Jameson Irish Whiskey is proud to announce the launch of a new short film competition with highly acclaimed actor, Kevin Spacey, and his company, Trigger Street Productions. Designed to discover talented screenwriters and directors from Russia, South Africa and the USA, Jameson First Shot comes with an incredible prize where one winner from each country will have their script made into a short film by Trigger Street Productions, starring Kevin Spacey.
“I want to give talented people out there a shot at reaching their goals for the first time,” said Spacey. “Jack Lemmon once said to me—’If you’re doing well, send the elevator back down.’ I’ve done incredibly well and it’s because the material I found early in my career was from first-time writers, first-time directors, first-time playwrights. If it weren’t for that talent I wouldn’t have a career. So if one person gets a break then the competition has been successful.”
Talented film-makers are invited to submit a script up to seven pages long to http://www.jamesonfirstshot.com. Inspired by the theme of a legendary, humorous or tall tale, the shortlist will be judged by an all-star team, including Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, President of Trigger Street Productions (‘The Social Network’ and ’21’). The nominees will then progress to the next round, where they will show their directing skills by shooting a scene supplied by Trigger Street.
One winner from each country will get the chance to fly to Los Angeles to shoot their script and direct Kevin Spacey, with the help of his award-winning production company. The final three films will be voted on by the public to decide the overall winner of the Jameson First Shot competition.
Howard Southern, International Marketing Director, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard added, “We are delighted to be working with Kevin Spacey and Trigger Street Productions on such a unique film project. Jameson First Shot perfectly embodies our attitude towards film; whereas public perception is of a closed and exclusive world, we want to open it up and give emerging talent the opportunity to be mentored by some of Hollywood’s biggest names. It’s a truly exciting proposition and we look forward to seeing three fantastic films.”
Wayne Hartunian, Vice President of Whiskies, Pernod Ricard USA, also commented on the contest. “We are thrilled to be bring Jameson First Shot to the U.S. market where Jameson has risen to become the fastest growing spirit brand in the primary driver of growth in the fastest growing spirit category. First Shot reinforces Jameson’s long-standing support of independent film both globally and in the U.S. where we sponsor the Film Independent Spirits Awards held annually in Santa Monica. We look forward to seeng the new and creative interpretations on our award-winning Jameson ‘Tall Tales’ campaign.”
