Contents of This Issue:

Volume 5, Number 10
October 13 , 2005

Without further ado this year's winners:

The first place winner is Julia Van Develder of Rhinebeck, New York. Her winning screenplay, The Escape Artist, tells the story of an aspiring artist who finds himself trapped in a boring corporate job and a loveless marriage. He fakes a mental breakdown and is committed to a psychiatric hospital in hopes of pursuing his dream in the guise of "art therapy."  But his boss and his wife discover the con and are out for revenge.  

Second place goes to Craig Tiede of Meadville, PA. His screenplay, Zoo Day, is about a meteorologist who abandons his own cancer treatment to track a hurricane. His life collides with those of a wounded soldier and a single mother raising her teenage sons. Together they battle the elements and forge bonds in an attempt to survive.

Jon Gilbert of London, England, won third place. His screenplay, The Sculptress and The Thief, is a thriller about an armed robber on the run from police who takes refuge in a warehouse owned by an eccentric, elderly sculptress. Tensions grow as her devious plans undermine the robber's haven, ending in a horrific climax.

We applaud everyone who entered for your artistic endeavors and are honored to bring recognition to promising screenwriters across the globe. Good luck in all your creative pursuits, and we hope to see you next year!

Marc Madnick, President & CEO, Final Draft, Inc.
Liz Alani, Contest Director

We will begin taking entries for the 2006 Big Break! Contest the beginning of January.

For a complete list of prizes, finalists and judges
Visit: www.bigbreakcontest.com

3. Final Draft AV 2.5 Released!

Final Draft AV version 2.5, is a significant upgrade to our self-contained, full-featured word processor specifically designed for dual-column, audio-visual scriptwriting. The dual-column format is used by professionals and consumers who write and produce commercials, documentaries, industrial films, DV shorts and other non-linear scripted material. Final Draft AV 2.5 includes the revolutionary new Rearrange Guide Line as well as expanded importing and exporting capabilities.
 
Regular price - $199

Own a previous version of Final Draft AV? Upgrade for Only $49
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/orders/upgrades-av.php4
 
Special Price for Final Draft Users Only $149
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/orders/purchase-av.php4

To learn more and see an animation of the Rearrange Guide Line
Visit: www.finaldraft.com/products/av-features.php4

4. ON THE ROAD - Scriptwriters Suite Roll Out Events

Combining both Final Draft and Final Draft AV software, the Scriptwriter's Suite contains all the writing tools any award winning production might need. Special in-store pricing offered at the roll out events at the Apple Stores listed below.

Location	Date	Time
Apple Store Santa Monica 1248 Third Street Promenade Santa Monica, CA 90401 310-576-1011 Final Draft Scriptwriter's Suite Roll Out Event	Tues, Oct 18	6:00-8:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/thirdstreetpromenade
Apple Store The Grove 189 The Grove Drive Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-965-8400 Final Draft Scriptwriter's Suite Roll Out Event	Thurs, Oct 20	6:00-8:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/thegrove
Apple Store SoHo 103 Prince Street New York, NY 10012 212-226-3126	Sat, Oct 22	1:00-3:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/soho
Dramatists Guild 1501 Broadway, Suite 701 New York, NY 10036 212-398-9366 Final Draft Demo - non-members may also attend	Tues, Oct 25	5:30-7:00pm
map:   www.mapquest.com
Apple Store SoHo 103 Prince Street New York, NY 10012 212-226-3126 Final Draft Scriptwriter's Suite Roll Out Event	Wed, Oct 26	6:00-8:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/soho
Apple Store The Grove 189 The Grove Drive Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-965-8400	Sat, Nov 5	12:00 - 2:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/thegrove
Apple Store Santa Monica 1248 Third Street Promenade Santa Monica, CA 90401 310-576-1011	Sat, Nov 19	12:00 - 2:00pm
map:   www.apple.com/retail/thirdstreetpromenade
Schedules are subject to change. Check with the location to verify dates and times.

5. ASK THE PROS MONTHLY EXCERPT

This new monthly feature will have a question excerpted from the Final Draft book, Ask the Pros: Screenwriting, now available for sale through www.finaldraft.com. Click on the link below to get the answer(s) to that question written by screenwriting professionals, as well as an archive of previously featured excerpts.

Question:
What preparation do you go through before beginning a screenplay?

Click here for the answer, as well as an archive of previously featured excerpts.

Visit: www.finaldraft.com/orders to purchase the book

6. 10% DISCOUNT FOR REGISTERED FINAL DRAFT USERS

The Write Way In™ with Writer/Actor/Director Jonathan Lynn the night before Expo opens!

Come to Screenwriting Expo 4 a day early and join us on the evening of Nov. 10 for The Write Way In™, featuring a PITCH FEST with Hollywood Producers, Development Directors and Agents. The Writers Studio with Actor/Director/Writer Jonathan Lynn, and a networking cocktail party one night, one location one cost... $149.00.

Cost: $149.00

Mention Final Draft and receive a 10% discount. PLUS--The first 30 people to sign up receive free parking at the hotel.

To Register:
Visit: www.hollywoodbythebay.com
Phone: 877-801-9477

7. 10% Discount on Final Draft Software Training from The Digital Media Training Series™ (DMTS™)

Magnet Media, publishers of the award-wining DMTS™ - Digital Media Training Series - of self-paced training DVDs is now shipping its Inside Final Draft training.

This expert instruction provides insider tips, tricks and techniques to get you working quickly and confidently. You will learn how to format screenplays correctly and how to use Final Draft's built in functions to achieve a flawlessly formatted screenplay every time. You will learn to master the different features in Final Draft with featured lessons on Reports, Index Cards, Revision Mode, Speech Control, Collabowrite and Tagger.

The training includes a Final Draft AV section, where you will learn how industry pros use the functionality of Final Draft AV's dual column audio visual scripting software to write commercials, documentaries, music videos, training films and more.

Suitable for both new and experienced writers, this top-notch training will help you take your screenwriting to the next level, while creating documents suitable for submission to studios, production companies, film festivals and agencies.

Use promotional code FD10 to get 10% off your entire order.

Visit: www.digitalmediatraining.com/products/finaldraft7

8. CUSTOMER SUPPORT / TECH TIP

The current version of Final Draft 7 is 7.1.1
The current version of Final Draft AV 2 is 2.5

Please log on to this web page for Final Draft 7 current version information:
www.finaldraft.com/support/downloads.php4

To determine which version of Final Draft 7 you have, open the program and go to Help > Customer Support. If you have an online connection, go to Help > Program Updates. If your Final Draft needs to be updated, you will automatically be forwarded to the appropriate download page.

IMPORTANT: If you have Mac OS9, the current version is 7.0.0.54. The 7.1.1 update is not supported on OS9.

Final Draft AV 2.5 includes the revolutionary new Rearrange Guide Line as well as expanded importing and exporting capabilities. Please log on to this web page for AV 2.5 information:
www.finaldraft.com/products/av-features.php4

The current version of Final Draft 6 is 6.0.6.0

To determine which version of Final Draft 6 you have, go to Help > Technical Support. If you do not have the current version you should download, then install, the free update. To download the update, go to:
www.finaldraft.com/support/downloads.php4

Please note that you must have Final Draft 6 already installed to your hard drive to install the 6.0.6.0 update. The 6.0.6.0 update will not update Final Draft 7, Final Draft 5 or earlier versions.

Tech Tip
Some writers like to split up their scripts into sections or acts and create new files for these pieces of the script. Since Final Draft paginates automatically, if you break up, for example, your mini-series into three files corresponding to the three nights it's going to be aired, the page numbers will start at 1 in each of the three files. But you don't want that, you want the Night 2 file to start at Page 60. To change the starting page number of a script, go to Document/Header and Footer/Options and put the page number you need in the First Page box.

For more information on Final Draft features, refer to the Final Draft User Guide PDF document found in the Final Draft folder on your hard drive or visit our online Knowledge Base. To visit the Knowledge Base, go to:  www.finaldraft.com/help

9. CONTACT US

To respond to this email, DO NOT CLICK REPLY; it will only bounce back to you. Comments and suggestions should be directed to newsletter@finaldraft.com.

NOTE: Support questions sent to the above address will not be answered. If you have a question you would like answered via email, visit www.finaldraft.com/help. You can search for an answer from our database of almost 900 sales and technical questions. If you still can't find the information you need, click the Ask a Question tab on any answer page.

If you want your name to be removed from the Final Draft mailing list, visit
www.finaldraft.com/media/newsletter-signup.php4 and follow the directions there.

10. WRITERS' RESOURCES

10th Annual FADE IN AWARDS

OUR WINNERS WORK!
Enter The 10th Annual FADE IN AWARDS
Over $10,000 in cash and prizes, complimentary coverage for its semi-finalists, and one of the most impressive track records for discovering new writer- writer/directors.

Submit online or by mail. Open to filmmakers worldwide.
Applications: 800-646-3896
Visit: www.fadeinonline.com

Deadline: October 31, 2005

Advisory Board: Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), Steven De Souza (Die Hard), Scott Frank (Minority Report), James Gray (The Yards), Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune), Scott Rosenberg (High Fidelity), Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), David O. Russell (Three Kings), Ed Solomon (Men in Black), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha).

2005 TELEPLAY COMPETITION

$10 discount with e-mail printout!

We are looking for the best original hour and half-hour pilots.  The winner will be hired by fox21 to develop an original pilot episode.

The top three finalists will receive Final Draft Pro Screenwriting Software, a one-year subscription to Script Magazine and will be presented as part of the Los Angeles reading series, Slamdance on Stage, in March 2006.  Executives from fox21 will host a lunch for the finalists in Park City during the Film Festival (January 2006) and arrange follow-up meetings in Los Angeles.

Writers can request coverage service from our Slamdance readers that will provide a comprehensive critique to further develop teleplays into final drafts.

Final Deadline- postmarked Oct. 21, 2005

For applications, rules and more information
Visit: www.slamdance.com/teleplay
Email: teleplay@slamdance.com

Final Draft Registered Users Save $50 at Gotham Writers' Workshop

Final Draft registered users receive $50 off tuition when they sign up for a 10-week online class presented by New York's acclaimed Gotham Writers' Workshop. Selected Best of the Web by Forbes, workshops are taught by professional writers and are offered at levels from basic to advanced.

Enroll today for SCREENWRITING I taught by Max Adams, author of The Screenwriter's Survival Guide (Warner Books). Max wrote the feature screenplay for Excess Baggage (Columbia) and the initial adaptation for The Ladykillers (Touchstone). She is the recipient of a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and the Austin Film Festival's feature screenwriting award, and has worked with many of the major Hollywood studios and production companies. She has also taught or lectured at Austin Film Festival, USC, Film Arts Foundation, and the New York Film Academy (L.A.).

This comprehensive 10-week workshop begins online on Oct. 25.  Class size is strictly limited so enroll today.

Save $50.00
To receive the $50 savings on the tuition on your first first 10-week class, you must provide promotion code FD50 when registering online or by phone. (This offer is valid only on 10-week class tuition for students new to Gotham. May not be combined with any other offer. Promotion code FD50 must be proided at time of registration to receive discount.)

HOW TO SELL YOUR SCREENPLAY
Learn strategies for selling your screenplay in a four-week online seminar taught by Hollywood insider, David Title. David is the head of development at Crossroads, a production company devoted to feature films, TV and music videos. Among Crossroad's recent films: Igby Goes Down, A Love Song For Bobby Long, Jawbreaker, First Love Last Rights, The Big Split and Le Chateau. Crossroads currently has projects in development with such notable directors and writers as John Sayles, Jim Taylor, Eric Skjoldbjaerg and Ron Shelton, and such actors as Sam Rockwell, Amanda Peet and Alan Rickman.

This interactive four-week seminar begins online on Oct. 19, 2005. Tuition is only $125 (plus $25 registration fee).

Visit: www.WritingClasses.com
Phone: 877-974-8377

9th Annual ASA International Screenplay Competition

$10,000 Grand Prize
Entries are now being accepted for the 9th Annual International Screenplay Competition, presented by the American Screenwriters Association and Gotham Writers' Workshop. Grand prize includes $10,000 cash and a script development trip to Hollywood.

Entry deadline is October 31, 2005
Visit: www.goasa.com

Learn to Write for Television in Just Four Weeks

If you have an amazing idea for a movie, but don't know how to begin writing it, this self-paced online course is for you. Screenwriting Basics, the result of over 23 years of helping writers succeed, guides you from FADE IN to FADE OUT - for only $49. There's no easier way to learn the fundamentals of writing a page-turning script. Sign up before October 17th and receive a 20% discount!

Sessions begin October 24th.
Visit: www.WritersUniversity.com and sign up today.

This course and many others are brought to you by Writers University, a division of the Writers Store.

Mike Figgis, Tom Waits, and Wes Anderson Design Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope: All-Story

Francis Coppola founded Zoetrope: All-Story in 1997 as a magazine of stories he hopes will become films. In that short history, it's won every major award for short fiction. To reflect the collaborative nature of filmmaking, he invites a major artist to design each issue. Among past guest designers are Julian Schnabel, Gus Van Sant, and David Byrne.

He's offering registered Final Draft users an exclusive discount on subscriptions. Access the website at www.all-story.com/subscribe.cgi and enter the discount code 03FDT06 for 25% off. You'll soon receive the Fall issue, with design by two-time Academy Award-nominee Mike Figgis, and look forward to successive issues designed by Tom Waits and Wes Anderson. It's a great gift for any film enthusiast.

30% OFF the 30th Hollywood Representation Directory!

You've written your screenplay, however, before making it big in the world of entertainment, we all know there is a basic checklist to get through. With the new HOLLYWOOD REPRESENTATION DIRECTORY, 30th EDITION, you will find all the information you need to get started. The directory is used by everyone in Hollywood and includes names, titles, phone numbers, addresses, representation categories and submission policy information. It is the first place you should look for a talent or literary agent, personal manager, entertainment attorney or business affairs contact.

Hollywood Creative Directory Directories, Books & Online Database for the Entertainment Industry

Offer good thru October 31, 2005.

To receive 30% OFF the HOLLYWOOD REPRESENTATION DIRECTORY, 30th EDITION use discount code FINALDRAFT1005.

Phone: 800-815-0503
Visit: www.shop.hcdonline.com

Action/Cut Filmmaking Seminar

"Excellent" MovieMaker

"Essential" Script

"llluminating" Screentalk

The most acclaimed and comprehensive filmmaking seminar in the film industry.

Los Angeles: October 15 & 16
New York: October 22 & 23
Chicago: October 29 & 30
St. Louis: November 5 & 6
Providence: November 12 & 13
Fort Lauderdale: November 19 & 20

9am - 6pm both days.

An essential seminar for filmmakers and screenwriters -- from networking to visual writing!
In two days, gain first-hand career knowledge from a working director/writer/producer with audio-visual scene studies of the skills to take your project from page to finished film.

Guy Magar - Seminar Director, international film instructor and contracted to Miramax Films.
Professional credits include over 50 feature films and television network shows.

Visit: www.actioncut.com
Phone: 800-815-5545

LEARN TO WRITE A MILLION-DOLLAR SCREENPLAY!

MILLION-DOLLAR SCREENWRITING -- CHRIS SOTH'S MINI-MOVIE METHOD -- ON DVD!

OWN and LEARN the story techniques from our seminars on your TV or computer.
4 DVD Set:
The Tension Dimension
The Mini-Movie Method
How to Use it With 10 Story Types
Mini-Movies into Micro-Movies and Beyond -- Outline each scene, every LINE of every scene!

Plus -- BONUS FEATURES!

"There is NO BETTER WAY to write a screenplay!"
Erich Von Sönne,
Screenwriter, ROUT, WATCHDOGS.

Visit: www.milliondollarscreenwriting.com

Directing Commercials Seminar TeleSeminar and DVD
An incredible resource for information on how to become a commercial director

Craig Worsham, an established, working director, teaches everything you need to know about the business of directing commercials.

Topics covered include: Creating an Effective Spec Reel, Joining a Production Company, Your Contract, Insider Secrets that will Help you Get the Job, Dealing with the Ad Agency, Directing a 30-second Spot, all aspects of production and so much more.

Information found nowhere else.

"I learned more in 2 days than most commercial directors learn in their first 2 years! What an amazing advantage you've given us."
Josh Elliott
Photographer / Set Decorator, on American Dream

Next Seminar:
November 12 & 13
Universal Studios, Hollywood

Next TeleSeminar:
October 13
From the comfort of your home, anywhere in the world!
Two 90-minute conference calls with Craig covering the core essentials from the seminar in depth.  Complete with handouts and video!

This popular 2-day class is also available on DVD. Everything the class offers is on the 4-disk set including all the handouts, spec spots and professional spots.

Visit: www.DirectingCommercials.com

Get Hollywood Insider Secrets on What it Takes to Sell Your Screenplay! And Learn How You Could Make Up to $100,000 as a Script Consultant!

ScriptwriterCentral.com is a cutting-edge resource where writers get Insider Screenplay Analysis, In- Depth Script Consulting, Professional Script Doctoring, and one-on-one Career and Writing Coaching -- all from top Hollywood Pros who know what it takes to sell your screenplay!

It's also the only place on the planet where you can learn how to make 6-figures as a script consultant from anywhere in the world!

Registered Final Draft users get 10% off every service we offer! Just use code: FDSWC5

We look forward to helping you achieve all of your screenwriting & script consulting goals!
Derek Rydall Founder, ScriptwriterCentral.com

Visit: www.ScriptwriterCentral.com
Email: derek@scriptwritercentral.com

P.S Don't forget to claim these FREE GIFTS below!

"7 Deadly Mistakes Screenwriters Make When Using a Script Consultant!" E-Course
Visit: www.DontGetScammedByScriptConsultants.com

"How to Make 6-Figures as a Script Consultant!" Audio Course
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