The competition that gives young filmmakers a first shot in the movie business is back – Jameson First Shot returns for a second year
Willem Dafoe will also step into the starring role in 2013 with Kevin Spacey as Creative Director
Jameson Irish Whiskey is delighted to announce that the short film competition that gives the biggest breaks to talented up-and-comers from the filmmaking world, Jameson First Shot is back for a second year.
After the success of the first year which saw more than 5.6 million people worldwide view the three winning films via www.youtube.com/jamesonwhiskey, the competition will aim to discover another three exceptional writer/directors from the same three countries; South Africa, Russia and the USA in 2013. Each winner will once again receive the opportunity of a lifetime to direct a major Hollywood star in their short film with the backing of award-winning production company, Trigger Street Productions.
In an exciting new development to the competition for its second year, winners will not only get to work with acting legend Kevin Spacey in his role as Creative Director, but they will also get the chance to direct the incomparable, double Oscar-nominated actor, Willem Dafoe in their short film.
Willem Dafoe is the perfect match for Jameson First Shot; as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and diverse actors he has played a huge variety of iconic roles; from the Green Goblin in Spider-Man to Sgt. Elias in Platoon and Klaus Daimler in The Life Aquatic, arguably making Dafoe one of the preeminent and most versatile actors of a generation. Having starred in more than 80 feature films – from major Hollywood blockbusters to independent film and world cinema, Dafoe’s commitment to his craft will make him an invaluable part of the 2013 competition.
Talented filmmakers looking for their big break need to submit a script of no more than seven pages via www.jamesonfirstshot.com by 16 December 2012. Inspired by one of three themes; ‘legendary’ or ‘humorous’ or a ‘very tall tale’, all submitted scripts will be judged by an expert team including Kevin Spacey, Willem Dafoe and Dana Brunetti, President of Trigger Street Productions. The judges are looking for freshness, originality, good structure and above all, a great story.
Once all scripts have been submitted, a shortlist will be chosen and each shortlisted candidate will be required to further showcase their flair for filmmaking by submitting a director’s treatment of their script and a piece of footage based on a provided scene from Trigger Street Productions. Once all entries and submissions have been extensively reviewed, the three winners will be chosen – one from each country – with each getting to enjoy a prize like no other as they fly to LA to shoot their script and direct Willem Dafoe in the starring role, all with the backing of Kevin Spacey’s production company.
Kevin Spacey commented: “In the first year of the competition we found three outstanding filmmakers and as a result we made three incredible films. Everyone’s expectations are extremely high for the second year so the entrants for 2013 have a lot to live up to and, if it’s possible, they have even more pressure on them to write a great story and direct an amazing film. We know the prize we’re offering is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; now we need to find the talent who are worthy winners. Willem is going to be a fantastic addition to the First Shot team and I can’t wait to see what people write for him – I hope entrants come up with something completely unexpected.”
For full details on how to enter plus exclusive videos and tips from Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, visit www.jamesonfirstshot.com.
