Del Weston and the entire AOF Team:
Greetings. I just wanted to say thank you for being such a welcoming and helpful crew during the recent AOF Film Festival. I had a blast, met a lot of great people, saw some inspiring films and enjoyed the parties. I appreciate the official selection designations for my short scripts, but am inspired to write even better and wow the judges next year. On multiple occasions. There, I said it. Now, I have to go do it. Thanks again and best of luck to everyone!
Sincerely,
Ron Podell

Hey Del et al,
Thanks so much for including me in yet another great AOF festival. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing you all again and catching up with my fellow friends/filmmakers that I have met through your great festival.
I hope to see you again next year,
All the best
Mark Sanders
Boyfriend Latte / Hardest Job

Hi,
First let me say thanks for hosting such an enjoyable event - I wish I could have attended more days than just Wednesday and Thursday. Thanks also for the award (Best Comedy Script); winning at AOF means more to me than if I'd won at other film festivals. I love the family atmosphere you've created.
Thanks again.
Best Wishes,
Martin Belderson

Hi Del and all AOF Folks,
Just wanted to say how great I thought the festival was. I had a blast. Met a lot of cool like-minded people and am even partnering up with a director who had a feature film in the festival to co-write his next feature with him. Thanks for all your hard work. See you next year!
Best regards,
Michael Hayes

To Del, Josh, and the entire staff of AOF,
THANK YOU!!! For an amazing experince, and granting us entry into the 2008 Action on Film International Festival. On Behalf of Tyler Williams, DL Macdonald and the entire Riot Act crew we could not have had a better experience if we tried.
As Michael Madsen said "...it does mean something", and you folks have created a forum to explore and showcase an artform that is sometimes in my opinion overlooked. We already have two shorts in post production, and hopefully with your blessing we'll see all of you again next year.
All the best, and continued success,
Simon Fon - Executive Director/Founder RIOT A.C.T.

Many thanks to Del and the rest of the AOF team for a great film festival. You made great selections this year and we are proud to have been a part of it. This was our first time in Pasadena and we had a great time. In fact we took some extra time and just did get back to NC today. It is a great place to have a festival and we are looking forward to coming back next year.

Making the framed awards available for films that were official selections and nominees is a great idea. We are looking forward to receiving ours.
Congratulations on a great festival.
Best regards,
John Ponton
Ode to Peace and Love - Armed Forces Tribute

To Del, Josh and the rest of the AOF team,
On behalf of myself, Simon Fon, DL MacDonald and the entire Riot A.C.T action creation team, I want to thank you deeply for accepting our 3 films into the 2008 AOF festival. It was a pricey trip to travel all the way out to Pasadena from Toronto but I am so glad that we did. You guys made it more than worth our while. Hell, just meeting and talking to Michael Madsen and Michael Jai White on our first night there was worth the airfare! We are incredibly grateful for the award that The Breakout won, and having the chance to screen Ante Up before the Red Canvas audience was an incredible honour. Thank you.

We will have at least two new films to submit to next year's festival and I'm looking forward to it already. It's so great to have a festival that not only recognizes action films but also rewards them for their work. And being right next door to Hollywood doesn't hurt either!

Again, thank you so much for giving me the week of my life! You have renewed my drive for filmmaking and I hope to blow your socks off next year, and for years to come! My goal now is to become the next Mark Mahon; what an incredible success story. I'm not going to stop making films, so as long as you don't stop holding your festival you will always have the support of Eye of the Storm Pictures and Riot A.C.T!.
Very best wishes,
Tyler Williams

Hi Del, and everyone.
Just wanted to say that you threw a great festival! I can guarantee I will come back next year, if you will have me. The Awards Dinner was excellent, the films were better than the vast majority of films I've seen, and up there with some of the films I saw in Cannes.
Wanted to find out more about getting pics from the Awards dinner, and how to go about that. Thanks again. You should be very proud, especially with the theater. I only wish there were an easier meeting space for folks to gather and hang. But the theaters were excellent.
Thanks again!
Steve Karageanes

Hi Josh,
I wanted t say thank you for selecting us and honoring us at the festival this year. It meant a lot to us. I also appreciate you helping us out with the schedule.

I did not see you at the awards gala. But I told the crowd that we begin production on a feature called "The Consultants" in September. We would love to bring it back to the festival next year.
Best regards,
Dave, the cast and crew of "Beach Cops"
Director / Producer 21st Street Films, Inc.

Hello AOF Team,
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU for a great festival. I loved seeing the writers in the spotlight, from the screenwriting films to the writers' awards dinner.
Thanks to my win for Best Script and after hearing so many inspiring stories like Mark Mahon, I've decided it's time to go for it and get my own film made. I've chosen a script that can be shot mostly in Puerto Rico, where I'm from, and where there's a filmmaking fund available to help independent filmmakers with financing. I've started gathering information so I can put together a proposal for them. I hope to premiere that film at AOF in the future.
I sent a press release of my AOF win to several media outlets in Puerto Rico. Here's a link to one of the newspapers that published it. http://www.vocero.com/noticias.asp?s=Escenario&n=116549
Looking forward to AOF 2009!
Thanks again,
-Limary

Dear Del & the whole AOF crew,
Thanks for puttting on an awesome 2008 festival. You guys really did an awesome job. From the films you selected, the quality of the screenings, The Awards party, the atomsphere from soup to nuts was wonderful. Thank you for including THE RAT THING. I greatly appreciate it.
Warmest regards,
Kevin Keresey
www.TheRatThing.com

Del and AOF Staff,
I just came from the awards dinner. I was blown away how great it was. Thanks for the festival - a great screening - the dinner - and the honor of being nominated with the likes of John Savage and the others. It was a fantastic night. The selection of Kevin as Best actor was a great way to top it all off. Thanks to you Del for all you do and to all of the AOF staff. Hope I have to chance to be involved again.
Best to you all,
Michael McGee

To everyone at AOF -
Thank you for the honor of winning best crime drama screenplay for "Lady Jazz" at your 2008 writer's awards ceremony.

I am beyond thrilled that my award was presented to me by Mr. Mark Mahon - I am striving to follow in his footsteps and realize my work up on the big screen.

I am also honored to now be a part of the AOF screenwriter's team - this means so much to me! I'll continue to keep you all informed of "Lady Jazz's" progress, which no doubt will be a direct result of my AOF win.

Thank you all so much -
Jean Hunter
"Lady Jazz"

Thank you for giving us the opportunity on showing BUSTED at the Action on Film Festival. I know you were busy and I wish I had more time myself to talk to you, and thank you personally. The dinner show was great, and we hope to be back next year.
Alfredo Quinones
Director
Ronin Film Studios, Inc.

Del and the Team,
I enjoyed all the blood, gore and violence. Coming over to the AOF Festival from Europe, this was rather new -- over here we poison our wives, sure, but we don't put a screwdriver through a guy's head. And the more shall we say spiritual films were okay too. Anyway, it was a real pleasure to meet so many accomplished actors, directors, producers and writers at the festival -- I particularly enjoyed meeting fellow-writers Limary Vargas, Christopher Canole, Justin Owensby, Aaron Granlund & Sean Huet, and the multi-talented group from uptown New York who wrote the award-winning scripts of, respectively, The Dark Continent, Her Swastika Sword, Chapman, Truckers vs Bikers, and Zer0son. I hope to see you all again, in L.A. or in Cannes.
Christopher Brockway
Tied winner, best script, AOF 2008

Del,
Thank you for puttin on such a fantastic festival. I had the best time at the AOF this year and the week I spent in Pasadena was extremely worthwhile. You and your staff were so welcoming and I gained so much insight from the people like Mark Mahon and other likeminded screenwriters and filmmakers. Everyone was very approachable. I found the AOF very well-organized and beyond professional. At the same time it was a great time! The after-parties were a blast. Thank you also for selecting Truckers Vs. Bikers as a the Best Dialogue Feature. I made some great contacts and hope to have some new material for next year.
All the best,
Aaron Granlund

Dear Everyone at the AOF,
I really enjoyed going to the event you guys put together, i had a great time you were all so friendly! Definitely an event i will look forward to going to again! We won 'Best Guerilla Film' on top of everything and won some fantastic goodies! Which was superb. A superb end to an awesome week! Thank You.
John Chance, The Day I Tried To Live

Hello Del, John, & AOF Staff,
My short film, ROGUE 379, was part of the recent Action On Film Festival. I wanted to commend you on your organization of the event . . . AOF is definitely one of the better managed festivals that I have been involved with. The attention & courtesy of AOF toward us, the Filmmakers, was excellent. Also, the Laemmle Theatres & Old Pasadena were a GREAT film fest venue . . . I hope that you can continue to hold the AOF there. Good luck with your upcoming programs at AOF.
Best,
Douglas Choi
ROGUE 379

Dear Del,
Now that i am sure you had some chance to rest from the AOF event, i just wanted to send you a note of thanks for all you have done for our film and the kindness you have showed tom and myself at the festival.
The thing about you that stuck out most significantly was the way you treated every single person at the festival. it was so genuine and sincere, and you didn't have to be a super star. you made everyone welcome and special.
For that, you are a rock star!!!!
Again, thank you very much for everything and i hope to see you next year also with a new film.
Most humbly yours,
JOSIAH D. LEE
www.imdb.com/name/nm1665265/
www.josiahdlee.com
www.thekoreanthemovie.com

Hello!
I just viewed the taped reading of my screenplay FREE SKATE. I am beyond thrilled with it! Gregory Humphreys' take on the material was masterful. The production quality of the taped reading was impressive, too. So many film festivals claim to support screenwriters. But Action on Film doesn't just say that -- it actually takes some *action* and finds innovative ways of bringing screenwriters' work to light. My deepest thanks and appreciation to Action on Film and Gregory Humphreys.
Warmest regards,
Caitlin McCarthy
FREE SKATE, Finalist

An interview with screenwriter Justin Owensby regarding the Action On Film Writing Competition.
Q: What's the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?

A: "Chapman" is essentially about losing love and loved ones. I know that sounds pretty morose, but it's actually a Tragi-Comedy. After losing one of my close friends in an avalanche, I found myself becoming increasingly closed off and mean spirited. Really, just an a-hole that I didn't like. So it really came from a desire to imagine an unlikable protagonist, and try to get the audience to sympathize with him after slowly revealing his back-story. "Chapman" takes place in both 1993 and present day, flip-flopping back and forth until an eventual, and almost literal, plot intersection occurs at Chapman Reservoir- A "set piece," significant for several reasons, in the story. Sorry to be so cloak and dagger, but I don't want to spoil it.

Q: What made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests with this script? If so, how did you do?

A: This was my fourth year at the AOF, and every year it gets better. Not even a little bit, we're talking giant leaps forward! Last year my screenplay "The Golden Palm," which is a fictional history of the world's first gun, won the award for "Best New Writer" and received a partial live read at the festival. This year they one-upped themselves again by hiring professional actors to read selected scenes from the screenplay division finalists' work, shooting them, and then SCREENING these films with shorts blocks and features at the festival. It's hard to beat that kind of personal attention and genuine effort to recognize the screenwriter. The script has also received "Honorable Mention" at ReelHeART and The Indie Gathering, as well at several rankings in the quarter's, semi's, and final's of other competitions, including Scriptapalooza and Writemovies.com.

Q: Were you satisfied with the adminstration of the contest? Did they meet their deadlines? Did you receive all the awards that were promised?

A: I really don't have anything but good things to say about the Action On Film Festival. One nice thing about this competition is the division of award categories. Many other competitions simply have a "winner" and tons of great scripts fall by the wayside, just because they aren't good "competition scripts." It's nice to have divisions that can honor different screenplays based on their unique merits instead of trying to single one out and say- "You make the best art." The AOF has been great to me, year after year, and always go above and beyond my expectations. And yes, the award is very shiny. My mother is super proud.

Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful?

A: Being nominated for an award at a festival, generally speaking, puts you in a position for positive feedback, at least at that festival, so it was mostly pleasant. For me, that's great, because I HATE notes. Can't stand them. I write exclusively for my own mental and emotional well-being, so feedback typically doesn't help me. I know that's pretty absurd, considering the notes process needed for a screenplay to reach production, but I've had good luck so far(my first project is in production).

Q: Has your success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted by any agents, managers or producers?

A: Short of winning a Nicholl Fellowship, you're not going to have agents calling you after a contest win. That being said, having a consistent track record of winning screenplays absolutely lent credibility to my work. After winning at AOF last year, and with the directorial wins and premiere festival screenings from my shorts, I'm finding myself in meetings with producers and agents that are actually listening and thinking I might make them money. Also, last year's winning screenplay "The Golden Palm" is now being produced as a 150 page graphic novel!

Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts?

A: Six years ago, I began my journey from college dropout to PA to grip + electrician, then finding a home in the art department. Working primarily on commercials, with a smattering of bad horror features thrown in for good measure, I ascended the ranks all the way to Production Designer. I needed a break. Knowing that writer-director was the goal all along, now seemed like a pretty good time to start on at least half of that hyphenate title. At present, I've completed three feature screenplays, two short films, several short scripts, and a pilot currently being shopped by Suzanne Delaurentiis.

Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?

A: It's looking more and more like I'll be moving back to LA full time, as I seem to be there every few weeks anyway. For now, I'm nomadic.

Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?

A: Two seems to be my magic number. I'm always either developing one script while writing another, or writing two simultaneously. My current projects are under the working titles "Doomsday Afternoon" and "Bookstore Blues." Keep aneye out for them this time next year...