PHOTO BY TEMMA HANKIN / COURTESY OF FINAL DRAFT52 SPRING 2020 MOVIEMAKER.COM
FINAL DRAFT BIG BREAK
SCREENWRITING CONTEST
ENTRY FEE: $45-$75
2020 DEADLINES: MARCH 10 – JULY 29
Final Draft is industry-standard screenwriting
software, so naturally, the Big Break contest has
become one of the most recognizable names in
the screenplay competition game. Every year,
11 winners are chosen and receive $1,000 for
taking top honors in their category, while two
grand-prize winners get $10,000 each.
But the real prize here is the chance to
network within the industry. The 2019 contest
judges were all literary managers and/or
producers at reputable companies. Winners
mixed and mingled with them at various
meetings and networking events, including
the Final Draft Awards, where grand prize
winners Steve Anthopoulos and Todd Goodlett
were recognized on stage and delivered a
speech to a room full of Hollywood heroes, in-
cluding Quentin Tarantino. Anthopoulos, who
won the feature screenplay category with his
spec My Summer in the Human Resistance,
told MovieMaker Magazine he has since signed
with a manager at 3 Arts Entertainment.
“I would recommend Big Break—they
put so much more effort into making things
happen for the finalists and winners than I
expected,” Anthopoulos said. “It really was
a dream come true. They flew me to L.A.,
connected me with a coach, took me to meet-
ings with managers, producers and agents. I
ended up signing with one of the managers
they connected me with.”
The downside is that screenplay coverage
is only provided to the winners. The upside is
the contest’s reputation. Even if a contestant
only places at the lowest rung as a quarter
finalist, an industry insider may be more apt
to give the script a read. One of the other cool
perks of winning is consultation with Script
Pipeline for potential industry circulation.
Keep on reading to find out why that matters.
HUMANITAS NEW VOICES
ENTRY FEE: $60-$80
2020 DEADLINES: JANUARY 19 – APRIL 19
Here is another opportunity to win some cash
and connect with industry mentors. It’s also a
direct line to the studios that partner with the
contest to discover new voices.
This grant program, founded in 2010,
seeks scripts that “challenge us to use our
freedom to grow and develop, confront us
with our individual responsibility, and ex-
amine the consequences of our choices.” Up
to six writers are selected each year through
writing samples and personal interviews.
In addition to each writer receiving a
$7,500 grant, writers are matched with an
industry mentor who guides them through
rewrites for three months, and then the
improved scripts are sent to studio executives
aligned with the organization. Past mentors
have included True Blood creator Alan Ball,
Shameless writer and executive producer
Nancy Pimental, and writer-producer
Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern, Arrow).
2018 winner Charlie Kelly, mentored by
Family Guy co-creator David Zuckerman,
has since been hired by Warner Bros. to write
a feature film, and sold the TV pilot he was
developing with Humanitas to Legendary.LAUNCH PAD BY
TRACKING BOARD
ENTRY FEE: $65-$95
2020 DEADLINES: CLOSED. PREVIOUSLY
JUNE 17, 2019 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2019This contest doesn’t offer any cash prizes.
Instead, Launch Pad has been focused on
launching careers since being founded by
The Tracking Board in 2009. The competi-
tion boasts: “452 Writers Signed—164 Projects
Setup—68 Writers Staffed—7 Bidding Wars.”
Three grand-prize winners are invited to
schmooze with agents, managers, executives,
producers, and other creatives at an exclusive
industry party, and then their projects are
showcased individually to industry profes-
sionals who are specifically on the hunt for
new clients, new projects, and new writers.
According to Launch Pad: “We specifically
curate a meeting list for each winner based
on their individual material, and what you,
the writer, want to achieve now and in yourcareer overall.” Top 10 finalists don’t get to
party, but they still get their work showcased
to the contest’s industry connections.
For an additional $50, entrants receive one
to two pages of written feedback. Another
cool $25 add-on puts submissions in a pool
to score one of three industry mentors, who
will hand pick the writers they want to work
with in their own unique way. For another
$25, writers will be considered by a literary
representative partnering with Launch Pad
for one guaranteed signing.
There are dozens of success stories proving
Launch Pad lives up to its name, with many
writers at least securing representation after
entering, and some others, like 2014 Top 10
finalist Eric Koenig, selling spec scripts.THE PAGE INTERNATIONAL
SCREENWRITING AWARDS
ENTRY FEE: $45-$75
2020 DEADLINES: JANUARY 20 – APRIL 20Between the huge grand prize, access to
industry professionals, and high volume
of success stories, PAGE is one of the most
respected screenplay competitions. It’s been
discovering and awarding talent since 2004.
Original feature screenplays submitted for
this popular contest compete in seven genre
categories, and can be considered in multiple
categories for an additional fee. One grand-
prize winner gets $25,000 plus a trip to Italy
to attend the Nostos Screenwriting Retreat.
First, second and third place winners in each
genre category receive $1,000, $500 and
$250, respectively.
All winners also get access to a few helpful
screenwriter services and resources, like Ink-
Tip, which will send loglines to a network of
over 15,000 producers, agents, and managers.
Roadmap Writers provides winners with a
private consultation with an industry execu-
tive to review their first 15 pages, as well as a
15-minute story notes call.
Unfortunately, feedback on your script costs
an extra $95. However, the feedback consists
of six to seven pages of in-depth analysis.
Joe Webb, who is now a working writer
with credits on the TV dramas Quantico
and Sleepy Hollow, credits this competition
with helping him break into the industry.
“After my PAGE win, I signed with The Gersh
Agency and my Silver Prize-winning script
Icon was optioned by Sony,” he told the
competition. “In addition, my TV pilot Books
was produced by Fremantle Media and just
won the top drama prize at the New York
Television Festival. Thanks for running such
a great contest!”QUENTIN TARANTINO ACCEPTS A HALL OF FAME AWARD
AT THE 15TH ANNUAL FINAL DRAFT AWARDS IN JANUARY