Category: News

Reader Lauds Big House Designs at Austin Film Festival

Lost Mountain staff were pleased to receive complimentary feedback on the company’s female-forward dramedy, Big House Designs, at last month’s Austin Film Festival. The teleplay, written by Amy Martin and Khris Baxter, achieved “second-rounder” status at the festival, putting it in the top 20% of all scripts submitted to the competition.

According to the reader, “Big House Designs is a unique and funny pilot that somehow manages to combine Texas politics, prison, and fashion into a very entertaining package.”

Big House Designs is a half-hour comedy-drama about a troubled but shrewd beauty queen turned political wife who partners with an incarcerated fashion designer to create and launch the most celebrated and inclusive new brand in the fashion industry.

The series explores race, class, gender, and identity at the crossroads of haute couture and the American federal prison system.

The reader admires the originality of the concept, the pacing and rhythm of the story, the dialogue, and the strength of protagonist Ivy Copeland. “Ivy is particularly engaging, and comes across as distinct, independent, and unwilling to fit into the box that everyone has in mind for her. She’s quick-witted and a lot of fun.”

Another Lost Mountain pilot, In Deep, received a request after it was pitched on site in Austin by co-writer Kristin Battista-Frazee.

Both pilots and/or pitch decks are available from Lost Mountain upon request.

LM To Consult on Cinematic Short Story Contest

Lost Mountain has partnered with the folks at Uncharted Magazine to support its first-ever “Cinematic Short Story Contest.” The contest is now closed and judging is under way.

Writers had to submit their most cinematic short stories. The prompt? “We want stories that we can clearly visualize, that make us feel like we’re there in the moment, and that activate all of our senses. We want worlds that pop up in our minds, characters who are fully articulated and bent on breaking their rituals. We want stories with vitality and velocity that rely on swift cuts of action and reaction.”

The staff at Uncharted provided additional guidance to entrants. “Consider crafting your story based on the most important moments in your character’s life, and fully envelop us in this story. Think of the opposites of shadow and light, and the gray areas in-between, and write the stories we can’t look away from. We especially love stories that incorporate aspects of all genres, so consider how these combined elements might enhance your story. We’re drawn to stories that take advantage of their conflicts to create tension and resonance.”

Lost Mountain is thrilled to provide the writers of the top five stories with individualized one-on-one consultations, which will include:

• Instruction in the basics of screenwriting or an overview of the film and television industry
• Specific suggestions on cinematic story elements such as structure, pacing, tone, dialogue, and characterization
• Referral to helpful resources, such as books, webinars, classes, and online platforms
• Advice on preparing marketing materials such as loglines, one-pagers, pitch decks, series bibles, and lookbooks
• Advice on pitching stories to producers and studios and executives

Good luck to all the entrants! We look forward to reading the winning stories and to working with the authors. 

Lost Mountain’s half-hour comedy-drama, Big House Designs, was named a “Second Rounder” at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, one of the top four film festivals in North America. Second-round status is granted only to the top 20% of all scripts submitted to the festival. We are delighted with our contest showing.

The same script recently earned accolades from a BlueCat Screenplay Competition script reader, who described it as a “poignant, compelling drama” with a “strong, inspiring protagonist” and “immensely impactful scenes.” 

“The screenplay introduces the audience to the story of Ivy Copeland, a newly appointed First Lady of Texas who, dissatisfied with the conservative, close-minded role designated to her, makes a decision to go against the flow,” the reader writes. “[It] does an impeccable job establishing Ivy’s character, presenting her to the audience as a multifaceted, iron-willed individual whom the readers want to follow. Following Ivy’s search for a new purpose, which she, in the script’s finale, finds in opening her own fashion brand alongside a convicted inmate she accidentally befriended, the pilot masterfully fleshes out Ivy’s rebellious nature through natural dialogue and subtle yet telling actions she takes… Ivy is an excellently developed lead the readers are eager to see succeed.”

Thank you to this reader. We agree! 

The pilot and pitch for Big House Designs are available upon request.

Maxwell Abramson has joined Lost Mountain as a Development Associate. Max is a recent graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he honed his interests in screenwriting and filmmaking. At Lost Mountain he is learning about the industry, conducting research, reading and reviewing stories for potential adaptation, covering scripts, assisting in writing treatments and pitches, and helping boost our online presence. Welcome, Max!