Testimonials
PRAISE FOR THE CONTEST
I'm very impressed with Jim and Champion. The contest was run smoothly and updates were timely, and when my short was chosen as the winner, Jim called me personally to congratulate me and talk about possibilities for the short's future development.
Jim was then gracious enough to invite semi-finalists, finalists, and winners to attend his seminar for free in LA. It was a jam-packed, intensive, romp of a weekend — a wonderful group of people — full of Jim's zany and meaningful tips about theme, exploitation of concept, great openings, killer endings, and intensive scene analysis, among other things. Jim's greatest strength is his ability to analyze and dissect scenes at a molecular level.
Every writer had multiple scenes workshopped and received individual attention and critique from Jim, and his incisive comments helped each of us rethink and retool to make scenes work better.
Every writer also had scenes read live and critiqued by professional actors that Jim had invited — which was incredibly illuminating. I brought material from a feature I'd been working on and saw it come to life before my eyes in ways I didn't expect. When I submitted my short script to this contest, I could not foresee being in LA having this experience about additional material I'd been developing. It was one of the more meaningful experiences of my writing life. Thanks to all those who made it happen!
I look forward to a continued relationship with Jim and the folks at Champion — and hope they continue to champion new talent in the way they have helped me. Cheers to Jim and Champion!
– Magali Rennes, winner of First Place, Shorts Category
Read the piece Jim Mercurio wrote about The Edge for Creative Screenwriting (available at www.jamespmercurio.com/articles.html). This guy knows character and theme — among a great many other things — inside out and sideways. That article convinced me to make the pilgrimage to L.A. for Jim's workshop after my script made the finals of the Champion contest, and I was not disappointed.
Jim and his staff could not have been more welcoming. As detailed by others in these comments, the workshop, a three-day master class, was as lively as it was invaluable. Seeing a movie — or better yet, your own script — through Jim's eyes is like playing a round of golf with Arnold Palmer. Moves you never imagined are revealed, and techniques you thought you knew cold are plumbed to greater depths. And on the 19th hole — Kung Pao Kitty's on Hollywood Boulevard — Jim will replay the round with you over a steaming bowl of Mu Shu.
Jim's support continues beyond the contest, as the Champion staff assists us in taking our scripts to another level, and in getting them in front of the eyeballs that matter. To truly appreciate Jim's enthusiasm and generosity you must experience it firsthand, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
– John Dummer, winner of 3rd Place Prize in the 2009 Champion Screenplay Competition
Having attended a Jim Mercurio seminar in the past and having read many of his Creative Screenwriting articles, I expected a lot from this contest, even though it was new. I was still surprised and very pleased at the professional quality and value of it.
Comments from the reader and follow-up by Jim showed they not only knew their craft at the highest level, but that they really cared about me as a writer and helping me market my script. Questions were answered promptly and fully.
Just when I thought I had received everything that was promised as a prize, more e-mails started coming in, each bringing a new prize, perk, or opportunity to get my script read. One script from the contest has already been bought! I know that my script will also get the best chance it can as well. What more can you ask from a contest?
– From Jason Siner, winner of Low Budget Horror Award
I entered the Champion Screenwriting Competition this year.
Jim Mercurio and his staff were incredibly friendly and responsive, and I received terrific comments and feedback. As luck would have it, Jim liked my script and connected me with a producer — and after a couple of weeks, the producer optioned my script and now it looks like my script will be produced later this year.
I am incredibly excited, and I have Jim and the Champion Screenwriting Competition to thank for all of this success. Oh, did I mention that my script didn't even win? That it didn't even make the finalist round? Imagine what Jim and his staff will do for you if your script wins!
– Solomon Grundy, whose quarterfinalist scripts was optioned because of the contest
PRAISE FOR THE CHAMPION LAB WORKSHOP FROM SOME OF CHAMPION'S 2009 TOP 20 WRITERS
Having just completed the 2009 Champion Screenwriting finalist workshop with Jim Mercurio, I’m happy to say I left with a deeper understanding of my screenplay as well as how my script fits into the current business state of affairs in Hollywood.
Working in an intimate setting, Jim will analyze your screenplay beyond the usual structural considerations in an attempt to push you to extract and exploit all aspects of story, including openings, endings, theme, symbolism and how these relate to the intersection of plot and character.
Jim’s approach is not dogmatic, nor is this a five-day lecture. There’s plenty of room for questions, differing points of view and input from the attendees. This makes for a thought-provoking, dynamic workshop guaranteed to push your creative boundaries. In essence, it’s a relaxed but intense master class.
If you’re fortunate enough to make it to the finalist level, I believe you’ll find Jim’s class informative, inspiring, and energizing.
– Mark Penberthy
Thank you so much for the fantastic opportunity you gave me and the other Champion Screenwriting Contest finalists to attend your A-List "Immersion" class this weekend. And what an immersion it was! I can truly say I got more out of those three days than I have in other writing courses that have lasted for months. The principles you teach are so essential to good screenwriting and you somehow managed to make them all so clear for me — I now know what I need to do to make my writing better. I really appreciate this amazing gift you've given to me. I will definitely be spreading the word about what a great contest this is — I feel so fortunate to have found Champion Screenwriting!
– Sharon Clark
Jim Mercurio is a whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm, a bracing blast of insight into how to make every scene, every line of dialogue, every beat and every blade of grass serve your story. Immerse yourself and emerge a transformed writer.
– John Dummer
The practice of writing anything is a very nuanced, very detailed subject. I'm skeptical of anyone who says they know how to teach it because so much of the craft of creation is ineffable and utterly intangible. But after taking his class, I was impressed by Jim's ability to touch on almost every aspect of screenwriting. He has an incredible sense of what constitutes a good story, a good sequence, a good scene, a good action, a good line or dialogue. He draws parallels in all of these things, compressing over a semester's worth of knowledge into succinct, poignant examples. He also has an intuitive ability to break down and deconstruct a series of pages and rebuild it in the most polished, gripping way possible. He's able to engage in a discussion on any topic or genre and find what's below the surface.
This is excellent for someone in any stage of writing. If you have a completed, polished, ready to go script — this class will help you. If you have a blank page and an idea in your head — this class will help you.
Think of it as the Rosetta Stone of screenwriting. You learn by instruction, observation, deduction, and extrapolation — not pages of notes and definitions. Even to a seasoned writer, this class will allow new gears in their brain to turn. And as any artist knows, a new angle, a new way of thinking is the first step to a reactive windfall.
– Matt Zbrog
I must admit: I've always been a little suspicious of screenwriting seminars and the people who teach them. If Robert McKee really knows how to craft a Black-List-topping, low-to-mid-six-figures-selling, Oscar-winning screenplay, why doesn't he sit down and write one of his own, instead of charging me and you and everyone we know a thousand bucks to learn his patented secret formula? I mean, what could this Jim Mercurio character possibly teach us that couldn't be learned from watching Chinatown for the 23rd time?
It was with this general air of skepticism and a mild hangover that I entered Jim's class on a Saturday morning. And, by the time we hit California Pizza Kitchen for lunch, my headache and my doubts had vanished. Jim really knows his shit.
Jim's unique way of thinking about writing opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at a script. In short order, he armed me with a ton of ideas for exploring character, revealing theme, tightening plot and turning up the funny in my stuff. The guy is a diet-soda-fueled tornado of insights and ideas. His knowledge of film is encyclopedic. His DVD collection is first-class. And his course is fun, fast-paced and seriously inspiring. I strongly recommend.
– Tony Nichols
