“Last Date” – Table Read

Posted on January 17, 2023 by aa

My short script “Last Date” has been chosen the December 2022 winner of the Sunvale Table Read screenplay contest.

This is the email I received:

Thank you for your submission to the monthly Table Read Screenplay contest.

Our December 2022 winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Armand Arekian and his screenplay Last Date.

Armand will receive a table read of his screenplay with professional actors and a director.

This is very exciting for me, as it is another step forward for my screenwriting. Once the table read is complete, I will provide a link to the audio and video.

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A Q&A with Armand Arekian, Screenwriter for From New York to Nashville | Best Short Screenplay

Posted on January 17, 2023 by aa

A Q&A with Armand Arekian

Tell us your script name, the category you won for, and where the idea for your script came from? From New York To Nashville, Best Short Screenplay

The idea of this particular script came from the title. I came up with the title and loved it, and I wanted to work around that. With that title I had a character. I wanted a troubled musician on a journey to finding himself.

What were the toughest aspects of creating this script? How did you overcome them? My original ideas weren’t working. As I was writing, I kept hitting roadblocks. I would go back and rewrite what I had, but I would end up filing—

Read the full article here

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GYM CANDY – Feature Screenplay

Posted on December 29, 2022 by aa

My latest feature spec screenplay is finished.

Logline:

A private detective is hired to find her client’s runaway kid sister. During her search, she quickly stumbles upon a steroid ring that her client has been skimming from.

Synopsis:

Brook Savage…bad ass…wise ass…private detective.

“GYM CANDY” is a crime/drama/noir feature about a bad ass, wise ass, private detective, BROOKE SAVAGE.

Brooke is hired by LEVI to find his runaway teenage sister, STACIE. Within 24 hours, before she can even begin to look into the runaway teen, Brooke discovers that Stacie has taken off with her big brother’s steroid stash. When Brooke stumbles upon a steroid ring, where Levi is skimming drugs and not paying, she suspects Levi and his girlfriend AMANDA know more than either is willing to share. She also discovers the ring is run by a very dangerous man, a man known only as BEAR.

After Levi shows up at Brooke’s office with Stacie, a series of steroid rage induced events leads to multiple violent confrontations. Confrontations with Levi and Brooke, Bear’s thugs and Brooke, and Levi and Bear’s thugs. A trail of beatings and bodies culminate with Bear making a visit to Brooke. To protect Stacie, and to save Levi and Amanda from Bear’s wrath, Brooke takes on Bear in one final confrontation.

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LAST DATE – Short Screenplay

Posted on December 19, 2022 by aa

Logline:

After a bad breakup, a woman is set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

Synopsis:

PIPER has split up with her boyfriend. The break up was long over due. Her best friend JEN, trying to console her, sets Piper up with a friend, KYLE.

She can’t put it off any longer, Piper nervously phones Kyle. Their engaging banter seems to be amusingly dark, but it is not all droll. It is not just playful banter, the darkness is real, it is darker than either of them realizes?

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Film Festivals and Screenplay Contests

Posted on January 19, 2022 by aa

It’s been a while since I’ve updated or added to my website. I’ have spent the last year writing and writing and writing. Currently have multiple screenplays entering in various film festivals and screenplay contests. Some have done quite well. Below is a list of my completed screenplays and how my writing has faired in the festivals and competitions.

  • Bone Creek (Horror/Western – Feature)
    • Adbhooture Film Festival – Winner, Best Horror Screenplay
    • Dreamz Catcher International Film Festival – Winner, Best Screenplay
    • Doge Film Festival – Winner, Best Feature Screenwriting
    • Vegas Movie Awards – Winner, Best Feature Script/Screenplay
    • Cult Movies International Film Festival – Winner, Best Feature Screenwriting
    • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival – Winner, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • The Monthly Film Festival – Second Runner-up, Best Screenplay
    • Filmfest International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Bright International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Unproduced Script
    • Airflix Film Festival – Finalist, Best Screenplay
    • EdiPlay International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Delta International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Beyond the Curve International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Swedish International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script
    • International Screenwriting Competition – Finalist, Best Feature Script
    • Oil Valley Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Screenplay
      • Other Awards – 5 Official Selection, 1 Semi-Finalist, 1 Quarter Finalist, 1 Nominee
  • Burn (Crime/Mystery – Feature)
    • Airflix Film Festival – Winner, Best Screenplay
    • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival – Winner, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Las Angeles Motion Picture Festival – Winner, Best Feature Screenplay
    • Reno-Tahoe Screenplay Contest – Finalist, Best Feature Screenplay
    • Swedish International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script
    • Delta International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Sunvale Screenplay Contest – Finalist, Best Screenplay (Action/Adventure)
    • Beyond the Curve International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
      • Other Awards – 4 Official Selection, 2 Semi-Finalist, 1 Honorable Mention
  • Craps, You Lose! (Crime/Mystery – Feature)
    • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival – Winner, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
    • Delta International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Feature Script or Screenplay
      • Other Awards – 1 Official Selection, 1 Quarter-Finalist, 1 Nominee
  • Winter Solstice (Thriller/Suspense – Feature) *NEW*
  • From New York to Nashville (Drama – Short)
    • Grass Root International Film Festival – Winner, Best Short Script/Screenplay
    • New Jersey Film Awards – Winner, Best Short Screenplay
    • Delta International Film Festival – Finalist, Best Short Script
    • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival – Finalist, Best Short Script or Screenplay
      • Other Awards – 2 Official Selection, 1 Semi-Finalist, 2 Quarter-Finalist, 2 Honorable Mention
  • Up Close and Personal (Suspense – Short)
    • Reno-Tahoe Screenplay Contest – Semi-Finalist, Best Short Screenplay
  • Malice (Suspense/Thriller – Feature) *COMING SOON*
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“sleep mode” – My first short film

Posted on August 20, 2021 by aa

I have completed my first short film, “sleep mode”. It might not be much, but it is mine.

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Moving on to the Quarter Finals

Posted on July 1, 2021 by aa

It’s not easy getting your screenplay read by an industry professional. So, I have entered four screenplays in several different awards contests via the Screenplay Awards Network. Every entry includes some level of analysis. By entering these contests, my screenplays will get seen and read by someone. Since entering, I have received quite a bit of analysis on the four screenplays. Valuable analysis. Using this analysis, I’ve been able to start fine tuning aspects of my writing.

I have also received some positive feedback in the form of advancing to the next round of a contest. Bone Creek and Craps, You Lose have both advanced to the Feature Quarter Finals of the Portland Screenplay Awards. In the Reno-Tahoe Screenplay Contest, Bone Creek and Burn have advanced the the Quarter Finals in the feature category, while Up Close And Personal has advanced the the Quarter Finals shorts category.

What is most exciting to me is that Bone Creek has now received two advancements. While I know I still have a lot of work to do and improvement to my writing, I know I’m headed in the right direction. I can’t wait to find out if I have further advancements in these, or other awards contests.

Bone Creek by: Armand Arekian
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Writing a new blog post about writing

Posted on May 24, 2021 by aa

I haven’t been away, but I haven’t written, updated, or done anything with this blog. I have been on Twitter and Instagram, and not on Facebook. I haven’t written anything here in quite a long time, but I have been writing. I’ve written a book that is self published on Amazon. It is titled Burn and written under the pseudonym Blake Hill. You can find the link to it on the right side of the page.

In addition to writing Burn, I have been engrossed in writing screenplays. Yes, that is plural…I’ve written, at least the first draft, of several. I also have several more works in progress. I can’t remember if writing a book led to writing a screen play, or a screenplay led to the book, but I am having a great time writing…being creative.

Although I have additional manuscripts written in addition to Burn, I don’t know if I will actually publish them. Each manuscript I have turned into a screenplay, and I actually enjoy writing screenplays more…and the screenplays are actually getting read.

Over the last few months, I have enter four screenplays in six contests. I have received some decent feedback, and so far, I have received notice that two of my scripts have advanced in a contest. I don’t know if anything will come of it, but it is still exciting to get an email that a screenplay has advanced to the next round.

If nothing else, I know they are being read.

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Negative for Lyme, so…I Don’t Know

Posted on June 9, 2019 by aa

My blood test for Lyme came back negative. So I really don’t know what was going on. But whatever it was, is gone. And I do think the antibiotics did the trick.

Since then, I’ve been putting in the hours and miles to get my base fitness back to where it should be for this time of year. I actually feel surprisingly good considering what I went through and not being able to ride efficiently, if at all.

I went right to work on my normal cyclocross training of 2 days of endurance rides, 2 days of hill sprints, and 1 day running. Towards the end of July I add in cyclocross specific skills on the run day.

So, overall I feel great. The blood test for Lyme came back negative, so…I don’t know. I just want to continue to feel as healthy as I do now.

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Spring, Early Spring, and Lyme

Posted on May 20, 2019 by aa

Today was a little bit of a season milestone for me. I actually rode outside today. You see, it’s been a difficult spring for me with training…or actually even riding. As the weather started to improve to get off the trainer and get outside, I had no motivation, desire, what ever you want to call it, to ride. Indoors or outdoors. It got to the point where I just didn’t want to do anything. My knees hurt, my hands hurt, headaches, and fatigue. Very fatigued. I live in the woods and I’m fully aware of ticks. I occasionally find one crawling on me after walking the dog, and I’ve found one attached only one. That was years ago and the test were negative for Lyme. This time around, I didn’t found anything attached to me or even crawling on me, but everything that I have been feeling points to Lyme disease. But no “bullseye” type rash either, or any rash at all. Just fatigue and a body that ached all over.

After a visit to Google to read up on Lyme disease, I decided that I really should go see my doctor. Based on the best timeline that we could determine, it’s still another week for the 6 week incubation period before we can do a blood test. My doc put me on antibiotics anyway. After five days, I could feel the fatigue going away. I could ride the trainer again. I say trainer because my body still mostly ached. I didn’t really want to be out on the road and not be able to continue, so I stayed on the trainer. If I couldn’t continue, I would just stop and get off the bike.

But today, everything just fell into place for me. No feeling of fatigue, body felt mostly good, and a 3 hour window between batches of rain. I didn’t know how I would feel, so I planned on riding my 13 mile sand lake route. I ended up feeling better that expected, so I added two pretty stiff climbs to test myself. While I’m not even close to race shape, the month or so of bad training, or basically no training, didn’t effect my fitness too much. So it shouldn’t be too long before I’m back to where I should be for this time of year.

Even if you don’t find a tick or rash on you, be aware of the symptoms and your body. Even if you just suspect, see your doctor. Early treatment, and you shouldn’t be knocked out for too long.

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