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Final Draft Announces Winners of 3rd Annual International Screenwriting Contest

ENCINO, CA - August 26, 2002 - Final Draft, Inc. today announced the winners of its annual "Big Break" International Screenplay Contest. Selected from over 2,500 entries, this year's winner is "8 Track" by Shawn Corridan of Honolulu, Hawaii. "8 Track" is a coming-of-age drama set in the '70's, in which four teenage boys embark on a surfing/road trip to Mexico during the last weekend before high school is to begin, a trip that profoundly changes their relationships and lives forever. He will receive $10,000 plus an all-expense-paid 3-day visit to Los Angeles to take meetings with industry professionals. Winner Shawn Corridan said, "I had a watershed moment while attending a pharmaceutical sales conference (khakis, starched white shirts, too-white smiles, backslapping, etc.) that sent me running into the arms of a possible screenwriting career. Final Draft, both the software and the contest, made it all possible."

"Childproof" by Brad Henning won second place and he will receive $3,000. "Childproof" tells the story of a womanizing internet executive who unexpectedly gets custody of a 10-year-old girl he fathered through sperm donation.

"Kid Newz" by Janet Borrus & Susannah Blinkoff came in third and they will receive $1,000. "Kid Newz" is a smart, funny, family feature about three scrappy kids who become television's hottest investigative reporters.

All finalists will receive a copy of Final Draft scriptwriting software, a one-year subscription to Creative Screenwriting Magazine and scr(i)pt Magazine, a $50 gift certificate from The Writers Store and a copy of The Hollywood Creative Directory Producers Guide.

"Our congratulations and best wishes to Shawn, Brad, Janet, Susannah and all the other writers who submitted their work," said Marc Madnick, President and CEO of Final Draft, Inc. "Our Big Break contest keeps getting more popular every year and we're happy to offer an opportunity to more and more writers and help start them on their way to a successful career."

The other "Big Break" International Screenplay Contest Finalists were:

"10 Minutes to Paradise" by Janyce Lapore. A character-driven and action-packed tale of contemporary New York City.

"The Courier" by Chris Saffran. A female cat burglar becomes entangled in a web of international espionage and is seduced by a CIA agent--who just might be poison.

"The Darkest Hours" by Sean Kelly. A satiric look at McCarthy-era anti-communist propaganda that imagines America entering the 21st century under the merciless thumb of the Soviet Union.

"The Graybar Hotel" by Joel Rapp & Peter Van Pelt. A prison inmate living the good life in jail is suddenly released and must now get used to life as a free man.

"Ignatius Elf" by Charles Weir & Steve Clarke. A disenchanted Christmas Elf steals Santa's sleigh and reindeer to stop Christmas and to seek a better life as a California surfer.

"Irish Luck" by Sean Corrigan. A young and talented thief hiding his past has one week to pay back a $40,000 gambling debt. He devises a plan to win back the money in an Atlantic City casino. While in Atlantic City, he encounters a beautiful young woman with an ulterior motive who lures him into a museum heist.

"Mall Cop" by Alfred Thomas Catalfo. When armed bandits pull a daring, mall-wide heist, a hapless mall security guard who dreams of becoming a police officer proves that, this time, they've messed with the wrong quasi-law-enforcement professional.

"Moon Shadows" by Jim Henry. A girl is abducted and held hostage, grows up and extracts revenge.

About Final Draft's "Big Break" Contest Now in its third year, Final Draft's "Big Break" Contest has become one of the most popular in Hollywood due to previous winners' success and its generous payout. The first contest's winner, "Dawg," by Ken Hastings, has been produced and shot by Gold Circle Films (starring Elizabeth Hurley and Denis Leary), and last year's winner, "Breathing Underwater," by Torye Mullins, has been optioned by Stephen J. Cannell Studios.

A panel of industry professionals conducted the final judging: Brent Armitage, Kathie Fong-Yoneda, Lori Hughes, SoYun Kima and John Truby.

The contest was sponsored by Final Draft, Inc., The Writers Store, Creative Screenwriting Magazine, ScriptShark and scr(i)pt Magazine.

Updated: 08/26/2002

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