FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jodi S. Klebick, Executive Director

412-622-1325, jodi@steeltown.org

FILM FACTORY ANNOUNCES 5 SEMIFINALISTS

Second Round to Teach Real Life Filmmaking "Pitches" to Industry Professionals

February 16, 2010, Pittsburgh, PA – In January, Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama acting students publicly read the scripts of the ten semifinalists in Steeltown Entertainment Project's debut FILM FACTORY film making competition. The semifinalists received critiques from Pittsburgh-associated entertainment professionals serving as judges and panelists, and the following week were asked to re-write their screenplays based on that feedback. After Steeltown's Judges and Advisors evaluated the revisions a second time, the field has now been narrowed to 5 semi-finalists. Listed alphabetically, the 5 finalists include:

Anywhere But Here” by Ross Thomas

Lightweight” by Randy Kovitz and Deborah Hosking

Making Arrangements” by Alyssa Herron

Roll the Dice” by Lawrence Phillis, Dave Fedor, John Feightner, & Joe Wichryk II

The Losing End” by Ryan Krumm

These five semifinalists will now have to pitch their filmmaking ideas to a new panel of industry professionals in order to make it to the next round in the competition at the third FILM FACTORY workshop: "THE DIRECTOR'S PITCH: TRANSFORMING SCREENPLAYS INTO PRODUCTIONS."

Larry Phillis, who was one of the 10 semi-finalists and is now moving on to "THE DIRECTOR’S PITCH" as one of the 5 semi-finalists, said in January, “This has been a wonderful learning experience, and we hope that continues.”

This workshop is being held on Saturday, February 20, 2010 beginning at 9:30 AM. It is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Film Studies department and will be held at Pitt's Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15260. The event is open to the public with tickets $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. Admission includes a continental breakfast, and tickets can be purchase online at www.steeltownfilmfactory.org or http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2pr9t8p82015fc9.

This event will provide the five semifinalists the opportunity to learn how to persuade industry professionals to option their work and purchase it for consideration. Approaching it as if it were a real live appointment at a studio, finalists will present marketing tag lines, script summations, production considerations, and overall project visions to the Film Factory panel and audience; in essence delivering “a pitch.” The five semi-finalists will pitch their revised screenplays to a panel, moderated by Steeltown co-founder and University of Pittsburgh professor, Carl Kurlander (“St. Elmo’s Fire,” “My Tale of Two Cities”), and featuring:

• Jamie Widdoes, Director, "Two and a Half Men," Co-star, "Animal House"
• Heide Waldbaum, Production Manager, Virtual Production "Avatar," Special Effects Producer, "SPIDER-MAN 2," Visual Effects Coordinator, "Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone"
• Lisa Smith, Co-Executive Producer, "The People Speak," Production Consultant "Project Greenlight 2"

At the end of the February workshop, the final 3 screenplays will move on to “Now What? Ready, Set, Produce” on March 27, 2010 sponsored by Point Park University. On that day, the judges will choose if 1, 2 or all 3 of the finalists qualify to win (and share) the $25,000 production prize for producing their short film over the summer. The winning film(s) will screen at the Three Rivers Film Festival in November, 2010.

WHAT: "THE DIRECTOR'S PITCH: TRANSFORMING SCREENPLAYS INTO PRODUCTIONS."

WHERE:

Alumni Hall Auditorium
University of Pittsburgh

4227 Fifth Avenue

7th Floor

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

WHEN:

9:30AM - 2:00PM

PURCHASE TICKETS:

To purchase tickets visit www.SteeltownFilmFactory.org.

Seats are limited and attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.

Student tickets cost $5.00, Adult tickets cost $10.00.

A continental breakfast will be provided. A filmmaking book sale, sponsored by Joseph-Beth Booksellers, will also be available in the lobby.

(For those who submitted a screenplay to the competition, please contact Cait Murray at info@steeltownfilmfactory.org to reserve a seat.)

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About Steeltown Entertainment Project: The mission of Steeltown Entertainment Project is to connect entertainment professionals, with SWPA ties, to projects, people and partnerships in order to support and invest in the socially and commercially significant film and media industry of the Pittsburgh region. Steeltown Entertainment Project sponsors several media initiatives in the area, including the FILM FACTORY and its Youth & Media Initiative. It is also working toward completing the documentary “The Shot Felt ‘Round the World: The Untold Pittsburgh Polio Story,” and creating an Entertainment Incubator and Investment Fund. For more information, please call 412-622-1325 or visit www.Steeltown.org.

About Steeltown Film Factory: The Steeltown FILM FACTORY (SFF) is a yearlong filmmaking competition, supported by a series of public workshops, panel discussions and staged readings, designed to engage aspiring filmmakers to create projects with Pittsburgh-inspired content. By bringing together local and expatriate resources in SWPA, the SFF will help to transform this region’s non-profit “Arts Sector” into a thriving “Entertainment Economy.” For more information on the Steeltown FILM FACTORY, please visit www.SteeltownFilmFactory.org.

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