Announcing the Winners
THE LAUNCH PAD MANUSCRIPT COMPETITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RIDLEY SCOTT, INKSHARES, AND ENERGY ENTERTAINMENT ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS!
The idea of our inaugural manuscript competition began in the middle of 2015. Always doing our best to stay ahead of the curve we introduced a competition designed to bridge the literary world with Hollywood. What started as a series of conversations with our team, agents, managers, authors, publishers and executives evolved into a number of exclusive partnerships with Ridley Scott and his Scott Free productions, fast-rising publisher Inkshares, manager Brooklyn Weaver and his Energy Entertainment. With these partners in place, we knew we had guaranteed opportunities for our writers to launch their careers, expand their portfolios, publish their work, and cross over into Hollywood.
From there, and as we’ve done with our screenwriting competitions, we also wanted to bring in a talented and accomplished group of mentors who can be there to assist our writers as they forge their own careers. Part education, part motivational, part sounding board, we invited three exceptionally talented award-winning writers who have not only conquered the publishing world, but who themselves have experience in Hollywood. Enter best-selling authors Alexandra Monir, Armand Baltazar and Mike Mongo.
Now with a team in place, all we needed were talented writers excited to launch their careers across both platforms … and wow, you guys delivered immensely.
With more than 1,000 entries from over 24 different countries, featuring first time writers and New York Times best-selling authors, and covering every genre under the Sun… even mash-ups we’d never had expected, the creativity, the originality, the excitement and the passion in the work was nothing short of astonishing. And that’s not just from us, that’s from every judge who had to painstakingly try to choose a smaller number each round of finalists, that’s from our partners, who each only committed to working with one writer or one project, each ended up selecting multiple writers, and that’s from our conversations with industry members, each discovering new works they fell in love with.
So, now as the official winners are announced for our first ever manuscript competition, and the real work and reads around town truly begin, we’re incredibly proud to announce our Overall Winner, our Top Comedy Winner, our Top Drama Winner, the not one, but TWO Ridley Scott / Scott Free Winners, the Energy Entertainment Winner, and the three Launch Pad Mentorship Winners (two of whom you’re seeing for the first time), and we will announce the Inkshares/Launch Pad publishing winners on December 16th… so stay tuned!
Overall Winner
FILICIDE
Danny Newell
THE HUNGER GAMES meets THE PURGE
When all of the parents in a remote island community start to murder their children for no apparent reason, a 17-year-old girl fights to save her younger brothers from the people who are supposed to love and protect them.
Conspiracy Drama ThrillerOverall Winner Guaranteed Signing Winner
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Top Comedy
MR. & MRS. AMERICAN PIE
Juliet McDaniel
WE'RE THE MILLERS meets MISS CONGENIALITY
After her husband leaves her unexpectedly, a 1960s housewife moves to Arizona where she befriends a closeted gay bartender, and the two scheme to enter a national pageant for the most perfect American couple.
ComedyTop Comedy
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Top Drama
KING'S DAUGHTER
Julia Bobkoff
VIKINGS meets ELIZABETH
The daughter of Danish king Harald Bluetooth must lead her people amidst a Scandinavia at war after her father is killed in a battle against her usurper brother.
Drama True WarTop Drama
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The Ridley Scott / Scott Free Winners
HUMAN, ANEW
Irina Ivanova
BLADE RUNNER meets I,ROBOT
While investigating a suspicious death, a detective in a futuristic city discovers a massive conspiracy involving the artificial intelligence robots used by the police force to recreate the personalities of the recently deceased in order to consult with them in solving their murders.
Mystery Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 10 Scott Free Winner
HUMAN RESOURCES
Robert Batten
WORLD WAR Z meets THE STRAIN
After a zombie apocalypse, corporations run by vampires create heavily guarded city-states to preserve the human race - as a subjugated food supply.
Sci-Fi Supernatural ThrillerTop 25 Scott Free Winner Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
The Energy Entertainment Guaranteed Signing Winner
FILICIDE
Danny Newell
THE HUNGER GAMES meets THE PURGE
When all of the parents in a remote island community start to murder their children for no apparent reason, a 17-year-old girl fights to save her younger brothers from the people who are supposed to love and protect them.
Conspiracy Drama ThrillerOverall Winner Guaranteed Signing Winner
View On Inkshares
Mentorship Program Winners
ZERO ECHO SHADOW PRIME
Peter Samet
EX MACHINA meets ORPHAN BLACK
A brilliant teen programmer dying of cancer is saved by a tech mogul's risky cloning procedure, only to awake and discover that the mogul separated her into four separate entities, each of which she must fight to gain freedom while figuring out how to become whole again.
Drama Sci-Fi Young AdultMentorship Selection (Armand Baltazar) Honorable Mention
GOING RENO
Elizabeth Quinn
DOWNTON ABBEY meets MANHATTAN
In 1930s Reno, a woman looking for a divorce discovers her husband has found a way to cheat her out of everything she owns, but instead of running back to an old life she never truly loved, she decides to reinvent herself in a city that still honors its frontier roots and vices.
Drama PeriodMentorship Selection (Alexandra Monir)
MAXINE STARR: LAST VANGUARD OF THE ZODIAC
Kane Wheatley-Holder
TOMORROWLAND meets HARRY POTTER
After moving to Singapore following her father's death, a teenage girl gets kidnapped by aliens and brought to an elite military academy in space. Upon discovering that her father founded the school years earlier, she unravels a web of secrets and gets dragged into an intergalactic conflict.
Sci-Fi Young AdultMentorship Selection (Mike Mongo)
Inkshares Publishing Prize Winners
HOW TO KISS LIKE A MOVIE STAR
Leslie Nipkow
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL meets CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
Based on her real-life experiences, an award-winning soap opera writer details her life as a "real-size" girl breaking into the entertainment industry, telling stories of love, sex, family secrets, illness, and more.
Comedy Drama MemoirHonorable Mention Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
HUMAN RESOURCES
Robert Batten
WORLD WAR Z meets THE STRAIN
After a zombie apocalypse, corporations run by vampires create heavily guarded city-states to preserve the human race - as a subjugated food supply.
Sci-Fi Supernatural ThrillerTop 25 Scott Free Winner Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
LOVING WRATH OF ELDON QUINT, THE
Chase Pletts
DEADWOOD meets THE REVENANT
A farmer takes his recently deceased son across the country in order to bury him next to his wife. He must deal with the worst of humanity and nature as he makes the arduous journey while being mistaken for a dangerous criminal, but things only get worse when he arrives at his son's final resting place to discover that his wife is alive and well.
Drama WesternTop 10 Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
Top 5% Of All Entries
(Listed Alphabetically)
A COMPANY OF ROSES
Megan Toogood
THE DA VINCI CODE meets GONE GIRL
A centuries old clandestine society tries to keep the secret of an illegitimate Elizabethan royal child hidden as a young woman, in search of her missing friend, discovers clues that may uncover the truth. Going down the path of a treasure hunt she never could have imagined, the woman uncovers far more than she bargained for when the investigation leads her into a very dangerous conspiracy.
Adventure Drama MysteryTop 25
A FAITHVILLE ALMANAC OF BIBLICAL & FOLK MEDICINE : A NOVEL
Denis Basic
THE HANDMAID'S TALE meets TWIN PEAKS
A closeted atheist secretly, and illegally, chronicles the goings-on of the hyper-religious cult that runs the dystopian town of Faithville, all while plotting an escape for himself and those he loves.
Drama Mystery Sci-FiHonorable Mention
A WILDERNESS OF COMFORT
Dan Levinson & Lee Levinson
THE WOMAN IN GOLD meets VERTIGO
After making a purchase that would save his dying business, an art dealer's good luck turns to misfortune when the origin of the masterpieces comes to light. Now, with the horrific stigma of the Holocaust looming over the art, he has to discover the truth behind the paintings' past to bring closure to the original owner, and to save his business, his marriage, and even his life.
Drama MysteryTop 25
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A WONDERFUL WORLD
Geoffrey Uhl
THE NEVERENDING STORY meets ALICE IN WONDERLAND
After her parents die in a natural disaster, a little girl soon finds herself transported to a topsy-turvy world unlike anything she has ever seen. While exploring it with her newfound friends, she discovers that she is in fact the only one who can protect this magical place from an encroaching darkness that threatens its existence.
Adventure FantasyTop 25
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AMBER BROWN FILES
Lisa Renee Jones
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER meets SUPERNATURAL
On her 27th birthday a lawyer experiences a power awaken inside of her and she becomes a Seer, a person who can sense and see evil in the world. This awakening changes her life forever as she finds herself in the midst of a life or death conflict between demons and Seers. As her world unwinds, the darkness within her becomes more powerful and she begins to fear she might be one of the monsters she's supposed to be hunting.
Drama Romance SupernaturalHonorable Mention
ANGEL DUST
Rose Lewenstein
MR. ROBOT meets MEMENTO
Having experienced strange blackouts for the majority of her life, an aimless 20-something has embraced the issue as a way to avoid dealing with her past. But when the mysterious cash deposits she receives every month suddenly stop, and her world collides with a thieving stranger, she learns that the money and the blackouts may be more connected than she ever thought possible.
Crime Drama ThrillerTop 50
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BLACK CLOUD
Landon Crutcher
SIRENS meets GREY'S ANATOMY
Over the course of eight days, an unlucky paramedic, who seems to attract difficult cases, copes with the ups and downs of his profession.
Drama ThrillerHonorable Mention
BLOOD SISTERS
John Kuriger & Kristin McGraw
THELMA AND LOUISE meets KILL BILL
When all the women of a small town who have been victimized by men start acting fearless and violent, they band together to discover the cause while carrying out their revenge on those who have wronged them.
Horror ThrillerTop 75
BORISLAV THE TERRIBLE AND THE WAYWARD STINK BOMB
Hilary Sierpinski
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID meets PHINEAS AND FERB
When a supervillain starts controlling the mind of a quiet 10-year-old, he must band together with his friends in order to expel the mad scientist from his brain before they all find themselves permanently grounded.
Coming-of-Age Family Sci-FiTop 50
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BRIDGE OF THE AMERICAS
Evan McNamara
SICARIO meets HOMELAND
A Homeland Security agent must stop his brother, a recruiter for an Islamic terrorist cell in the Mexican desert, from carrying out an attack on the US Oil Reserves.
Action Conspiracy ThrillerTop 25
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CHARLIE ZULU FOXTROT
Troy Nethercott
SECONDHAND LIONS meets OCTOBER SKY
When an American teenager is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in rural France, he feels lost and alone until he discovers a rusted old plane that he starts to fix up. The project brings everyone together to create the family he has been missing, as they prepare the plane for a flight that will change him forever.
Coming-of-Age DramaTop 75
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COMPLETELY INCOMPLETE
Jeffrey Hirschberg
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY meets THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
The top marriage counselor in NYC falls for her biggest rival as well as the patient they’re both helping. A romantic rectangle.
Comedy RomanceTop 75
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CONSEQUENCE
Connor Eyzaguirre
BLADE meets THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
After a gang of vampires murder his wife and son, a Union soldier spends the next eleven years tracking them down, leading him to Consequence, where he helps defend the town against the demons of the West.
Horror Supernatural WesternTop 50
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CURE FOR PAIN
David Vienna
NASHVILLE meets SWEET HOME ALABAMA
A rising country music star returns to her small hometown to film a reality show, but reconnecting with her high school boyfriend makes her rethink going back to the LA limelight.
Drama Music RomanceTop 75
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DAVID RHODES: THE VITRUVIAN MAN
Scott Poiley
MINORITY REPORT meets ZODIAC
In a world where reincarnation is a reality, a detective hunts down a serial killer who has been murdering people over countless lifetimes.
Crime Sci-Fi ThrillerHonorable Mention
DEADLEGS
Cardy O'Donnell
THE FINEST HOURS meets DEADLIEST CATCH
In the 1970s, a young fisherman struggles not only with proving himself against two of his shipmates, his more physically imposing brother and the father of his girlfriend's unborn child, but the elements themselves as they battle ruthless waters in Arctic winter.
Action DramaTop 50
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DISTANCE OF MERCY, THE
Shelly Drancik
BROOKLYN meets THE PIANIST
An Austrian girl who grew up in the Russian occupation of Vienna following WWII undergoes culture shock after moving to America to attend college in Chicago. There she meets an African American woman whose friendship will ultimately save her.
DramaTop 25
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DIVORCE DIET, THE
George Gier
GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO DIVORCE meets THE BIGGEST LOSER
After being diagnosed with Type II diabetes, a morbidly obese woman decides it is time to make a change when her husband leaves her. With the help of her closest friend, she embarks on an epic weight loss journey that leads to her own reality TV show and subsequent fame.
Comedy DramaTop 50
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EMBALM THE MARMOT
Ryan Holly
ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
A man travels between the totalitarian surface and a magical underground world in search of his grandfather's body, forcing him to confront fantastical creatures, time travel, and a decades-old conflict.
Drama FantasyHonorable Mention
EMBER
Amanda Keener
DIVERGENT meets MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
When a teen learns she has the power to control fire on her 16th birthday, she must move to a special Academy that will teach her control over her new gift. While there, she discovers that there's more too the Academy's altruism than meets the eye, and her and her new friends need a way out.
Drama Supernatural Young AdultTop 75
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END OF VIOLET AND ABBY, THE
Scott Kearney
JENNIFER'S BODY meets HEATHERS
When her best friend dies in a tragic accident, and immediately comes back, a teenage girl is just happy to have her BFF returned. Until boys start turning up dead, ravaged by a creature both terrifying and familiar, and now it's up to her to save herself and her best friend from an ancient evil that threatens them all.
Horror Supernatural Young AdultTop 75
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ESCAPE FROM MOUNT CHAMPLAIN
Mark Trenteseaux
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN meets X-MEN
A young boy reeling from the death of his parents, for which he feels guilty despite having no memory of the accident, is sent to a fantastical, futuristic rehabilitation center, but he soon suspects there's something more sinister at play.
Mystery Sci-Fi Young AdultHonorable Mention
EVERYTHING YOU WANT
Kirsten Alexander
BLOODLINE meets THE KILLING
After covering up a hit-and-run accident, a brother and sister's lives are changed forever when they discover that the woman they left for dead was their soon-to-be stepmother. Now, with the effects of their actions playing out right in front of them, their personal lives and mental stability slowly begin to erode.
Drama MysteryHonorable Mention
FALL OF DREAMS, THE
Ryan LaSalle
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH meets HANSEL AND GRETEL
Terrorized by fear thanks to his vivid, horrific dreams, a young insomniac finally succumbs to sleep and is taken to a place where his imaginings come true. Trapped in a mysterious world filled with eccentric characters and hungry witches, he struggles to find his way home.
Adventure Coming-of-Age FantasyTop 75
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FAMILIAR, THE
Jonathan Marx
THE CLEANER meets iZOMBIE
A small town mortician spends his nights working as a Familiar, a crime scene cleaner hired by supernatural creatures to clean up their messes and hide their existence. Despite his dual life, he manages to keep both businesses running smoothly, until he's drawn into a mystery involving disappearing corpses, werewolves, and a former girlfriend.
Crime Fantasy SupernaturalTop 10
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FAST FORWARD
Elizabeth Stevens & James Bruner
CAPTAIN AMERICA meets LIFE ON MARS
After being captured by the Nazis, an LAPD detective fighting in World War II wakes up in 1985 Los Angeles not having aged a day and with no memory of how he got there. He must work with his now elderly friends and family in an attempt to get back to where he belongs.
Action Drama Sci-FiHonorable Mention
FILICIDE
Danny Newell
THE HUNGER GAMES meets THE PURGE
When all of the parents in a remote island community start to murder their children for no apparent reason, a 17-year-old girl fights to save her younger brothers from the people who are supposed to love and protect them.
Conspiracy Drama ThrillerOverall Winner Guaranteed Signing Winner
View On Inkshares
FINAL GIRL, THE
Scott Thomas
JUNO meets HALLOWEEN
When a tough, snarky 16-year-old moves with her distant, psychologist father to the down-on-its-luck Colorado town of Black Ridge, she learns the bloody history of the town as her father studies the patient responsible for the infamous rampage. Little does she know, the killer has been waiting for someone like her to carry on his legacy.
Coming-of-Age Horror ThrillerTop 25
FOOTAGE
Lex Snowe
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE meets THE BOURNE IDENTITY
In the future, under the guise of brain surgery, the FBI uses advanced technology to turn American citizens into unwitting spies. With covert, and unaware, operatives all over the country, the program is working better than ever, until one of the subjects rebels against the system and attempts to bring it all down.
Conspiracy Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 50
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FRIGHTFUL
Kristin Kirby
KRAMPUS meets GREMLINS
When a demonic monster is unleashed on a small town at Christmastime, an eager K-9 cop teams up with a hotshot city detective to destroy the beast before it kills again.
HorrorTop 75
GHOSTS OF FLAME AND SHADOW
Shardae Rudel
ERAGON meets BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
A young woman and her best friend, both of whom possess magical abilities, struggle to make ends meet while on the run from an assassin who targets those with powers, including her family.
Adventure Fantasy Young AdultTop 50
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GOLDEN GATE RESCUE
Joseph Anderson
THE O.C. meets BAYWATCH
A group of wealthy high school students volunteer with the Bay Area Search & Rescue Unit, risking their own lives to save people lost in the wilderness, all the while navigating the no-less-difficult pressures of high school.
Action Drama Young AdultTop 50
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GRIM, THE
Scott Leddy
I AM LEGEND meets THE MAZE RUNNER
In a post-apocalyptic future, a disease has swept the world, killing much of the population and leaving some of the survivors unnaturally ruthless and bloodthirsty. A teen born into slavery to these evil masters meets a mysterious girl whose biology might hold the key to curing the disease, and they set out to save humanity, both from the plague and from its own darkest impulses.
Action Sci-Fi Young AdultHonorable Mention
GYRE
Robert Sheppe
THE SHALLOWS meets LOST
A reluctant teenager dragged into a family vacation boating off the coast of Hawaii struggles to save herself and her family when a monster attacks mid-trip.
Drama HorrorHonorable Mention
HAUNTED HEART
Robert Herold
PENNY DREADFUL meets SUPERNATURAL
In late 19th Century America, a mismatched group of academics and psychics travel the country solving supernatural crimes and mysteries. But when they need to add a new member to their team, as they prepare to tackle one of their toughest cases, it threatens to change their group forever.
Drama Horror SupernaturalTop 50
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HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WITH FISTS
Lex Wilson
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER meets THE AVENGERS
Three young women - a contrarian, a goth, and a hacker - would rather be teenagers than superheroes.
Action Comedy Young AdultTop 25
HOTEL GRAMERCY PARK
Max Weissberg
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL meets THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS
A man chronicles the true story of his family who owned the famous Gramercy Park Hotel in New York for decades, interacting with the rich, famous, and crazy on a daily basis.
Drama MemoirTop 75
HOW TO KISS LIKE A MOVIE STAR
Leslie Nipkow
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL meets CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
Based on her real-life experiences, an award-winning soap opera writer details her life as a "real-size" girl breaking into the entertainment industry, telling stories of love, sex, family secrets, illness, and more.
Comedy Drama MemoirHonorable Mention Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
HOW TO MAKE AND KILL THE PERFECT MAN
Sarah Archer Moulton
MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES meets SIMONE
An engineer desperate to find a date to her sister's wedding creates a lifelike robot who turns out to be the perfect guy for her, which makes things difficult when the time comes to shut him down.
Comedy Romance Sci-FiHonorable Mention
View On Inkshares
HUMAN RESOURCES
Robert Batten
WORLD WAR Z meets THE STRAIN
After a zombie apocalypse, corporations run by vampires create heavily guarded city-states to preserve the human race - as a subjugated food supply.
Sci-Fi Supernatural ThrillerTop 25 Scott Free Winner Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
View On Inkshares
HUMAN, ANEW
Irina Ivanova
BLADE RUNNER meets I,ROBOT
While investigating a suspicious death, a detective in a futuristic city discovers a massive conspiracy involving the artificial intelligence robots used by the police force to recreate the personalities of the recently deceased in order to consult with them in solving their murders.
Mystery Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 10 Scott Free Winner
IMMORTAL LADY, THE
Roy Rocha
FOREVER meets TWILIGHT
An immortal woman living in secret in a New York City convent meets a strangely alluring man who turns out to be a vampire, causing her to become trapped in a war between rival clans vying for control of the city.
Fantasy Romance SupernaturalTop 75
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INTO COVERT WATERS
James Hawes & Mary Ann Koenig
ARGO meets CHE
The true story of a young CIA agent sent to the Congo in the 1960s in order to secretly stop a Communist rebellion led by Che Guevara.
Action Drama TrueTop 75
JOHN WILKES BOOTH AND ME
Staton Rabin
MERCY STREET meets LINCOLN
A young girl befriends the famous actor John Wilkes Booth just before he assassinates President Abraham Lincoln.
Coming-of-Age DramaTop 50
KILL CREEK
Scott Thomas
THE CONJURING meets THE SHINING
A publicity stunt sends four bestselling horror writers into a legendary haunted house on Halloween. What starts out as a simple exploitation of their popularity becomes a dangerous proposition when the house's supernatural history turns out to be all too true and they find themselves all writing the exact same sinister book upon returning home.
Horror SupernaturalTop 10
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KING'S DAUGHTER
Julia Bobkoff
VIKINGS meets ELIZABETH
The daughter of Danish king Harald Bluetooth must lead her people amidst a Scandinavia at war after her father is killed in a battle against her usurper brother.
Drama True WarTop Drama
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KREEP WHURLD
Hampton Flint
THE WALKING DEAD meets DEADLIEST CATCH
After an invasion by violent insect-like creatures that carry a dangerous disease, a teenage fisherman from North Carolina faces the challenge of her life when she is hired by one of the infected to escort him along the Atlantic coast to Baltimore.
Sci-Fi Young AdultTop 10
LAGOON SWIMMER
Matthew Bookman
ANNIE HALL meets OFFICE SPACE
After being fired for incompetence, a high-level PR exec with no real skills struggles to find his way in the world, moving from one odd job to the next.
Comedy DramaTop 75
LANCE & ART
Noah Sanders
MAN ON FIRE meets TAKEN
An aging ex-con who works as a bodyguard for the heir of a Chinese crime family in San Francisco will stop at nothing to get the boy back after he is kidnapped.
Action Crime DramaHonorable Mention
LANDFALL
Adam Aresty
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS meets QUANTICO
Investigating terror attacks becomes near impossible after an alien invasion uses telepathy to control the minds of humans and force them into groups with the sole purpose of taking as many lives as possible.
Drama Sci-FiTop 50
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LAZARUS
Maryanne Melloan Woods
VERONICA MARS meets GHOST
A police chief's daughter and her boyfriend make the perfect small town detective team. The only problem? The boyfriend is a ghost and the town is in the thick of a murder spree.
Mystery Supernatural Young AdultTop 10
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LIFE WITHOUT
Robert Giordano
OZ meets SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A private investigator, serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife, gathers his allies to uncover the identity of a serial killer who has been killing both inside and outside of the prison.
Drama ThrillerTop 75
LION AND THE DEAD, THE
E.S. Dahl
DEAD LIKE ME meets SLEEPY HOLLOW
A man who digs up people killed in wars so they can come back to life and tie up loose ends brings back a Civil War soldier who forms an unbreakable bond with the woman now living in his old home.
Drama Romance SupernaturalTop 75
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LONDONI, THE
Sultana Choudhry
WHITE TEETH meets SINGLE WHITE FEMALE
A Bangaldeshi woman travels to London to live with her cousin, and will stop at nothing in order to stay in her new home, no matter the consequence of her actions.
Crime Drama ThrillerHonorable Mention
LONELY PIXEL, THE
Martin Sturrock
BLACK MIRROR meets DIVERGENT
In a world where everyone works for one of three major corporations who control their employees' lives with virtual reality eyewear, a teenage girl joins a rebellion after she is caught up in a terrorist attack against her corporation.
Sci-Fi Thriller Young AdultTop 50
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LORD OF THE WOLVES, THE
James Matlack Raney
WHITE FANG meets THE LION KING
After the violent death of their parents, a lame wolf pup must step up to lead his siblings as they run from the murderous wolf looking to finish the job.
Adventure Coming-of-Age FamilyHonorable Mention
LORETTA OF THE LAMP
JR Manawa
I DREAM OF JEANNIE meets THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA
After breaking into a museum, a London teenager is sucked into an ancient genie's lamp and goes on an adventure through a desert fantasy world.
Adventure FantasyTop 75
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LOVING WRATH OF ELDON QUINT, THE
Chase Pletts
DEADWOOD meets THE REVENANT
A farmer takes his recently deceased son across the country in order to bury him next to his wife. He must deal with the worst of humanity and nature as he makes the arduous journey while being mistaken for a dangerous criminal, but things only get worse when he arrives at his son's final resting place to discover that his wife is alive and well.
Drama WesternTop 10 Inkshares Publishing Prize Winner
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MANY BRAVE HEARTS
Virginia Slachman
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD meets UNBROKEN
A love story of a couple who met while serving in WWII and the battle to keep their love alive as they face the destructive toll of PTSD.
Drama Memoir RomanceHonorable Mention
MARK, THE
Kirsten Boswell
WARCRAFT meets THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS
A young girl trains to be a soldier in a war against a race of fire demons invading her land, only to be unwillingly named their next leader when a mysterious mark appears on her arm.
Adventure Fantasy Young AdultHonorable Mention
MEMORY ROAD
Martin McSweeney
ASSASSINS CREED meets THE MAZE RUNNER
A group of teenagers with historically important ancestors are kidnapped by a criminal mastermind and forced to take a drug that allows them to enter their ancestral memories and change the past.
Sci-Fi Thriller Young AdultTop 50
MITTEN HAND
Jody Giardina
PERSEPOLIS meets SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
After being exiled from her community, a young Iranian girl with leprosy moves to a leper colony in Karachi, where an aid worker helps her obtain entry into the United States, only to discover that the company sponsoring her trip has ulterior motives.
Coming-of-Age DramaTop 75
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MR. & MRS. AMERICAN PIE
Juliet McDaniel
WE'RE THE MILLERS meets MISS CONGENIALITY
After her husband leaves her unexpectedly, a 1960s housewife moves to Arizona where she befriends a closeted gay bartender, and the two scheme to enter a national pageant for the most perfect American couple.
ComedyTop Comedy
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NIGHTSONG
M.J. Rhodes
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN meets WITNESS
A woman witnesses what she thinks might be a kidnapping, but doesn't come forward until after the child is reported missing. Now a pariah due to her inaction, she sets out to solve the crime herself and find redemption.
Crime Drama ThrillerHonorable Mention
NINE GRAVES OF GERALDINE GREY, THE
Namina Forna
PARANORMAN meets SHADOWHUNTERS
A young girl tasked with helping souls from a Louisiana cemetery pass to the other side must fight a powerful witch for control over the gate to the underworld.
Adventure Coming-of-Age FantasyTop 75
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NOWHERE WITCH, THE
A.R. Cook
ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
A witch summons six famous warriors from across history to a hell dimension, where she forces them to fight to the death to determine humanity's greatest fighter, whose blood she needs for a sacrificial ritual.
Adventure Fantasy SupernaturalHonorable Mention
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OPERA RATS
Courtney Silberberg & Jacquelyn Kinkade Silberberg
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING meets THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
The story of painter and sculptor Edgar Degas and the young dancer he fell in love with at the Paris Opera House, who inspired his most famous works of art.
Biopic Drama RomanceTop 75
View On Inkshares
PASCAL LE PIGLET - TRUFFLE HUNTER EXTRAORDINAIRE / HEAD OF THE PIGLET RESISTANCE
Sebastian Loden
FANTASTIC MR. FOX meets REDWALL
After an invading army captures their parents, a group of young French animals form a resistance to fight back and rescue them.
Animation Family WarTop 75
View On Inkshares
PHANTOM FOREST, THE
Liz Kerin
THE HUNGER GAMES meets PAN'S LABYRINTH
A young woman is accidentally transported alive to the Underworld during her village's human sacrifice ritual, and joins forces with the demon to whom she was sacrificed to protect her family from beyond the grave.
Drama Fantasy Young AdultTop 75
View On Inkshares
PILLARS OF ELLONDRA, THE
Michael Coon
THE LORD OF THE RINGS meets GAME OF THRONES
In the kingdom of Ellondra, a massive barrier keeps the people safe from dangerous creatures until a breach forms in the wall, threatening the entire kingdom and forcing the next queen to dive head first into a devastating war.
Adventure Fantasy WarHonorable Mention
PLANETFALL
Nate Shepherd
THE STAND meets THE BOOK OF ELI
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a young refugee becomes a messiah when he finds the map to a mythical spaceship that offers salvation to what's left of humanity. As more and more people begin to follow him, he realizes that the hope he wields is the most powerful weapon left on the planet, and could easily corrupt him.
Drama Sci-FiTop 75
RA
Ben Gentile
SUNSHINE meets BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Years after the sun went supernova, the space station that shields the Earth and provides heat and light to humanity finds itself the center stage for a rebellion.
Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 50
View On Inkshares
RELEVANT WITCH
Desiree Proctor
SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH meets MEAN GIRLS
After the untimely death of the most popular girl in her class, a teenage nobody takes her shot and gets the lead in the school's production of The Crucible, only to find that the subject matter brings forward her own latent magical abilities.
Dark Comedy Supernatural Young AdultTop 25
View On Inkshares
RETURN TO SUMMERLAND
Noushin Jahanian
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS meets THE CRAFT
While coping with the tragic death of a friend, a teenager tries to piece together her fractured memories of that fateful night, and soon discovers that she's actually a witch and that her friend was killed in an act of dangerous black magic. Now it is up to her and her newfound coven to stop the vengeful spirit they mistakenly released.
Mystery Supernatural Young AdultTop 50
View On Inkshares
RETURNING THE GOLDEN-EYED GIRL
S.G. Meine
DIVERGENT meets ELYSIUM
Thirty years after a deadly virus swept the surface of their planet, a girl is accidentally transported to a floating city in the sky thought long-abandoned. When she finds out there is an entire population living disease-free, she soon finds herself fleeing from a government that doesn't want its citizens to know about life on the surface.
Conspiracy Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 75
View On Inkshares
SEA OF TRANQUILITY
Robert Sheppe
STATE OF PLAY meets MOON
A journalist investigating a private space company is invited to take a trip to the first ever moon colony, only to discover that there are already astronauts living there, and they don't want any company.
Conspiracy Sci-Fi ThrillerTop 50
View On Inkshares
SECOND LOOK, THE
Wendy Simons
PRISONERS meets TRUE DETECTIVE
After the violent death of his grandson, a US Marshall travels to a small town haunted by two similar murders from 10 years ago in hopes of finding a possible connection between the crimes.
Drama MysteryTop 25
View On Inkshares
SECRET LIVES OF DEAD PROM QUEENS, THE
Marina Richards
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES meets THE GIFT
Living a perfect life, a suburban housewife's past comes back to haunt her when the body of the prom queen she killed in high school is found and an investigation opens. Now she must choose what she is willing to do in order to keep her decade-old secret from coming out.
Crime DramaTop 25
View On Inkshares
SEVENTH MARK, THE (AKA OUTLANDER, THE)
Shannon Kelley
THE LORD OF THE RINGS meets OUTLANDER
When a ghost ship crashes into the harbor of a small town, a manhunt ensues for the mysterious figure seen fleeing from the wreckage. As rumor and lore builds around the event, one young boy befriends a powerful stranger who is being blamed for the tragedy.
Adventure Coming-of-Age FantasyHonorable Mention
SHADOW KING
Susan Hamilton
LOST GIRL meets THE DEPARTED
In an alternate version of Boston where mystical creatures live alongside humans, a fairy mobster fights to keep control of the city and expand his empire just as he falls in love with an enigmatic fortuneteller.
Crime Drama FantasyTop 10
View On Inkshares
SHADOW WITHIN, THE
Mark Stoner
GAME OF THRONES meets THE LORD OF THE RINGS
In a fantastical medieval realm, a prince takes control of his kingdom from his comatose father, a young guardsman kills a slaver, a young girl is kidnapped by a mysterious demonic cult, and a noble-born teenager flees an arranged marriage.
Adventure Fantasy WarHonorable Mention
SHADY PLACE
David Byrne
GRUMPY OLD MEN meets HOT FUZZ
When a former detective reluctantly moves into a retirement community, he discovers that his neighbor is an ex-mobster he caught years ago and is now in witness protection. Not only does he have to overcome his hatred to compete for the affections of a woman they both want, the two men must team up to solve a series of murders affecting the residents of this sleepy town.
Comedy Crime MysteryTop 50
View On Inkshares
SMALL ON THE MAP
David Laurie
ENEMY OF THE STATE meets SNOWDEN
When a peaceful protest turns deadly, a young British woman finds herself caught in the crosshairs as a witness to murder. Unsure of the truth, she is forced to reach out to a team of white hat hackers who are being framed for the terrorist act.
Conspiracy ThrillerTop 75
View On Inkshares
SPY WHO LOATHED ME, THE
Chris Westphal
HAIL, CAESAR! meets THE AMERICANS
A Russian spy enlists the help of an amateur screenwriter to produce a script on the leader of the Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev, all while being monitored by an FBI agent who is madly in love with her.
Dark ComedyHonorable Mention
SUPERKID
Matt Harry
SPY KIDS meets KICK-ASS
When a teenager discovers his baby sister has super powers, he and his best friend become her babysitters and sidekicks. They soon learn that saving people is not as easy as it seems, and that their whole world has been turned upside down.
Action Comedy Young AdultTop 25
TALLOK
David Luz
GAME OF THRONES meets MISTBORN TRILOGY
In a world where a winged race has enslaved humans for centuries, a human resistance arises, led by a young princess.
Adventure Fantasy Young AdultTop 25
View On Inkshares
TAOS HUM, THE
Troy Nethercott
THE SIGNAL meets THE CHERNOBYL DIARIES
A documentary filmmaker teams up with an army vet whose husband is missing in order to investigate a mysterious sound heard by residents of a small New Mexico town, unearthing a dangerous government conspiracy along the way.
Conspiracy Drama ThrillerHonorable Mention
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Kirsten Maron
QUANTUM LEAP meets THE FAMILY MAN
A man must deal with having the uncontrollable "gift" of his spirit jumping randomly into other people's bodies, while managing the rest of his life, which is falling apart due to his periodic absences.
Dark Comedy SupernaturalTop 50
View On Inkshares
TREV
Val Mote
SKINS meets THE WIRE
Three friends from a poor London estate have their lives overturned when they witness a gang hit outside their apartment building.
Crime Drama Young AdultTop 50
View On Inkshares
VICTORIA THE FIRST
Bill Osinski
SUFFRAGETTE meets THE KING'S SPEECH
The true story of Victoria Woodhull, who goes from sham psychic to prominent political activist, leads the suffragette movement, and becomes the first woman to ever run for President of the United States.
Drama Political TrueTop 75
View On Inkshares
VINCENT ISLAND
Amelia Fergusson
12 YEARS A SLAVE meets DEADWOOD
The inhabitants of a Caribbean island in 1845 are a mixture of freed British slaves and white colonists, struggling to find their place in a post-slavery world filled with race, class, and religious conflict in their lawless outpost of the Empire.
DramaTop 50
View On Inkshares
WE JUMPED ANYWAY
Katelynn Dey
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS meets ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES
Just before their high school graduation, six friends are caught in a devastating fire that leaves one of them in a coma and the rest struggling to understand what happened, and where to go from there.
Coming-of-Age Drama Young AdultTop 50
View On Inkshares
WEST OF WEIRD
Harrison Cheung
WHITE OLEANDER meets FRESH OFF THE BOAT
A 15-year-old Caucasian in foster care is adopted by a single Chinese-American father and has to adjust to the cultural shift, unwittingly becoming involved with a sexually sadistic neighborhood couple in the process.
Coming-of-Age Drama Young AdultTop 50
View On Inkshares
WHITE CROW, THE
Paula Rogers
MERCY STREET meets MEDIUM
After she sees a vision of her brother on the day he dies thousands of miles away fighting in the Civil War, an epileptic woman follows a charismatic medium into his Spiritualist commune where she struggles to find the truth in a faith built on seances and sleight of hand.
Drama SupernaturalTop 25
View On Inkshares
WORLD WAR 2.1
Mark E. McCann
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE meets FREQUENCY
A young man accidentally opens a portal to 1943 Germany after tinkering with a Nazi artifact brought back by his grandfather from WWII. What begins as a fascinating trip to the past quickly turns into him causing significant changes in history that could turn the tide in favor of the Germans.
Adventure Sci-Fi WarTop 75
WORLD WAR METAL
Luke Preston
I, ROBOT meets ZOOLANDER
When all the world's robots rise up to destroy humanity, a supermodel will stop at nothing to find her son in the chaos, and might just end up saving the world along the way.
Action Comedy Sci-FiTop 25
View On Inkshares
WRECKAGE
James Morris
LORD OF THE FLIES meets PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
After six prep school students survive a plane crash in the Amazon, they must struggle to live in the jungle with little hope of rescue. Only one girl makes it home alive to tell the story, or, at least, her version of it.
Drama Thriller Young AdultTop 50
View On Inkshares
YARDELL CHRONICLES
Lisa Renee Jones
JESSICA JONES meets SHADOWHUNTERS
A young woman with the ability to speak to spirits is charged with guarding a portal to purgatory as she works alongside her friends at a paranormal investigation agency in San Francisco.
Drama Mystery SupernaturalTop 50
YUAN FEN SHANGHAI TORAH
Briana London
SHOAH meets LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
As World War II erupts, a young Jewish scribe flees Lithuania with his most prized possession, his in-progress copy of the Torah, setting him on an unusual collision course with a family of Chinese calligraphers living under Japanese occupation.
Drama WarTop 50
View On Inkshares
ZERO ECHO SHADOW PRIME
Peter Samet
EX MACHINA meets ORPHAN BLACK
A brilliant teen programmer dying of cancer is saved by a tech mogul's risky cloning procedure, only to awake and discover that the mogul separated her into four separate entities, each of which she must fight to gain freedom while figuring out how to become whole again.
Drama Sci-Fi Young AdultMentorship Selection (Armand Baltazar) Honorable Mention
Announcing the Top 25
THE LAUNCH PAD MANUSCRIPT COMPETITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RIDLEY SCOTT, INKSHARES, AND ENERGY ENTERTAINMENT ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 25 MANUSCRIPTS OF 2016!
Following several months of submissions, reading, and re-reading entries from 24 countries around the world, we, along with our partners Ridley Scott, Inkshares publishing, and Energy Entertainment, are thrilled to announce the second round of finalists in our inaugural Launch Pad Manuscript Competition.
With Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions onboard to option one winner, Inkshares set to publish three winners, and Brooklyn Weaver’s Energy Entertainment set to sign at least one winner, the competition drew an audience from all around the world, with entries coming from countries as close as Canada and Mexico, to as far as Macedonia, Guinea-Bissau, Singapore, Belarus, and New Zealand amongst others. The Top 25 finalists hail from the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, and Australia.
So, without further ado, we are incredibly excited to announce the third round of finalists for our inaugural Launch Pad Manuscript Competition.
(As a reminder: If you selected the Scott Free, Energy Entertainment, or Mentor add-ons at time of entry, but did not advance to the Top 25, you are still in contention to win those prizes. In fact, every competition since we began featuring add-on partner packages has featured a winner who did not make the initial finalist round.)
A Company of Roses
Megan Toogood
THE DA VINCI CODE meets GONE GIRL
A centuries old clandestine society tries to keep the secret of an illegitimate Elizabethan royal child hidden as a young woman, in search of her missing friend, discovers clues that may uncover the truth. Going down the path of a treasure hunt she never could have imagined, the woman uncovers far more than she bargained for when the investigation leads her into a very dangerous conspiracy.
Adventure Drama ThrillerA Wilderness of Comfort
Dan Levinson & Lee Levinson
THE WOMAN IN GOLD meets VERTIGO
After making a purchase that would save his dying business, an art dealer's good luck turns to misfortune when the origin of the masterpieces comes to light. Now, with the horrific stigma of the Holocaust looming over the art, he has to discover the truth behind the paintings past to bring closure to the original owner, and to save his business, his marriage, and even his life.
Drama MysteryA Wonderful World
Geoffrey Uhl
THE NEVERENDING STORY meets ALICE IN WONDERLAND
After her parents die in a natural disaster, a little girl soon finds herself transported to a topsy-turvy world unlike anything she has ever seen. While exploring it with her newfound friends, she discovers that she is in fact the only one who can protect this magical place from an encroaching darkness that threatens its existence.
Adventure FantasyBridge of the Americas
Evan McNamara
SICARIO meets HOMELAND
A Homeland Security agent must stop his brother, a recruiter for an Islamic terrorist cell in the Mexican desert, from carrying out an attack on the US Oil Reserves.
Action ThrillerDistance of Mercy, The
Shelly Drancik
BROOKLYN meets THE PIANIST
An Austrian girl who grew up in the Russian occupation of Vienna following WWII undergoes culture shock after moving to America to attend college in Chicago. There she meets an African American woman whose friendship will ultimately save her.
Drama PeriodFamiliar, The
Jonathan Marx
THE CLEANER meets iZOMBIE
A small town mortician spends his nights working as a Familiar, a crime scene cleaner hired by supernatural creatures to clean up their messes and hide their existence. Despite his dual life, he manages to keep both businesses running smoothly, until he's drawn into a mystery involving disappearing corpses, werewolves, and a former girlfriend.
Crime Fantasy SupernaturalFilicide
Danny Newell
THE HUNGER GAMES meets THE PURGE
When all of the parents in a remote island community start to murder their children for no apparent reason, a 17-year-old girl fights to save her younger brothers from the people who are supposed to love and protect them.
Thriller Sci-Fi Young AdultFinal Girl, The
Scott Thomas
JUNO meets HALLOWEEN
When a tough, snarky 16-year-old moves with her distant, psychologist father to the down-on-its-luck Colorado town of Black Ridge, she learns the bloody history of the town as her father studies the patient responsible for the infamous rampage. Little does she know, the killer has been waiting for someone like her to carry on his legacy.
Horror ThrillerHigh School Girls With Fists
Lex Wilson
SUPERGIRL meets SCREAM QUEENS
A teenage girl struggles with the normal problems of high school: her weight, mean girls, homework, and the annoying fact that she's a superhero.
Action Comedy Young AdultHuman Resources
Robert Batten
WORLD WAR Z meets THE STRAIN
After a zombie apocalypse, corporations run by vampires create heavily guarded city-states to preserve the human race - as a subjugated food supply.
Sci-Fi Supernatural ThrillerHuman, Anew
Irina Ivanova
I, ROBOT meets MR. ROBOT
While investigating a suspicious death, a detective in a futuristic city discovers a massive conspiracy involving the artificial intelligence robots used by the police force to recreate the personalities of the recently deceased in order to consult with them in solving their murders.
Mystery Sci-Fi ThrillerKill Creek
Scott Thomas
THE CONJURING meets THE SHINING
A publicity stunt sends four bestselling horror writers into a legendary haunted house on Halloween. What starts out as a simple exploitation of their popularity becomes a dangerous proposition when the house's supernatural history turns out to be all too true and they find themselves all writing the exact same sinister book upon returning home.
HorrorKing's Daughter
Julia Bobkoff
VIKINGS meets ELIZABETH
The daughter of Danish king Harald Bluetooth must lead her people amidst a Scandinavia at war after her father is killed in a battle against her usurper brother.
Period True WarKreep Whurld
Hampton Flint
THE WALKING DEAD meets DEADLIEST CATCH
After an invasion by violent insect-like creatures that carry a dangerous disease, a teenage fisherman from North Carolina faces the challenge of her life when she is hired by one of the infected to escort him along the Atlantic coast to Baltimore.
Sci-Fi Young AdultLazarus
Maryanne Melloan Woods
VERONICA MARS meets GHOST
A police chief's daughter and her boyfriend make the perfect small town detective team. The only problem? The boyfriend is a ghost and the town is in the thick of a murder spree.
Mystery Supernatural Young AdultLoving Wrath of Eldon Quint, The
Chase Pletts
DEADWOOD meets THE REVENANT
A farmer takes his recently deceased son across the country in order to bury him next to his wife. He must deal with the worst of humanity and nature as he makes the arduous journey while being mistaken for a dangerous criminal, but things only get worse when he arrives at his son's final resting place to discover that his wife is alive and well.
Drama WesternMr. & Mrs. American Pie
Juliet McDaniel
WE'RE THE MILLERS meets MISS CONGENIALITY
After her husband leaves her unexpectedly, a 1960s housewife moves to Arizona where she befriends a closeted gay bartender, and the two scheme to enter a national pageant for the most perfect American couple.
Comedy PeriodRelevant Witch
Desiree Proctor
SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH meets MEAN GIRLS
After the untimely death of the most popular girl in her class, a teenage nobody takes her shot and gets the lead in the school's production of The Crucible, only to find that the subject matter brings forward her own latent magical abilities.
Dark Comedy Supernatural Young AdultSecond Look, The
Wendy Simons
PRISONERS meets TRUE DETECTIVE
After the violent death of his grandson, a US Marshall travels to a small town haunted by two similar murders from 10 years ago in hopes of finding a possible connection between the crimes.
Drama MysterySecret Lives of Dead Prom Queens, The
Marina Richards
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES meets THE GIFT
Living a perfect life, a suburban housewife's past comes back to haunt her when the body of the prom queen she killed in high school is found and an investigation opens. Now she must choose what she is willing to do in order to keep her decade-old secret from coming out.
Mystery ThrillerShadow King
Susan Hamilton
LOST GIRL meets THE DEPARTED
In an alternate version of Boston where mystical creatures live alongside humans, a fairy mobster fights to keep control of the city and expand his empire just as he falls in love with an enigmatic fortuneteller.
Crime Fantasy RomanceSuperkid
Matt Harry
SPY KIDS meets KICK-ASS
When a teenager discovers his baby sister has super powers, he and his best friend become her babysitters and sidekicks. They soon learn that saving people is not as easy as it seems, and that their whole world has been turned upside down.
Action Comedy Young AdultTallok
David Luz
GAME OF THRONES meets MISTBORN TRILOGY
In a world where a winged race has enslaved humans for centuries, a human resistance arises, led by a young princess.
Adventure Fantasy Young AdultWhite Crow, The
Paula Rogers
MERCY STREET meets MEDIUM
After she sees a vision of her brother on the day he dies thousands of miles away fighting in the Civil War, an epileptic woman follows a charismatic medium into his Spiritualist commune where she struggles to find the truth in a faith built on s'ances and sleight of hand.
Drama Period SupernaturalWorld War Metal
Luke Preston
I, ROBOT meets ZOOLANDER
When all the world's robots rise up to destroy humanity, a supermodel will stop at nothing to find her son in the chaos, and might just end up saving the world along the way.
Action Comedy Sci-FiAnnouncing the Top 50
THE LAUNCH PAD MANUSCRIPT COMPETITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RIDLEY SCOTT, INKSHARES, AND ENERGY ENTERTAINMENT ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 50 MANUSCRIPTS OF 2016!
Following several months of submissions, reading, and re-reading entries from 24 countries around the world, we, along with our partners Ridley Scott, Inkshares publishing, and Energy Entertainment, are thrilled to announce the second round of finalists in our inaugural Launch Pad Manuscript Competition.
With Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions onboard to option one winner, Inkshares set to publish three winners, and Brooklyn Weaver’s Energy Entertainment set to sign at least one winner, the competition drew an audience from all around the world, with entries coming from countries as close as Canada and Mexico, to as far as Macedonia, Guinea-Bissau, Singapore, Belarus, and New Zealand amongst others. The Top 50 finalists hail from the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, and Australia.
So, without further ado, we are incredibly excited to announce the second round of finalists for our inaugural Launch Pad Manuscript Competition.
(As a reminder: If you selected the Scott Free, Energy Entertainment, or Mentor add-ons at time of entry, but did not advance to the Top 50, you are still in contention to win those prizes. In fact, every competition since we began featuring add-on partner packages has featured a winner who did not make the initial finalist round.)
Project | Written By |
---|---|
A Company Of Roses | Megan Toogood |
A Wilderness Of Comfort | Dan Levinson & Lee Levinson |
A Wonderful World | Geoffrey Uhl |
Angel Dust | Rose Lewenstein |
Borislav The Terrible And The Wayward Stink Bomb | Hilary Sierpinski |
Bridge Of The Americas | Evan McNamara |
Consequence | Connor Eyzaguirre |
Deadlegs | Cardy O'Donnell |
Distance Of Mercy, The | Shelly Drancik |
Divorce Diet, The | George Gier |
Familiar, The | Jonathan Marx |
Filicide | Danny Newell |
Final Girl, The | Scott Thomas |
Footage | Lex Snowe |
Ghosts Of Flame And Shadow | Shardae Rudel |
Golden Gate Rescue | Joseph Anderson |
Haunted Heart | Robert Herold |
High School Girls With Fists | Lex Wilson |
Human Resources | Robert Batten |
Human, Anew | Irina Ivanova |
John Wilkes Booth And Me | Staton Rabin |
Kill Creek | Scott Thomas |
King's Daughter | Julia Bobkoff |
Kreep Whurld | Hampton Flint |
Landfall | Adam Aresty |
Lazarus | Maryanne Melloan Woods |
Lonely Pixel, The | Martin Sturrock |
Loving Wrath Of Eldon Quint, The | Chase Pletts |
Memory Road | Martin McSweeney |
Mr. & Mrs. American Pie | Juliet McDaniel |
Ra | Ben Gentile |
Relevant Witch | Desiree Proctor |
Return To Summerland | Noushin Jahanian |
Sea Of Tranquility | Robert Sheppe |
Second Look, The | Wendy Simons |
Secret Lives Of Dead Prom Queens, The | Marina Richards |
Shadow King | Susan Hamilton |
Shady Place | David Byrne |
Superkid | Matt Harry |
Tallok | David Luz |
This Changes Everything | Kirsten Maron |
Trev | Val Mote |
Vincent Island | Amelia Fergusson |
We Jumped Anyway | Katelynn Dey |
West Of Weird | Harrison Cheung |
White Crow, The | Paula Rogers |
World War Metal | Luke Preston |
Wreckage | James Morris |
Yardell Chronicles | Lisa Renee Jones |
Yuan Fen Shanghai Torah | Briana London |
Announcing the Top 75
THE LAUNCH PAD MANUSCRIPT COMPETITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RIDLEY SCOTT, INKSHARES, AND ENERGY ENTERTAINMENT ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 75 MANUSCRIPTS OF 2016!
Due to the overwhelming number of entries and the outstanding level of quality in this year’s entries, we’re extending our first semi-finalist announcement round from a Top 25 to Top 75. As the final entries came in, and the votes from our readers began to be tabulated, we quickly realized that though this was our first foray into a manuscript competition, even our most ambitious goals were being surpassed. After discussing the scenario with our partners, we decided that instead of aggressively trimming the list down before our judges had a chance to fully weigh in, we would institute the finalist announcement tiers we’ve used for years with our feature and pilot competitions, beginning with a Top 75, and transitioning down to a Top 50, Top 25, Top 10, and ultimately announcing our winners.
So, without further ado, we are incredibly excited to announce the first ever finalist round for our inaugural Launch Pad Manuscript Competition in partnership with Ridley Scott, Inkshares and Energy Entertainment.
(As a reminder: If you selected the Scott Free, Energy Entertainment, or Mentor add-ons at time of entry, but did not advance to the Top 75, you are still in contention to win those prizes. In fact, every competition since we began featuring add-on partner packages has featured a winner who did not make the initial finalist round.)
Project | Written By |
---|---|
A Company Of Roses | Megan Toogood |
A Wilderness Of Comfort | Dan Levinson & Lee Levinson |
A Wonderful World | Geoffrey Uhl |
Angel Dust | Rose Lewenstein |
Blood Sisters | John Kuriger & Kristin McGraw |
Borislav The Terrible And The Wayward Stink Bomb | Hilary Sierpinski |
Bridge Of The Americas | Evan McNamara |
Charlie Zulu Foxtrot | Troy Nethercott |
Completely Incomplete | Jeffrey Hirschberg |
Consequence | Connor Eyzaguirre |
Cure For Pain | David Vienna |
Deadlegs | Cardy O'Donnell |
Distance Of Mercy, The | Shelly Drancik |
Divorce Diet, The | George Gier |
Ember | Amanda Keener |
End Of Violet And Abby, The | Scott Kearney |
Fall Of Dreams, The | Ryan LaSalle |
Familiar, The | Jonathan Marx |
Filicide | Danny Newell |
Final Girl, The | Scott Thomas |
Footage | Lex Snowe |
Frightful | Kristin Kirby |
Ghosts Of Flame And Shadow | Shardae Rudel |
Golden Gate Rescue | Joseph Anderson |
Haunted Heart | Robert Herold |
High School Girls With Fists | Lex Wilson |
Hotel Gramercy Park | Max Weissberg |
Human Resources | Robert Batten |
Human, Anew | Irina Ivanova |
Immortal Lady, The | Roy Rocha |
Into Covert Waters | James Hawes & Mary Ann Koenig |
John Wilkes Booth And Me | Staton Rabin |
Kill Creek | Scott Thomas |
King's Daughter | Julia Bobkoff |
Kreep Whurld | Hampton Flint |
Lagoon Swimmer | Matthew Bookman |
Landfall | Adam Aresty |
Lawn Of Sleeping Soldiers, The | Carl Oprey |
Lazarus | Maryanne Melloan Woods |
Lion And The Dead, The | E.S. Dahl |
Lonely Pixel, The | Martin Sturrock |
Loretta Of The Lamp | Jo Fletcher |
Loving Wrath Of Eldon Quint, The | Chase Pletts |
Memory Road | Martin McSweeney |
Mitten Hand | Jody Giardina |
Mr. & Mrs. American Pie | Juliet McDaniel |
Nine Graves Of Geraldine Grey, The | Namina Forna |
Opera Rats | Courtney Silberberg & Jacquelyn Kinkade Silberberg |
Pascal Le Piglet - Truffle Hunter Extraordinaire / Head Of The Piglet Resistance | Sebastian Loden |
Phantom Forest, The | Liz Kerin |
Planetfall | Nate Shepherd |
Ra | Ben Gentile |
Relevant Witch | Desiree Proctor |
Return To Summerland | Noushin Jahanian |
Returning The Golden-Eyed Girl | S.G. Meine |
Sea Of Tranquility | Robert Sheppe |
Second Look, The | Wendy Simons |
Secret Lives Of Dead Prom Queens, The | Marina Richards |
Shadow King | Susan Hamilton |
Shady Place | David Byrne |
Small On The Map | David Laurie |
Superkid | Matt Harry |
Tallok | David Luz |
This Changes Everything | Kirsten Maron |
Trev | Val Mote |
Victoria The First | Bill Osinski |
Vincent Island | Amelia Fergusson |
We Jumped Anyway | Katelynn Dey |
West Of Weird | Harrison Cheung |
White Crow, The | Paula Rogers |
World War Metal | Luke Preston |
Wreckage | James Morris |
World War 2.1 | Mark E. McCann |
Yardell Chronicles | Lisa Renee Jones |
Yuan Fen Shanghai Torah | Briana London |
We started our first competition with a clear set of goals: discover great pieces of writing and launch and nurture the careers of those writers. For us, being the best writing competition out there means absolutely nothing if the writers involved are not getting their shot at their dreams. We’ve seen wild success in our first few years, with over 156 writers signed, 50 projects set up, and more than a dozen writers staffed on hit shows. But one of the most important parts of our job is consistently being ahead of the curve. And it’s with that idea in mind that we’re incredibly proud to introduce to you the…
In an exclusive partnership with Scott Free, Energy Entertainment and publisher Inkshares, the Launch Pad Manuscript Competition is here to bridge the world of literary books, novels and manuscripts with Hollywood’s biggest agents, managers, executives, producers and publishers. The goal of this competition is to help authors like you get your work in the hands of entertainment industry and publishing world titans, sign with top tier agencies and management companies, and to help you launch your professional writing career. Is your book or manuscript the next Oscar-nominated adaptation? Do you have the next breakout YA novel? The Launch Pad Manuscript Competition will position your work to become the next hit film or television adaptation while also getting your book published and in the hands of readers around the globe and on bookstore shelves.
With Ridley Scott’s company Scott Free onboard to option at least one of our finalists, Energy Entertainment onboard to sign at least one of our finalists, and Inkshares onboard to publish a minimum of three of our finalists and release them digitally and physically in bookstores across the world, we’re giving you the opportunity to literally write your own ticket. So what do you need to enter? You don’t need a 500-page manuscript ready. In fact, you don’t need to have ever written a book before. To enter this competition, all you need is 50 pages, 50 bucks, and an idea that you believe in. From there, let us do the rest.
With previous competition winners having gone on to work with people such as Leonardo DiCaprio, McG, Doug Wick, Rob Thomas, Joe Cohen, Roy Lee, Ridley Scott, Jason Blum, Greg Berlanti, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, ABC, NBC, MTV, Benderspink, Energy Entertainment, and judges joining us this year from Fake Empire, Color Force, Michael De Luca Productions, Lava Bear, The Weinstein Company and more… we can’t wait to introduce you to our readers.
BOOKS ARE THE NEW SPECS
Did you know that 40 of the 78 Best Picture nominees of the past 10 years began as books? Did you know that 5 of the 8 at this year’s Oscars were based on books? With everybody in town looking for the next hot property, studios, agencies, and producers are picking up more projects at the inception phase then ever before.
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The Martian
Originally self published, The Martian caught the attention of Ridley Scott and his company Scott Free. It went on to become one of the biggest films of 2015 and was nominated for seven Oscars this year.
Room
The book’s author Emma Donoghue wrote the big screen adaptation of her own book. The resulting work earned four Oscar nominations, including one for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Best Picture nomination.
Brooklyn
Adapted by crossover author and screenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity), this adaptation would go on to land three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Divergent
Veronica Roth wrote her first book, Divergent, while on winter break during her senior year of college selling the publishing rights prior to graduating. To date the series has grossed over $575 million in the worldwide box office.
The above titles are a very small sampling of Hollywood projects that began in other platforms. With titles like The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Jaws, Schindler’s List, The Dark Tower, The Notebook, Silence of the Lambs, Jurassic Park, and Lord of the Rings all beginning as books, why can’t yours be the next big breakout to join this list?
INTRODUCING THE ALL ACCESS PASS
Three Competitions | One Low Price | Enter Any Time
Our Exclusive Partnership With
Scott Free
When it comes to partners, there are few you’d want more than Ridley Scott’s Scott Free. With a track record of blockbusters spanning decades, and more than 40 Oscar, 51 BAFTA, 23 Golden Globe and 102 Emmy nominations, you know you’re in good hands. But looking beyond the resume, the awards, and the prestige, Scott Free has consistently set itself apart as a company always ahead of the curve and willing to take chances on new writers, new ideas and new platforms. One prime example of that is none other than the originally self published author of The Martian – Andy Weir.
Scott Free was one of the first majors to take e-books into the spotlight when they found The Martian and developed it into what would become a Best Picture nominee starring Matt Damon. They were also the first company to buy a Launch Pad project, when they picked up Daniel Turkewitz’s Tranquility Base. By partnering with us for this competition, they are not only aboard to once again serve as judges, but they have also committed to option at least one project which has selected the Scott Free add on with an eye toward discovering their next break out hit.
OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH
INKSHARES
Not only has Inkshares agreed to partner with the Launch Pad, they’ve also committed to publish a minimum of three finalists’ work – that means top-tier editorial, design, printing, marketing, and distribution into both online and brick-and-mortar bookstores. One of the fastest-growing and most innovative publishers in the world, Inkshares went from startup to break out hit in a matter of months. In 2015, the reader-driven publisher launched books with both established talents such as Gary Whitta (screenwriter of the forthcoming Star Wars: Rogue One) as well as newcomers Mike Mongo, author of The Astronaut Instruction Manual, and Filip Syta, author of The Show (both of these books are now being turned into television franchises).
Teaming up with a company so in sync with our vision of discovering new writers and creating opportunities for them to succeed was one of the most exciting aspects of this competition. But by committing to go one step further, and to take a minimum of three finalists from newcomer to published author, we felt they helped us once again highlight why the Launch Pad Competitions have not only become the most successful competitions in the world, but have also become the new standard of what a writer should expect from a competition.
OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH
ENERGY ENTERTAINMENT
Energy Entertainment, helmed by Brooklyn Weaver, has become one of the most well-known and established management companies in the world. With record-breaking spec-market sales, several major e-book sales, and clients whose writing credits Black Mass, Bates Motel, Extant, Everest, Deadpool, Run All Night, and the I Am Legend reboot, Energy has firmly established itself as one of the biggest names in the business when it comes to identifying new writers and launching careers.
Energy’s relationship with the Launch Pad goes back to our first-ever competition, when they were the first manager ever to sign a Launch Pad writer. With a focus on identifying strong writers and strong voices, Energy’s slate expands to include a number of books, e-books and IP they’ve set up, and a track record that goes well beyond the scope of most any other management company out there. We’re thrilled to have them aboard once again, and for them to not only serve as judges, but to also commit to sign at least one writer who has selected the Energy Entertainment add-on.
A GREAT IDEA IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER.
When we began the conversation of a manuscript competition three years ago we knew we wanted to not only deliver the same level of professionalism, experience and results we’d already set in place with our Launch Pad brand, but we also wanted to ensure we were going above and beyond any other competition out there in terms of giving every single writer who enters a shot at their dreams.
By partnering with two of the first companies to see the value in the Launch Pad Competition (Scott Free and Energy Entertainment) to sign and option projects from our writers, we knew we were off to a great start. But we also knew we wanted to give our writers even more of an opportunity to succeed not just in Hollywood, but also in the publishing world. It was with that idea in mind that we discovered Inkshares, a company who was already disrupting the publishing world, and introducing new innovations, technology and access to writers, readers and audiences world wide. In adding Inkshares as a partner for this competition, we knew we had not only found a trio of companies who would fight for our writers to succeed, but a team that would work to make our writers household names.
The reality is this. When you enter this competition, you’re not only getting the opportunity to introduce you and your work to some of the most elite names in the entertainment and publishing worlds, you’re getting an opportunity to walk away a published author the world wants to know.
NOT BAD FOR 50 PAGES AND 50 BUCKS.
ANNOUNCING OUR 2016
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Since launching in 2015, our Mentorship Program has already selected six writers to take part in the program, and to have the opportunity to work with professional writers as they begin the first stages of their careers. For our inaugural Manuscript Competition, we knew we needed three very special mentors to continue that success. Writers who were not only bestselling authors, but who had also seen their work get picked up by major studios and production companies to be made into the next big film or TV show. Enter our perfect picks: Alexandra Monir, Mike Mongo, and Armand Baltazar. Alexandra joins us straight off selling her 40 page book proposal The Final Six in a preemptive deal to Sony even before it went to publishers. Mike’s debut novel The Astronaut Instruction Manual was discovered and published by Inkshares, who we’ve partnered with for this competition, and was set up earlier this year with Legendary Television. No stranger to the industry thanks to his huge body of animation work at Pixar, Armand branched into the publishing world with his book pitch Timeless, which our other two partners, Ridley Scott and Brooklyn Weaver, set up with Fox and HarperCollins simultaneously in a massive bidding war. We’re confident our mentors are the ones to get you and your manuscript ready, give tips and strategies on pitching and choosing your next project, and be able to offer all the insight you need on how to navigate a newly minted career in Hollywood.
FEEDBACK NOTES
Want to know exactly what our professional readers thought about your project? At half the price of Development Notes, Feedback Notes provide you with the chance to see exactly how readers reviewed your work. With an emphasis on initial thoughts, opinions and analysis, get an inside look at what is usually a behind the curtain process, and get our readers’ perspectives on the story, characters, marketability, and ideas for where the story could go. Was it a page-turner? Did we want to see more of a character? Was the dialogue believable? Get answers to this and more today.
Adrian Garcia
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Paradigm” collapse_text=”Paradigm” ]Had writers on the 2014 and 2015 Hit List, Black List, and Young & Hungry List.
Signed LP Alumni Eric Koenig, and sold his Launch Pad script Matriarch to Paramount in a bidding war.
With an eye for new talent, Garcia has represented over a dozen writers on the Young & Hungry List.
[/bg_collapse]Allison Friedman
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Color Force” collapse_text=”Color Force” ]Color Force produced the wildly successful Hunger Games franchise based on Suzanne Collins’ hit YA book series.
Color Force produced the Diary of a Wimpy Kid trilogy based on the popular Jeff Kinney book series.
In television, Color Force produced the hit show American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson for FX.
Friedman previously worked at MGM and later at Genre Films where she helped develop projects like The Martian.
[/bg_collapse]Allison Gillogly
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Scott Free” collapse_text=”Scott Free” ]Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free has produced a number of successful book adaptations such as The Martian, Blade Runner, The Man in the High Castle, Black Hawk Down, Child 44, Matchstick Men, The Pillars of the Earth, Killing Lincoln, and more. They have also produced The Grey, Prometheus, Concussion, and worked on hit TV series The Good Wife.
Scott Free is producing the upcoming Alien and Blade Runner sequels.
Gillogly will serve as producer on the upcoming film Vicious.
[/bg_collapse]Antoni Kaczmarek
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”ESA” collapse_text=”ESA” ]Represents Niels Arden Oplev who directed the original adaptation of the Stieg Larsson novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
ESA clients have worked on hit shows such as Mr. Robot, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire, Extant, Ray Donovan, Under the Dome, and more.
Had clients appear on the Hit List, Black List, and Young & Hungry List in 2015.
[/bg_collapse]Brooklyn Weaver
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Energy Entertainment” collapse_text=”Energy Entertainment” ]Top manager in specs set up in both 2013 and 2014, and the company has seen more than 75 spec script sales, 50 pitch sales and dozens of manuscripts turned film/television sales in the past few years.
Has signed 11 Launch Pad Alumni, judged all LP Competitions and was the first manager to set up a LP script with a major studio.
Had clients appear on the Hit List, Black List, and Young & Hungry List in 2015.
Clients have written or are currently writing Everest, Black Mass, Extant, Bates Motel, Deadpool, Ash Vs. Evil Dead, Rush, A Walk Amongst the Tombstones, Out of the Furnace and Run All Night, the upcoming reboot of I Am Legend and the remake of The Raid.
[/bg_collapse]Daniela Garcia-Brcek
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Circle of Confusion” collapse_text=”Circle of Confusion” ]Circle of Confusion produces The Walking Dead and Powers both based on successful comic book adaptations.
Clients have written or are currently writing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Trek Beyond, Doctor Strange, The Mummy (remake), Prometheus, Pacific Rim sequel, The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta, Cloud Atlas, The Book of Eli and more.
Circle of Confusion has signed multiple Launch Pad Alum, and has judged every Launch Pad Competition to date.
Clients have written for shows like The Vampire Diaries, Faking It, Bones, Sense 8, Hit the Floor, Fuller House, Banshee, Roosewood, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Hemlock Grove, Dominion, Psych and more.
[/bg_collapse]Gabriel Chu
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Vertigo Entertainment” collapse_text=”Vertigo Entertainment” ]Vertigo Entertainment has produced such films as The Boy, Run All Night, The Departed, The Woman In Black, The Grudge, How To Train Your Dragon, and many more.
Vertigo also produced The Lego Movie, and are now working on the sequel as well as The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie.
Vertigo Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television have signed a two-year exclusive overall deal for comedy and drama series.
[/bg_collapse]Heather Karpas
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”ICM” collapse_text=”ICM” ]ICM represents such writers as Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country for Old Men), Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go), and Toni Morrison (Beloved).
ICM represents client who have written for shows such as The Blacklist, The Muppets, Supernatural, Outsiders, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Defiance, Copper, Dominion, and more.
ICM has signed 4 Launch Pad Alumni.
[/bg_collapse]Johnny Pariseau
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”De Luca Productions” collapse_text=”De Luca Productions” ]Michael De Luca Productions produced the hit adaptations The Social Network, Fifty Shades of Grey, Moneyball, and Captain Phillips. Moneyball, Captain Phillips, and The Social Network were all nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Michael De Luca Productions also produced 21, Dracula Untold, Ghost Rider, and the remake of Fright Night.
[/bg_collapse]Joseph New
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Romark Entertainment” collapse_text=”Romark Entertainment” ]Romark Entertainment is currently producing films with Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal.
Romark is currently producing the biopic of Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson with Leonardo DiCaprio and Roy Lee for Warner Bros.
Romark is currently developing the adaptations of the best-selling novel Brothers & Bones and the comic book series Herald.
Romark is producing previous Launch Pad scripts Matriarch for Paramount, and Tranquility Base for Fox.
[/bg_collapse]Josh Dove
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”IPG” collapse_text=”IPG” ]IPG manages such literary clients as Michael Connelly (Bosch, The Lincoln Lawyer), Yann Martel (Life of Pi), Dennis Lehane (Shutter Island, Mystic River), and James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia).
IPG reps Oscar winning writer, director, and producer Paul Haggis (Crash).
As producers, IPG has helped bring novels such as The Wolf of Wall Street and Mr. Poppers Penguins to the big screen.
[/bg_collapse]Lucas Wiesendanger
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Red Wagon Entertainment” collapse_text=”Red Wagon Entertainment” ]Red Wagon is producing the 2014 Launch Pad Feature Matriarch, for Paramount Pictures.
Red Wagon is behind such blockbuster films as the Divergent series, The Great Gatsby, Lawless, and Gladiator.
Red Wagon is currently working on a remake of The Craft.
Red Wagon is adapting the novel The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, for Columbia Pictures
[/bg_collapse]Lynley Bird
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Fake Empire” collapse_text=”Fake Empire” ]Fake Empire is Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Production Company.
Fake Empire has produced such TV series as Chuck, Gossip Girl (based on the hit YA series), Hart of Dixie, and The O.C.
Fake Empire is currently developing Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick at Paramount, based on the novel by Joe Schreiber, as well as Just One Day/Just One Year with Universal, based on Gayle Forman’s YA novel.
[/bg_collapse]Mark Hartogsohn
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Gersh” collapse_text=”Gersh” ]Had clients on the Hit List, Black List, and Young & Hungry List for 2015.
Gersh represents writers such as Tayler Sheridan (Sicario, Comancheria), Brian Duffield (Insurgent, Jane Got A Gun), Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt (Olympus Has Fallen), Gary Spinelli (Mena), and many more.
Gersh had one of the highest spec sale percentages of agencies in 2015, with 15 projects set up.
[/bg_collapse]Martin To
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”ESA” collapse_text=”ESA” ]ESA clients have worked on hit shows such as Mr. Robot, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire, Extant, Ray Donovan, Under the Dome, Black Sails, The 100, and more.
ESA has signed multiple Launch Pad Alumni from both the feature and pilots competitions.
[/bg_collapse]Matt Birkel
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Gotham/Principal” collapse_text=”Gotham/Principal” ]Gotham/Principal produces The Maze Runner franchise based on the hit YA novels.
Gotham/Principal clients have written and directed major films such as The Maze Runner, Daredevil, Stranger Than Fiction, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Super Troopers, Capote, Foxcatcher, and the upcoming Transformers sequel.
Gotham/Principal has had multiple clients on the Hit List and Young & Hungry List for the last 2 years.
[/bg_collapse]Michael Pruss
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Scott Free” collapse_text=”Scott Free” ]Scott Free is Ridley Scott’s production company, the influential director of Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Hannibal, and American Gangster.
Scott Free and Ridley Scott have produced a number of successful book adaptations such as The Martian, Blade Runner, The Man in the High Castle, Black Hawk Down, Child 44, Matchstick Men, The Pillars of the Earth, Killing Lincoln, and more. They have also produced The Grey, Prometheus, Concussion, and worked on hit TV series The Good Wife.
Pruss is a producer on the upcoming film Equals, starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult.
Scott Free is producing the upcoming Alien and Blade Runner sequels.
[/bg_collapse]Nicki Cortese
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Jurassic Party Prods” collapse_text=”Jurassic Party Prods” ]Cortese served as production executive on the popular Divergent series films, based on the successful YA novels.
Jurassic Party is Insurgent screenwriter Brian Duffield’s production company.
Jurassic Party has a first look deal with Awesomeness Films with an eye toward developing YA content.
[/bg_collapse]Chris McEwen
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”New Leaf Literary & Media” collapse_text=”New Leaf Literary & Media” ]McEwen previously worked in the development department at Scott Rudin Productions where he consulted in book-to-film adaptations.
New Leaf is producing the Macmillan book American Blood by Ben Sanders. The project sold to Warner Bros. in a bidding war with Bradley Cooper attached to star.
New Leaf’s clients include author Veronica Roth who’ #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent series was adapted into a successful franchise for Summit and Lionsgate.
[/bg_collapse]Ryan Halprin
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Lin Pictures” collapse_text=”Lin Pictures” ]Lin Pictures produced The Lego Movie, Sherlock Holmes, Gangster Squad, Terminator Salvation, as well as the upcoming Suicide Squad film.
Halprin is co-producing the next several installments of the Lego Movie Franchise including The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and The Lego Movie sequel.
Lin Pictures is developing several films based on published works including Dust, Bone, Death Note, and Stephen King’s It.
[/bg_collapse]Ryan Levee
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”APA” collapse_text=”APA” ]APA represents Charlaine Harris, writer of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which were adapted into the hit HBO show True Blood. She also wrote the novel Midnight, Texas that is being adapted by NBC.
APA has signed multiple Launch Pad Alumni
APA clients have written on Bates Motel, The Big Bang Theory, Narcos, Angie Tribeca, Hannibal, East Los High, Graceland, Numb3rs, Heartbeat, The Glades, In Plain Sight, Young & Hungry, Desperate Housewives, and more.
[/bg_collapse]Sean Berard
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”APA” collapse_text=”APA” ]Berard’s clients have written for shows such as Arrow, Reign, and The Witches of East End.
APA represents Lisa Genova, author of the novel Still Alice, which earned Julianne Moore an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Had a client appear on the 2015 Hit List.
APA represents such performer/writers as Nia Vardalos, Louis CK, and Rachel Bloom.
[/bg_collapse]Seth Spector
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”The Weinstein Company” collapse_text=”The Weinstein Company” ]The Weinstein Company is behind such prestige films as The Hateful Eight, Carol, The Imitation Game, Philomena, and Fruitvale Station.
In TV, The Weinstein Company produces Marco Polo (Netflix), Scream (MTV), and Project Runway (Lifetime).
Tulip Fever, based on the novel by Deborah Moggach, is due for release in 2016 starring Christoph Waltz and Alicia Vikander, as is Genius, an adaptation of A. Scott Berg’s book starring Jude Law, Colin Firth, and Nicole Kidman.
[/bg_collapse]Tahirah Gooden
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Lava Bear Films” collapse_text=”Lava Bear Films” ]Lava Bear has produced such films as The Rover, Coming Home, and The Forest.
Lava Bear is producing Story of Your Life, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners), which stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Based on the short story from Nebula and Hugo Award winning author Ted Chiang. Paramount pre-bought the rights for $20 million at Cannes.
Lava Bear is also developing films with top writers and producers such as David S. Goyer, Guillermo Del Toro, Neil Cross, and Ben Wheatley.
[/bg_collapse]Will Watkins
[bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#4a4949″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”ICM” collapse_text=”ICM” ]
Represents Evan Kilgore and Samuel Franco, whose spec Mayday 109 is in development at Flynn Picture Co. and Thunder Road Pictures, and who are writing an upcoming film for Jeremy Renner.
ICM represents such writers as Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country for Old Men), Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go), and Toni Morrison (Beloved).
Watkins’ clients have appeared on both the Hit List and Young & Hungry List.
ICM had the highest spec sale percentage of all major agencies in 2015.
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