NYC Midnight 2023 Update #2: It’s a Melancholy Midnight

Second Skye’s journey through the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge came to an end last night, with Ian’s and Keegan’s second round scripts coming up short of the needed top 3 placements for advancement into the third and final round.

For those unfamiliar with the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge, feel free to check out our NYC Midnight landing page, where you can find the rules for the competition and copies of our first and second round submissions.

Before we close the chapter on NYC Midnight, let’s hear some parting thoughts from the contestants:

“It wasn’t what we hoped, naturally, but it was a great run. It’s hard to be upset about it, we had some fun nights and weird characters along the way. The only real regret I have is the sheer amount of midnight oil I’m left with. It was sort of an impulse buy, [I] talked myself into it at Costco. You know, I passed it originally on the way to the rotisserie chicken - have you had that stuff? It's crack on the bone. But yeah, I originally thought I didn’t need it, but then I thought about this NYC Midnight competition, one thing led to another, you walk out with 10 gallons of midnight oil. It was a really good deal, though.”

- Keegan Hawkins

“Man, I couldn’t feel any better about my first screenplay rejection! Now that it’s out of the way, it’s all A24 and Focus Features from here.

…

…right?”

- Ian Forsyth

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NYC Midnight was established in 2002, creating “inspiring challenges for storytellers around the world.” Their next competition, the 500-Word Fiction Challenge, begins August 25, 2023. If you’re interested in participating, we’d highly recommend stopping by their website linked above or giving them a like/follow on their Twitter or Instagram to stay up-to-date on all current and upcoming challenges.