For those who think history is old news, try telling that to Peter Bloomquist.
Bloomquist, a sixth grade teacher at Bayfield Middle School, took home first place for his screenplay, “Age of War” at last month’s Vail Film Festival. It’s the story of Roman General Arminius, who was raised in Germany and sent to Rome, where he learned Roman tactics and strategies of war, which he ultimately used against them as a leader of German tribes in what was “probably the greatest military victory of all time, because the Germans lost no one in relatively few casualties, and the Romans lost close to 100,000 men. It depends on the estimates, but in the movie script, it says 100,000,” Bloomquist said.
It’s his second screenplay and his first big win, he said. His first was a Western about Britt Johnson, the first African American man to join the Texas Rangers. He began writing screenplays after taking a class at Fort Lewis College, where he graduated with his teaching license in 2012.
“I took a class at Fort Lewis, actually a screenwriting class, and it was super enjoyable. And I really enjoyed telling stories that way,” he said. “I always liked reading and writing, but screenwriting just felt like it was more for me. So I started writing pretty consistently.”
The Vail Screenplay Competition “is a signature program of the Colorado Film Institute, producer of the annual Vail Film Festival,” according to FilmFreeway, which adds that first, second and third place screenplays “are recommended to executives from leading film and television companies, including Miramax, Fremantle, Untitled Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Imagine Entertainment, Village Roadshow, NBCUniversal, MGM, Spyglass Media Group, LD Entertainment, Paper Street Pictures and more.”
Bloomquist said the main goal is for most writers to gain representation and secure that. But a lot of people in Hollywood have told him that because “Age of War” is a “very epic kind of script,” they’d like to see him turn it into a novel, so he’s working on that version now.
“What’s really nice about winning a major award is it’s just an easier step into the publishing world,” he said. “But I’m still pursuing the movie avenue as well. Hollywood’s favorite term is ‘franchise,’ and things like this kind of get them very excited.”
Bloomquist said he was unable to attend Vail Film Festival, which was held the first week of December. He found out he’d won by email.
“They didn’t announce the winners of the screenwriting contest,” he said. “After the festival was over, I kept receiving emails saying, ‘Oh, you’re a quarter finalist,’ ‘Oh, you’re a semi finalist.’ Then I finally got an email saying ‘You’re a winner.’ And I was like, well, that’s great. I just assumed it was kind of a participation trophy. Then a family member said, ‘Hey, go look at the website.’ And I did it – first place.”
As a result of his win at Vail, Bloomquist said there has been interest in “Age of War,” and he’s excited to see where the experience leads.
“I’ve received a couple of emails about people just asking to read the script, which is always great because they get submerged in scripts. The best thing for me is that Hollywood, anyone in the publishing or writing business, they like what they call vetted stories – stories that have won – because they don’t have to worry about investing time in something that they don’t think is worth their time. So for me, it’s like a giant golden ticket. It’s pretty amazing; it’s just awesome.”
katie@durangoherald.com
