ScreenCraft Pilot Launch Contest

Rules

• Submissions are accepted via electronic submission on this website only, between June 3rd, 2016 and August 15th, 2016.
• Entry fee for each entry is $39 until the June 30th early deadline at 11:59PM PST, then $49 until the regular deadline on August 1st at 11:59PM Pacific Time, and then $59 until the final / late deadline on August 15th at 11:59PM Pacific Time.
• There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
• Entries must be received on or before the deadlines and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable
• All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
• Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s).  All writers must be credited on title page.
• If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money.
• Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material are not allowed. Please proofread your script very carefully before submitting.
• It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.
• All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders. 

FAQs

ELIGIBILITY:

•  All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible. However, a writer who has earned more than $20,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional writing services for film or TV in the preceding year is not. (Contest winnings not included.)
• Page length for a single-camera comedy pilot should be no longer than 40 pages. For multi-camera comedy pilots (industry standard format has the dialogue double-spaced throughout the script) the page length should be no longer than 60 pages. Page length for a drama pilot should be no longer than 75 pages. For non-traditional formats (mini-series, web series etc) exceptions to page limits will be accepted.
• All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English.
• All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible.
• There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
• The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.
• Any submitted work that becomes optioned, published, produced or purchased between the time of submission and the end of the judging period will no longer be eligible.
• Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
• We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
• Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.
• All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.

The judging panel, selected by ScreenCraft or its representatives in its sole discretion, will include one screenplay development professional from each of these studios and production companies listed on this year's jury, however these studios and companies are in no way official sponsors or endorsers of this contest. The top 10 finalists will be chosen based on the following criteria: (i) originality; (ii) story; (iii) characterization; (iv) visual inventiveness; and (v) overall impression. The top 10 finalists will be notified by email and may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers. Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges' verification of eligibility. Any entrant may be deemed ineligible at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft. The selected 2 winners will be notified by e-mail on or about October 15th, 2015. Finalists may be required to sign and return within seven (7) business days of receipt a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and a Release and Indemnification and any other documents that ScreenCraft or any other partner may require before receiving prize payment. Failure to respond to the initial notification within ten (10) days or return of notification will result in disqualification. We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.