the list of 9 for may 30, 2006:
NINE THINGS THAT I HAVE WON
On May 19, 2006, my one-minute film The Closest Thing to Time Travel was named the grandprize winner in a Getty Images competition called The Next Big Idea, where contestants hadto make shorts using stock footage and imagery from Getty Images' library. (You can watch my filmhere.) With a$10,000 cash prize and whirlwind trips to New York and Chicago, it's easily the biggest thing I'veever won, after a lifetime of honorable mentions and out-and-out losses. And as I bask in the glowof victory, I thought I'd share with you my other, more meager wins throughout the years. Icould barely come up with nine of them, though I could probably cite dozens of things for which Iwas a distant runner-up (Project Greenlight, spelling bees, writing contests), and hundreds ofthings that I lost out on entirely (lotteries, raffles, countless races).
- The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. Iwon this by calling LA radio station KROQ in 1992; DJ Rodney Bingenheimer was giving away two ofthe books to the first two callers who could correctly name the person who appeared on the coverof the very first issue of Rolling Stone. (It was John Lennon.) This is the only time I'veever won anything over the radio.
- Incident at Loch Ness poster and script. In 2005 Iwent to a screening of this indie film, written and directed by X-Men screenwriter ZakPenn, and won these autographed prizes at the screening's modest raffle. I didn't keep them.
- Bottle of Corazon tequila and two shot glasses. This wasat my former producer's 2004 Christmas party raffle, though my wife Miki might have actually wonthe prize (I was away from the party for a few minutes and handed Miki my raffle ticket, so wewill never know whose number was actually called).
- $500 in the Fremont Union High School District Art Show.It was the "Helene Madsen Memorial Scholarship," named after some late San Jose dowager whobequeathed an annual $500 towards a worthy high school art student chosen by the art show'scommittee. I was 1988's winner.
- $500 for the Cupertino High School Art DepartmentScholarship. My other big 1988 win. My old art teacher Mr. Rushton would raise $500each year to give a little financial boost to a graduating senior who excelled in his class. Thisand the Helene Madsen thing helped pay for my tuition at CalArts the following year.
- Best Screenplay at the 2nd Annual Chicago Alt.Film Fest. Iwas told upon winning the trophy (modeled after Picasso's famed sculpture in Chicago's DaleyPlaza) that it came with a check as well. Unfortunately none of the winners in this 1999 filmfestival (I won for my first feature Foreign Correspondents) received their checks becausethe guy who ran the festival was a crook. Needless to say, there never was a 3rd Annual ChicagoAlt.Film Fest.
- A long-distance running trophy. I received this for "mostmiles run" - 139 - from Fremont Older Elementary School. I think I was in third grade. They had arecess-time running program where you got a little "X" on your running chart for each lap you ranaround the field. Four "X"s equaled one mile. I spent a lot of recesses running that year.
- Cool Site of the Day. Back in the early years of the Web -that is, the mid-to-late 90's - a site called Cool Site of the Day was immensely popular. (It'sstill around, but isn't quite the destination it used to be. And now they charge you to submityour site.) My Foreign Correspondentssite actually won this coveted award, and literally overnight it went from about 60 visitors a dayto 35,000. It was also lucky enough to be named Cool Site over a weekend, so I got to coast onthis valuable link for two whole days. As this link attracted an investor who eventually sunk$25,000 into the film, it was a lucrative honor indeed.
- This Getty Images competition. Well, obviously. I hadhoped to list something else here but literally couldn't think of anything. Though I have won afew bets with Miki over the last couple of years, where prizes included a fancy dinner and two pairs of underpants!
|