PRESS RELEASE

Empire Screenwriting Resource

For Immediate Release:
DECEMBER 4, 2002

FURTHER INFORMATION:
http://www.geocities.com/empirecontact/
empirecontact@...


STORY DYNAMICS WORKSHOP FOR SCREENWRITERS
January 24-26, 2003 in Richmond, Virginia

The Story Dynamics Workshop for Screenwriters will be presented
January 24-26, 2003 in Richmond, Virginia. This weekend screenwriting
workshop expands on the free guidance offered through the Empire
Screenwriting Resource. It gives course participants an opportunity
to review the screenwriting exercises at the website with the
instructor, who is both course and site creator. The workshop
emphasizes screenwriting fundamentals and Story Dynamics (each with
its own set of exercises). And it covers word use, presentability,
readability (which have a combined set of exercises).

The contemporary film assigned for the workshop can be viewed
collectively at the Byrd Theatre (2908 W. Cary/804.353.9911) on
Friday night, with a discussion to follow at nearby Rostov's Coffee
(2902 W. Cary/804.355.6619). The workshop session Saturday, to review
course material and exercises, and the Sunday session, a line-by-line
review of participant's scripts in "pages" style, will be conducted
at Java Outpost (2928 W. Cary/804.355.2040).

Tuition for the Saturday session is $75; $50 for the Sunday session.
The sessions can be taken individually. Registration occurs at the
workshop itself. Payment may be made by personal check or cash, but
credit card payment cannot be accepted at this time. All workshop
payment will go directly to previous winners of the Empire Screenplay
Contest until prize commitments are met. Where such designation is
not specifically stated for an individual city, participants will be
informed at the workshop how to make checks and money orders payable.

All Empire Screenplay Contest semifinalists, finalists, winners, and
Fifth Annual quarterfinalists may attend without charge. All
participants, including those from the Contest, must pay for their
own cinema tickets for the assigned movie at the box office.

Prior to attending, interested workshop participants are urged to
review the free course material available at Empire Screenwriting
Resource, emphasizing the sections referenced above. They should also
review carefully three classic U.S. films--GONE WITH THE WIND,
CASABLANCA, and THE GODFATHER (Part I only), considering the course
material and working the related exercises.

Workshops are scheduled one-per-month throughout 2003. Upcoming
cities include Virginia Beach, VA (February 21,22,23), Arlington, VA
(March 28,29,30), and Washington, D.C. (April 25,26,27). The workshop
schedule lays out the specifics for these cities (as available), and
lists the remaining locations for the rest of 2003.

The Story Dynamics Workshop for Screenwriters section of the Empire
Screenwriting Resource presents all the necessary information related
to workshop, i.e., schedule, agenda, prerequisites, and registration.
All workshop particulars are subject to change, so participants are
urged to check for the latest information at the site and join the
EmpireUpdate e-mail list.

The proceeds from the Richmond workshop go to Beth Szyperski, a
winner of the 4th Annual Empire Screenplay Contest in the Hollywood
or Bust category with her script GENEVA, an historical romance).
Checks and money orders should be made payable directly to her, or to
another winner from that year as individual participants see fit.
Other Hollywood or Bust winners from that year, a category designed
for scripts that would be relatively expensive to produce into
movies, were BELLE CHARLOTTE by Bill Koch, a romantic comedy, and
SCHOOL FOR LOVERS by Kal Wagenheim, a bio-drama. Winners in the High
Value category, for scripts expected to be relatively inexpensive to
produce, were LAGUNA MONSTERS by Larry Newnam, a comedy, SASHA SAYS
by Daniel Louie, a drama, and WHEN HARRY TRIES TO MARRY by Ralph
Stein and Nayan Padrai, a romantic comedy. Synopses for these
projects are available at the site.

The Empire Screenplay Contest ended with its fifth cycle. All related
Contest commitments are expected to be met by the end of calendar
year 2003. In keeping with the spirit and tradition of the
competition, all winners are slated to receive goods and services in
excess of what was originally promised. The Empire Screenplay Contest
website has been converted to the Empire Screenwriting Resource, a
free screenwriting course and resource for screenwriters. It now
serves as the foundational vehicle for resolving Contest commitments,
as revenue from weekend workshops and screenplay critiques goes to
satisfying outstanding cash prizes.

Due to administrative and other reasons, all information related to
the Empire Screenwriting Resource, the Story Dynamics Workshop, and
the Empire Screenplay Contest will continue to be relayed via the
website and the EmpireUpdate e-letter. Queries may be addressed to
empirecontact@....

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