FOX-PGP-NYTVF Script Contest Overview

SUBMISSION FOR THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

The New York Television Festival has teamed up with ION Television to offer aspiring drama writers the opportunity to win $40,000, a development deal with ION, and the possibility to have your original dramatic screenplay produced as a TV movie to air on ION Television!



Read the official Press Release here

Enter “Act I: The ION Television Movie Contest” and submit your original idea for a dramatic TV movie. One winner will receive $40,000 and a development deal with ION Television. Up to 25 finalists have the opportunity to earn a first-look deal with ION.

Ideally, the ideas submitted by entrants will be for a two-hour made-for-TV movie that could potentially serve as a pilot for launching an hour-long drama procedural TV series.

We are looking for procedural dramas meant for mature audiences. The ideal script would have a strong central character or team of characters and a plot that focuses on the introduction, investigation, and solution of a central problem or mystery. An ending that leaves the door open to further stories or sequels involving some or all of the same characters is recommended.

In the TV realm, CSI, Law & Order, and House are perhaps the best known examples of procedurals. There are also TV movie series that fit this definition well: The Jesse Stone movies, the Movies of the Week featuring Columbo, etc.

While many procedurals focus on crime, law, or medicine, stories set in any field are encouraged, so long as they allow for an examination of the procedures by which the central problem or mystery is overcome.

Within this dramatic movie genre, there can certainly be comic themes, characters or tones so long as the procedural element is prominent.

To enter, submit a treatment describing your idea (5-10 pages) and the first act of the script (15-40 pages).

Scripts must be entered by uploading them in a PDF format on the NYTVF upload page or via Withoutabox (please read the upload guidelines on the Withoutabox submission form-- file requirements differ). For more information on how to convert documents into PDF format, Click here.

The submission period will open on October 26 and will close at 12:00 noon Eastern on January 15, 2010.

All submissions must be uploaded during this time period, without exception. The contest will stop accepting entries if this period elapses or if it receives 1,500 valid entries, whichever comes first.


Important Dates

- Monday, Oct 26, 2009……Submission Period Begins (@ 12:00 noon EST)
- Friday, Jan 15, 2010……Submission Period Ends (@ 12:00 noon EST)
- Spring 2010…………Winner of the Contest is announced



Required Length and Format

All entries must be uploaded as two separate documents: a Treatment and a Script (first act only). The Treatment and Script must be submitted as PDF documents. For more information on how to convert documents into PDF format, Click here.

- Treatment (5-10 pages, PDF format)
The treatment should introduce the reader to the overall idea behind your entry. It should include a brief plot summary, an introduction to major and significant characters, and a more detailed breakdown of how the story progresses following the first act of the movie. It should be written in prose as opposed to dialogue. While presentation counts for something, the contest will give a fair degree of flexibility to formatting the Treatment, so no one format will be regarded as the “correct” one. Simply tell us what you feel we ought to know to fully understand your entire story.

- Script (15-40 pages, PDF format)
The script should be the first act (roughly the first third) of your story, introducing the major settings, characters, themes, tones and the beginning of the plot. Proper formatting of scripts is advised, including proper indenting of character names and dialogue. All elements may be single or double-spaced – there is no preference provided that the script falls within the given length guidelines. There are many acceptable ways to format script entries, and many online resources offer templates and helpful tips on how to format a script correctly. That said, as with the Treatments, writers will have a fair amount of latitude in formatting their scripts, and no one will be disqualified based solely on incorrect formatting. For more information on how to format your script, click here.

There is a $30 fee to enter the contest.


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Eligibility

- Limit one entry per person. Each entry must include one (1) treatment and one (1) script.
- Co-writers are permitted, but co-writers may only be associated with a maximum of one entry.
- Entrants must be age 18 years or older.
- Entries must be written in English.
- Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty states and D.C.
- Entries must be PDF documents received between 12:00 noon Eastern on October 26, 2009 and 12:00 noon Eastern on January 15, 2010.
- Entries must be wholly original (e.g. NOT adapted from books, plays or any other source material and NOT a “spec” of existing television programs or treatments).
- Entries must not be currently under development at a network, studio, or major production company; currently submitted to any other contest or festival; or previously optioned, purchased or produced.

For a full list of Eligibility Requirements see the Official Rules.


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Entry

- To enter, complete the entry form and upload process HERE (submission is now closed)


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Important Dates

Required Length and Format

Eligibility

Entry

Official Rules




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