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OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES AND
REGULATIONS
To enter on line, click here
1) All submissions must be
postmarked by deadline. The Competition reserves the right to extend
the deadline.
2)
By submitting, you agree to the Release Form (copied
below) and to abide by all the Contest Rules.
3) Submitted screenplays must
be the unproduced, unoptioned, and wholly original work of the
writer(s). There must be no dispute about the ownership of submitted
screenplays or the writers’ right to submit screenplay.
Submitted teleplays will adhere to the industry “spec
script” practice of being a derivative work based on a
pre-existing television series, however submitted teleplays must
contain original story and dialogue. For teleplays, any characters
created by the writer(s) must be wholly original work. Pilots for
unproduced television shows or episodes of an unproduced series will
not be accepted.
4)
Scripts by more than one writer are eligible, but only one prize will
be given and it will be the writers’s responsibility to
distribute the prize. If writers of a script are unable to agree on the
distribution of a prize, their script will be disqualified.
5) All writers of submitted
scripts must be at least 18 years of age.
6)
Writers of submitted scripts must not have earned more than $25,000 (in
cash or other consideration) for writing services for film or
television in the three years prior to the opening date of the contest.
Furthermore writers must not have won a fellowship or writing contest
that includes a “first look” clause in the three
years
prior to the opening date of the contest.
7)
Online submissions must be in
either Movie Magic, Final Draft, or Adobe PDF
format. Rich Text Format (RTF) and Microsoft Word (.doc) and
other word processor formats are specifically forbidden.* THE
FILE MUST HAVE A TITLE PAGE. In PDF format, it must be the first page of the file.
Printed scripts must be in English,
printed single- or double-sided on 3-hole white paper with the pages
numbered and with the title (for TV specs include name of show), name
of writer(s) and contact information on the title page. Font must be
12-point Courier, Courier New or Courier Final Draft. Feature
screenplays must be between 85 and 140 pages and in standard spec
screenplay format, fastened with 2-3 brads with (optional) blank
cardstock covers. Teleplays for hour-long series must be between 50-70
pages. Teleplays for half-hour shows must be between
25 and 55 page (more than 40 only if double-spaced dialogue).
8)
Hard-copy submissions must contain eligible scripts(s), a signed,
initialed and completed application, entry fee (check, money order or
credit card information), and, if you want notification that we have
received your materials, a self- addressed, stamped postcard with the name(s) of your script(s).
Hard-copy submissions must be sent (USPS, UPS, Federal Express, etc…) via a
delivery method that does not require a signature. If paying by check, make your check payable to "Creative Screenwriting." Online submissions
must contain eligible script (as a Movie Magic, PDF, or Final Draft
file), valid credit card information and a valid email address.
Confirmation of receipt of online submissions will be done
only
via automated email at the time of submission. It is the sole
responsibility of the entrant to ensure that emails from
"@creativescreenwriting.com" can pass through your spam filter.
9)
Employees, occasional or regular or long-term contractors, or immediate
family members of principals of
Creative Screenwriting, The Screenwriting Expo, and Inside
Information Group, Ltd. may not submit screenplays. Writers who and
scripts which have won a cash prize from any
previous
AAA Screenwriting Contest are ineligible. An
individual who has performed or is contemplating performing one
brief, temporary contract (such as working only at the Screenwriting
Expo) may, upon request, be approved to submit at the sole
discretion of contest management.
10) NO REFUNDS FOR FAILURE TO ADHERE
TO RULES. Failure to adhere to The Contest
guidelines will result in disqualification and forfeiture of entry fee.
11) Judging will be performed
by trained readers and industry professionals. The finalists’
scripts will be read by industry professionals. The decisions of the
Judges will be final.
12)
Entry
fees are nonrefundable.
If a script is submitted and then rewritten, the second version cannot
and will not be substituted for the first version. The author
may
submit it as an additional entry with the applicable entry fee.
13) Questions regarding The
AAA Screenplay Contest should be directed to: customer.service@creativescreenwriting.com
14) The official prize list
is as stated in the web page http://creativescreenwriting.com/aaa/prizelist.html.
No other listing of prizes is the official list.
This prize
list is subject to revision until the official closing date of
the
Contest in the "Submission Deadlines and Entry Fees" table on the Rules page).
15) The AAA Screenplay
Contest may substitute alternative prizes of equal or greater value in
place of previously announced prizes.
16)
For the purpose of prizes, the precise content of a "Gold Pass" to the
Screenwriting Expo
is defined by Screenwriting Expo management on a year-to-year basis.
It generally includes free admission to seminars, priority
seating at events, and entrance to ticketed receptions, but Expo
management
reserves the right to change the offer without notice.
17) A screenplay may win both
a Special Jury Prize, if any, and any one
of the regular- competition cash prizes (Grand Prize, second, or
third-place or Teleplay prizes). A writer may win
more than one
regular-competition cash prize with different scripts.
18) All winners will be responsible for paying their own U.S. income
tax. Winners not residing in the U.S. may be subject to
withholding if contest management is so advised by its
accountant.
19) The copy of the rules posted at http://creativescreenwriting.com/aaa/rules.html
is the only official copy of the contest rules. Any paragraph of
any other copy of the rules which differs from this copy (such as the
copies posted at http://creativescreenwriting.com/aaa/step4.cfm or in
the printable PDF version of the entry form) is void to the
extent that it differs from this copy.
20) Fees for
Judge's Script Notes: The fee paid for Judge's Script Notes is a
separate fee from the contest entry fee. It is refundable if and
only if the contest judge assigned to the script has not yet begun
reading the script, or if the contest fails to create the Script
Notes. It is non-refundable for any other reason or under any
other circumstance once the assigned judge has begun reading the
script.
AAA
Contest Sponsors
Include
These Organizations:
AAA Contest Release Form
I/we
have read all of The AAA Screenplay Contest Rules and Regulations. I
understand and have complied with these rules. As the sole owner(s) and
author(s) of submitted material, I/we fully attest that the following
is true and correct:
1.
I/We attest that I/we have read and understand and complied with the
Rules and Regulations of The Contest, that I/we are the author/s and
sole owner/s of all rights to the Material, which was created and
written without any suggestion or request from any third parties that
I/we write the Material.
2. I/we understand that The Contest I/we understand, accept, and welcome
the fact that one of the prize categories in this contest is that
individual producers, production companies, agents, and managers of
screenwriters, and certain of their employees (herein referred to as
“The Executives”), receive access to scripts in order to evaluate them,
and that this access is among the so-called “Access Prizes” of this
contest.
I/we agree to hold Creative Screenwriting Magazine,
The Screenwriting Expo, their parent organization Inside Information
Group, Ltd., as well as The Executives, their subsidiaries, affiliates,
officers, representatives, employees, and volunteers, harmless from and
defend them against all claims, demands, losses, costs, damages,
judgments, liabilities, and expenses (including attorney's fees)
arising out of or in connection with any and all claims or third
parties, whether or not groundless, based on any screenplays, plots,
characters, or ideas I/we submitted to the Contest or on any
screenplay, film, or material developed out of those screenplays,
plots, characters, or ideas.
I/we acknowledge that The
Executives, who are given access to scripts of winners (including
winners of “first look” prizes), finalists, and semifinalists, receive
numerous unsolicited submissions of ideas, treatments, stories,
suggestions and the like, and that many such submissions received by
The Executives may be similar to or identical to those developed by The
Executives or The Executives’ employees or otherwise available to The
Executives. I/we understand that I/we will not be entitled to any
compensation because of the use by The Executives of any such similar
or identical material. I/we further understand that The Executives
would refuse to accept or otherwise evaluate my material in the absence
of my acceptance of each and all of the provisions of this Agreement.
I/we shall retain all rights to submit this or similar Material to
persons other than The Executives. I/we acknowledge that no fiduciary
or confidential relationship now exists between The Executives and
myself/ourselves, and I/we further acknowledge that no such
relationships are established between The Executives and
myself/ourselves by reason of this agreement.
I/we agree to
defend, indemnify and hold Inside Information Group, Ltd., Creative
Screenwriting, The Screenwriting Expo, their officers, contractors, and
employees, and The Executives harmless, with counsel of The Executives’
choice, from and against any and all claims, expenses, losses, or
liabilities (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees
and punitive damages) that may be asserted against The Executives or
incurred by The Executives at any time in connection with the Material,
or any use thereof, including without limitation those arising from any
breach or alleged breach of the warranties and promises given by me/us
herein.
I/we
understand that, other than uses for the purposes of fulfilling the
Access Prizes (including sending scripts, loglines, and synopsesm
and posting scripts, loglines, and synopses for The Executives at a
password-protected Internet site or sites for the purpose of giving The
Execs access to them, the Contest and Inside Information Group, Ltd.
agree not to use any portion of the Material unless 1) I/we do not
control or own the
Material or such features or elements, 2) the Material elements used by
you and claimed by me/us to be my/our Material or embodied in the
Material is in the public domain, is not new or novel or is not legally
protected or protectable, or 3) any third party would be free to use
the Material if it had not been submitted to it and been the subject of
any agreement with it.
3.
I/We agree that any dispute arising between us shall be subject to
mediation in Los Angeles, California, through the Los Angeles County
Bar Association mediation service, and if such mediation dues not
resolve all disputes, then through binding arbitration in Los Angeles,
California pursuant to the then effective Commercial Arbitration Rules
of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator will be someone
with at least 10 years of motion picture industry experience and shall
have the authority to award all appropriate relief, including equitable
or injunctive relief; provided, however, that the arbitrator is not
authorized to award punitive damages. The award issued by any such
arbitrator may be entered and confirmed as a judgment in any court of
competent jurisdiction. The state with jurisdiction over any disputes
relating to this Agreement is California, and the sole location for
proper venue is Los Angeles, California.
4.
Furthermore we indemnify The Contest and Inside Information Group,
Ltd., its associates, judges and sponsors against all claims, losses,
expenses, damages and liabilities, if I/we do not satisfy all of The
Contest's rules and regulations.
5.
I/We understand that the submission of the Material into The Contest
does not establish any fiduciary or confidential relationship between
us, nor is there one intended or created by reason of this letter
and/or submission of the Material. I have retained a copy of the
Material and agree that you shall not be obligated to return the
Material to me, and I release you from all liability if the Material is
lost, misplaced, stolen or destroyed. Furthermore, I/we understand that
it is our sole responsibility to register Material with the U.S.
Copyright Office and/or with the Writer's Guild of America.
6.
If more than one writer signs the application for The Contest, then
reference to “I/We” within this release letter
shall apply
to each party jointly and severally.
End of Release Form
* Why RTF, DOC, and other word processing formats are forbidden:
With
some word processors (especialy Microsoft Word), the display format can
change if
the reader's copy of a word processor is configured differently from
that of the writer. This can cause
the format to disply incorrectly. Formatting to Hollywood
industry
standards is a factor in judging. Therefore, the contest forbids word
processing formats. This saves contestants from reduced
scores arising from formatting being changed.
Submission
Deadlines And Entry Fees
(Deadlines
Are All At Midnight ) |
| Postmarked/Uploaded
By: |
Deadline
Extended 2
Weeks to
Midnight,
March 14, 2011
|
| Feature |
$65 |
| NEW: Additional features in same submission |
$50 -- save $15 |
| Teleplay |
$50 |
| NEW: Additional Teleplays in same submission |
$40 -- save $10 |
| Judge's Script Notes |
$59.95 with order |
Judge's Script Notes
at this price must be ordered through the online entry form when a
script is
submitted (or by the special offer to writers who entered
before
judge's notes were added to the entry form). NOTE: We will
probably offer judge's script notes at a higher rate after the contest.
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Judging And Announcement Target
Dates:
- Semifinalists
by May 8, 2011
- Finalists
by May 30, 2011
- Winners
by June 5, 2011
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$100
Prize(s) For Best Script Opening(s)
Among
scripts submitted by December 12,
2010.
For details on 'Best
Openings" prizes, CLICK
HERE
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The AAA
Contest strongly recommends that you copyright your screenplay with the
U.S. Copyright Office.
Also, it is common practice and a good idea to
Register
your screenplay with:
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