Joe Leone

Joe Leone is an American Screenwriter. His awards/recognition are as follows - *50(+) screenwriting awards *250(+) film festival/screenplay competition selections from more than a dozen countries *Six years' experience with Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Marketing Administration *Story Analyst for Prelude Pictures and Kamin & Howell Entertainment Screenwriter of THE PHANTOM COUNCIL (pka: TRUE DESTINY) - FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY - (19) award wins out of (78) Film Festival / Screenplay Competition selections from more than a dozen Countries. Screenwriter of RETIREMENT ROAD TRIP (FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY) - currently selected in (52) Film Festival/Screenplay Competitions, which include: (13) Award Wins, (2) Honorable Mentions, (1) Special Mention, (11) Finalist, (4) Semi-Finalist, (12) Quarterfinalist, and (9) Official Selections Screenwriter of COOP (FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY) - currently selected in (61) Film Festival/Screenplay Competitions, which include: (14) Award Wins, (15) Finalist Selections, (13) Semi-Finalist, and (6) Quarterfinalist Placements to date. SCREENPLAY COMPETITION RECOGNITION/AWARDS FOR (COOP) - FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY (as of 06/16/22) - AWARD WINNER(S): COOP - Show Low Film Festival - AWARD WINNER - BEST OF THE FEST (Oct, 2021) COOP - Wallachia International Film Festival (Romania) - AWARD WINNER (Sep, 2021) COOP - Florida Script Challenge - AWARD WINNER (May, 2021) COOP - Redwood Shorts & Scripts - BEST DRAMA FEATURE SCRIPT (Jan, 2021) COOP - FFTG Awards Film Fest 2020 - BEST INSPIRATIONAL FEATURE SCREENPLAY (Dec, 2020) COOP - Flixze Film Festival - AWARD WINNER (Dec, 2020) COOP - Gold Star Movie Awards - HONOURABLE MENTION (Oct, 2020) COOP - SoCal Film Awards - DIAMOND AWARD WINNER (Oct, 2020) COOP - Milan Film Awards - AWARD WINNER (Sep, 2020) COOP - The Hollywood Jumbo 2020 Screenplay Festival - AWARD WINNER - FEATURE SCREENPLAY (July, 2020) COOP - Queen Palm International Film Festival, 3rd Quarter, 2020 - SILVER AWARD WINNER (CROWN SELECTION) - FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY - BEST CONCEPT (June, 2020) COOP - The Good Dog! International Film Festival - BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY (May, 2020) COOP - Depth of Field International Film Festival - GOLD SCRIPT WRITING - AWARD WINNER (Jan, 2020) COOP - After Hour Film Festival - AWARD WINNER - BEST SCREENPLAY (December, 2019) FINALIST: COOP - Comox Valley International Film Festival - FINALIST (April, 2022) COOP - KATRA Film Festival - FINALIST (June, 2021) COOP - Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) - FINALIST (May, 2021) COOP - Visionfest Screenwriting Competition - FINALIST (Dec, 2020) COOP - L.A. Live Film Festival - FINALIST (Oct, 2020) COOP - PixelsGARAGE Awards of Excellence - RUNNER-UP (Sep, 2020) COOP - Storyteller's Cottage Annual Feature and Short Screenplay Contest - FINALIST (May, 2020) COOP - FilmMatic - Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship - FINALIST Selection out of 1,200 (+) submitted entries (May, 2020) COOP - Red Flight Pictures Screenplay Awards - FINALIST - Top 100 Selection out of more than 3,500 submitted entries received (Feb, 2020) COOP - Block Island Film Festival - FINALIST (Feb, 2020) COOP - Miami Screenplay Awards - TOP 10 FINALIST out of 632 submitted entries (Feb, 2020) COOP - Hollywood International Diversity Film Festival - FINALIST (Jan, 2020) COOP - Chandler International Film Festival - TOP 10 FINALIST (Jan, 2020) COOP - FilmMatic Pitch Now Screenplay Competition - FINALIST (December, 2019) COOP - Desert Pitch - Film Fest Tucson - TOP 5 FINALIST - PITCH COMPETITION (October, 2019) SEMI-FINALIST: COOP - FLICKERS' RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - SEMI-FINALIST (July, 2021) COOP - Cinema Soup Film Festival - SEMI-FINALIST (June, 2021) COOP - Marketable Filmmaker Screenwriters Collaborative - SEMI-FINALIST (April, 2021) COOP - Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival - SEMI-FINALIST (Oct, 2020) COOP - CWA (Creative World Awards) Screenwriting Competition - SEMI-FINALIST - DRAMA (Aug, 2020) COOP - Tirota/Finish Line Social Impact Script Competition - SEMI-FINALIST (June, 2020) COOP - Austin Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST - Top 10% finish out of 1,104 submitted entries (May, 2020) COOP - Atlanta Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST - Placed in the Top 4-10th Percentile out of nearly 1,100 submitted entries (April, 2020) COOP - Circus Road Screenplay Contest - SEMI-FINALIST - Placed in the Top 30% of all submitted entries (March, 2020) COOP - New York City International Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST - FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY - Top 10% finish out of 829 submitted entries (March, 2020) COOP - Chicago Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST - FEATURE SCREENPLAY (Feb, 2020) COOP - BLASTOFF - Master of the Logline - SEMI-FINALIST (Feb, 2020) COOP - Logline to Movie Screen Contest - SEMI-FINALIST (Jan, 2020) QUARTERFINALIST: COOP - Sunvale Screenplay Contest - QUARTERFINALIST (Oct, 2021) COOP - Houston International Sports Film Festival - QUARTERFINALIST (May, 2021) COOP - Sedona International Film Festival - QUARTERFINALIST (May, 2021) COOP - Plot Point International Screenwriting Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (April, 2021) - listed #3 by Premium Beat for Top 7 Online Screenwriting Competitions - (May 21, 2020) article COOP - Scriptation Showcase - QUARTERFINALIST (Sep, 2020) COOP - StoryPros International Screenplay Contest - QUARTERFINALIST - Top 20% finish out of all submitted entries (Nov, 2019) OFFICIAL SELECTION(S): COOP - Fort Myers Beach International Film Festival - Screenplay Competition - OFFICIAL SELECTION (August, 2021) COOP - 4theatre Selection - OFFICIAL SELECTION (August, 2021) COOP - Marina Del Rey Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (July, 2021) COOP - Summer in the South Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (July, 2021) COOP - The Macoproject Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (July, 2021) COOP - Northeast Mountain Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (May, 2021) COOP - Filmchilla - OFFICIAL SELECTION (Oct, 2020) COOP - Festival Angaelica - OFFICIAL SELECTION - Screenwriter Mentorship Program (Oct, 2020) COOP - Austin Spotlight Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (September, 2020) - with over 1000 submissions this season, your entry stood above the competition & we could not be happier to include you in our 2020 showcase! COOP - Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards - OFFICIAL SELECTION (June, 2020) COOP - Gold Canyon Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (Jan, 2020) COOP - Lake Travis Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION (Jan, 2020) COOP - Barnstorm Fest - OFFICIAL (SHORT LIST) SELECTION - HONORABLE MENTION (Dec, 2019) COOP - Feedback received from the Austin Screenplay Awards - Analysis/Coverage (02/08/2020): Call me a sucker for dog stories, but COOP struck me as the type of narrative that's made to tug at the emotions. The writer really does a great job of this without getting too heavy handed in the delivery. That's not as easy a task as it sounds with a plot that has a career ending surgery, abused dogs, and the comeback story of a lifetime. All of these plot points beg for hokey speeches and cheesy dialogue, but the writer does a great job of presenting these plot points with grounded realism. The writer certainly embraces the dramatic elements, but doesn't overplay them to the point of parody. It all amounts to a very touching story made of equal parts heartwarming healing journey and crushing loss. The dialogue really is one of the easiest aspects of the script to fall in love with because the writer is so great at imparting a sense of individuality to the characters. There are a wide variety of personality types on display in this script, but the writer effortlessly flirts between different styles, verbal quirks, motivations, and manners of speech with ease. They also don't shy away from conflict in dialogue, making what could otherwise be mundane conversations filled with tension. Watching the various combinations of characters interact was a genuine joy, as each maintained their motivations and backstories when speaking, not just gabbing away to deliver exposition or expedite the plot. Of course we do get exposition in the dialogue, but it's masked with personality and proper character motivation, keeping the level of authenticity in the conversation high. In this script, dialogue is a tool for understanding character, not just developing the plot. Overall, this script succeeds because it maximizes the drama inherent to the concept and setting. The writer has a great understanding of when to let moments breathe for maximal effect and when to inject the writing with energy, short sentences, and active word choice to convey tension and forward momentum. It all amounts to an engrossing tone that I could lose myself in. There's a lot of complexity to this narrative, not always in the plot points, but in the character development and relationships. It makes the script feel dense and meaningful, worth another read even to parse through the heady questions it raises. Still the real entertainment is in Gabriel and Coop's journey. This central relationship holds the whole script together. COOP - LA LIVE FILM FEST has added a note to your submission (10/9/20): "top screenplay as a finalist for its genre/category great work as usual, your literary works are above reproach. Definitely award worthy for our 2020 season, thank you for sharing your work with us, Best, Josephine" COOP - Note added to Submission for Storyteller's Cottage Annual Feature and Short Screenplay Contest on (05/23/20) - A wonderful and moving story with great characters and deep emotional impact.