Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Casting Couch

Entry from ES - Dobbs Ferry, NY

TWO WORDS: CASTING COUCH

Shortest Possible Entry

Entry from EB - Birmingham, AL

FEW

Loses Rent Money in Vegas

Entry from BP - Rapid City, South Dakota

HE GOES TO LAS VEGAS AND LOSRS THIR RENT MONEY!

Food Critic Becomes Reality Star

Entry from RB - Chesterfield, Missouri

A REGULAR JOE LAUNCHES A BLOG AS A FAST FOOD CRITIC. THE MAJOR CHAINS INTENSELY LOBBY FOR GOOD REVIEWS. A CABLE NETWORK CREATES A REALITY SHOW ABOUT HIM.

Farm Boy Pitch Hitter

Entry from NO - Cranbury, NJ

WISCONSIN FARM BOY PITCHES HIGH SCOOL NO- HITTER. HE SIGNS WITH THE LA DODGERS AND NOT ONLY WINS BALLGAMES BUT THE HEART OF AN ACCLAIMED FILM ACTRESS.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Housekeeper's Record Deal from Toilet Singing

Entry from BB - Monroe, NY

A HOUSEKEEPER IS SINGING WHILE CLEANING HER BOSS' TOILET. UNBEKNOWST TO HER HE IS AN RECORDING AGENT. HE PULLS HER OFF OF HER KNEES AND SIGNS HER UP.

Celebrity Incognito

Entry from DG - Clifton Springs, NY

A CELEBRITY WHO ADOPTS A SECRET IDENTITY, ENABLING HIM/HER TO AVOID THE USUAL INVASIONS OF PRIVACY & DIFFICULTY WITH FAME. FREE TO A ENJOY NORMAL LIFE AS WELL.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Maui without the Man

Entry from BP - Location Unknown

SHE GOES TO MAUI WITHOUT TELLING HIM

Friday, August 24, 2007

Some of the characters in Surviving Hollywood











Pitch for 'Pilot Season' - Deadline Sept 1st

Here's a separate contest where you can continue to test out your creative micro-blogging abilities.

Want a shot at starring in a Surviving Hollywood episode called "Pilot Season?"

AT&T & Vivendi Games Mobile invite you to participate in a contest for a shot at mobile stardom.

Simple steps for a chance to star in 'Pilot Season':
1) You have to be an AT&T wireless customer
2) Download the 'Surviving Hollywood' mobile game to your mobile phone
3) After you download the mobile game, you'll receive a text with a unique code. Go to this url (http://hollywood.vgmobile.com), enter the unique code to gain entry to the contest site, and submit your written pitch for an episode idea.
Your written pitch can be brief. We love short and sweet.

Deadline to enter: SEPTEMBER 1st [If you enter, you have a good shot!]

GRAND PRIZE: A fabulous trip for two PLUS your own video game character and storyline in the 'Pilot Season' episode of Surviving Hollywood.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Up Close & Personal: Interview with the writer of the Surviving Hollywood mobile game

Redefining ‘Best’ –
An Interview with Max Doty, Primary Writer for Surviving High School ’07, Surviving Hollywood, and Surviving High School ‘08

Q: What new changes can players expect in Surviving Hollywood and Surviving High School ’08 from what they experienced in Surviving High School ’07?

The biggest innovation in High School ‘08 and Hollywood is that our storylines now carry on across multiple episodes.

Before, our universe seemed to have a ‘reset’ button at the end of each pack. You’d date Raven or Adam or Beth, then in the next pack, it would be as if it never happened and they’d be dating someone new.

With High School ‘08 and Hollywood, the ‘reset’ button is gone. If you pick up a guy at the end of one episode, you’ll still be dating when the next episode comes along. If your dog dies, it’s dead for good.

The best thing about this continuity is that we can build longer, more engrossing stories with increasingly complex characters. We had moments of this before: the player learning Adam’s back story with his brother is one example of a time when a seemingly typical character turned out to have unexpected depth. There will be many more moments like this in Hollywood and High School ’08.

Q: That all sounds great... But how will you still have multiple endings?

That’s a tricky question, and it took some clever thinking on Vivendi Games Mobile’s part to get around it.

Essentially, in High School ’07, when you play the game, you’re (hopefully) attempting to get the ‘best’ ending. If you make the right decisions you win the girl, make your parents proud, save the school mascot, etc.

In the High School ’08 and Hollywood, we’ve redefined ‘best’. Now, you can do everything right, and tragedy will still befall your character at the episode’s end. In a way, this is much more like real life. Sometimes you can do everything right and still walk in on your girlfriend kissing another guy. It’s out of your control.

In these new games, ‘best’ is redefined as that which moves the overall story along in the most complex, interesting way. You aren’t earning happiness for your characters anymore. You’re earning the story itself.

Of course, the old ‘bad’ endings are still there. But now we think of them more like alternate realities. They show you what might have happened if you had your character make a poor set of decisions. Still, even getting a ‘bad’ ending can occasionally reveal aspects of character you might have otherwise missed. There is some benefit to failure.

Q: Will the characters from Surviving High School ’07 be included in Surviving High School ’08? What about Hollywood?

In Surviving High School ’08, everyone is a year older. Thus, a couple characters have graduated, but most of them are still around. We’re also introducing several new characters. What’s been most rewarding as I write new stories for Surviving High School ’08 is getting to find out about Raven, Spike, Tony and all rest in more depth. The game takes old characters to brand new levels of complexity that the ‘reset’ button prevented us from reaching. This is a far richer world.

As far as Hollywood goes, we like to think it shares Surviving High School’s ‘universe’, which means characters from Hollywood might occasionally show up in High School and vice-versa. That said, such exchanges probably won’t happen all the time, only when they fit into the story and feel organic.

Q: Is it different writing for these games than for traditional short stories, books, or movies?

The key difference here is the way the storyline changes based on the player’s input. When you combine that with the way we’re building stories that arc beyond a single game, I really feel like we’re breaking brand new narrative ground.—something like a hybrid between a video game and a television series. While the games still use a lot of the same techniques as traditional fiction, stories have never been told in precisely this way before, and it’s exciting to be part of that.

Q: Any last thoughts?

I just hope players enjoy the new games! I definitely read the MySpace forums, and I’m always interested to read what players discuss there. If you’ve got any ideas, characters you love or hate, or ideas for new storyline directions let us know!

Beauty with Talent

Entry from SH - Los Angeles, CA

BEAUTY STARTS AT THE TOP WITH A RISING HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR AND GETS A ROLE OF A LIFE TIME. SHE WORKS HER FIRST FILM AND DISCOVERS SHE MIGHT HAVE SOME TALENT.

Short Entry on Death

Entry from SF - Parsippany, NJ

EVERYONE DIES

Pilot Life

Entry from RD - Medford, New York

PILOT IS PIVOTAL IN LIFE

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Man Becomes a Beautiful Temptress

Entry from AF - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

AN OLD MAN WAKES UP ONE MORNING TO FIND THAT HE IS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN. HE SLEEPS WITH A LOT OF RICH GUYS AND WRITES A BOOK ABOUT IT. THEN FALLS IN LOVE

Monday, August 20, 2007

AT&T Pilot Season Contest - Deadline Sept. 1st

Calling All AT&T Customers - *Pilot Season Contest*

1) If you're an AT&T wireless customer, download the Surviving Hollywood mobile game on your cell phone.

2) Once you download the mobile game, you'll receive an SMS with a special code and URL (http://hollywood.vgmobile.com/). Enter the code on the website and pitch your idea for an episode of Surviving Hollywood called "Pilot Season."

3) Grand prize winner will get his/her idea written into the "Pilot Season" episode of the mobile game (and have a video game character created in his/her image). The grand prize winner will also win a dream trip for 2 to Tinseltown.

4) It's easy to enter and you've got a great shot at becoming a star!

For more details on this special AT&T contest, visit http://mediamall.wireless.att.com

DEADLINE TO ENTER: September 1, 2007

College Girls on Road Trip

Entry from MS - Tucson, Arizona

4 COLLEGE GIRLS GO ON A ROAD TRIP AND ENCOUNTER STRANGE PEOPLE AND HAVE EXCITING ADVENTURES ALONG THE WAY.

Drunk Landlord Evicts

Entry from BP - Rapid City, South Dakota

DRUNK LANDLORD EVICTS THEM WRONG PEOPLE THAT WERE MAKIN NOISE

Punk Girl Falls for Flannel Clad Dreamboat

Entry from TL - Evans, Georgia

THE PUNK/GEEKY GIRL MOVES TO LOS ANGELES, STARTS HER OWN PUNK BAND, AND MEETS THE LONG HAIRED, FLANNEL WEARING GUY OF HER DREAMS

Friday, August 17, 2007

Shortest Entry

Entry from PG - Austin, Texas

ROCKIN ON

Emo Teen Stardom

Entry from JL - St. Paul, Minnesota

DEPRESSED TEENS CONVERT RESTLESS ANGST INTO EMO STARDOM! NOW THAT THEY'VE GOT THE FAME AND FORTUNE, HOW TO CHANNEL THE TENDERLY BROKEN HEARTS? EYE MAKEUP!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Waitress Takes on the Dead

Entry from MW - Woodside, New York

SURVIVING HOLLYWOOD TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING WHEN THE DEAD RISE FROM THEIR GRAVES TO RETAKE THE SILVER SCREEN. IT’S UP TO ONE BRAVE WAITRESS TO SAVE US ALL!

The Incredible Machine

If you're interested in checking out another mobile game of ours, visit www.incrediblemachinepresents.com

Unlucky to Lucky in Love

Entry from GR - Houston, Texas

UNLUCKY IN LOVE GIRL MOVES FROM SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. UNLUCKY IN LOVE GUY MOVES FROM L.A. TO SAN FRNACISCO. BOTH MEET AND FALL IN LOVE

Bounce Back from Failure?

Entry from DF - Valencia, CA

YOU PLAY AS AN ALREADY MODERATELY SUCCESSFUL ACTRESS. HOWEVER, YOUR FIRST LEADING ROLE IS A CRITICAL AND COMMERCIAL FAILURE. WILL YOU BOUNCE BACK OR FALL APART?

Dangerous Starring Role

Entry from JD - Glenpool, Oklahoma

WHILE AN EXTRA FOR A CRIME FILM THE LEAD STAR DIES UNDER SUSPICOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU TAKE OVER THE ROLE, BECOME AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS DESPITE THE DANGER.

Busted Lemonade Stand

Entry from SH - San Diego, CA

7 YEAR OLD GIRL OPENS A LEMONADE STAND AND IRS BUSTS HER FOR TAX EVASION. VOLATILE COURT SCENE

Convince Director to Try Again

Entry from NB - Martin, Tennessee

A COMING OF AGE TEEN BEFRIENDS A ONCE-GLORIOUS DIRECTOR WITH A HISTORY OF REGRETS AND CONVINCES HIM TO TRY AGAIN.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Faker

Entry from NT - Columbia , Mississippi

TWO FRIENDS MOVE TO LA TO BREAK INTO ACTING. ONE IS SUCCESSFUL BUT LEARNS HE HAS "CANCER". THE OTHER IS FACED WITH TELLING HIM THAT HE FAKED IT TO GET HIS SPOT.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Trapped in Earthquake Script

Entry from MR - Niagra Falls, NY

THREE STARLETS ARE TRAPPED IN THEIR APARTMENTS BY AN EARTHQUAKE. AFTER THEIR RESCUE, THEY WRITE [AND TRY TO PITCH] A MOVIE SCRIPT BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE.

Best Friend Too Late for Love

Entry from LM - Elmhurst, NY

TWO BEST FRIENDS: THE GUYS IN LOVE WITH THE GIRL AND NEVER TELLS HER. SHES AWARE BUT WANTS HIM TO MAN UP. SHE BECOMES FAMOUS, HE GETS LEFT BEHIND. HE'S AN IDIOT.

Transvestite Blind Date

Entry from AT - Location Unknown

TRANSVESTITE TWIN STRIPPERS WHO'VE NEVER MET... UNTIL TONIGHT! HE'S A SHE AND SHE'S A HE BUT WILL THEY SURVIVE THE BLIND DATE FROM HELL - CHARLIE SHEEN!

Living on the Cheap

Entry from DL - Leavenworth, Kansas

LIVING IN HOLLYWOOD ON ONLY $50.00 A DAY!

Transgender Actress in Pursuit

Entry from JF - Alexandria, Virginia

A MALE ACTOR BECOMES A TRANSGENDERED ACTRESS AND IS PURSUED BY THE TOWN'S HOTTEST MALE STARS WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE SEX CHANGE

Friday, August 10, 2007

Surviving Hollywood Mobile Game Wins Industry Awards

If you're interested in entering the Surviving Hollywood contest, visit www.survivehollywood.com and pitch us your idea for an episode of the mobile game. Your written idea/pitch must be a maximum of 160 characters in length. We then screen and post entries on this blog.

Surviving Hollywood recently won the IGN Editors' Choice Award and Wireless Gaming World Editor's Award. It also got written up in the Hollywood Reporter. The mobile game is available through major carriers.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Yuppy Yo-Yos with Weight Loss

Entry from RR - Lake Telemark, NJ

YOUNG FLUFFY "YUPPY" JOINS A CHUBBY CLUB AND THE EPISODE DEALS WITH THE UPS AND DOWNS OF WEIGHT LOSS.

Male Nanny/Bodyguard for a Rock Star

Entry from DZ - Brookfield, IL

YOU BECOME A MANNY (MALE NANNY/BODYGUARD)FOR A ROCKSTAR. YOU HAVE TO JUGGLE BETWEEN TAKING CARE OF THE STAR, NURTURING THE STAR'S EGO, AND LOOKING AFTER THE KID

Minor Actress Becomes Major News

Entry from TW - Allston, MA

STRUGGLING BIT ACTRESS COMES ACROSS A FREAK ACCIDENT AND SAVES THREE PEOPLE. SUDDENLY SHE IS THE TALK OF HOLLYWOOD, AND STRUGGLES NOT TO BE SPOILED BY FAME.

Personal Assistant Finds Love

Entry from LE - San Diego, CA

AN INTELLECTUAL GIRL BECOMES THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO A DEMANDING, IRRATIONAL STARLET. EVENTUALLY SHE MEETS A SEXY MALE CO-STAR ON SET AND THE TWO FIND LOVE.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Utah Snowboarders Head to Cali

Entry from JR - Salt Lake City, Utah

TWO "A-LIST" SNOWBOARDERS FROM UTAH HEAD TO CALI FOR A CONTEST. IN UTAH THEY ARE THE [BOMB], BUT AREN'T ANYTHING IN CALI UNTIL THEY THROW DOWN IN THE CONTEST.

Bachelor Lifestyle Jeopardized

Entry from DR - La Quinta, CA

TWO BEST FRIENDS OWN A BAR AND GRILL. ALWAYS PARTYING, LOVIN THE SINGLE LIFE, TIL THEY MEET TWO GIRL'S THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE THEIR BACHELOR LIFESTYLE

Monday, August 6, 2007

Struggling Starlet

Entry from BL - Alton, IL

A YOUNG WOMAN THINKS SHE'S GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ACTRESS, SO SHE AUDITIONS FOR A ROLE OF A LIFETIME ON A HIT NEW SHOW CALLED "JUST FOR ONCE" AND STRUGGLES.

Modeling Competition

Entry from MF - Los Angeles, CA

AN AGENCY IS SCOUTING FOR NEW MODELS TO DO A PHOTO SHOOT FOR VOGUE AND IT STARTS TO GET REALLY COMPETITIVE FOR EVERYONE BECAUSE EVERYONE FINDS OUT THAT THE SELECTED MODEL WILL HAVE A CONTRACT WITH VOGUE AS AN INTERN WORKING WITH THE EDITOR AND CHIEF

Murdered Cop Thriller

Entry from AC - Roslyn Heights, NY

THE DAUGHTER OF A MURDERED COP SEEKS REVENGE ON HER FATHER'S KILLER AFTER SHE LEARNS THE MURDERER IS HER BOYFRIEND.

Country Girl Moves to Hollywood

Entry from DF - Las Vegas area

COUNTRY GIRL MOVES TO HOLLYWOOD AND MEETS A CELEBRITY THAT SHE FALLS IN LOVE WITH. BUT ANOTHER GIRL WANTS HIM JUST FOR HIS MONEY AND U HAVE TO WIN HIS HEART.

Miami Story

Entry from KV - Sonoma, CA

A YOUNG MAN HOPES TO START A NEW LIFE IN MIAMI,HE GETS A JOB AS A BUSBOY AT A THEATER,WHEN ONE ACTOR ENDS UP,HE ENDS UP FILLING THE PART,AND BLOWS OFF THE ROOF.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Surviving Hollywood Contest - How to Enter

ENTER THE SURVIVING HOLLYWOOD CONTEST FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THE ULTIMATE HOLLYWOOD TRIP!

Have a sizzling idea for an episode? Submit your pitch for a chance to win a trip for 2 to fabulous Hollywood, CA, a Motorola MOTOKRZR, and have your idea written into an episode of the Surviving Hollywood™ mobile game. The grand prize package will include roundtrip airfare, swanky hotel accommodations, spa package, and a private tour of Hollywood in a luxury car! Five runner-up prize winners will receive a MOTOKRZR phone.

Starting August 6th, visit www.survivehollywood.com to enter the contest and view official rules! Then, check back on this blog to view the latest crop of entries. Good luck!!