Best contests for TV drama pilots?

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  • Best contests for TV drama pilots?

    I'm very familiar with feature contests, but a total noob when it comes to TV script contests.

    What are the most respected ones for drama pilots? I'm guessing the list includes Page and Tracking B?
    "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

    Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

  • #2
    Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

    Don't know if you're still searching for this answer, but I hear good things about the Austin Film Festival's TV contest.

    http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/su...ayandteleplay/
    Twitter @CameronAlxander

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    • #3
      Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

      Scriptapalooza TV is a good one, runs twice a year.
      Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

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      • #4
        Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

        TrackingB and Austin

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        • #5
          Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

          Originally posted by ReneC View Post
          Scriptapalooza TV is a good one, runs twice a year.
          Top prize is $500. Hardly seems worth the effort to enter...

          Any others?
          "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

          Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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          • #6
            Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

            Originally posted by LauriD View Post
            Top prize is $500. Hardly seems worth the effort to enter...

            Any others?
            If you're in it for the money, take the contest entry fees that you would otherwise spend on your script and put it into the BlackList when they open it up to TV (theoretically in the next month or two). You should be able to get roughly two months of hosting plus two reads, with far greater benefit.

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            • #7
              Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

              Originally posted by MoviePen View Post
              If you're in it for the money, take the contest entry fees that you would otherwise spend on your script and put it into the BlackList when they open it up to TV (theoretically in the next month or two). You should be able to get roughly two months of hosting plus two reads, with far greater benefit.
              I didn't know that about the Black List! Thanks! Already got two features up there and waiting for first paid review.

              At this point, only planning to enter the pilot in Page and Austin.
              "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

              Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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              • #8
                Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                trackingb just opened entries for TV pilots

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                • #9
                  Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                  For those of you who are interested in entering contests that accept original TV pilots, the following information about some past winners of the PAGE Awards competition who are currently writing for television might be of interest to you.

                  In most cases, these writers were signed by an agent or manager following their PAGE win - in some cases by one of our judges - and with the assistance of their new representative, the writer was then staffed, their script was optioned, or the writer landed a script assignment.
                  2005 Silver Prize winner Janet Lin has been on the writing staff of the Fox series BONES for six seasons, and she is now a producer on the show.

                  2006 Silver Prize winner Sang Kyu Kim was recently hired as a producer on the hit AMC series THE WALKING DEAD. Sang was previously staffed on the Starz series CRASH and the TNT series HAWTHORNE.

                  2007 Silver Prize winner Bill Balas was recently hired as a staff writer on the new Carlton Cuse A&E series BATES MOTEL.

                  2008 Gold Prize winner VJ Boyd has been working on the writing staff of the FX series JUSTIFIED for the past two years.

                  2009 Gold Prize winner Rob Sudduth is currently a staff writer on the new Ryan Murphy NBC comedy THE NEW NORMAL. Rob previously worked on the writing staff of GCB.

                  After winning their 2010 Bronze Prize, Matt Mariska & Andy Sipes signed a deal to develop a new half-hour sitcom with Torn Sky Entertainment, and the team also sold an original series to Comedy Central.

                  The 2011 Bronze Prize winning TV drama THIS TOWN, by Laurelei Ballard, was optioned by Fox Studios and Apostle Films.

                  The 2011 Silver Prize winning drama pilot ICON, by Joe Webb, has been optioned by Sony, with Jon Amiel attached to direct and Deb Spera & Maria Grasso attached to executive produce. In addition, Joe's TV pilot BOOKS was produced by Freemantle Media and won the top drama prize in the 2012 New York Television Festival.

                  The 2012 Silver Prize winning drama pilot WELL ENDOWED, by Jonathan Wolf, was picked up by Sony and producers Deb Spera & Maria Grasso.

                  Several of our foreign winners are also doing very well in television:
                  2008 Gold Prize winner Simeon Goulden is the creator/writer of the award-winning comedy SPY, which has just finished its second season on Sky1 HD in the U.K.

                  2008 Silver Prize winner Jonathan R. Hall has written 25 episodes of the long-running BBC drama series DOCTORS.

                  2007 Gold Prize Winner David Bishop was hired to write a multi-platform conspiracy thriller for the BBC, several episodes of the children's show NINA AND THE NEURONS for the CBeebies channel, as well as several episodes of the BBC drama DOCTORS.

                  2005 Bronze Prize winner Martin McSweeney has written episodes of several different series for Irish television, including the popular BBC/NI series SEACHT and the TG4 series MARU (MURDER).

                  There is more. I am told that 2008 Gold Prize winner Lee Arcuri, 2012 Gold Prize winner Graham Norris, and a couple of our other winners also have some very exciting deals in the works, which I don't yet have permission to discuss.

                  You know, lots of folks in this forum love to keep regurgitating the old "contests are a waste of money- "nothing ever happens for writers who win contests- "the Nicholl is the only contest worth entering- etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... I could post dozens of "Thank you so much!- messages attesting otherwise. But let me post just one. This is a message sent to me by one of our U.K. winners, Simeon Goulden:

                  "It's extraordinary for me to think back to 2008 when I won your sitcom competition. I could not have been more unknown - I hadn't written anything much, wasn't represented, had no great prospects. But that win helped get me on the radar and secure representation. And I blink and 4 years later I find myself the creator of a relatively popular UK sitcom that is nominated for an International Emmy and has caught the attention of ABC in the US. I continue to be very grateful to the PAGE Awards. You guys can't manufacture success for people but you can give unknown writers an outlet where their abilities may be recognised and nurtured. And in such a competitive industry, the opportunity you give people to distinguish themselves is invaluable.-

                  Jennifer Berg
                  Administrative Director
                  The PAGE International
                  Screenwriting Awards
                  www.pageawards.com

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                  • #10
                    Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                    I think you might have changed some minds of some folks, Jenn.

                    Wow.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                      Having won the Silver in Page a few years ago, I can vouch for what great people these are. They have good taste -- and their checks clear.
                      "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                      Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                        Thanks to Jennifer Berg for posting that list! When it comes to the TV Pilot category, the PAGE winners are clearly getting industry work, which is what it's all about -- career.

                        Like Lauri, I can vouch for how much PAGE does for their contest winners. They rock.

                        Late Night Writer

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                        • #13
                          Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                          Thanks so much for your kind words, guys! I really appreciate it.

                          To be clear, I should point out that some of the writers listed above won the contest with their feature scripts, they were signed off the win, and then later transitioned into television. More and more writers are doing that, as I'm sure you know, and if you have any interest in writing for television, it's a great way to go!

                          You know, it's wild how much the industry has shifted in the few short years since we started presenting these awards.

                          During the first few years of the contest, we could barely get anyone to pay attention to our TV winners. It was extremely hard for new writers to get a foothold in television at the time, and NOBODY was looking for original TV pilots by unknown writers. In fact, back in 2005 we were seriously considering closing those categories, because we felt we weren't able to be of any help to our TV pilot winners.

                          But I'm very glad we didn't do that, because these days those are some of our most sought-after scripts. We now have a lot of people requesting to judge our TV pilot categories, and many reps are trolling those categories and signing new clients.

                          Even better, just a couple of years ago we started seeing some of our winning pilots getting optioned and getting some serious muscle attached. So now it seems the TV business is not only open to hiring new writers, but some folks are actually willing to take a shot at developing new pilots by new writers. The mind boggles.

                          Of course, there are no guarantees that any of these shows will actually get produced and aired - but, heck, who knows? It'll be interesting to see what happens. At the very least, the writers are getting a shot.

                          Jen

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                          • #14
                            Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                            FYI, some fun updates to my previous post that I can now report...

                            The hit UK comedy series SPY, by 2008 PAGE Gold Prize winner Simeon Goulden, is coming to the States. Written by Simeon himself and produced by ABC Studios and Hat Trick Productions, the pilot goes into production next week. The U.S. version of the show stars Rob Corddry (HOT TUB TIME MACHINE), Ken Jeong (COMMUNITY), and Mason Cook (SPY KIDS). Simeon is represented by the Curtis Brown Agency and UTA.

                            2008 Gold Prize winner Lee Arcuri signed a blind development deal with ABC Studios and is currently developing a pilot with Anthony Zuiker (CSI) and Dare to Pass. Lee is repped by Velocity Entertainment and Kaplan Stahler.

                            And 2012 Gold Prize winner Graham Norris sold his first studio pitch to Warner Bros TV. Here's the message we received from Graham: "I wanted to let you know that off of DIVE, my drama pilot that won last year, and the efforts of Joe Riley, my manager whom I acquired through your contest, I've signed with UTA for literary representation. On top of that, while I can't give too many details about it, I had my first studio pitch right before the holidays and it resulted in a sale to Warner Bros TV. That script'll be my first paid professional gig, and the PAGE Awards played a key role in making this happen.-

                            Of course, I could write a similar post about many of our feature winners. But specifically for those of you who have written TV scripts, I do hope you'll consider entering this year's PAGE Awards contest. Lots of industry folk are asking to read this year's top pilots!

                            Jen

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                            • #15
                              Re: Best contests for TV drama pilots?

                              Very exciting news, Jen. Have I already said that you guys rock? I have, but I'll say it again. You guys rock!

                              Quick question with respect to the PAGE TV Pilot categories: You mentioned in your newsletter that entries in the Pilot category may also submit supplemental information such as cast lists, etc. How are these submitted? Are they appended to the back of the PDF of the pilot script? Or do you allow a separate submission for these?

                              Late Night Writer

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