Screenplay Competitions?

Moviebytes.

By the way, there's a huge list of screenwriting links at the top of this sub-forum. You should give it a look.

competitions

go here: http://www.moviebytes.com
and more specifically here: http://www.moviebytes.com/directory.cfm

www.shriekfest.com

It's a horror/sci-fi/fantasy script competition. I didn't win when I entered in '05, but I got a nifty "finalist" certificate and just a couple months ago the festival founder gave me a referral to a producer. I can't think of any screenplay competitions where you can get a referral two years after entering and losing!

withoutabox dot com is a free searchable festival database. I see lots of script contests there but choose wisely.

Francis Ford Coppola has a contest through his site - www.zoetrope.com

Hey NH.

First off, congrats on having a screenplay you feel is ready to enter into competition.

Are you sure it is ready?
How many drafts did you do?
Have others read it and indicated that it is good?
Is it free of typos?
Is it in correct formating?

Also. Why do you want to enter a competition?
Fame,
fortune,
getting noticed,
landing an agent or manager,
or just get an ego boost or a well deserved pat on the back?

All valid reasons, but each with their own set of expectations and rewards. Each with their own limitations towards your expectations and goals.

Let's say you know all the above and think it is time.

Choose a competition that suits your script. Every comp has biases towards a certain genre and budgets. What's your genre and budget (low, medium, high)?

Choose a comp that meets your needs. If you are looking for a pat on the back, any comp will do, but only a few dozen have large prizes. Only a few have judges who are industry heavy hitters that can further your career. Only a few offer feedback and very, very few have prestige that an agent or manager would stand up and take notice.

Do your homework. look at moviebytes.com for lists of comps and check out each one with a deadline that is a month or more away.

Stick with comps that have a reputation of being good. There are a lot of wannabe comps that are just money making scams for the runners. If it is a new comp (less that two years) it may not be worthwhile, BUT if it is put out by a recognized and reputable organization or offers some great prizes or industry exposure, then it may be good for you because less entries mean better odds.

Look at comps past winners. See how many sales or representation acquired through these comps. See if they have a first look or option clause. If unsure, email the comp and ask questions.

Make sure your script is perfect in story, structure, formatting and grammar. If it boils down to two scripts that the judges love the best and yours has typos and the other doesn't-- you lose.

Asking us which comp would be good to enter, (without knowing anything about your script, its gene, budget, writing style, etc...) is like asking us which lake is good for fishing without knowing if you are looking for trout or bass or whether you are an expert angler or a kid that got a toy fishing rod for christmas.

Tell me more and I'll point you in the right direction.

Joe Calabrese said:

Why do you want to enter a competition?

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I do it for the chicks.

You might check out this fellowship, also. They give the winners $30,000 to spend a year writing another screenplay.

http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/index.html

NH.

Sounds like you have a script that could do well in Nichols and perhaps Scriptapalooza.

I've read for several comps and I know the inner workings better than most people. I have talked and mingled with coordinators and they tell me the same thing I have always suspected.

Winning a comp doesn't have any magical formula, but losing one does.

Nichols likes dramas and historical peices, but they also look for strong human characterizations and are very strong advocates of the character arc. Make sure you have great and memorable characters that the reader will care about and will want to see what happens to them next. Keep in Mind that Nichols is the grandaddy of comps and receives three to five times more submittion that any other out there. You will be up against many writers who have been submitting for years. Enter early for Nichols because they start the initial reading process before the deadlines.

The initial reader has a grading sheet and based on your grades on every element, decided whether it goes to the next round.

Scriptapalooza is a bit different. The don't start reading until the deadline, but do not wait until the last minute, becasue they do assign script to readers on a first come first serve basis. You don't want your script to be the last script in a pile of twenty. They tend to go with very commercial projects that rely heavy of structure and plot. But characters should be strong and memorable regardless. They tend to be biased to films with budgets under 10 mil and high concept stories.

In both, I would say make sure your script is flawless in grammar and formatting. Make sure you have characters that are not stereotypical (unless you want a parody) and make sure they are memorable and real.

Here's how the process works.

When an initial reader gets a script, they tend to skim through and see how it looks. Excessive page count, poor or questionable formatting, long tracks of dialog and/or action. If so, they will put your script to the end of their reading pile. BUT... if you are good at those things, then the reader will read the first few pages and if it is interesting, they will read on, right there and then. if not, they will put it at the bottom of their pile or although sad to say, the reality is they may toss it and give it poor marks on their grading sheet and you are out of the running.

Make sure it is a quick read (less than 120 pages) and doesn't have a lot of exposition and needless description. Make sure your dialog is quick, snappy and your first ten to twelve pages must be a page turner.

I can't guarantee a win, QF Finals or Semi's, but follow my advice and you won't guarantee a loss.

Good luck and one final word.

Even if you do get an award or make it high in the ranks, do not expect people will be pounding on your door. Very few winners of any comp (although the odds are better with the Nichols) end up selling or gaining representation from a win, place or show.

But if you do win or make the finals, use that to your advantage.

Put it in your query letter and send out query letters that very week to agents, managers and producers. Make sure the comp sends out a press release. Do an interview with any one of the websites catering to screenwriters (including here. Hell! If you win Nichols, I'll interview you.)

If a Nichols winner falls in the woods and no one is around to hear him, does he make a noise?

Good luck.

picking which competitions

which competition to pick?
well, Nicholl is the most reknown and popular followed by Sundance. know that you will be competing against thousands (i think Nicholl had nearly 7000 last year). it's probably the most difficult contest because of this. but, also - go to their site and take a look at the previous winners. notice this: they don't pick blockbuster/tentpole flicks. their focus is more on the writing than the marketability of your script. However, if you do win. You will be successful.

Scriptapalooza's focus is a bit different. they have something like 30 winners and also "genre" winners and they're read by multiple production companies. This might be a better competition for your high budget/blockbuster script as you don't have to be a winner to get read by production companies. There is much more exposure for more people.

this is just an example of 2 contests. there are many reasons why to chose one over the other too. ie - local contests like "made in philadelphia" of course you have to live in pennsylvania will keep the pool of contestants to a minimum and you have even a greater chance but less exposure. ie - some contests give written feedback that might be useful and worthy of a $30 fee.

look them over. you can find contestant reviews at: http://www.moviebytes.com

keep in mind that those reviews on moviebytes are not very accurate since if you look closely there are only a few reviews for most of those comps.

Three people saying Joe Blows contest was the best ever is not a good barometer-- especially since most of the reviews were by the winners.

Actually Nicholls had a bad year last year comparatively. They had a little less than 5000 submissions (vs. 6000 in previous years).

I suspect that it will either be even lower this year, or everyone (seeing how low it was) thinks they have a better shot this year and the numbers will skyrocket.

Either way, the odds are not that bad since upwards of 20 percent of submission are repeats from the previous year and a tweak here and there doesn't usually help make a loser become a winner. Another 20-30 percent are from first time writers. My friend, Kevin Caruso, got QF in two of the past three years submitted for submitting three different scripts in different years. But he's real good.

ScreenWriterNH said:

Two brads are 10 seconds quicker, but what does that matter to a good story?

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True. But consider the following...

You are a tired reader who think he/she knows everything about screenwriting after taking McKee's weekend seminar or maybe is in his/her second semester at UCLA and has a pile of fifty scripts to go through by the weekend.

You see a script with bad formatting or long tracts of action or dialog (or any other things that may be considered taboo or a sign of a newbie - maybe even the use of those screws) and thinks to yourself "this dude obviously knows nothing. It probably sucks." and tosses it into the bottom of the pile-- or worse, doesn't read it at all and fills out the report card by guessing.

Now of course, using two versus three brads isn't much of a indiscretion (two brads are considered the pro way by the way) and most certainly will not taint your chances with the know-it-all-reader, but don't take chances because they won't know it's a good story until the get to the last page and anything (I mean anything) that may keep them from getting to the last page or not wanting to, ruins your chances.

I only mention this because I hear a lot of people with bad skills saying "It's a great story," but they fail to understand that you need to read it to see it. Do not fall into bad habits because you think your story is great.

This is true for comps as well as studio/producer readers. A book, or screenplay, is many times judged by its cover.

Funny story though. The guy that won Nicholls for "Finding Forester" was asked by the fellowship committee to fix the typos and formatting problems in his submission, after winning, so the Academy would have a "clean and perfect" copy for the archives. So, I guess they over looked those issues when judging and the initial reader wasn't a jerk and actually read the script to the end, but imagine if the initial reader was a jerk, like so many of them are. Sean Connery would have had one less credit to his name.

To answer your questions, send it early, but not within the first month of accepting submissions. I like to send right in the middle of the timeline if possible. Just don't send it in the last possible second.

Also, do not rely on spell checkers or grammar checkers. If you have any doubts, go to a proof reader and spend a $100 bucks or so to have it professionally proofed. If their are none in your area or you do not want to use the host of online proofers (google search) then call up your local newspaper and ask for advice. My proofer is a NY times copywriter.

Flawless is subjective, I should say your personal best.

Not the two vrs. three brads again.

It's two. The darn midde hole is open because that's where they hold it and they don't like brads there.

Take it or leave it, but there is no arguement over the two brad deal. When you get a bible and all the accompanying material, sample scripts, guides, etc. they all have two brads. It's two. Dos. Zwei. Dva.

Calm down Joe and take a Vallium. It's just a fastener for Pete's sake.