Movie Maker - USA (2020 - Spring)

MOVIEMAKER.COM SPRING 2020 49

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Killing Season. And he also sold Snow White and the Huntsman,

a script he’d written as an NYU sophomore, for $3.25 million.

We can’t promise that every one of our 15 Submission-Worthy

Screenwriting Competitions of 2020 will change your life as dra-

matically as ScriptPipeline changed Daugherty’s. But screenplay

competitions can be an excellent resource for writers, offering

valuable feedback, industry connections, mentorship, and even

monetary prizes.

Of course, there are a lot of contests out there, and they all cost

precious cash to enter. So in the interest of saving screenwriters

time and money, while simultaneously supporting competitions

with proven value, MovieMaker has sorted through dozens of them.

Before we share the top 15—in alphabetical order—let’s outline

MOVIEMAKER’S

BY GREG GILMAN

VAN DAUGHERTY has adapted Snow White,

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tomb Raider and

He-Man for the big screen, but he didn’t get his big

break while working in Hollywood. He lived in Dal-

las when he funneled a fresh spec, Shrapnel, through

Script Pipeline’s 2008 screenplay contest — and won.

“I decided to actually fly out to LA for the ceremony. I had no

expectation of winning,” he told Script Pipeline. “I was just using

it as an excuse to visit some L.A. friends. So, when I was an-

nounced as one of the Grand Prize winners, it was a real shock.”

The win helped him land a manager, an agent, and his first

job—writing a draft of Warner Bros.’ Masters of the Universe

film. Shrapnel became the Robert De Niro-John Travolta film

E

15

Submission-Worthy

Screenwriting

Competitions of 2020

PRESENTED

BY

COURTESY OF SHUTTERSTOCK