A new international short film competition by Jameson Irish Whiskey in association with acclaimed actor Kevin Spacey and his company Trigger Street Productions (The Social Network) is designed to discover talented screenwriters and directors from South Africa, Russia and the US.
Jameson First Shot will give one winner from each country the opportunity to have their script made into a short film by Trigger Street Productions, starring Kevin Spacey.
Kevin Spacey commented: “I want to give talented people out there a shot at reaching their goals for the first time. 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 looking for their big break are invited to submit a script up to seven pages long onto www.jamesonfirstshot.com.
Inspired by the theme of a legendary, humorous or very tall tale, the shortlist will be judged by an expert team including Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, president of Trigger Street Productions.
The nominees will then go through 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 then fly to LA to shoot their script and direct Kevin Spacey, all with the backing 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.’
For full details on how to enter plus exclusive videos and tips from Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, visit www.jamesonfirstshot.com.
