Winners Announced!

The winners of the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. These scripts were read and ranked by our panel of celebrity judges. The three finalists were flown to Los Angeles where they attended the Final Draft, Inc. Annual Award Event on October 14th at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills where their places were announced. In addition to their trip and red-carpet awards ceremony, they enjoyed cash prizes and meetings with industry leaders.

First Place: Tejal Desai of Austin, TX for Cowboys and Hindus
Second Place: Mick Connolly of Melbourne, Australia for Crims
Third Place: Larry Brenner of New York, NY for Flesh and Blood

To contact our winners and finalists regarding their scripts, please e-mail your request to bigbreak@finaldraft.com

2010 Big Break™ Contest: Winners' Acceptance Speeches

Top-3 Finalists Announced

The Top-3 scripts for the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. These scripts have been read and ranked by our panel of celebrity judges. These three finalists will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the Final Draft, Inc. Annual Event on October 14th at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills where the winner will be revealed.

Larry Brenner of New York, NY for Flesh and Blood
Mick Connolly of Melbourne, Australia for Crims
Tejal Desai of Austin, TX for Cowboys and Hindus

Top-5 Finalists Announced

The Top-5 scripts for the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. These scripts will be sent to the celebrity judges for final placing. The winners will be announced at the Final Draft, Inc. Annual Event at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA.

Jason Groce for Transit
Kelly Anelons for Master’s Key
Larry Brenner for Flesh and Blood
Mick Connolly for Crims
Tejal Desai for Cowboys and Hindus

Top-10 Finalists Announced

The top-10 scripts for the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. These scripts are in consideration to be sent to the celebrity judges for final placing. Look for the top-5 finalists to be announced in late-September.

Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham for Guns and Saris
David Margolis for The Last Concerto
Jason Groce for Transit
Kelly Anelons for Master’s Key
Larry Brenner for Flesh and Blood
Mick Connolly for Crims
Stacy Coffey for Mob Jerky
Stephen Kunc for Whitey Don’t Learn
Tejal Desai for Cowboys and Hindus
Tony Boland for Spacekid

Top-35 Finalists Announced

The top-35 finalists for the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. These scripts were consistently at the top of our readers’ lists and deserve additional recognition. Look for the top–10 finalists to be announced in early September.  

    
Alex Ranarivelo (The Girl With No Name)
C. M. Robinson (Deadly Passage)
Carol Masciola (Baghdad Bureau)
Chris Bessounian (Guns and Saris)
Craig Rosenthal (Rye Rice)
David Andrew Stoler (Where We Are From)
David Margolis  (The Last Concerto)
David Marko (Underland)
Erica Rosbe (Mail Order Bullet)
Erik Selekman (Soccer Don)
Gary Allison (The Final Round)
Jason Groce (Transit)
Jay Blumenkopf (Hollywood Gospel)
Jennifer Thomas (Snilderholden’s Jungle)
Kathryn Kramer Waters & Jesse Waldman (Stealing Balloons)
Katie Petrachonis (Dud)
Kelly Anelons (Master’s Key)
Kimball Armes (One Working Weak)
Larry Brenner (Flesh and Blood)
Matt Morgan (Kingdom Street)
Matthew Saville (Firehands)
Mick Connolly (Crims)
Mike Folie & Timothy Becker (They Shoot Weddings Don’t They)
Mike Mayer (Isolation)
Neil Sonnekus (Amatsotsi Tsotsi)
Nick Bicanic & Jason Bourque (Executive Outcomes)
Patrick Grandaw & Meher Gourjian (Dust)
Silvio Nacucchi (Fifty Years in May)
Simone Samano (Java Men)
Stacy Coffey (Mob Jerky)
Stan Evans (Lord Ockley & The Alien)
Stephen Kunc (Whitey Don’t Learn)
Tejal Desai (Cowboys and Hindus)
Tony Boland (Spacekid)
Vanessa King & Mike Palmisciano (Once More Eden) 

Semifinalists Announced

The semifinalists for the 2010 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break™ Contest have been announced. While there were many commendable scripts entered in this record–breaking year, we would like to recognize the following scriptwriters for submitting scripts with a firm grasp of the craft, solid storytelling, and compelling characters. Look for the top-35 to be announced on Monday, August 30th, the top-10 in early September, and the top-5 in mid-September. Watch this page for updates. All entrants to the Big Break™ Contest will receive an e-mail with updated listings.

Adam Dekraker & Kevin Wolfe for Organic
Adam Polonsky for Deafo
Alan Catlin for Savant
Alex Ranarivelo for The Girl With No Name
Alex Simon for Baron of Havana
Alexander Janko for Home Town
Alisha Chocholous and Jason Burkey for Never Two Late
Alison Mcmahan and John Leary for Heaven Sent
Alison Star Locke for The Projectionist
Alistair Kaley for Tyrant
Allan Durand for Willie Francis Must Die Again
Alonzo Peterson for A Work in Progress
Andre Radojcich for Idle Expresidents
Andrea Jastrzab for Damned
Andrew B. Smith for Hays Code
Andrew Jones for Zombie Baby
Andrew Pozza for A Schizophrenic Love Story
Andrew Silverman for An Unromantic Comedy
Andrew Wheeler for The Way of The Dead
Anthony Stitt and Jeff Trently for Donnie Lasagna
Ben Radatz for Dianah
Benjamin Mullane for Wild Again
Benjamin Odell for Son of Man
Bethany Hunt for The Tragedy of Dale MacFadden
Bill Wilson for Orphan Train
Boaz Dror for Night of The Mullets
Bradley Johnson for Blood Moon
Branda Hughes for Sheattle
Brenda Cronenberg for Tears of Glory
Brian McDonald for Freeman
Bryan Thompson for Afterburn
C. M. Robinson for Deadly Passage
Carol Masciola for Baghdad Bureau
Charles Brown for A Cry Among Men
Charles Nwachukwu for American Salesman
Chip Phillips for Gone Again
Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham Guns and Saris
Chriss Williams for Underground
Christopher Bolton for Double Top
Craig Rosenthal for Rye Rice
Cyd Zeigler for Thrive
Dale Forbes for Take-Your-Kid-To-Work Day
Damien Alameda for Cassie’s Song
Dane McCauley for Darkness Darkness
Darryl Smith for The Devil’s Echo
Daryl Coon for Hope Springs
David Andrew Stoler for Where We Are From
David Atkins for Pepper
David Chang for Before The King
David Demaret for Dead of State
David Fulton for Amateurs
David Margolis for The Last Concerto
David Marko for Underland
David Rakowiecki for The Radcliffe Polar Expedition: A Vampire Tale
David Rush for Miller and The Jabberwock
David Warnock for Runaway Colt
Derek Foster for Hitmen
Dominic Mah for Crystal Sister
Dorie Barton for Loserville
Dylan Rush for Golden Opportunity
Elizabeth Cotone for Rosemary
Elizabeth Franklin for Web of Deception
Elizabeth Lyons for Home Land Security
Emily Condit for Revelations
Erica Rosbe for Mail Order Bullet
Erik Selekman for Soccer Don
Galen Tong for Mercenary
Gary Allison for The Final Round
Gavin Daniel for The Blood of Others
Geordie McClelland for Initial Descent: An Oklahoma Hightower Story
George Murray for April Riley
Gin De Mesa Laranas & Yam Laranas for Remember Me Kindly
Graham McKay for The Stumps
Graham Smith for Idle Women
H.W. Robbie Robertson for Sweet Child of Mine
Hal Trussell for Promises Not Kept
Hannah B. Coverman for Strays
Henry Crum for Tunnels
Howard Kuperberg & Brad Slaight for Stock Footage
Huy Pham for All or Nothing
Irin Evers for Miss Christmas
Jack Messitt for Remote Control
Jack Zafran for Peter The Great
Jackie Devereaux for Mars Bonfire
Jaime Dawkins for Due Process
Jamee Decio for Peeping Tom
James Burnham for Date My Daughter
James E. Taylor for Male Order
James Henry for The Cool Dark Forever
James McCarthy for Unfinished Business
Jamie Evans for Crime Consequence
Jason Groce for Transit
Javier Reyna for The Room Above
Jay Blumenkopf for Hollywood Gospel
Jeannette Manning & Joseph Yuan for Inheritance
Jedediah Silva for Solitude
Jeffrey Stein for Isolated Minority
Jennifer Thomas for Snilderholden’s Jungle
Jenny Hagel for Product Placement
Jeremy Olstyn for Wheat Kings
Joe Russo for Star Struck
John Coughlin for Mother Machine
John Mahony for Four Families
John Simpson for Inflight
Jonathan Eig for Ask Me
Joseph Duerst for R.E.M.
Joshua Hoover for Fugue
Joshua Izenberg & Mitchell Kiven for Celestine or Diary of a Dialamaid
Joshua Rollins for Convergence
Jude Severin for Back in Harlem
Julian Mountfield for The Lost Children
Kaley McMahon for Offbeat Melody
Kathleen Mullin for Only The Devil Knows
Kathryn Kramer Waters & Jesse Waldman for Stealing Balloons
Katie Petrachonis for Dud
Kelly Anelons for Master’s Key
Kevin Gilbert for The Tetris Complex
Kimball Armes for One Working Weak
Kranti Kanade for Against Itself
Lance Wayne for The 2nd Ark
Larry Brenner for Flesh and Blood
Laure Jullia for Marie Highfield’s Movie
Len Lippman & Ali Lippman for Dark Wolf Slewinski: Alien Hunter
Marc Delamater for Triton
Mari Sangiovanni for The Sibling Rule
Mark Gordon for Paper Son
Mark Scullard for Behind The Fat Lady
Mary Ryan for Vanilla Slim
Matt Morgan for Kingdom Street
Matthew Jones and Andrea White for Lydia’s Hero
Matthew Nelson for The Adversary
Matthew Saville for Firehands
Meilani Wenska for The Funeral and Ana
Melissa Kester for Fortunes
Mercedes Valle for Thirddegree
Michael James Jackson for Sleeping in Thunder
Michael Mathenge for My Sister Sophie Won’t Speak
Michael McCoy for Under The Rising Sun
Michael Schock for Morrigan
Michael Stark for Buffalo Bill and The Invisible City
Michael Ventre for Starlight Falls
Michelle Amor for Sniper Black
Michelle Davidson for Offwhite
Mick Connolly for Crims
Mike Folie & Timothy Becker They Shoot Weddings Don’t They 
Mike Mayer for Isolation
Mike Sheriff for Reality Check
Neil Sonnekus for Amatsotsi Tsotsi
Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque for Executive Outcomes
Nicole Gomez Fisher for Sleeping With The Fishes
Nived Ravikumar and Ben Stebor for Virgin's Island
Ori Kowarsky for Hobgoblin
Patrick Grandaw and Meher Gourjian for Dust
Patrick Homes for Damascus Road
Paul Marks for Stringerz
Paul Russell Laverack for Dancing Queen
Peter Gacs for Child Soldier
Peter Tamaribuchi for World of Man 2.0
Phil Ferriere for Betrayed
Philip Fraserandrews for To Vulgaria for Love
R. Ian Simpson for Below The Waist
R. Scott Shields for Strawberry Mansion
Rachel McNevin for Reconstructing Kate
Raymond Roswell for The 38th Parallel a Korean War
Richard Flynn for Fading in Our Hands
Rob Leininger for The Last Flight of Galileo
Robert Walton for Feeling Cheap This Morning
Robin Brooks for A Romp Through Hell
Robin Johnstone for The Running
Rod Dixon for Wild Wild Hundreds
Ron Napier for Kenosis
Ryan Byrne for The Golden Tree
Sara Green for The Millennium Reich
Sarah Hurst for Reincarnation
Sasha Torres for Our House
Sean Corrigan for Confession
Seth Berkowitz for Poppa Marty
Shane McCabe for Next of Kin
Shane Willis & Tony Rebel for Run to The Horizon
Shannon Hile & Richard Eden for How Not to Bury Your Mother
Shannon Mcmahon Lichte & Michael Wallace for The Hill of The Kisses
Shari Gullo for When in Wisconsin
Sharon Mccoy for The Scrapbook Garden
Shona Tuckman for Finding Joy
Silvio Nacucchi for Fifty Years in May
Simone Samano for Java Men
Sonia Castang for Windward
Sonia Pathak for Kindnesses Left by The Side of The Road
Stacy Coffey for Mob Jerky
Stan Evans for Lord Ockley The Alien
Stephen Kunc for Whitey Don’t Learn
Steve Martinez for The Geritol Gang
Steven Maines for Longinus
Steven Shank for Bush League
Stuart Altman for Steaks and Strippers
Stuart Flack for Not Quite Dead
Stuart Rogers for Mercutio
Susan Tuan for The Tailors of Shanghai
Suzanne Kelman for Maggie The Brave
T. Steed for Dance of The Spike Nameless
Tejal Desai for Cowboys and Hindus
Teresa Cutlerbroyles for Burn
Teresa Vilaseca for The Engagement
Terri Buese for The Shadow of Nedlog
Thao Nguyen for Little Big Men
Thomas Crow for The Physics of Love
Tim Pitoniak for Shoot the Moon
Tom Batha for The Big Beyond
Tom Mccown for Dogs
Tommy Kelly for Brock Daniels: The Last Master of Death
Tony Boland for Spacekid
Tony Fonseca for The Model Maker
Tony Sommo for The Compensation Point
Trevor Mccall for Broken Vessels
Tyler Smith for Stealing Canada
Valerie Dalena for Depth of Field
Vanessa King & Mike Palmisciano for Once More Eden
Wesley Criblear for Sounds of Kinison
William Milano for Ice Deep
Wolfgang Muchow for Too Small to Save
Yolanda Beasley for Background Milton