Zgamer Gives Credit Where Credit Is Due

It's now my turn to praise Daniel. Seriously man, congrats on being the first author to win BOTM twice. And for comedies none the less. I knew that this bait was going to be special ever since I read it at the Bait Festival. I voted it to win at the official awards in many categories. And I have no regrets or grudges for placing fourth this month behind you. I accept this defeat gracefully for a bait that deserved it more.

This month was definately one of the best since February (not because I won, but because that had the best collection of quality baits of 2007). There were surprises here and there (I am also surprised at Lohan's win), but the winners were mostly well deserved. Good job everyone.

And I really liked Michael's comment on perserverence. It's stuff like that which keeps me baiting. I haven't taken a break baiting since I started and I don't plan to for a while now. It's tough at times to think of good ideas (I've had flops too like Half-Life and The 38th Parallel) but if you keep at it you'll find a gem at some point. So, I encourage everyone to keep up the good work.

As for my baits, I will be unveiling them on the forum and on The Zone of Zgamer tomorrow (or today by my clock since it's past midnight). Bryce will be unveiling our team bait for September on a thread in the forum.

A Preview of My Hopeful August Baits...

My dramatic bait of the month is called Collapse, and just to sum it up here is a brief summary...

Collapse is the story of young gay reporter, Sid Patterson who is trying to be the next big investigative print journalist. The current president goes by the name of William Morris, and has just been re-elected by a landslide. President Morris' approval rating is at an all-time high and the press adores him. So when America is attacked by terrorists, it is only natural that he is the stand up leader. However, Patterson learns that it is not possible that the government building that was attacked to have been taken down by just an airplane.

Casting
President William Morris- Richard Gere
Sid Patterson- James McAvory
Lesley Ann Warren- First Lady Sylvia Morris
(more to be announced with the bait)

My more comedic bait is called Amen? and here is a tentative story line...

Lisa Evansworth is new to a mid-sized Oklahoma town in which Christianity is practically the center of everyones attention. The newly divorced mother of one moves into a small 2 bedroom home in suburbia. Her new neighbors Pat Armstrong and Kate Nelson invite her to the local church that everyone who is everone attends. She also meets the less christian based Barb, who lives directly next to her and Barb and Lisa quickly become pals. However, Lisa and her daughter Julie continue to attend the church and Lisa soon becomes in charge of the children's sunday school. Once she is appointed to her new position, she finds that these "Christian" people are not at all what they seem.

Tentative Cast
Lisa Evansworth- Lauren Graham
Kathy Griffin- Barb Waller
Joan Cusack- Pat Armstrong
Laura Linney- Kate Nelson

Hope you enjoy them!

My View: A Special Congratulations!

I just wanted to give a Special Congratulations to Daniel for being the first author to win Best Picture twice. I have to admit, that ever since you wrote Ironic Nonfiction and Dali back to back, I looked up to you as a peer and you have always been one of my favorite authors in the contest (definately in my top 3) and I have always valued your critiques as a way to make myself a better author. And to all the people who have dubbed me the "King of the Baiting Comedy" you are completely wrong because this is the guy that has one 2 Best Picture Oscars for his comedies, while I have yet to win a Best Picture at the Golden Globes for my work.



Daniel, I am very happy that you are the first repeat winner in the contest and I look forward to all you other projects. I have to say that I doubted that a repeat winner would happen in the year 2007, but A New Agenda is very deserving of the prize. I hope that makes everyone bring their A game in the next few months because I really think this is a huge stepping stone for the contest as a whole. Now that 1 author has won BP twice, it makes the question, "Will the crown the same author twice" a stupid question. I honestly think that August and September will be the best months for the contest (as far as quality goes) since last August, September, and October.



So to all the baiters who feel discouraged, keep trying because everyone has the film, or bait in this case that is what makes them a name. Trust me, we all feel inclined to just stop at some point, but you can't because even if it is a crap month for your bait(s), then you have the chance to view the contest and the buzz from more of a 3rd person view, and in the past, that has helped me grow in the contest and make my work and my releases more quality, even though we all have flops now and then (The Ultimate Oscar, Home For Purim anyone?). Point being, everyone has at least 1 bad credit. Perseverance is the key, and it's a virtue at the same time, it's a win/win/win situation (kudos to whoever gets that reference (the reference being the "win/win/win" thing)).

Sincerely (sp?),
Michael

Cheers & Jeers: The July Oscars

Let Me Start off by saying... Peter O'Toole Finally Won A Competitive Oscar...Well Almost

I have to say that I am overall pleased with the winners of the Oscars this month and I think it capped one of the greatest month's since last fall and the best month of 2007 for baiting and the community as a whole. This being my 12th month in the contest I have to say that I personally have grown a lot as a baiter over the year and as a person I have changed a lot as well. Anyway here is a little bit of my thoughts on the winners...

Cheers To...

• 3 Wins for The Banality of Evil! My personal favorite bait of the month and one of my favorites of the year and of all time and it scoring #2!!!
• Good Morning, Ladies not making the Top 10. Get made at me all you want, but IMO it is one of the most overrated baits of all time. I really liked Megan Mullally and Kristen Chenoweth, but it was too obvious for me.
• The Dark Ages poster being recognized, it seemed like a real movie poster!
• Conquistador getting an honorable mention. I thought it would be completely shut out and I really loved it!
• Roman Polanski winning for The Valley of Ashes, that really made me happy!
• Batman winning Box-Office Hit, even though I was pretty sure it was going to happen, it still made me happy.
• H.P. Lovecraft getting an award along with making the Top 10, I really enjoyed the bait.

Jeers To...

• Border Man snagging the #3 spot. Sorry, just didn't like it that much.
• Dear Mr. President being so close to getting a picture nomination. I really wanted it to make the cut.
• Eleven Weeks to Steal November making the Top 10, sorry once again, I didn't enjoy it.
• Life After Brenda getting no honorable mention.
• Kristen Chenoweth not winning for Good Morning, Ladies.
• Lindsay Lohan winning for Rehab! Sorry, she was the worst part of the bait for me.
• It taking 10 months for another comedy to win Best Picture.

Well, those are my thoughts. Feel free to post below and I would like to say here that I am very pleased with the results, even if they didn't go that way. I intend to release a bait entitled Collapse which I'll release more information in a couple of posts and a bait called Amen? that revolves around a newly divorced wife finding that her "Christian" friends and their church aren't so Christian after all.

From Zgamer and I, we wish all of you the best luck in August!

Zgamer's Return, Predictions and Reactions

Hey all, as I've mentioned a couple times now, I just returned from a long hike that has lasted four days. I guess Michael is still on vacation, so I will comment on the nominations.

First of all, thank you all for the nominations for The Valley of Ashes and Rehab!: A Contemporary Musical. I was really glad to be greeted with this news when I came back from the hike. I also want to congratulate the other nominees (particularly A New Agenda) and wish them all luck. And I also want to thank you all for my author nomination. It's really exciting to actually be back in the main competition rather than sitting in the sidelines for technical awards. I wish everyone extra luck cause this is going to be a close race. Which leads into my predictions (with my baits excluded of course):

Best Plot / Synopsis
Will Win: A New Agenda
Should Win: Batman: Scars of Tomorrow
Possible Upset: Border Man

Best Awards Campaign

Will Win: Dear Mr. President
Should Win: A New Agenda
Possible Upset: The Madness of H.P. Lovecraft

Best Online Awards Campaign

Will Win: Good Morning, Ladies
Should Win: The Banality of Evil
Possible Upset: Under Fire

Best Title

Will Win: Eleven Weeks To Steal November
Should Win: A Spoonful of Sugar
Possible Upset: Crimes Against A City

Most Likely Bait to Become a Box-Office Hit

Will Win: Batman: Scars of Tomorrow
Should Win: Batman: Scars of Tomorrow
Possible Upset: Dark Ages

Most Likely Bait to Become a Cult Film

Will Win: The Urge
Should Win: The Madness of H.P. Lovecraft
Possible Upset: Dr. Death or Gathering Blue (I thought this award had some great picks)

Most Original Bait

Will Win: After Earth
Should Win: A New Agenda
Possible Upset: Kosmopolis

Most Original Character

Will Win: Border Man
Should Win: A New Agenda or Border Man
Possible Upset: Listen and Hear

Best Cast

Will Win: A New Agenda
Should Win: A New Agenda
Possible Upset: Border Man or Good Morning, Ladies

Best Casting Choice

Will Win: Dr. Death
Should Win: Good Morning, Ladies
Possible Upset: The Madness of H.P. Lovecraft (Very surprised Lohan got a nod here)


Best Crew

Will Win: Under Fire
Should Win: Gathering Blue
Possible Upset: Kosmopolis

Best Tagline

Will Win: Mad Love
Should Win: Mad Love
Possible Upset: Batman: Scars of Tomorrow

Funniest Bait

Will Win: A New Agenda
Should Win: A New Agenda or Good Morning, Ladies
Possible Upset: Divine Poker

Shameless Oscar Vehicles

No Comment

Best Poster Design

Will Win: The Banality of Evil
Should Win: The Banality of Evil or Kosmopolis
Possible Upset: Dark Ages or Dr. Death (This was a good month for posters)


Best Author of the Month
Special Achievement on Writing and Creativity

Will Win: Daniel
Should Win: Daniel
Possible Upset: Tony

Best Picture

Will Win: A New Agenda
Should Win: A New Agenda
Possible Upset: Border Man

Best Director

Will Win: A New Agenda
Should Win: A New Agenda
Possible Upset: Dear Mr. President

Best Actor

Will Win: Tom Berenger, Border Man
Should Win: Tom Berenger, Border Man
Possible Upset: Peter O'Toole, Dr. Death or Nicolas Cage, The Madness of H.P. Lovecraft

Best Actress

Will Win: Susan Sarandon, Dear Mr. President
Should Win: Juliette Binoche, Audrey's Girls
Possible Upset: Michell Williams, Under Fire

Best Supporting Actor

Will Win: Al Pacino, A New Agenda
Should Win: Al Pacino, A New Agenda
Possible Upset: Gary Oldman, The Banality of Evil

Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Kristen Chenoweth
Should: " "
Possible Upset: Maribel Verdu

Best Original Screenplay

Will: A New Agenda
Should: " "
Possible Upset: Border Man


Best Adapted Screenplay

Will: The Banality of Evil
Should: Batman: Scars of Tomorrow
Possible Upset: Gathering Blue

My View: The Tournament

Well, I have to say that I am very thankful for all of you who helped my tournament bait, Newport advance to that next round. I assure you I am working very hard to polish my bait to how you suggested I should make it better. I would love it if anyone would email me further advice to help me in my quest to win the tournament.

Anyway, I really am blogging to talk about how much I really think that this tournament is a great thing for our contest. Because for some of the authors on the site, it is harder to write baits and easier to write blockbusters, and this is really an outlit for those of us who haven't had much success at the Oscars.

I really hope that everyone turns out to read all of the tournament baits and comments on them so that there are more than a select few reading them. I know it means a lot to the writers and I think all in all I think it will help advance the contest as a whole, than just the plain old equation that is writing a bait.

On a side note, I really hope that you vote in the poll that is up, and I'll see if I can get another one going.

Oh, and please comment on this article if you wish to subscribe to the I! magazine that is going to be issued. I just announced the crew yesterday and it is shaping up to be something that could really get people talking about a lot of baits and future projects. Also, we will be running FYC ads instead of regular commercial ads that you usually see in magazines. More details will be announced in early August, but I hope that people enjoy our product.

My View: The Best Picture Race

Here is my analysis of the candidates I think are in the running for Best Picture this month...

The Banality of Evil- While I would LOVE for this to get a Best Picture nomination, I think it will probably be left out in the cold.

Possible Nominations: Best Picture/Best Supporting Actor, Gary Oldman/Best Supporting Actress, Helena Bonham Carter/Best Adapted Screenplay

Batman: Scars of Tomorrow- A likely candidate, but could easily be left out seeing as it scored a wimpy 1 nomination at the Globes. Still I think it has fairly good chances.

Possible Nominations: Best Supporting Actor, Ralph Fiennes/Best Adapted Screenplay

Border Man- A safe bet for a nomination, probably won't earn Pat his second Best Picture win though.

Possible Nominations: Best Picture/Best Director/Best Actor, Tom Berenger/Best Supporting Actress, Maribel Verdu/Best Original Screenplay

Dear, Mr. President- A risky bet, but is a strong contender.

Possible Nominations: Best Director/Best Actress, Susan Sarandon/Best Original Screenplay

Dr. Death- Probably won't land Tony a BP nomination, but in the Top 10.

Possible Nominations: Best Actor, Peter O'Toole

Good Morning, Ladies- A really strong contender, but expect to get 1 place away from a nomination.

Possible Nominations: Best Actress, Megan Mullally/Best Supporting Actress, Kristen Chenoweth & Bette Midler/Best Original Screenplay

The Madness of H.P. Lovecraft- Not a very solid conteder, but could snag a place in the Top 10.

Possible Nominations: Best Actor, Nicolas Cage

A New Agenda- The safest bet for a Best Picture nomination.

Possible Nominations: Best Picture/Best Director/Best Actor, Carl Reiner/Best Supporting Actor, Al Pacino/Best Original Screenplay

Rehab! A Contemporary Musical- I don't think it will land a Best Picture nomination, but other nominations are extremely likely.

Possible Nominations: Best Actress, Lindsay Lohan/Best Supporting Actress, Stephanie D'Abbrozzo/Best Original Screenplay

Under Fire- The little bait that could. I can easily see it getting a nomination, but I can easily see it not getting a nomination.

Possible Nominations: Best Picture/Best Director/Best Actress, Michelle Williams/Best Supporting Actor, Chris Bridges & Patrick Wilson/Best Original Screenplay

The Valley of Ashes- I think it will easily score a nomination, but there is still a chance it will be shut out.

Possible Nominations: Best Picture/Best Director/Best Actor, Barry Pepper/Best Original Screenplay

Feel free to discuss..