Gordy Hoffman

For all the aspiring screenplay writers in Tampa and St. Pete, who want a true critique of their work, the BlueCat workshop is a must attend.  On February 20th, one will have a chance to get expert feedback from award-winning writer/director Gordy Hoffman.  He won the prestigious Sundance award for his work on Love Liza.  He's also taught screenwriting at USC and has been apart of countless Hollywood productions as a writer.

Still not enough?  I had a chance to speak with Gordy and he gave an overview about him and what to expect from his company BlueCat.

Gordy wrote his first screenplay when he was just 12 years old.  From there, he's been interacting with writers for over 20 years and that has led to him writing and producing in the movie world.  His true passion is teaching and after a few years of doing that at USC, he wanted to do more.  Then came the BlueCat Screenplay Competition.  The goal was to help aspiring writers fine-tune their screenplays and advance their careers.  In 1999, just about 400 screenplays came in, all hoping to get solid feedback and win the cash prize.  Ten years later, over 3,000 screenplays are submitted for all the same reasons.  The only difference now is the cash prize is up to an amazing $10,000!

The money is nice, but the real prize is having Gordy and his staff of 70 read your script and give one guaranteed feedback.  BlueCat has become the measuring-stick for other screenplay competitions.  Many studios are starting to come to them for possible ideas on future films.  Even Gordy is surprised how big his idea has become.

"It was just kind of trial by fire really."  When we started in 1999, we just had people send us their paper scripts and we would give our feedback.  As the years went on, we listened to the writers submitting screenplays.  By understanding their needs and how technology was constantly evolving, we were able to shape BlueCat to what it is today."  We're always looking to take it to the next level in the hopes of giving all our aspiring writers a chance to succeed in this industry."

Gordy is very aware of what BlueCat is capable of and strives to make sure they're doing what's best for the writers.  We then went to his workshop in the Tampa Bay area and what people could expect if they choose to attend.  A question that may come up is how much feedback can one get from just the first ten pages of a screenplay.

"Everything.  Within the first ten pages, one should be able to get emotionally attached to the characters.  Right here is where you have to be setting up the story for the audience.  This may be the most important part of your screenplay, for you need to rope in an audience or a studio executive looking to greenlight the script."  

Without writing my own "screenplay", this writer can honestly say that Gordy Hoffman and BlueCat is something any screenplay writer should strongly consider.  Attending The First Ten Pages Workshop is worth every penny.  This can only help and after speaking with Gordy in length, for he truly wants to bring aspiring writers to the next level.  This is his passion!

"Although I may look like the teacher, I'm very much a student when interacting with other writers on any level."

Here are the details about the workshop.  Definitely check out the BlueCat Web Site as well for more info.

First Ten Pages Workshop (limit 12 writers)
Saturday, February 20th, 9:00am - 6:00pm
Baywalk
Suite 110
153 2nd Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Fee $75
To register, please visit
http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/workshop/