What is WestFest?
- Thread starter Jason Ramsey
- Start date
Chris_Keaton
ScriptFEST Mod
Check out Scriptfest IV, I believe there were a range of western stories, one had zombies I believe, one had swords, and mine had aliens. Remember westerns were mostly samurai movies where they swapped swords for guns.
Jason Ramsey
Admin
you've got your dates mixed up. westfest scriptfest was 3 (going on 4) scriptfests ago. I had even forgotten that those scripts were there... good news. available scripts for folks.
last two tied in with scriptfest. scriptfest being announced after dvxfest. current scriptfest does not tie in with this dvxfest. We did not do that this time for either fest, but it is good that there are already some scripts out there for folks who are looking.
westfest is much more broad then you think it is. it is a return to genre fests after a long string of theme based ones. The genre is full of subgenres and possibilities if one wants to explore them.
Scott F
Pug Life
Matty, speaking of Stumped, maybe I should do another Minor Threat-inspired entry: "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White".
Larry Rutledge
Fest Master
I love a good western!! I'm very excited about this one (ok I enjoy them all, but this one is particularly fascinating).
I even have an idea I'm playing around with ... but I need one of them cool ol' west towns, need to try and re-work it I reckon
I even have an idea I'm playing around with ... but I need one of them cool ol' west towns, need to try and re-work it I reckon
Chris_Keaton
ScriptFEST Mod
Just come west, ok east in your case. We have a lot of places in AZ.
Shawn Philip Nelson
Veteran
Any idea on deadline? Seems it'd be maybe July 3
Jason Ramsey
Admin
Shawn... probably around in there.... we're gearing up for a late july screening again at the downtown independent. probably around the last weekend in july or so. so beginning of july'ish for uploads is in the ballpark at least.
later,
Jason
later,
Jason
MrSeth
Well-known member
Me too... if we make something like No Country for Old Men, will it pass for this fest? Just wondering...
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
So, how much is it 'rent' the wild west town near Tucson anyway?
Do they have a student option... even if one's student days are long gone?
Idea...
"Bullets over Saguaro"
A nebbish New York filmmaker, living in south eastern Arizona as a cure for his consumption, must meet his mailorder bride on the 3:10 train to Yuma.
Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
absolutely. contemporary westerns such as No Country, Extreme Prejudice, Junior Bonner, Down in the Valley and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada are all... easily.... westerns, despite taking place in the 1970s or later.
and of course you have the possibility of the post-apocalyptic western like Mad Max or The Road Warrior or a sci-fi western, etc. take note of tv shows like Little House on the Prairie and Kung Fu. many possibilities.
I'm reading a book right now about US Marshals. Turns out more US Marshalls were killed right before the turn of the century than at any other time.
I think people really need to understand the difference between genre and theme. There's a big difference and it's getting muddled up here.
The "western" genre is pretty specific in my mind. Puts you back in the old west time period, which could be expensive to shoot and/or locations could be difficult to find. Unless you say this is loosely-based on the West, in which case I think you're better off calling it a western-themed fest instead of a western genre fest. That would mean you use themes common in westerns, but doesn't have to be the same style as a western film.
For example, I wouldn't call "No Country for Old Men" a western. Nor would I call "El Mariachi", "Desperado", or "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" westerns. However, they certainly have many of the themes and a little bit of the style found in many westerns. But to call those films westerns is a disservice to the real westerns, in my opinion.
EDIT:
I wouldn't call those westerns either. Western-themed yes, but they are not westerns. The western is a genre.
The "western" genre is pretty specific in my mind. Puts you back in the old west time period, which could be expensive to shoot and/or locations could be difficult to find. Unless you say this is loosely-based on the West, in which case I think you're better off calling it a western-themed fest instead of a western genre fest. That would mean you use themes common in westerns, but doesn't have to be the same style as a western film.
For example, I wouldn't call "No Country for Old Men" a western. Nor would I call "El Mariachi", "Desperado", or "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" westerns. However, they certainly have many of the themes and a little bit of the style found in many westerns. But to call those films westerns is a disservice to the real westerns, in my opinion.
EDIT:
I wouldn't call those westerns either. Western-themed yes, but they are not westerns. The western is a genre.
Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
really? a disservice? how dare they.
Gohanto
Veteran
I think that's a bit like asking whether Chinatown's a true film noir because it was shot in color. The movies mentioned keep a lot of the heart from the old westerns, and that's what's important imho. I would much rather say a movie is multiple things (a Horror / Western / Zombie movie for example, than try to nail any movie down to one area).
Like Firefly is both a SciFi and a Western in my book.
really? a disservice? how dare they.
To something like "The Unforgiven, yes definitely.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Come back in Robbie! It will be good to see your new work.