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2004 Screenplay Winners Announced!
TSA'S 2006 SCREENPLAY CONTEST
Sponsored by:


1st place -
  • 1st Prize - $500 in cash, a subscription to Script Magazine and your script will be read by established and successful production companies. Listed below is a sampling from last year’s list.
2nd place -
  • Cash prize of $250
3rd place -
  • Cash prize of $100
    All three winners will receive a listing on InkTip.com and a complimentary a TSA Membership

Submission deadline $25 if postmarked by December 1, 2006.
Standard submission $35 if postmarked by December 17, 2006

No entries wil be accepted with a Postmark later that December 17, 2006
The winners will be announced March 15, 2006

    A SAMPLE FROM LAST YEAR!
  • Kerner Entertainment Co. (Snow Dogs, Inspector Gadget, George of the Jungle)
  • Misher Films (The Rundown, Scorpion King, upcoming The Interpreter)
  • Radiant Productions (Troy, Perfect Storm, Air Force One)
  • A Band Apart (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction)
  • Avenue Pictures (Angels In America, The Player, upcoming Mindhunters)
  • Back Lot Pictures (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, upcoming Vanity Fair)
  • The Badham Co. (director John Badham, Stakeout, The Jack Bull, Evel)
  • Beacon Pictures (Raising Helen, Air Force One, Spy Game)
  • Blue Tulip (dir Jan De Bont, Speed, Twister, Lara Croft)
  • Boz Productions (Scary Movie, Soul Plane)
  • Bristol Bay Productions (The Patriot, Mystery Alaska, upcoming A Sound of Thunder, upcoming Clive Cussler's "Sahara")
  • Camelot (Beyond Borders, SWAT)
  • CFP Productions (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Out-of-Towners)
  • Circle Of Confusion Productions (up coming Bounty, Jinx)
  • *Cruise/Wagner Productions (Last samurai, Vanilla Sky, Mission Impossible 1 & 2, The Others)
  • Crystal Lake Entertainment (Freddy v. Jason, Friday the 13th, Deep Star Six)
  • Davis Entertainment (Garfield, I Robot, Alien vs, Predator)
  • Donners Company (X-Men, Lethal Weapon, Timeline)
  • Escape Artists (A Knight's Tale, Alex and Emma, upcoming The Weather Man)
  • FilmColony (Bourne Identity, Neverland, Cider House Rules)
  • Guy Walks Into A Bar (Elf, Out of Time)
  • Icon Productions (Passion of the Christ, Braveheart, Payback)
  • ImageMovers (Forrest Gump, What Lies Beneath, Polar Express, Robert Zemeckis' company)
  • Imagine Entertainment (Cat In The Hat, A Beautiful Mind, 8 Mile, dir. Ron Howard's company)
  • Jerry Weintraub Productions (Ocean's 11 & 12, Vegas Vacation)
  • Kustom Entertainment (Stay) (prod & mgmt co.)
  • Larger Than Life Productions (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville, Big)
  • Mace Neufeld Productions (Sum Of All Fears, The General's Daughter, Hunt For Red October)
  • Morgan Creek Productions (Robin Hood, Exorcist: The Beginning)
  • *New Line Cinema
  • Original Film (Fast & Furious, Urban Legend, XXX)
  • Pandemonium Films (ex-pres. of Fox Studios Bill Mechanic's company)
  • Paul Schiff Productions (Walking Tall, Maid In Manhattan, Rushmore)
  • Phoenix Pictures (Basic, Holes, Urban Legend)
  • The Radmin Company (Twisted, Next Best Thing) (prod & mgmt co)
  • Rat Entertainment (Rush Hour 1 & 2, Red Dragon, Family Man)
  • Ricochet Entertainment (The Sweetest Thing, Double Vision)
  • Robert Cort Productions (Runaway Bride, Save The Last Dance, Something The Lord Made)
  • The Robert Evans Company (Chinatown, Godfather, The Saint, How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days)
  • Roth/Arnold Productions (13 Going On 30, America's Sweethearts, Grosse Pointe Blank)
  • Scott Free Productions (Gladiator, Blackhawk Down, Man On Fire)
  • Senator International (Trapped, upcoming Boogeyman, upcoming The Grudge)
  • Spring Creek Productions (Perfect Storm, Looney Tunes, Envy, formerly Baltimore/Spring Creek)
  • Spyglass Entertainment (Sea Biscuit, Bruce Almighty)
  • Stratus Films (Laws Of Attraction, Crash, upcoming Love Song For Bobby Long)
  • Trilogy Entertainment (Robin Hood, Backdraft, Outer Limits)
  • *20th Century Fox - Searchlight Pictures
  • Valhalla Pictures (The Hulk, The Punisher, Terminator)
  • Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring, upcoming The Grudge)
  • Weed Road Pictures (Mindhunters, A Beautiful Mind, Akiva Goldsman's co.)
  • Winkler Films (Rocky, Goodfellas, De-Lovely)
  • The list gets longer each day. Check back regularly!

Sponsored in partnership with...

Address to which scripts should be sent, or for more information:

2006 TSA Screenwriting Competition
P.O. Box 40194
Nashville, TN 37204-0194
Questions? E-mail us at info@tennscreen.com.

Many people ask what criteria is used to grade entries to screenplay competitions. The guidelines outlined below have been assimilated from other contests and serve as our preliminary checklist in TSA judging. This list is found in your TSA Membership Packet, given to new and renewing members. Remember, these just scratch the surface, but are essential if your script is to make a good first impression.

BASIC PRESENTATION AND FORMATTING - 2 points each

  1. Two paper fasteners
  2. No writing or illustrations on cover
  3. Title page correctly formatted as follows:
    • The title page that is bound into the script should have nothing on the page except the title of the script in caps, centered about 1/3 down the page.
    • Attached to the script with a paper clip, should be another title page with the author's name, address, telephone number and email directly below.
  4. Twelve point type, Courier font, dark and readable
  5. 90 to 130 pages in length
  6. Pages correctly numbered, numberless first page
  7. Dialogue correctly formatted
  8. Description correctly formatted
  9. Correct spacing between lines
  10. No writing on spine
  11. Overall good condition, no stains, no tears
  12. Everything written in present tense
  13. Free from excessive poor spelling, grammar, and typos
  14. FADE IN: precedes first scene
  15. All characters names in Caps upon introduction ONLY
  16. Description is free of run-on sentences
  17. Description is free of camera directions
  18. Brief description of primary characters

Most of these concern a script's physical attributes, but are very critical when you send a script to contests, production companies or agents. That last one is potent. It's your first opportunity to make each character come alive on the page. Don't bore with words like "beautiful", when you can reveal their inner character as "spunky"; an entrance that "lights up the room like a Supernova" or paint your antagonist as a man "who’d swerve just to hit a dog". Use this to your advantage.

 

If you're a Hollywood executive and you would like to be on "our network" list to read the winning script, just email us and we'll be happy to contact you. Thanks!


TSA OFFICIAL RULES FOR 2006 SCREENPLAY CONTEST

This screenplay competition is open only to writers who are not earning a living writing for television or film.

Entries must not have been optioned or sold prior to December 17, 2006.

Entries must be the original work of the applicant(s). If based on the work of another author, applicant(s) must attach a statement attesting to their rights to said adaptation. Winning scripts will be verified by TSA.

Screenplays which have previously reached semifinalist level and beyond are not eligible for resubmission.

If an entry involves two or more writers as applicants, award will be divided equally among them.

The script must be in US Motion Picture Industry format for standard screenplay. To follow industry guidelines, please consult any popular screenwriting text for assistance.

Pages should be three-hole punched, bound between card stock covers and fastened by 2 or 3 metal brads.

ONLY the TITLE of the screenplay should appear on the front card stock cover, written or typed. A second title page should be included with TITLE, AUTHOR(S), ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBERS

Submissions must include the two sentence synopsis.

Questions? E-mail us at info@tennscreen.com.

 

We strongly suggest that you register your screenplay with the
Writers Guild of America and/or copyright your material with the Library of Congress.

Writers Guild of America
7000 West 3rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 550-1000


RETURNS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Screenplays will not be returned under any circumstances
Include a self-addressed stamped postcard for each submission
if you wish acknowledgment of the receipt of your screenplay.

Click HERE for Official Application Form in pdf format
While viewing the document hit "print frame" to print the application from your browser window.
(Note: You will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer to view this document on your computer. You can download Acrobat for free here.
Or click here to download the Contest Application in Word format.

2005 Screenplay Competition Winners!

It was another tough year as there is such a wide variety of stories and techniques. We do our best to narrow down to the script that is not only interesting, but also strong in structure and clarity.

Before we continue on to the only thing that most of you really care about, I have to bore you a little longer to thank everyone who used their gifts to bring the three scripts to the front. Thanks.

The Winners...

Supply your own drum roll please.

The Third Place Script receiving $100, a listing on InkTip.com and a complimentary 1 year TSA Membership:

Derek Cordier of Hollywood, California
AN INVITATION TO MURDER

“One man kills. Two men sentenced to death.”

 

The Second Place Script receiving $250, a listing on InkTip.com and a complimentary 1 year TSA Membership:

Rick Fonte of Austin Texas
BIRTH RATE

“After the first wave of an alien assault wipes out most of the world, the last remnants of the human race band together in preserves to breed and prepare for the final stand. Instead, they unravel a conspiracy even more frightening then their own extinction, the truth behind the invasion.”



And the First Place Script receiving $500 in cash, a subscription to Script Magazine and her script will be read by established and successful production companies, a listing on InkTip.com and a complimentary 1 year TSA Membership.

Mary Huckstep of Fallbrook, California
TO CATCH A KEEPER

“set in Scotland, 1972. A shy Scots farmer goes looking for a wife, and finds himself going a long way”

Big time congratulations to all...

An important reminder: Readers have no idea who has written what script and from where they are sent... Thank you to all of you who participated. Keep writing, always making sure your story is clear. Check out some of the writing tips and worksheets on the TSA website for some practical tools. And next year, let’s see you on the top... Deal?

For those of you who participated and are not currently members of the TSA, please consider joining us. The more members we have, the better support we all receive and that allows us to continue having great meetings, seminars and contests.