Finish Line Names Contest Winners
A TV pilot and two feature film scripts took top honors at the second Finish Line Script Competition. The winners were selected from more than 1,200 submissions, a more than 500 percent increase from the first competition, in 2016.
The Grand Prize winner, "Sugar Land," by R. B. Ripley, is an original TV pilot set in the anything-but-sweet world of sugar refining in Texas. First Runner Up honors go to "Desert Rain," a feature film script by Colleen Burns, about a journalist trying to get past a personal scandal by covering a story in Mogadishu. Second Runner Up is "A Fish for Rudy," a feature about a young fisherman in pre-war Australia.
In addition to receiving a $2,500 award, Competition winner R.B. Ripley's Grand Prize means his script will be sent directly to any actor, director, producer or production company he or she chooses. The prize package also includes one-on-one meetings - in person or via Skype or phone - with up to 28 literary agents, development executives or producers.
"The competition cares about writers and the extensive notes help with story and character while allowing the writer to maintain their voice, which is what makes any script special." the Los Angeles-based Ripley said. "t's important first and foremost to know what your story is about and once that's clear, all the help notes can give only improve upon the material."
As Ripley's pilot script suggests, the Finish Line Script Competition's year-to-year growth can in part be attributed to a significant increase in TV pilot submissions this year. While they made up 20 percent of submissions the first year, that total doubled to 40 percent in 2017.
Updated: 09/26/2017
