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Since being a finalist in the 2010 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition, Bill quit his day job selling insurance and is now a staff writer for the upcoming A&E TV series The Bates Motel starring Vera Farmiga. With the help of Fresh Voices, Bill optioned his winning screenplay Already Gone and attached Shawn Ashmore (X:Men 1,2,3) and Harry Shum Jr. (Glee) to star in the project. See the trailer here! 

The Bates Motel is a new series created by Kerry Ehrin (Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Boston Public) and Carlton Cuse (Lost, Nash Bridges). The Bates Motel is based on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and is a further exploration of Norman Bates dark and twisted relationship with his morther. The series stars Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air), Max Theriot and Freddie Highmore. The show is under a 10 episode order from Universal Television and will air on A&E in 2013.

Hollywood, Ca. October 2011

As a direct result of his placement in the 2010 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition, screenwriter Bill Balas has optioned his winning screenplay, Aleady Gone, to producers Peter Katz and Don Le.

Bill’s journey began in February 2011 when his script was chosen from nearly 1,000 entries and announced a finalist in the Thriller Category of the 2010 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition. While submitting the winning scripts to producers, Fresh Voices were approached by Peter and Don seeking high quality thrillers that could be made on a budget. Having read a number of samples, they quickly identified Already Gone as their next project.

Joel Mendoza - Co-Founder Fresh Voices/ CEO Attraction Entertainment

Looking back on movie releases from the last 20 years, it’s easy to see why one would believe that Hollywood is stuck in remake rut, relying too heavily on sequels, prequels, adaptations, reboots, and remakes. One could even be forgiven for arguing that there are no original scripts coming out of Hollywood anymore.

But don’t be discouraged. Many original screenplays break through the Hollywood gridlock and find huge success at the box office. What’s even more exciting is that many are written by previously unproduced writers.  Below is just a partial list of successful films based on original screenplays written by unproduced screenwriters.  (Box Office numbers as reported by Box Office Mojo.)