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Script Pipeline Announces Movie & TV Show Idea Winners

The conclusion to the 2013 Great Movie and TV Show Idea Contests proved that fresh thinking and hitting the sweet spot between marketability and originality is alive and well.

Winning entries for Movie & TV Idea included a broad, studio-level comedy feature, and a TV series that pushes the boundaries of a typical network or cable mystery/thriller. Both were considered top-notch pitches. "What's great about the winners this year is how they both sit in that 'Goldilocks zone' of movie or TV ideas," said Script Pipeline Director of Development Matt Misetich. "In other words, they're not too experimental or far-fetched, and they're not too genric. Both writers clearly put some time into these, really understanding the market they're targeting. Same for the runners-up."

Mark Stouffer, who won with his pitch Wild & Wilder, had been fine-tuning the concept for years.

"Just one day after winning, their creative team is already working with me to refine and ready my project pitch for presentation to top-tier producers," Mark said. "$35 to enter that Contest was the best investment I've made in a long time."

A four-time Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition finalist, Kevin Jones finally broke through to claim first place in a Pipeline competition. Judges considered his TV series pitch Horizon a concept ripe for further development. Something Kevin envisioned from the start:

"Horizon is, interestingly enough, a point of convergence in my journey, a story that finally marries the more subtle, character-centric elements typical of my writing with the kind of giant, spectacular adventure I've wanted to tell since I was a kid. I've been entering and placing in contests for several years now. Through each of those 'almosts,' I've uncovered my strengths, found my voice, defined my realm. . . . It's all led to this, and I'm excited to see where things go from here."

The runners-up for Movie Idea: Shawn Holmes, with a crime/noir thriller, and Heather Thompson, who managed to secure two runner-up spots, with a thriller and a horror pitch. For TV, a crime/dramedy from a writing team, the Affolter brothers, was selected alongside a sci-fi procedural crime/drama and a comedy that should appeal to either network or cable.

"To win or place in this contest requires you to have a solid indication of who your audience is and how your story is different from the thousands of other pitches out there," Misetich added.

The 2014 Great Movie and Great TV Show Idea seasons will open on February 15th and run until June.

Updated: 02/12/2014

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