Film Editor Ethan Holzman recently passed along some pretty exciting news...
"...So I was editing this short film. And the writer/director, who is an engineer at APPLE, told me that he wrote the film while at work. Travellling back and forth from China, in hotel rooms, on the plane, all over. I suggested to the writer/director he should try this piece of shareware called CELTX.
He laughed, and said. 'That's what I wrote this screenplay with.' Well, that was 3 months ago, and now the film has been accepted into the Sundance Film Festivals Dramatic Short Film Competition.
The film is called "The Grass Grows Green." The Writer/Director's name is Jesus Beltran. The end of January the film will be for sale on Itunes, it's part of a new thing with Sundance. So I encourage you all to download it and admire my editing...."
Curious, I got in touch with Jesus 'Chin' Beltran to find out more on how he used Celtx to help make "The Grass Grows Green":
"Well, first off, it was free. :D Secondly it was just easy as hell to use.
I never really wrote a script or used screenwriting software seriously until about February 2006. When I started using Celtx it was quite a relief to find something that helped me follow screenwriting rules and just get on with my story without having to consult some crazy handbook or anything like that......I read screenwriter John August's blog regularly and through one of his discussions about screenwriting software heard about Celtx. Immediately downloaded a copy and the rest was history. I've got it installed on several systems I own and tell everyone about it."
Chin is happy with the current feature set in Celtx, but when asked if there was anything he'd like to see added he joked, "you could add some kind of buzzer that shocks me if I don't write a certain number of pages per hour or something like that. That's still the toughest part about screenwriting! "
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 18-28, 2007, so if you're lucky enough to get to Park City, Utah, we strongly encourage you to check out 'The Grass Grows Green' which will be screening in the Sundance Shorts Program III. Film description, cast and crew info and schedule for Sundance and future festival screenings can be found here.
Also, from January 18 to April 18, 2007, a selection of short films including "The Grass Grows Green" will be available, free of charge, to film lovers around the world at the Sundance Film Festival website. These films will be posted after
they have screened at the Festival. Around the same time you will also be able to download and own "The Grass Grows Green" through a special iTunes Sundance collection that will feature many of the 2007 Sundance Shorts. (Look for it through iTunes around that time!)
If you are an advocate of Free Culture, and are familiar with the writings of critically acclaimed American author, Jonathan Lethem, then you'll be excited to learn that he has recently launched
