Every entrant receives brief feedback from a judge with remarks on the pitch's marketability and originality.

The 17th Great Movie Idea and 15th Great TV Show Idea contests are searching for original feature film and television series concepts. Ideally, unique stories a global, diverse audience can connect with.

Accepted entries include loglines, synopses, and video pitches. For video pitches, please submit a document with a link to the pitch on YouTube or Vimeo. Completed screenplays are not reviewed, nor are entrants required to have a screenplay. You only need one spectacular idea. Any genre and budget range, studio-level or indie, including true stories.

For the winner, Script Pipeline provides additional, long-term assistance to refine the pitch, or help the writer draft a polished pilot or series outline. Our execs review the project and offer feedback at all stages of development. When the work is ready for circulation, we send the material to specific producers who would be a good match--a network of over 200 companies that includes partners at Good Fear Film + Management (Mulan), Zero Gravity Management (Ozark), QC Entertainment (Get Out), Lakeshore Entertainment (Age of Adaline), and others looking for relevant, high-concept, marketable films.

All writers retain the rights to their pitch, and development assistance for the winner is entirely optional.

"Script Pipeline helped me develop my pilot, found me representation, and played a key role in getting a very ambitious TV project to some of the top producers, showrunners, and even networks. Their continual support and guidance has been invaluable--they are second to none."
- Kevin Jones, TV Show Idea Winner, 3x Script Pipeline Finalist

Since 1999, Script Pipeline has established relationships with hundreds of production companies, managers, and agents, resulting in $7 million in specs sold from previously undiscovered writers. The Great Movie and TV Show Idea Competitions aim to continue this successful process by working one-on-one with burgeoning writers to fine-tune their writing skills and push worthwhile stories into production.

• $2,000 (each winner for Movie and TV receives $1,000)
• Extensive development sessions with Script Pipeline to get your concept ready for circulation
  
• Assistance in completing a screenplay or TV pilot (optional)
  
• Long-term exposure to producers and other companies for potential development

Since 1999, Script Pipeline has established relationships with hundreds of production companies, managers, and agents, resulting in $7 million in specs sold from previously undiscovered writers. The Great Movie and TV Show Idea Competitions aim to continue this successful process by working one-on-one with burgeoning writers to fine-tune their writing skills and push worthwhile stories into production.

Notable Success Stories:

Tripper Clancy Sells Stuber and Multiple Specs to Studios

Contest winner Tripper Clancy signed with a Script Pipeline partner in 2009 before selling several specs.

A few months after the screenwriting competition ended, 20th Century Fox selected Tripper for their feature comedy writing team to help develop new material. Later, he was hired to write the animated feature Shedd for Paramount, the Amazon film High Five, the comedy Hacker Camp for Hasbro, and an adaptation of The Art of Fielding for Mandalay / IMG. He also sold additional specs The Ambassadors and Winter Break.

His first studio feature, Stuber (2019) sold in the mid-six figures. The action-comedy stars Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), Mira Sorvino, and Betty Gilpin (Glow).

"I cannot overstate the impact that Script Pipeline has had on my writing career. Winning the contest directly led to new representation, which in turn led to working with studios like 20th Century Fox and Amazon." - Tripper Clancy (Stuber)

Fox Buys Show from Script Pipeline Contest Runner-up

Runner-up in the Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition, Laura Bensick sold her show Everyday Insanity to Fox. Ken Olin (This is Us) and Sterling K. Brown producing. The drama series addresses mental illness within three different families who come together to form one supportive group.

Laura placed with the hourlong drama The Mother in the 2016 Script Pipeline season, besting over 2,500 other pilots. In 2019, Bensick’s autobiographical play Life in Paradox, premiered in Los Angeles.

Everyday Insanity is Laura’s first TV show sale.

One of the Biggest Spec Sales in History from Script Pipeline Winner

After introductions by Script Pipeline to management, Evan Daugherty sold Snow White & the Huntsman to Universal for $3.25 million. It marked one of the biggest studio spec sales of all-time and subsequently turned Evan into one of the most in-demand writers in Hollywood. The film has grossed $450 million worldwide.

Shortly following the contest win, Evan landed an assignment with Warner Bros. to rewrite the adaptation of He-Man, which led to the sale of Snow White.

Amongst selling a pilot pitch, as well as writing and producing roles with NBC's Midnight, Mass. and the series Five Ghosts, Evan wrote the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, produced by Michael Bay. Other studio projects: the adaptation of YA novel Divergent for Summit Entertainment, starring Shailene Woodley and Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet, the Tomb Raider reboot starring Alicia Vikander, and Rose Red, based on an original script by Justin Merz and a pitch by Evan, which is in development with Vinson Films and Disney.

Script Pipeline Winner becomes Acclaimed Indie Hit

Henry Dunham's The Standoff at Sparrow Creek was produced with an ensemble cast featuring James Badge Dale (Rubicon), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), Happy Anderson (Mindhunter), Robert Armayo (Game of Thrones), and Gene Jones (The Hateful Eight). Dallas Sonnier, Jonathan Brownlee, and Amanda Presmyk served as producers.

The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was acquired by RLJ Entertainment. It was released in January 2019.

The project, originally titled Militia, won the 2015 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition before being picked up by Cinestate. Writer Henry Dunham was connected with representation less than a month after contest results were announced, signing with Pipeline industry partner Lit Entertainment and UTA.

Top critics from The Hollywood Reporter, SlashFilm, and others praised Henry's directorial debut, and Rolling Stone selected Standoff as one of the top 10 films to see in January 2019.

Robert De Niro Stars in Script Pipeline Contest-Winning Screenplay

The Script Pipeline contest-winning screenplay Shrapnel by Evan Daugherty was turned into the film Killing Season, starring Robert De Niro and John Travolta. Corsan and Millennium Films helmed the action/thriller and rehashed the original plot during development.

It was the first Script Pipeline competition winner to get produced.