Two years ago when I submitted my short script RED LIGHT into the '50 Kisses' international screenwriting competition, I only dreamt it would eventually play on the big screen as part of a feature film. Fast forward two years and to Thursday, February 13th, 2014 and that dream became a reality. It was on this night at the Genesis Cinema in the east end of London, England that '50 Kisses' the feature film had its theatrical red carpet premiere and not only was RED LIGHT a part of it, but I was fortunate enough to attend. It was a marvellous evening highlighted by the sold out cinema, and the positive reviews given by everyone who attended. '50 Kisses' ended up finishing #2 that weekend at the UK box-office based on a per-screen average; fantastic news for everyone involved, but there was more to that evening than just that. In attendance was also a representative of the Guinness Book of World Records. This individual was there to see if we were able to break a record that's stood since 1943 - most screenwriters on a feature film. And we did it! The previous record was held by 'Forever And A Day' which had 21 credited screenwriters. '50 Kisses' has 51. And on April 2, 2014 we were officially announced as the new record holder. Kind of neat. What's next for '50 Kisses' the feature film? We are currently sending the film to as many international film festivals as possible. Our goal is to have as many people see the film as possible because of it's uniqueness and the way it was made. To this point it's been a great experience, so much so that I often pinch myself to make sure it's not in fact a dream.

It's been awhile, yes. Sorry. But hey here's some cool news that I'm extremely excited to be part of. Below is the official press release, copied word for word. Enjoy!

BRITISH CROWD CREATED FEATURE FILM ‘50 KISSES’ ENTERS THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS FOR MOST CO-WRITERS ON A FEATURE FILM

LONDON. The fifty one co-writers of ‘50 Kisses’ will gather at BAFTA for a special screening on April 4th to receive their official ‘World Record Holder’ Awards and celebrate their extraordinary achievement.

‘50 Kisses’ is an initiative run by the London Screenwriters’ Festival, designed to connect emerging writing talent with emerging filmmaking talent.

Two years ago, writers were invited to submit two page scripts featuring at least one kiss and set on Valentines. Nearly two thousand were submitted. The scripts were judged and the fifty best were released on the web with an open invitation to filmmakers to produce them. One hundred and twenty seven films were produced and submitted. From those films, the final feature film ’50 Kisses’ was produced.

Released on Valentines eve last February, ’50 Kisses’ achieved a staggering screen average of £9,436.35, as reported by Charles Gant (http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/19/lego-movie-monuments-men-uk-box-office)

‘50 Kisses’ has been shepherded by British indie filmmaker and London Screenwriters’ Festival Creative Director Chris Jones. Chris comments… ‘At every stage, 50 Kisses has innovated the way we make films – from script, to production to distribution. Our micro theatrical release actually put the project into profit from the first screening by approaching the whole process in an entirely original way and with a new mindset’.

News that ’50 Kisses’ has entered the Guinness Book Of World Records has been met with excitement from the 50 Kisses community as the project has continued to evolve and grow organically.

‘50 Kisses’ beat the previous record holder ‘Forever And A Day’ (US 1943) which had 21 writers.

The official Guinness World Record page is here…
www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-9000/most-co-writers-credited-for-a-film

Chris Jones…‘For us ’50 Kisses’ is just the beginning, we are committed to creating real opportunities for writers and filmmakers to get their work platformed. Perhaps the best result though is the huge amount of new collaborations the project has created, with writers and filmmakers now working together after meeting within the 50 Kisses process.’

Watch all films and read screenplays at www.50KissesFilm.com

The London Screenwriters’ Festival is the worlds largest annual screenwriting conference, held at Regents University at the end of October. This year 150 professional speakers will present to over 1,000 delegates.

 www.LondonScreenwritersFestival.com

Key Points

• 50 Kisses was produced by the London Screenwriters’ Festival
• 50 Kisses beat the previous record holder ‘Forever And A Day’ (US 1943) which had 21 writers.
  
• 50 Kisses has 51 co-writers and beat the prior world record holders on February 13th when it was released in the UK
• 50 Kisses took two years to produce
• 50 Kisses is a British film that also features stories and films from across the world
• 1870 scripts were submitted to the 50 Kisses process and 50 were selected
• 50 Kisses is edited from 127 short works filmed exclusively for 50 Kisses
• The 50 Kisses office is at Ealing Studios, West London, itself in the Guinness Book Of Records as oldest working film studios
• The end credits run for 17 minutes and list every film, actor and crew member – over 2,000 people
• Chris Jones, 50 Kisses organiser, runs the London Screenwriters Festival, is Oscar shortlisted and is the author of The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbooks series.