What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
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CT screenwriter is semi-finalist in US film festival
Four months after leaving his job to write movies, Cape Town screenwriter and new SASWA member Paul Johnson has been named a semi-finalist in the 2006 Austin Film Festival, running 19 - 26 October 2006 in Austin, Texas - the only non-American writer selected in the highly competitive TV drama category.
With 4500 screenplays under judges' consideration, Johnson made the final seven in the TV drama category with an episode for US series Law & Order, entitled "Malicious Intent".
In Austin, Johnson will participate in the Festival's screenwriters' panels and meet with leading Hollywood agencies and production companies. He will also attend an awards luncheon honoring legendary Hollywood writer-directors Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa, The Firm, Tootsie) and Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).
Formerly the British Council Southern Africa's communications director, Johnson now writes full-time. His 2006 US feature screenplay, Vengeance Valley, is currently in competition at the Zoetrope, Screenwriting Expo 5 and Hollywood Gateway festivals.
A recent report by a leading Hollywood brokerage called it: "The epitome of the modern-day western - an emotionally-charged, socially relevant story with gritty, realistic dialogue."
For more information, go to www.austinfilmfestival.com/new.
