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August 2006
Creating Conflict Scripts not only meant we had a base to host our scripts, it also meant we had a fantastic opportunity to reach out to our peers and meet new vibrant and exciting writers. With this came the hope of finding new colleagues, an interest of ours which was very high on the agenda. Just over 3 years later that is exactly what we have achieved and to boot we have gained new friendships from this experience.
2005 saw CS build upon its core membership by adding two names to the fold:
Duane P. Craig joined CS as a contributor back in 2005 and has clearly established himself as our leading screenwriter of horror fiction. His debut script �The Hurting Kind� made an immediate impact on our team as well as spurning early interest from the likes of Catchphrase Productions, a subsidiary of Lionsgate Films, who also showed an interest in Duane�s second script �Severe�. �The Hurting Kind� is currently under option until November 2006.
Duane is also responsible for what I and many others regard to be the best web-based journal series around winning Best Feature at the 2006 Conflict Scripts Awards. �The Hold� is a unique insight inside Duane�s mind as he manipulates and cleverly converts his daily life, thoughts and imagination into his daily journal. Published via our forum over 4 seasons to date, �The Hold� follows one mans battle to overcome a plague of zombies whilst trying to uncover the truth behind this new apocalypse. An addictive and very intelligent read �The Hold� is sure to progress beyond its current format.
Duane:
�I regret to inform everyone that The Hold will come to an end with this next 5th and final season. I will post them this October. Many of you may not like the ending either, but it's the way I was going to end it all along, so don't feel cheated...I'm keeping it real...haha. It just has to end that specific way. It's classic to me.�
Duane�s latest script �Rook� took CS by storm. I feel it is by far his best script to date and to back my opinion you have to look no further than Smokin� Gnome Productions� who have already begun initial preparations to convert Duane�s masterpiece to celluloid.
Christine Gillam joined our community via our forum early 2005 and immediately made an impact on the team. Her attitude towards what we do here has always been positive and her support second to none. This was reflected when Christine scooped Best Contributor at the 2006 Conflict Scripts Awards.
Based on this I felt it would be an advantage to CS if we could offer her a role within the team. As a writer she openly stated that she continually struggled to conclude any of her ideas on paper but I could see in her musings that she had a great visual mind and talent for storytelling.
Christine:
�Kindred spirits, each with their own ideas and dreams have discovered each other through the Conflict Scripts website. At CS we have found a positive outlet for our creativity. A place to share your ideas with others. Even though our ideas may not be liked by all, we receive encouragement and feedback to help us to develop that idea into something special. Or maybe our ideas turn into something completely different. But that's where it starts - a thought, a feeling, then we put it into words, and it grows into something real. Something that makes us laugh or cry, or huddle under our bedcovers in fear.
Strangers from different corners of the world have come together to make Conflict Scripts what it is today. A little corner of the internet where those who think outside the box can share, develop and grow.
Who knows what the future holds? I, for one, hope that CS develops into a lucrative business venture for all those involved. I hope that when producers, directors and actors hear that we have a new script, they run to our doors to get the opportunity to be involved in it. I hope that when people think of CS, they think - "Wow, that movie was written by CS! I gotta see that! There is no way I can wait for that to come out on DVD!" But I hope, too, that we don't outgrow the relationships we have developed, the camaraderie we share and the ability to share our opinions in a positive manner.�
Proof of Christine�s talent was clear in her short story �Stained Glass�, which is why I approached Christine for the rights to adapt the short. I�m still very fond of that script and I think that�s due to the whole writing process behind it and along with Christine�s collaborative efforts it became a process I enjoyed very much.
2006 saw a further two names join the team at CS as we invited William Mayhes and Christiaan Laan onto the team.
Will, also joined us via the forum and quickly became a popular member. With an interest in screenwriting it was always my intention to find him a role within the team. Luckily Christine had just become head of our Creative Team and I felt Will had the interest and imagination to assist Christine by developing script ideas for the team.
Will:
�I remember getting in just to play the cool fun games of the CS forum and to read some scripts � which were really helpful for someone like me, who had never read a script in his life � and all I wanted was to learn from them and capture their knowledge� somehow. And now, that I know the team pretty well, I can say they are not just a scriptwriting source, they are The Conflict Script-writing source� so to speak.
How do I see the future of CS? Well, I see diamonds, and gold, and big mansions with swimming pools and trophy wives and trophy husbands� I don�t really know why I see all this when thinking about the future of CS� haha�
Christiaan is in fact one of our longest serving associates. Joining us as a contributor in 2004 Christiaan came to us with a fantasy script titled �Isentia: Awakening�. A demanding script, �Isentia� is packed with great imagination and understanding for its genre and remains to this day one of my favourite non-produced scripts. It also went on to win Best Screenplay at the 2006 Conflict Scripts Awards.
Christiaan:
"When I first joined to the conflict scripts forum it was to find a place where I could post my work and be with people of similar interest. That started with �Isentia: Awakening�, my first written script. It is my hope to get my many projects completed and at the same time continue to help with the forums and with the Conflict Scripts created TV Series, Tales of the Damned.
Conflict Scripts is starting to come together although we are all over the globe. Things can only get better from here."
Christiaan is now one of our staff writers and along with myself, Duane and Christine he became a key contributor to our TV series �Tales of the Damned� writing two episodes himself.
Tales of the Damned:
I always wanted to try my hand in writing a TV show. About 3 years ago I got the idea for a show which I felt was unique but I didn�t have the time or help to write it. When CS started to grow it was inevitable that the show would be written. I pitched the idea to the team and they jumped on it using their own styles and imaginative talents to further enhance the concept. Chris at Smoking Gnome Productions� began to show an interest too and when he heard of our intentions to write a spin-off he pitched an idea and offered to write what we feel can be a huge step in the right direction for �TOTD�.
The Conflict Scripts Awards:
After 3 years of service we felt it only right to hold an awards ceremony to recognise the talented writers and members of the CS team. The brain-child of David Williams, a close friend of CS and former forum moderator, the awards show proved to be a complete success.
Held live via the CS forum we received a record number of forum members who logged on to the boards to witness the event celebrating such awards as:
Best Screenplay
Best Screenwriter
Best Contributor
Best Moderator
Best Feature
Based on its success and the hope that things continue to move in the right direction we will be doing the same again next year.
With more ideas/scripts and film co interest in the pipeline in addition to some of my own plans, which I�ll be throwing out to the team over the coming months, we hope to see CS continue to grow and provide the quality of work it has produced to date.
On a personal note I was very pleased to hear that my first solo script �My Way� had been making small waves of its own. A potential movie director contacted me with the chance to make �My Way� into his debut picture. Whether anything comes of it or not the fact that someone in the business was interested enough to contact me about my work has been a source of confidence for me to continue with my passion for writing. The script remains under option until the end of the year.
So, to conclude I�d like to say on behalf of the whole team a huge thank-you to all who have been a part of our growth over the last 3 and a bit years, you know who you are.
Stuart Evans (Founding Member Conflict Scripts)
Copyright � Conflict Scripts 2006
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