Second Place

 THE JOBY PROJECT
 By Michael Long
 City/State: Burke, VA (outside of Washington, DC) Occupation: Freelance speechwriter and an adjunct professor of writing, Georgetown University

 Logline: "When the Devil bets God he can rattle His most faithful follower, a man who has everything starts losing it all. The funny comic-drama The Joby Project is the Biblical story of Job set in  modern times.

What or who was your inspiration for The Joby Project?

In most entertainment, people act in immoral or amoral ways as if it is the norm--other characters aren't shocked--and so society comes to accept it as the norm. This is a portion of the explanation for the decline of American culture in the second half of the 20th century. But this decline points to its own solution. Why not portray Christian values as the norm instead? Then audiences can see that behavior as the way typical people act, and may begin to adopt it themselves. It's time to stop portraying Christians in movies as unusual or hyper-holy. Just portray them as typical people with typical flaws and problems, whose normal behavior reflects Christian values.

How did you come up with the idea for the script?

Over lunch, a friend of mine--who is a producer of documentary films--talked about potential Christian screenplays that would appeal to people who weren't necessarily looking for an explicitly "Christian" story. We thought the story of Job in modern times was an opportunity to tell an interesting story about people demonstrating Christian values instead of just talking about them.

How long did it take for you to write the screenplay?

I wrote it in about four weeks, first writing the "beats" of the story, scene by scene, then converting each planned scene into dialogue.

What were some of the challenges you faced during the writing process?

The greatest challenge is technical. In a strong screenplay, each scene requires some bit of visual and physical activity, and that's not always a natural part of the first incarnation of a scene. So I'd have to revise scenes to put them in locations and among activities where something visually interesting would naturally occur. For instance, there's a scene where two women are talking about marriage. It's not enough in a movie for them to talk. So I put them at a table on the street with activity all around. It's a small change, but for a scene to be more than boring exposition, it matters.

Do you have formal training as a screenwriter?

I took one class years ago, so no, I don't have any significant formal training.

Have you won other contests?

This screenplay was a semi-finalist for the 2010 Kairos Prize.

What's your best nugget of advice for beginning screenwriters?

Become obsessed with structure. Go buy "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder and follow it down to the letter. Successful storytelling is built on certain indispensable elements deployed in a very specific way. Learn that and you can't go wrong.