Script Pipeline
First Look Project
2022
Active Since 2012
The First Look Project searches for higher-concept screenplays and pilots to develop new writers and connect them with industry.
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About

The 11th Annual First Look Project fulfills the requests of studios, production companies, and top managers by finding unique, higher-concept material across two main categories:


  • Screenplay - Action & Sci-fi, Comedy, Drama, and Horror & Thriller
  • TV Pilot - Hour and Half-hour original pilots, any genre


One winner in each division receives a share of $15,000, industry circulation, and long-term development assistance from Script Pipeline’s executive team. A minimum of one runner-up is also chosen for each category.


Supported by Zero Gravity Management (Ozark), QC Entertainment (Get OutUs), Bellevue Productions (Infinite), Destro Films (Lizzie), and additional Script Pipeline partners, the competition introduces the winners and runners-up to these and other companies.


Unlike Script Pipeline's main Screenwriting and TV writing competitions, entries for First Look are judged equally on writing ability and commercial potential, as well as the originality of the concept and a strong understanding of genre and marketplace trends.


Over $8 million in screenplays and pilots have been sold by Script Pipeline writers, with numerous scripts produced since 1999, including studio releases Stuber by Tripper Clancy and Snow White and the Huntsman by Evan Daugherty, and Legendary bought Pipeline finalist Bring Me Back by Crosby Selander for seven figures—one of the biggest spec sales in years. Several finalists and winners have made recent Black Lists as well, including Cauliflower by Daniel Jackson (2021) and Pure by Catherine Schetina (2022), both landing on the #1 spot, and 2022 saw a record four Script Pipeline contest selections on the list. While winners Daniel Jackson (Screenwriting), Elad Ziv (First Look Project), and Brian T. Arnold (First Look Project) signed with reps at Bellevue over the past few seasons, many other writers have signed with UTA, Kaplan/Perrone, Alibi Management, Zero Gravity, and more after Script Pipeline introductions. View notable success stories.


More about the First Look Project

Benefits

The First Look Project focuses primarily on connecting the winners with production and management companies. One winner and one runner-up are selected for each category.


Screenplay


Winners (4): December 20th, 2022


  • - $10,000 awarded. $2,500 to the winner of each genre category (Action & Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama, Horror & Thriller)
  • - Circulation to select production and management companies for first look


Runners-up (4; at least one in each category): December 20th, 2022


The Screenplay winners and runners-up receive:


  • Long-term facilitation to Script Pipeline's industry network of producers, agents, and managers seeking features.
  • - Development assistance from Script Pipeline's execs on both the screenplay and pitch
  • - Additional script reviews and consideration of other material for industry exposure
  • - Invitations to events hosted by Pipeline Media Group

TV Pilot


Winners (2): December 20th, 2022


  • - $5,000 awarded total. $2,500 to the winner of each category (Hour and Half-Hour)
  • - Circulation to select production and management companies for first look


Runners-up (2; one in each category): December 20th, 2022


The TV Pilot winners and runners-up receive:


  • - Long-term facilitation to Script Pipeline's industry network of producers, agents, and managers seeking original pilots
  • Development assistance from Script Pipeline's execs on the pilot and series pitch or bible
  • - Additional script reviews and consideration of other material for
  • industry exposure
  • - Invitations to events hosted by Pipeline Media Group

Writer Success

My script was circulated to a few managers after winning the Script Pipeline First Look competition and I was "signed" shortly thereafter.
Morgan Smith
2021 Winner
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2024 Winners on Coverfly

SUNSHOWER
Private
Feature  · Drama  · 103 Pages
A young Chinese American man visits his ailing grandma with dementia, but she mistakes him for her long lost love. As he plays along with this new “role” out of kindness, he begins losing sight of his true self.
Stefanos Tai is a Chinese–Greek–American writer/director. His works remind us of a simple idea: we have more in common than sets us apart. He's played Tribeca, BAM, Cinequest, DOXA, Palm Springs, Hawaii, Houston, Singapore– and has been recognized from Asia Society, the United Nations, Scholastic, and several universities. He has also crafted brande...
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Top 1%
TV Script  · Comedy  · 31 Pages
Desperate for cash, a status-obsessed fashionista turns her fortune around by building a replica bag empire out of her Upper East Side apartment, with a new streetsmart partner. INVENTING ANNA meets HACKS
Los Angeles, CA
Yagmur Tok is a Turkish immigrant and comedy writer based in Los Angeles. A graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre department, Yagmur writes irreverent coming-of-age stories with global appeal, centered around misfit female protagonists. When she’s not using humor as a coping mechanism, Yagmur can be found producing Webby award-winning market...
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Purebred
Private
Feature  · Sci-fi  · 102 Pages
This logline was hidden by the writer.
Brooklyn, NY
Sam Robotham is an award-winning screenwriter and non-award-winning filmmaker and podcaster currently based in Brooklyn. With roots in playwriting, his genre heavy scripts have gathered a handful of Best Screenplay awards, as well as placements in the Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, Screencraft and named one of the ISA Top 50. His career i...
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Announcements

Dec 20th
Runners-up

Rules

Please review the following prior to submitting:

- For Screenplay and TV, the script must not be under a representation, option, or shopping agreement at the time of entry.

- The same script cannot compete in multiple categories.

- Writers who have sold, optioned, or produced scripts in the past are eligible; however, the material submitted must not have been produced as a feature film or TV series at any time in the past.

- Judging criteria emphasizes both writing ability and concept, unlike our main Screenwriting and TV Writing competitions, which are centered almost exclusively on writing ability. Preference may be given to higher-concept material intended for a broader audience.

- The material must be wholly original. For adaptations, the story must be in the public domain, or you have retained the adaptation rights to a particular work.