Scriptapalooza: What's (Not) in a Name
By Bill McIlvaine

If a screenplay competition’s gravitas is implied by its name, then Scriptapalooza sounds downright frivolous. Even screenwriting guru Robert McKee agrees.

But if a screenplay competition’s credibility is measured by the number of entries that get requested or picked up, then Scriptapalooza is to be taken seriously. And McKee agrees with that, too. (Just check Scriptapalooza’s website.)

It’s not just that an impressive number of scripts and scriptwriters get noticed; it’s that Scriptapalooza enables those successes by engaging working Hollywood producers, agents, and executives, not anonymous readers, to judge the scripts. As Mark Andrushko, president of Scriptapalooza points out, this ensures that the script is being read by someone who has the power to actually do something with it. Mark has been running Scriptapalooza since 1998, following a short career in the financial world.

The Great American Screenwriter: How did you go from being a bond trader to starting Scriptapalooza?

Mark Andrushko: Well, I moved to Los Angeles to try my hand at acting and after struggling for six years, I wanted to get out of that business, and two of my friends, who were screenwriters always complained about screenplay competitions, how they were a joke, how you would send in your script, you don’t know who’s reading your script or anything...and I looked at them and said, “Let’s change that,” and Scriptapalooza was born.

TGAS: At the time you started Scriptapalooza, what was your philosophy about screenplay competitions? What did you do differently right from the start?

MA: The big thing was, you would go to other screenplay competition websites and it would say ‘Hollywood Producers’ reading your script, but it never listed anyone’s name. That’s what Scriptapalooza started from our first year – we started naming names. When you go to our website, you can see exactly who’s involved. We name names, you see the company name, the person reading and their title. That kind of changed everything in the screenplay competition world. This year we have over 90 producers reading every entry that comes in.

TGAS: How easy is it getting people from the industry to read the scripts rather than readers or people who, as you say, “Can’t do anything with your script”? You call it “going to the source.” Aren’t the sources busy enough already?

MA: What writers seem to forget is that getting feedback from a screenplay competition that uses regular people is completely pointless. These readers cannot do anything with your script, why would you have then read it and give you feedback. The way we work is all the reading is done by producers; these people can buy you script, option it, or go right to the studio with it. Our first year was tough we got 12 producers to read, but now, after doing this for 12 years, producers, managers and agents come to us, wanting to read scripts. I think they know that we get good material and they want to be a part of this.

TGAS: What are some of the latest success stories from Scriptapalooza?

MA: There are so many success stories but to mention a few, two Lifetime movies made, one horror film made. Two writers won Emmys. Fifty scripts optioned. TV writer nominated for Writers Guild Award. Numerous writers have gotten agents and managers . . . and the list goes on and on.

TGAS: Do you allow scripts based on material in the public domain?

MA: Yes, we do.

TGAS: You’ve said that you think that dialogue really makes a good script – or a bad one -- stand out. Can you elaborate on the importance of dialogue? How do you recognize good dialogue on the page?

MA: Well, dialogue is very important because it’s what moves the script forward. The story is one thing in a script, but what’s really important is the dialogue between characters that makes it real. When reading a script I look for dialogue that flows, that feels natural, that isn’t awkward. Sometimes that’s hard to explain, but when reading I can tell if a writer can write solid dialogue or not.

TGAS: With so much advice out there – books, courses, seminars – on screenwriting, do you think there is too much emphasis on technique over imagination? In other words, out of thousands of scripts every year, can you detect when people are trying too hard to write to form?

MA: Well actually I like that now there’s so many books and videos and courses to take because it just makes writers better. I mentioned to someone just recently that Scriptapalooza is getting better scripts every year because I do believe writers are taking their time and really crafting a solid script before sending it in to us. The competition is very competitive and writers are getting really good. For example a writer living in Kansas can read the books, watch a Robert McKee video and draft a pretty decent first draft. So I think the resources are there and a lot more than, say, 10 years ago. You have great writing software that can format your script, then you have other software that can guide you and question part of your script and characters, etc. . . . so yes, the technique and creative are getting better and almost easier to do these days.

TGAS: Everybody says to ignore the trends in Hollywood as to what’s “in” one year and “out” the next, but people often still try to latch on to them anyway. What is your best advice for how not to get caught up in that?

MA: We get that question a lot about people writing what’s hot this year, but as a screenplay competition we really don’t fall into that trend that much because we get all genres, we deal with so any writers, that it’s impossible for us to really get one type of script or what’s really commercial at the time. Also, I believe in telling writers, write what you know, write what you are familiar with.

TGAS: You also have a TV screenwriting competition. How is that going? What success stories can you point to?

MA: Our TV competition started 11 years ago and has been tremendously successful. Compared to the screenplay competition, it’s relatively small. We only get 700 to 900 entries per competition, but we do get writers meetings, agents, and the connections they need to get a writing job. We did have two writers win Emmys for their work on “Rugrats” and most recently we had a writer nominated for a Writers Guild Award for “Mad Men.”