Jameson First Shot is an international short film competition that offers three aspiring filmmakers the chance to have their film made, starring Uma Thurman, supported by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey in his role as creative director. Dana Brunetti, Academy Award-nominated producer and president of Trigger Street Productions will return to the 2014 competition with his production team to produce the three films.
The success of the first two years of the competition has had nearly 12 million people tuning in to watch the winning films starring Kevin Spacey and Willem Dafoe on Jameson's YouTube channel. The 2014 competition aims to discover another three exceptional writer/directors from the same three countries: South Africa, Russia, and the US.
Uma Thurman will bring an exciting new quality to the competition, both as a skilled actor and the first female to take on the lead role for Jameson First Shot. Her versatility and acting style will stand her in good stead, having played characters as diverse as Irene Cassini in Gattaca, Cécile de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons, The Bride in the Kill Bill franchise and, most famously, Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Her commitment to supporting talented filmmakers of the future will make her an invaluable part of the 2014 competition.
Thurman commented: "What excites me about being involved with Jameson First Shot is that I love the idea of finding and discovering young talent - it's what makes the film business alive. Even though we're making short films I don't think anyone should feel limited in this form; if you look back over my work I've been many different characters so people should feel completely open to write whatever they are passionate about. I'm honoured to be a part of this extraordinary project and I can't wait to read the screenplays that are entered, and, ultimately, be the vehicle to help three talented filmmakers tell their stories to the world."
Kevin Spacey added: "She's remarkable and I'm thrilled Uma has said yes. Her work has always been unafraid and brave, so it doesn't surprise me that she's jumped with such commitment and enthusiasm into our short film project. I think it gives our filmmakers a very exciting opportunity to write for an actress of such range and skill. I look forward to seeing what the entrants come up with."
Once all scripts have been submitted, a shortlist will be chosen and each shortlisted candidate will be required to showcase their flair for filmmaking further by submitting a director's treatment of their script and a piece of footage based on a scene provided by Trigger Street Productions. Once all entries have been extensively reviewed, the three winners will be chosen - one from each country.
After being flown out to Hollywood, they will work directly with Trigger Street Productions on everything from casting to approving wardrobe and locations during pre-production. Moving into principle photography, each winner will be on set to direct Uma Thurman in the lead role in their films, before ending their experience by working with a composer on the score and signing off the final edit, ensuring their film is ready to be showcased to a global audience of millions.
Talented filmmakers who think they have what it takes to win need to submit a script of no more than seven pages via www.jamesonfirstshot.com by 2 January, 2014. 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, Uma Thurman and Dana Brunetti. As always, the judges are looking for fresh ideas, original concepts, fantastic structure and, above all, great entertaining stories.
To enter the 2014 competition, go to www.jamesonfirstshot.com
