Energy recently produced Run All Nightstarring Liam Niesson and Ed Harris and Out of the Furnacefeaturing Woody Harrelson, Christian Bale and Zoe Zaldana.