Winners of the AWGIE Awards, Melbourne 2008
August 19, 2008
Attended the Australian Writers' Guild (Screenwriters) awards night at the Regal Theatre in Melbourne on the 15th August. I think it's fair enough to rename the event the McLeodie Awards instead:
Monte Miller Award - Long Form
For un-produced script over 30 minutes written by an Associate member
The Insect King by Priscilla Cameron
(ed. Interestingly, Priscilla Cameron wasn't able to attend and the award was collected on her behalf by the Producer of The Insect King.)
Monte Miller Award - Short Form
For un-produced script under 30 minutes written by an Associate member
Running by Rebecca Glenn
Interactive Media
Who Iced Otzi?: The Story of the Iceman by Caleb Lewis
Music Theatre
Everything's F***ed by Sean Peter
Theatre for Young Audiences
Stories in the Dark by Debra Oswald
Community and Youth Theatre
Royal Affair by Michael Costello
Stage
Beyond the Neck by Tom Holloway
Radio Adaptation
Fragments of Hong Kong by Katherine Thomson
Comedy (Situation or Narrative)
Death Wish, Chandon Pictures by Rob Carlton
Comedy (Sketch or Light Entertainment)
Newstopia, Episode 8, Series One by Michael Ward with Richard Marsland, Gary McCaffrie and Shaun Micallef
Children's Television (C Classification)
Man Bites Dog, Dogstar by Doug MacLeod
Documentary (Public Broadcast)
The Fibros and the Silvertails by Paul Oliver
Telemovie Original
The Informant by Greg Haddrick
Television Mini Series Adaptation
Underbelly by Peter Gawler, Greg Haddrick and Felicity Packard
Television Mini Series Original
East West 101 by Kristen Dunphy, Michael Miller, Kris Mrksa, Michelle Offen and Kris Wyld
Television Series
Against the Wall Part Two, Episode 417, All Saints by Sean Nash
Television Serial
Home & Away, Episode 4498 by Margaret Wilson
Short Film
Hugo by Rachel Bowen
Feature Film Adaptation
Disgrace by Anna-Maria Monticelli
Feature Film Original
The Black Balloon by Elissa Down and Jimmy the Exploder
Richard Lane Award for Service and Dedication to the Australian Writers' Guild
Mark Poole
Fred Parsons Award for Contribution to Australian Comedy
Doug MacLeod
Dorothy Crawford Award Recognising Outstanding Contribution to the Profession of Scriptwriting
Liz Jones
Major AWGIE Award and Copyright Agency Limited Peer Recognition Prize
Underbelly by Peter Gawler, Greg Haddrick and Felicity Packard
Women are fiends in animation
August 8, 2008
Amy Winfrey has been animating mainly online but was picked up by Nickelodeon after its three year web debut.
Nick is in the process of producing a full length film for TV of Making Fiends. It would have made sense if the setting was in Horrywood, nice background designs in the new version of this one.
Here is an interview with the LA Weekly with Winfrey, a clear example of self financing a production for the web and gaining an audience and a network picking it up from the interest.
Simon Bucher also has an article about his Daily Monster website where he has been filming himself drawing. Check out the article here.
Honourable Mention for Evil Genius Academy
July 1, 2008
Animation Magazine's Pitch Party '08 is over and the results are in. Whilst I didn't win, I received an honourable mention. It had been pointed out to me that I had spelled Enrol incorrectly on the pitch, however that is not true. In UK spelling we use only one L, the US spelling is with two. So it is Enroll in the US, I guess it could count as a spelling error by the judges.
I think in this day and age we are a technology era where we are still seeking answers to what we are here for. Reality TV has taken off over the years to a point it seems ridiculous that every TV channell has a show on about someone else's life. TV and Film for me have always been to escape the rat race and let my mind wander off to a world of unrealism. With that in mind, I didn't write the concept of Evil Genius Academy thinking of how it would affect the viewers or whether or not the audience would connect. In fact, I don't want the audience to connect in that way. This isn't a concept that is supposed to teach you anything about life. This is purely slapstick entertainment, not unlike Warner Bros cartoons from the Golden Age. It's about what makes me laugh and keeps me entertained. I spoke with some colleagues about this concept and they too knew I was on to something that would work great. It seems the idea of just having fun with a show is waning with some networks. It's more about appealing to your audience and connecting your characters to a show through marketing. Which probably stands to reason why you don't see much more of any shows that don't provide some sort of entertainment in a different world. If I'd said the evil genius was an emo kid that was teased by other children at school and his parents picked on him, I'm sure that it would be more appealing. But I'm not about making something for the audiences, I'm about making something I care about. If you don't like the idea, don't follow me or the show.
It's been an interesting experience with the Pitch Party, I'd do it again. But next time I know what appeals to the majority to get a winner. If that's what I want.
In the meantime, I continue to develop the series and will update the website with progress as it comes.
Buy a shirt for your favourite Evil Genius today! courtesy of RedBubble.
Attention all Evil Geniuses
June 19, 2008
Okay so I'm going to need your help on this one, I'm participating in the annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party 2008!
My kids TV show I've been developing is Evil Genius Academy (as you can see on the left) and I need your help to spread the word and get the votes. The winners of the Pitch get to nominate the Studio Executive of their choice!
Voting closes soon, please point your browser to the voting page:
http://www.animationmagazine.net/pitch_party_08_vote.html
And spread the word to your friends, global domination!
Thank you !
Is it IATSE or Yahtzee?
June 16, 2008
Nikki Fenke reports that the writers of Sony's new animated series walk out because of Union rulings. Strangely it's a show based on an axed Australian TV show that only made 13 live action episodes.
2008 AWGIE AWARD NOMINATIONS
And the nominations for best categories are...
Continue reading "2008 AWGIE AWARD NOMINATIONS"
