When Lee Copeland 鈥�08 entered his horror screenplay for 鈥淥READ鈥� 鈥� it took nearly six months to write and one month to edit and revise 鈥� into a foreign film festival, he didn鈥檛 necessarily have high hopes of winning.
鈥淚 thought it would be awesome to be selected at a festival in the country that invented the language I write in,鈥� he said.
And as it turned out, the nomination that came weeks later was just the beginning.
The Edinboro grad and Erie screenwriter and filmmaker earned an international award at the British Horror Film Festival after entering his first full-length screenplay.
An Edinboro resident who earned his degree in Applied Media Arts with a focus on film and animation, Copeland won the Best Screenplay award for 鈥淥READ,鈥� a story about friends who reconnect in the mountains only to cross into the realm of myth, madness and horror.
He describes 鈥淥READ鈥� as a folk/horror screenplay with mythological concepts transformed into a full-length horror story. Designing it as a love letter to the filmmakers who inspired him, Copeland credits Sam Raimi (鈥淪pider-Man,鈥� 2002), John Carpenter (鈥淗alloween鈥� series) and Guillermo del Toro (鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth鈥�) as his film mentors.
Copeland and his wife, Rana, traveled to the British Museum in London, where the awards ceremony was held after hours. After viewing the short-film entries and the feature film, the awards committee started to list the special commendations for the Best Screenplay award. When his name wasn鈥檛 called, Copeland was anxious but still reflected on the honor to be nominated.
But then, after the commendations were named, the committee announced that Copeland was, indeed, the Best Screenplay winner.
鈥淢y wife and I just looked at each other and said, 鈥榃hat just happened?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still shocked.鈥�
Rooted in the mythological story of mountain creatures who were corrupted by humans, the characters Copeland created have a piece of his own personality in each of them.
鈥淗opefully, they are relatable for people,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven with my creatures, they have a certain sadness about them 鈥� so they鈥檙e not just these demonic, awful little nymphs that do a bunch of horrible things.鈥�
Upon graduating from Edinboro in 2008, Copeland worked on a variety of freelance digital and special effects projects and took a job as a commercial and promotions producer for a local television station. After getting the itch to create screenplays and films, he quit his job to focus on his independent projects. To help with the screenwriting process, Copeland enrolled in introductory and advanced screenwriting courses at Edinboro with English professor Dr. Robert Bernard Hass.
Hass, who came to Edinboro in 2001, credited Copeland鈥檚 perseverance in overcoming the screenplay鈥檚 initial deficiencies by refining the story鈥檚 arc 鈥� concentrating on making each scene a self-contained dramatic unit.
鈥淗e was serious in his intention, and that seriousness inspired me to work diligently with him to help him realize his dream,鈥� Hass said. 鈥淗e imagined his future into being, and I am extremely proud of him.鈥�
Copeland said he was thankful for Hass鈥� constructive criticism, which provided the necessary boost to finalize the screenplay.
鈥淒r. Hass pushed me because he thought the direction I was taking had potential,鈥� Copeland said. 鈥淎nd he was right.鈥�
Following his success at the British festival, Copeland鈥檚 work was also accepted as a finalist for the FilmQuest Film Festival in Provo, Utah, and the Be Afraid Horror Fest in Gorizia, Italy.
Following his win and the awards circuit, Copeland鈥檚 goal is to receive enough attention from filmmakers and producers to bring 鈥淥READ鈥� to life 鈥� and to continue writing the story into a trilogy.
鈥淚t started out as a short story, then ballooned into a feature. And when I was writing the feature, I came up with the idea for a sequel,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲hile I was plotting out the sequel, I came up with an idea for a prequel to show a hundred years previous.鈥�
Copeland caught the horror bug when he was younger, and his parents gave him permission to watch any film genre he chose.
That led to Friday-night film rentals, when Copeland became hooked on the story lines and special effects of horror films.
鈥淢y parents told me I could watch whatever I wanted as long as I slept in my own bed and didn鈥檛 get too scared,鈥� he said.