Watched Mailboxes Never Deliver Nicholl Fellowship Letters

Or, is it a watched pot never boils?

Maybe standing guard over my mailbox dressed in Vera Wang, Ferragamos, and cascading hair extensions makes me look more like Norma Desmond than an anxious screenwriter waiting on her little white envelope with the gold Oscar on it. Maybe the champagne bottle resembles a billy club and is frightening off the mail carrier. Or, maybe I'm --- wait. I think a small aircraft just landed in my back yard.

Okay, never mind. The pilot said he thought he saw a distress signal from the air. Good to know if I'm ever stranded in my backyard, I can signal for help with rhinestones and cleavage.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Maybe I just jumped the gun a little since my regrettably letter last year arrived on July 29th (yeah, I remember the exact day) --

"Quarterfinalist letters are mailed by August 1 of each year; fellowship recipients are announced in late October. All entrants will receive notification of their status by mail sent no later than August 1" says the website page called Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Basics.

Mailed no later than August 1st. Not received? Argh. Oh well, that gives me a potty break and time to look up past quarterfinalists and winners.

2005 Nicholl Fellowship Winners
“The Days Between,” Morgan Read-Davidson, Downey, California
“Fire in a Coal Mine,” Seth Resnik, West Hollywood, and Ron Moskovitz, Los Angeles
“No Country,” Michael D. Zungolo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Pirates of Lesser Providence,” Colleen Cooper De Maio, Los Angeles
“Ring of Fire,” Gian Marco Masoni, Santa Monica, California

2004 Nicholl Fellowship Winners
"Fenian's Trace," Sean Mahoney, Nicasio, California
"The Gaza Golem," Daniel Lawrence, Los Angeles
"Letter Quest," Doug Davidson, Baldwin, New York
"The Secret Boy," Whit Rummel, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
"Split Infinity," John Sinclair and Nova Jacobs, Los Angeles

No, advancing in the Nicholl is not a crap-o-meter, but wouldn't it be cool to forever have your name on the website's Quarterfinalist Lists?

Yeah. So, this song goes out to Greg Beal and my letter carrier.

Mister Postman, look and see
If there's a letter in your bag for me
Why's it takin' such a long time
For me to hear from that boy of mine

So many days you passed me by
See the tears standin' in my eyes
You didn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter

Mister Postman, look and see
If there's a letter in your bag for me
Why's it takin' such a long time
Why don't you check it and see
One more time for me,
You gotta wait a minute
Wait a minute
Wait a minute
Wait a minute