ABOUT OUR 2021 FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
THE JURY
PAUL SCHRADER
Paul Schrader is known as one of the cinema’s most successful screenwriters. He is also a film critic and film director. He started his career as a film critic, before he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he sold his first screenplay, Yakuza, for then-record sum of $325,000, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters.
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He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Bringing Out the Dead (1999). Paul Schrader has also directed 24 films, including Blue Collar (1978), Hardcore (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) and Affliction (1997).
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His three most recent films have been described by Schrader as a loose trilogy: First Reformed (2017), The Card Counter (2021), and Master Gardener (2022).
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He has written the screenplays for two 'Best Picture' Academy Award nominees (Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), but would only receive his first Academy Award nomination for 'Best Screenplay' more than 40 years working in the business - he got nominated for First Reformed (2017).
​Legendary filmmaker, screenwriter and producer of such iconic films as HEAT, The Insider, Miami Vice and Collateral! Four-time Academy Award nominee!
Michael Mann is a world-renowned director, screenwriter, producer, and one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema. He is a four-time Academy Award® nominee, two-time Emmy®-winner and recipient of WGA, DGA and BAFTA Awards as a director, producer and writer.
After writing and directing the Emmy®-winning television movie THE JERICHO MILE, Mann executive produced the acclaimed and highly influential television series MIAMI VICE and CRIME STORY. He won an Emmy® for the mini-series DRUG WARS: THE CAMARENA STORY, which he co-wrote and executive produced. Mann directed the pilot and executive produced the HBO series LUCK starring Dustin Hoffman and the limited documentary series WITNESS also for HBO. Recently, Mann served as an executive producer and directed the pilot episode, launching the HBO Max series TOKYO VICE, starring Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe in 2022.
Mann made his feature film directorial debut with THIEF and went on to also write and direct MANHUNTER, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, HEAT, THE INSIDER, ALI, MIAMI VICE, and direct COLLATERAL, PUBLIC ENEMIES, BLACKHAT, and FERRARI. As a producer, Mann’s work includes Martin Scorsese’s THE AVIATOR, THE KINGDOM, HANCOCK, TEXAS KILLING FIELDS and FORD V FERRARI.
As an author, in addition to filmmaking, Mann’s #1 New York Times Bestseller novel, HEAT 2, written with Meg Gardiner, was published by Harper Collins, and Mann is currently adapting it for the screenplay.
MICHAEL MANN
DEDE GARDNER
Dede Gardner is the President of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. She was the president since Brad Pitt founded the company in 2001, and then co-president since 2013 together with Jeremy Kleiner.
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Dede is a Two-Time Academy Award® Winner. She won Oscars for 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Moonlight (2016). She is the First and Only woman to win two Oscars for Best Picture.
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She was also nominated for the Best Picture Oscar five more times with: The Tree of Life (2011), Selma (2014), The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018) and Women Talking (2022).
Her other critically acclaimed films include World War Z (2013), Okja (2017), Beautiful Boy (2018), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Ad Astra (2019), Minari (2020), Blonde (2022) and She Said (2022).
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Her upcoming films include such highly anticipated titles as The Killer (2023), directed by David Fincher and starring Michael Fassbender; Wolfs starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney; Mickey 17 (2024), directed by Bong Joon Ho and starring Robert Pattinson and Untitled Formula One Racing Movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt.
DAN JINKS
Dan Jinks is an American film and television producer. In 2010, Jinks launched his own film and television production company, the Dan Jinks Company. In July 2011, he signed an overall deal with CBS Television Studios.
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Previously, working with producing partner Bruce Cohen, Jinks produced Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn. The film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
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The pair won the Best Picture Academy Award in 2000 for producing American Beauty. The film won a total of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Next film was Tim Burton's Big Fish, which was nominated as Best Picture for both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.
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In television, Jinks and Cohen executive produced the acclaimed ABC series Pushing Daisies, which won eight Emmy Awards.
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In the summer of 2008, Jinks and Cohen produced A Timeless Call, a tribute to war veterans that Steven Spielberg directed for the Democratic National Convention.
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Jinks produced Nothing to Lose, starring Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins for Touchstone Pictures, and executive produced The Bone Collector, with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie for Universal.
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WENDY FINERMAN
Wendy Finerman is an American film producer. She is best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Picture for Forrest Gump in 1994. Forrest Gump received critical acclaim for Zemeckis's direction, performances (particularly those of Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise), visual effects, music, and screenplay. The film was an enormous success at the box office; it became the top-grossing film in America released that year and earned over US $678.2 million worldwide.
Further Wendy Finerman won a BAFTA Award for Fairy Tale in 1998. She has also produced such popular films as The Fan starring Robert De Niro; Stepmom starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon; P.S. I Love You starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and The Devil Wears Prada starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. She is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and runs her own company, Wendy Finerman Productions.
GARY MICHAEL WALTERS - CEO of Bold Films
Bold Films is a production and finance company dedicated to providing an artistic haven for creative talent and to producing original, studio-quality films with worldwide commercial appeal. Gary oversees all aspects of Bold Films: production, finance, legal, creative, strategy and sales. Gary has produced or executive produced all of its movies. He is a producer of such iconic films as Drive, Nightcrawler and Whiplash! His recent production is Netflix’s film The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhaal.
MIKE MEDAVOY - CEO of Phoenix Pictures
Sample some of the best American films over the past forty years and there's a good chance Mike Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agent to studio chief to producer, he has been involved with over 300 feature films, of which 17 have been nominated and 7 have won Best Picture Oscars®, as well as numerous international film festival awards. He is a producer of such iconic films as Shutter Island, Zodiac and Black Swan! For the latest he received an Academy Award Nomination. He’s produced for Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky and many more...
ROSS KATZ
Ross Katz is an American film producer, screenwriter and director. Ross is a two time Academy Award Nominee, nominated for Academy Awards for producing Todd Field's In the Bedroom (2001), and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003). Katz has had three films in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. He won the best screenplay award from the Writers Guild of America and Best Director from the Director’s Guild of America - both for his 2009 Kevin Bacon film “Taking Chance” (HBO films). He currently runs the production company Sui Generis Pictures.
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MICHAEL LONDON
Michael London is an American film producer and a partner, with Janice Williams, in Groundswell Productions. He has produced over 20 films including Sideways, The Visitor, Win Win, Smart People and Trumbo. Earlier on, before Groundswell was formed, his production company Michael London Productions treated to a Paramount first look deal before 2006. Even before that, he was a producer at USA Films/Focus Features. The film Sideways was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2005. On the heels of the Academy nomination, London won "Producer of the Year" in 2006 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2013, Groundswell was scheduled to produce Mona for the studio New Regency, based on the novel of the same name by Swedish author Dan T. Sehlberg. He has a first look TV deal with Fox 21 in 2013. London will be the executive producer of the upcoming HBO adaptation of the novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.
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EMILIE GEORGES - Co-Founder & CEO, Paradise City - Paris
Prior to starting her new venture Paradise City with producer Naima Abed, Georges founded Memento Distribution and Production in 2003 which expanded into Memento International & La Cinefacture (production) in 2004. Georges has been devoted to promoting, producing and supporting high-profile, director-driven independent films such as Laurent Cantet’s THE CLASS (Golden Palm, Cannes 2008); Asghar Farhadi’s A SEPARATION (2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film), THE SALESMAN (2015 Academy Award for Best Film in a Foreign Language), Joachim Trier’s LOUDER THAN BOMBS (2013) and THELMA (2017), Wash Westmoreland & Richard Glatzer’s STILL ALICE( 2016); Josh & Benny Safdie’s GOOD TIME (2017). Several directors she repped are now working on the Marvel franchise – Jon Watts, Destin Daniel Cretton or Cate Shortland!
Georges currently runs Memento International alongside her production companies at Paradise City (including ex-La Cinefacture). Her credits include US indie genre films such as Jeremy Saulnier’s BLUE RUIN and Jim Mickle’s COLD IN JULY & WE ARE WHAT WE ARE Sundance winners World dramatic CIRCLES (2014) by Srdan Golubovich & CONTRACORRIENTE (Audience, 2010) by Javier Fuentes Leon; as well as Luca Guadagnino’s Oscar winner feature film CALL ME BY YOUR NAME for which she received an Oscar nomination.
SIENA OBERMAN
Siena Oberman is the founder of Artemis Pictures, a filmmaker driven female run production company. She was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 2022, Variety Top 10 Producers to Watch in 2021, and Diversity in Cannes Top 10 Female Filmmakers to Watch in 2019. She focuses on stylistically bold independent films and female driven stories. She's had feature films in TIFF, Berlinale, Tribeca, Telluride, and Venice. Her films have been acquired by companies such as A24, IFC, Screen Media, Universal, Lionsgate, Hulu, and eOne. Before Artemis, Siena was a Development Executive at Yale Productions. Prior to producing, Siena went to USC and studied Business and Cinema.
ADAM NOVAK
Head of Story Development for WME
Head of Story Development for Hollywood's Top Talent and Literary Agency WME (William Morris/Endeavor)
Born, bred, and buttered in DC, Adam Novak majored in screenwriting at USC’s School of Cinema-Television where he sold his senior thesis script Conversations with a Cannibal before starting his career at the venerable William Morris Agency (now WME) as the exclusive script reader for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Clint Eastwood, and Bruce Willis.
As Head of the William Morris/Endeavor (WME) Story Department for more than 25 years, Novak championed The Blair Witch Project, Promising Young Woman, Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show, and Waterworld.
Novak has also published a series of novels about the movie business: The Non-Pro (Salvo Press/2008), Take Fountain (Rare Bird Books/2015), Freaks of the Industry (Rare Bird Books/2017), and Rat Park (Red Giant Books/2022). Novak recently celebrated his 33rd year at the WME agency.
ABOUT
Outstanding jury of the world's top producers!
PAUL SCHRADER, writer of TAXI DRIVER
can read your script!
What is your end goal as a writer of a Spec Feature Screenplay? The end goal is to get your screenplay MADE INTO A FEATURE FILM right? Of course, there are interim goals of getting recognition, to get feedback, to get writing assignments, to sign with an agent or a manager,... and with our competition, you’ll get all these things. But the END goal should always be to get your screenplay PRODUCED.
Well, here is your chance. Most of our judges are CEOs of the world’s most renowned film production companies. Almost all of them are Academy Award Nominated producers! They ALL actually have the Power, Resources and access to Hollywood A-listers to get your script made into an Award-Winning Feature Film.
THE PRIZES
Grand Prize Winner(s)
* $5,000 Guaranteed Option for the Overall Winner!
This is your real chance at getting your script made into a feature film!
*MENTORSHIP with Two-Time Academy Award® Nominee ROSS KATZ (Ross was nominated for Academy Awards for producing Todd Field's In the Bedroom (2001), and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003). He currently runs his own production company Sui Generis Pictures.
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* 8 x $500 in Cash to each of our 8 GENRE Prize Winners.
Best Action & Adventure - $500 for the Winner
Best Animation - $500 for the Winner
Best Comedy - $500 for the Winner
Best Drama - $500 for the Winner
Best Horror - $500 for the Winner
Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy - $500 for the Winner
Best Thriller - $500 for the Winner
Best True Story & Public Domain - $500 for the Winner
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Top 5 Finalists
* Each of the top 5 Finalists will receive a copy of the NEWEST Final Draft 12 - The screenwriting software used by 95% of Hollywood (5 x $217.55 value)
Top 15 Finalists
The top 15 Finalists will receive:
* Each of the 15 finalists will receive an EXCLUSIVE one page written feedback report from one of our 10 Academy Award Winning/Nominated judges! This one is HUGE! The CEOs of the best film production companies in the world will actually read your script and give you feedback! And if they like it, you'll have a big chance of getting it produced into a feature film! You can get your script read by PAUL SCHRADER, the writer of TAXI DRIVER! Or by any other of our Academy Award Winning/Nominated judges!
* Each of the 15 finalists will also receive a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. (15 x $130 value) As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you'll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.
Semi-Finalists
* Each of the 120 semi-finalists will receive a copy of the Script Hackr: The extensive online step-by-step screenwriting course from Script Reader Pro (120 x $99 value)
Quarter-Finalists:
* Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and 15 Finalists will be published on our Instagram and all our other social media accounts. We currently have more than 870,000 followers combined and this will be important exposure for you and will create more opportunities for your screenplay and your writing career.
* Your script will be sent to our Judges, Producers, Literary Agents, Managers & specially chosen members of our industry contacts. You don’t need to be one of our finalists to have your script sent out. If we notice an interesting script that we know a certain producer, agent, or manager will be interested to read, we'll contact you and ask if we can send it to a certain industry contact.
RULES
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
Feature scripts should be within 70-120 pages.
(You can still submit Scripts longer than 120 pages. The fee for each additional page over 120 pages is $1.)
All scripts must be written in English.
We welcome submissions from screenwriters and filmmakers from all countries around the world.
Material submitted must be written and owned by the person submitting.
There is no age limit. All ages can enter.
There is no limit on the number of scripts a writer may submit. You are allowed to submit as many entries as you like.
Outstanding Screenplays claims no ownership of your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this competition remain with the original rights of the person(s) that submitted.
All decisions of Outstanding Screenplays are final. By applying to this competition each participant agrees to hold Outstanding Screenplays, our judges and sponsors immune from any competition disputes, claims, liabilities, and expenses.
Please contact us via info@outstandingscreenplays.com if you have any further questions.
ABOUT OUR 2021 FEATURE COMPETITION
An unparalleled jury of the world's top producers.
CEOs of the most renowned production companies.
The winner receives a $10,000 GUARANTEED option.
What is your end goal as a writer of a Spec Feature Screenplay? The end goal is to get your screenplay MADE INTO A FEATURE FILM right? Of course, there are interim goals of getting recognition, to get feedback, to get writing assignments, to sign with an agent or a manager,... and with our competition, you’ll get all these things. But the END goal should always be to get your screenplay PRODUCED.
Well, here is your chance. Most of our judges are CEOs of the world’s most renowned film production companies. Almost all of them are Academy Award Nominated producers! They ALL actually have the Power, Resources and access to Hollywood A-listers to get your script made into an Award-Winning Feature Film.
THE JURY
Gary Michael Walters - CEO of Bold Films
Bold Films is a production and finance company dedicated to providing an artistic haven for creative talent and to producing original, studio-quality films with worldwide commercial appeal. Gary oversees all aspects of Bold Films: production, finance, legal, creative, strategy and sales. Gary has produced or executive produced all of its movies. He is a producer of such iconic films as Drive, Nightcrawler and Whiplash! His recent production is Netflix’s film The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Mike Medavoy - CEO of Phoenix Pictures
Sample some of the best American films over the past forty years and there's a good chance Mike Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agent to studio chief to producer, he has been involved with over 300 feature films, of which 17 have been nominated and 7 have won Best Picture Oscars®, as well as numerous international film festival awards. He is a producer of such iconic films as Shutter Island, Zodiac and Black Swan! For the latest he received an Academy Award Nomination. He’s produced for Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky and many more...
Anurag Kashyap
The LEGENDARY Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Proclaimed as "The Tarantino of Bollywood" by Deadline. As a filmmaker, he is known for Black Friday (2004), Dev D (2009), Gulaal (2009), That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). As a screenwriter, he wrote the scripts for the Filmfare Award-winning Satya (1998) and the Academy Award-nominated Canadian film Water (2005). He co-produced the critically acclaimed drama The Lunchbox (2013) which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Film Not in the English Language.
Celine Rattray and Jenny Halper from Maven Screen Media
Celine Rattray is an Oscar-nominated producer and Golden Globe winner for The Kids Are All Right. She has over 40 independent films under her belt as a producer, including 18 Sundance, 16 Toronto, four Berlin International, and one Cannes Film Festival selections. In 2020, Rattray co-founded Maven Screen Media, a UK development and production company.
Jenny Halper is Maven's Executive Vice President and Director of Production and Development. She has worked on films including The Kids Are All Right, The Whistleblower, Bernie, Still Alice, and American Honey. Jenny is always on the lookout for distinctive stories with strong female characters.
Stephen Woolley
Stephen Woolley is an English film producer and director, whose prolific career has spanned over three and a half decades, for which he was awarded the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2019. As a producer he has been Oscar-nominated for The Crying Game (1992), and has also produced multi-Academy Award-nominated films including Interview with a Vampire (1993), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), and Carol (2016). He currently runs the production company Number 9 Films with his partner Elizabeth Karlsen.
Debra Hayward
Debra Hayward is an Academy Award nominated British film producer. As Head of Film at Working Title Films, Hayward frequently served as an executive producer for the company's feature films. She produced award winning films Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Senna (documentary), Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, Love Actually and Bridget Jones films. Hayward's first solo film as producer was Les Misérables, which went on to win multiple awards, raising her profile and getting her an Oscar nomination. After producing Les Misérables, she started her own production company, Monumental Pictures.
Ross Katz
Ross Katz is an American film producer, screenwriter and director. Ross is a two time Academy Award Nominee, nominated for Academy Awards for producing Todd Field's In the Bedroom (2001), and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003). Katz has had three films in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. He won the best screenplay award from the Writers Guild of America and Best Director from the Director’s Guild of America - both for his 2009 Kevin Bacon film “Taking Chance” (HBO films). He currently runs the production company Sui Generis Pictures.
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Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings is the hottest independent filmmaker of the moment. As the guru of indie filmmaking, he is completely circumventing the system and producing and distributing his films in his own way and on his own terms. His short film Thunder Road (2016) premiered at Sundance winning Short Film Grand Jury Prize and was later remade into a 2018 feature film of the same name winning the South by Southwest Grand Jury Award. Jim also wrote, directed and starred in the 2020 film The Wolf of Snow Hollow. His current film The Beta Test was released in theaters in the United States on November 5, 2021 and is available to stream on demand.
THE PRIZES
Grand Prize Winner(s)
* $10,000 Guaranteed Option for the overall winner!
This is your real chance at getting your script made into a feature film!
* 9 x $500 in Cash to each of our 9 GENRE Prize Winners.
Best Action & Adventure - $500 for the Winner
Best Animation - $500 for the Winner
Best Comedy - $500 for the Winner
Best Drama - $500 for the Winner
Best Family - $500 for the Winner
Best Horror - $500 for the Winner
Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy - $500 for the Winner
Best Thriller - $500 for the Winner
Best True Story & Public Domain - $500 for the Winner
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Top 2 Winners
Spec Scout's three-reader coverage! (2 x $395 value) Your script gets 15+ hours of attention and 8 pages of detailed notes from 3 film professionals. Spec Scout's reviewers have worked for studios, won Emmys, worked as agents, and had their own films and shows produced. Spec Scout’s Script Score and three-reader system has predicted the critical success of films like Sound of Metal, Jojo Rabbit, and Peanut Butter Falcon years before they were made."
Top 5 Winners
A 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. (5 x $130 value) As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you'll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.
Top 25 Finalists
* Each of the 25 finalists will receive an EXCLUSIVE one page written feedback report from one of our 8 Academy Award Nominated judges! This one is HUGE! The CEOs of the best film production companies in the world will actually read your script and give you feedback! And if they like it, you'll have a big chance of getting it produced into a feature film!
* Each of the 25 finalists will receive a copy of the NEWEST Final Draft 12 - The screenwriting software used by 95% of Hollywood (25 x $249.99 value)
* Each of the 25 finalists will receive a copy of the Script Hackr: The extensive online step-by-step screenwriting course from Script Reader Pro (25 x $299 value)
* Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and 25 Finalists will be published on our Instagram and all our other social media accounts. We currently have more than 430,000 followers combined and this will be an important exposure for you and will create more opportunities for your screenplay and your writing career.
Our Instagram, Our YouTube, Our Twitter
* Your script will be sent to our Judges & specially chosen members of our industry contacts. You don’t need to be one of our finalists to have your script sent out. If we notice an interesting script that we know a certain producer, agent, or manager will be interested to read, we'll contact you and ask if we can send it to a certain industry contact.
​
RULES
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
Feature scripts should be within 70-120 pages.
All scripts must be written in English.
We welcome submissions from screenwriters and filmmakers from all countries around the world.
Material submitted must be written and owned by the person submitting.
There is no age limit. All ages can enter.
There is no limit on the number of scripts a writer may submit. You are allowed to submit as many entries as you like.
Outstanding Screenplays claims no ownership of your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this competition remain with the original rights of the person(s) that submitted.
All decisions of Outstanding Screenplays are final. By applying to this competition each participant agrees to hold Outstanding Screenplays, our judges and sponsors immune from any competition disputes, claims, liabilities, and expenses.
Please contact us via info@outstandingscreenplays.com if you have any further questions.