Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum 2003-04 Screenplay Contest

The 2003-04 contest was co-sponsored by InkTip.

To contact any of the writers below about their projects, please email Contest Coordinator Ted Babcock, contest0405@wiscreenwritersforum.org

Feature Division

Celebrity Judge: Kathie Fong Yoneda

Winner: Horses, by Jim Berg & Jeff Forester (Appleton WI & Minneapolis MN)

Think SPEED on a dog sled, then add one heaping dash of FARGO. In HORSES, three friends must cross the remote Northern Minnesota wilderness to prevent an illegal dumping of toxic waste.

2nd Place: Redemption's Run, by Jane Fredericksen (Mahtomedi MN)

After her mother's death, a 12-year-old girl sails Lake Superior to find the mysterious man who may be her father. She chases her dream; he's haunted by his. When a storm hits, each faces a terrifying choice: to confront a dream, or to lose one...forever.

3rd Place: Suicide Watch, by Gayla Betts (Normal IL)

Three years ago, the FBI defeated a deadly virus, but lost its top immunologist in the process. Now the virus is back with a nasty mutation, and only one man can unravel the twist -- if he will face his ruined reputation, a devious colleague, and the woman he left behind.

Semi-Finalists (in order of finish)

Tears of the Devil, by Pat Semler & Russell Prine & Dale Cannon (Kissimmee FL)

On the eve of the 2000 millenium, Demonic forces are gathering the keys to the gate of Heaven. Two untried angelic warriors are called upon to stop them before they destroy Earth in the process.

The Second, by Jorge Lomastro (Coventry RI)

A brilliant, African-American geneticist develops a technique to picture a person's face using only their DNA. With this comes fame. The Vatican allows him access to "The Shroud of Turin" to see the face of God. Instead, his manipulative reverend's zeal and wife's infertility prompt him to make a drastic decision that could change the world forever.

The Iron Brigade, byTom Dunn (Madison WI)

A young, naïve volunteer joins the Federal Army and falls unprepared into the tumult of America’s Civil War, where he grows through combat and sacrifice to become an officer leading the army’s best fighters into the war’s desperate, seminal struggle to save the Union at Gettysburg.

Sir Sasquatch, by Todd Slamowitz (Arlington VA)

An extremely hairy man struggles with his own self-confidence as he tries to find his perfect mate.

Hair of the Dog, by Gayla Betts (Normal IL)

Youthful choices haunt an author when a string of seemingly random murders force her to re-examine a friend's suicide nearly thirty years ago.

Puzzle, by Doreen Orion & Alene Levine (Boulder CO)

When the brutal slaying of his pregnant daughter-in-law forces a decorated cop out of retirement, he must confront a shameful secret from his past in order to decipher archaic clues left by the serial killer targeting his family.

Fade Out, by Sandy Daley (Northbrook IL)

A suddenly blinded teen idol becomes delusional and retreats into an inner-visual world where his only hope for salvation is the jealous brother who destroyed his life.

Surviving Isabelle, by Daniel R. Pfaff (Hillpoint WI)

A Chicago millionaire's wife and a young construction worker move in together and try to start over with their lives.

TV Division

Celebrity Judge: Carolyn Carpenter

Winner: The West Wing - "Sacrifice and Compromise" by Jessica Rieder (Verona WI)

2nd Place: Will & Grace - "Cigarettes and Spandex" by Steve Behnke (Decatur GA)

3rd Place: Ed - "Trials of the Heart" by Andrew Lauwasser (Oshkosh WI)

Semi-Finalists (in order of finish)

Will & Grace - "Is That a Taser in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?"

by Danielle Evenson (West Hollywood CA)

The Simpsons - "99% Perpetration" by Thomas Kearney (Santa Monica CA)