Scripting screen success

After the ceremony for the 49th annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing
Awards Competition on Nov. 1, UCLA has good reason to boast. Once
more, one of its own won first place, as well as this year’s
monetary prize of $15,000. The win marks the third consecutive year
in which a UCLA graduate student has received the honor.

This year, first prize went to graduate student Tammy Duffy of
the MFA program at the School of Theater, Film, Television and
Digital Media for her screenplay “Cricket.” The
ceremony also honored four other finalists with monetary
awards.

Out of an initial pool of over 100 applicants from seven
University of California campuses, three out of the five finalists
were UCLA graduate students. While this is a smaller fraction
compared to that of last year, in which all five finalists were
UCLA students, it is no indication that UCLA is falling behind the
other schools.

According to director Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the number of
applicants and submitted scripts vary each year, and this was a
“particularly good year for diversity,” bringing in
applicants from all over.

“We’ve had a year when (UC Riverside) took home
first place, and the next year, UCLA,” Goldwyn Jr. said.
“But UCLA has a really great writing department that churns
out a lot of applicants every year.”

Second place went to undergraduate student Nils Lyew of UC
Riverside, third place went to UCLA graduate Cecilia Fannon and two
honorable mentions went to Patrick Hunt of UC Irvine and UCLA
graduate student Julie Huffman.

The contest aims to esteem not only the art of screenwriting,
but of writing in general, and encourages students from all
backgrounds to apply. This year’s finalists had areas of
concentration ranging from screenwriting to library and information
science to management. Goldwyn Jr. attributed this diversity to
society’s growing interest in the entertainment industry.

“Movie and television is the language today,”
Goldwyn Jr. said. “Before, people used to want to write their
“˜first novel.’ Now people write their “˜first
script.’ The point of this award is to encourage people to
keep writing. In the film industry, people think the directors are
the ones behind the films, but the writer is the true architect of
the film.”

And with prior winners such as Francis Ford Coppola and Allison
Anders, the Goldwyn Award serves as a major source of encouragement
and inspiration to its finalists.

First-prize winner Duffy sees her achievement as a chance to
count her blessings and affirm and advance her career as a
screenwriter.

“I take this as a sign to keep writing ““ to keep
trying and to keep going forward. This gives me faith that
I’m doing the right thing, and that I’m on the right
path,” Duffy said. “But I couldn’t have done all
of this without the help of the faculty and my professor, Linda
Voorhees.”

The other finalists shared similar sentiments. Second-place
winner Lyew, who received her B.A. in creative writing this past
June, expressed disbelief upon the reception of his award.

“I really feel honored and happy to be in the top
five,” Lyew said. “I still can’t believe it;
it’s very surreal.”

And once the reality sinks in, it is time to think about the
future. Duffy will graduate from the MFA program this year and
plans to dive right into writing for film and television. As for
her current plans with what to do with her prize money, Duffy is
keeping it simple.

“I’m going to have dinner with all of my friends who
have supported me,” Duffy said before adding, “and pay
for school.”