THE LAUNCH PAD COMPETITION, IN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH VERVE, GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT AND ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT, IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF THE 2018/2019 LAUNCH PAD FEATURE COMPETITION.
This year’s competition has provided us with a truly breathtaking array of work, which spans genres and formats, coming from a diverse collection of writers across the globe. It has never been more difficult to pick our winners than this year because the quality of writing was simply so high. Once again, we thank our judges for taking the time to make these impossible decisions between all of our outstanding finalists to give us this amazing group of winning projects.
With all of that said, we’re incredibly proud to announce our Overall Winner, Top Comedy Winner, Top Drama Winner, Verve Guaranteed Signing Winner, Romark Entertainment Guaranteed Option Winner, and the three Launch Pad Mentorship Winners.
Congratulations to our winners and to all of our finalists. We cannot wait to see what comes next!
Overall Winner
DON’T GO THERE
Jeffrey Field
THE STRANGERS meets WAIT UNTIL DARK
On the coldest night of the year, a violent man who has just murdered four people seeks refuge in what appears to be an empty home, only to discover that the elderly woman living within may be far more dangerous than anything waiting for him outside.
Drama Thriller
Overall Winner
Top Comedy
PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT
Paul Chang
HELL OR HIGH WATER meets FARGO
When a desperate single mom and a shady restaurant owner coincidentally attempt to rob a bank at the same time, their getaway plans are derailed, thrusting them together into a world of drug trafficking, murder, and good old American televangelism.
Action Comedy Crime
Top Comedy
Top Drama
MARGO & PERRY
Becca Roth
TULLY meets FRANCES HA
When an aimless twenty-something meets a young girl who she believes to be the daughter she gave up for adoption as a teen, she decides to become the girl’s babysitter in order to get closer to her and learn about the life she missed.
Comedy Drama
Top Drama
Romark Entertainment Guaranteed Option Winner
THIS KISS
Dennis Curlett
GROUNDHOG DAY meets THE PROPOSAL
A 32-year-old interior designer, desperate to get married, wakes up to find she now has the power to see how all of her relationships will end after just one kiss.
Fantasy Romantic Comedy Thriller
Top 10 Romark Entertainment Guaranteed Option Winner
Verve Guaranteed Signing Winner
T
Eric Gross
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON meets ROCKY
The true story of how Lawrence Tureaud, a poor kid in Chicago with 12 brothers and sisters, fought and charmed his way into becoming the single lettered icon of saintly compassion and macho energy: Mr. T.
Biopic Drama Period
Top 25 Verve Signing Winner
Mentorship Program Winners
ARTIFICAL
Jonathan Dillon
EX MACHINA meets 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
After a viral outbreak leaves her as the only person left alive, a woman who has taken shelter in a high-tech home is stunned to find a mysterious man knocking at her door.
Horror Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Joe Russo)
MENDICANT, THE
C.J. Wells and Jeff Singer
SE7EN meets FIRST REFORMED
Seven years after leaving his former life as a family man and ritual-homicide FBI investigator, a devout ascetic mendicant priest is coerced into assisting his former partner in hunting the puppet master behind a series of family annihilations when the sole surviving child from his last case appears to be in the perpetrator’s crosshairs.
Crime Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Dan Benamor)
SHADOW
Cody Pearce
THE GREY meets STRANGER THINGS
When a Boy Scout troop investigates a mysterious SOS signal in the middle of the wilderness, a terrifying and inexplicable force begins hunting them.
Horror Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Matt Leslie)
Top 5% Of All Entries
(Listed Alphabetically)
:OPENWIDE
Edward Somers
TRAINWRECK meets JENNIFER’S BODY
Saying “I love you” for the first time can be a little scary. Maybe that’s why two commitment-phobe roommates, Reese and Sarah, make a pact to boycott love. But when Reese starts secretly dating and falling for Sarah’s one-night stand, saying “I love you” goes from a little scary to downright horrifying!
Comedy Horror Romance
Top 25
#CONSPIRACY
Michael Owens and Zach Bidman
21 JUMP STREET meets SEARCH PARTY
What was supposed to be a quick girls night out to prove that V’s boyfriend was cheating on her suddenly becomes a vast conspiracy of drugs, dirty cops, secret societies, and a night they’ll never forget… whether they want to or not.
Comedy Crime
Top 10
A GOOD DEED
Christina Pamies
THE CONJURING meets THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
A woman with a troubled past takes in her moody teenage niece to live in the family’s isolated farm house, but the two are soon tempted and tormented by a sinister creature that can take their pain away for a price.
Horror Thriller
Top 25
ADULTHOOD
Thomas Thonson
BILLY MADISON meets NEBRASKA
When a skateboarding playboy discovers he will only receive his inheritance if he starts behaving like an “adult,” he and his girlfriend decide to prove their maturity by adopting a lonely 80-year old man and becoming “parents.”
Comedy Drama
Top 25
AERIAL
Sean Harrigan
THE ABYSS meets INTERSTELLAR
On the first exploratory mission into the underground oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa, an astronaut and his crew encounter an intelligent alien species that may hold the key to mankind’s survival, but may not be able to save them from what else lurks in the deep.
Drama Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 100
AMEN SISTERHOOD, THE
John Doble
CHI-RAQ meets HIDDEN FIGURES
In the midst of the 90s crack epidemic, a woman leads a group of mothers in a fight to clean up their housing projects, taking on drug dealers, corrupt politicians, an overburdened police force and the establishment along the way.
Drama
Top 75
ANNABELLA
James Marios Ellinas
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST meets FRAILTY
Set in the remote and seemingly endless 1884 Nevada desert, a young girl awaits her father’s imminent return from a nearby silver mine, fearing his arrival and the sinister crusade he has forced their family to partake in.
Horror Thriller Western
Top 25
ART OF LETTING GO, THE
Jason Chan
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING meets ORDINARY PEOPLE
When she awakes from a fifteen-year coma, a woman finds herself struggling to return to a life that has moved on without her.
Drama
Top 75
ARTIFICIAL
Jonathan Dillon
EX MACHINA meets 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
After a viral outbreak leaves her as the only person left alive, a woman who has taken shelter in a high-tech home is stunned to find a mysterious man knocking at her door.
Horror Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Joe Russo)
BARLEY GANG CREW, THE
Vijay Ilankamban
BACK TO THE FUTURE meets SUPERBAD
After failing to get dates for the Prom, a group of high school friends discover a way to travel to an alternate dimension where the girls that they asked to the Prom all said “yes.”
Comedy Coming-of-Age Sci-Fi
Top 75
BEANSTALK
Aarthi Ramanathan
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER meets THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING
After a young boy accidentally unearths a magical beanstalk that introduces dangerous giants into his world, he must build up the courage to journey into the realm of the giants and save everyone he loves.
Adventure Family Fantasy
Top 25
BEAST OF THE RED FOREST, THE
Graham Funke
CHERNOBYL DIARIES meets PREDATOR
A Ukrainian guide is hired to lead a hunt for a mythical creature said to inhabit the radioactive forests surrounding Chernobyl. However, as the guide begins to discover the hunters may have secrets of their own, the hunters discover the creature may not be mythical after all.
Horror Thriller
Top 100
BOYFRIEND WHISPERER, THE
Dani Messerschmidt
HITCH meets MUST LOVE DOGS
In order to save her struggling dog training business, a woman adapts her methods to help women train their boyfriends instead.
Romantic Comedy
Top 100
CHALLENGER
Skye Emerson
APOLLO 13 meets THE INSIDER
After the Challenger space shuttle explosion and at a time of great personal turmoil, Sally Ride joins the committee investigating what exactly what went wrong. As the investigation deepens, she begins to discover a series of cover-ups that not only put her career at risk, but could put an end to space travel as we know it.
Biopic Drama True
Top 50
DEMENTIA
Joe Toto
SE7EN meets MEMENTO
As she faces retirement, a top police detective who is losing her memory, deals with the murder of a suspect she was certain was guilty but could never convict.
Crime Drama Thriller
Top 100
DINNER PARTY
John Gisser
GROUNDHOG DAY meets LOVE, SIMON
After losing his job and his fiancé, a gay man goes to the family dinner party where he intended to come out to his conservative family. Unfortunately, after being outed by a petty sibling, he finds himself caught in a time loop and is forced to relive the worst night of his life over, and over, and over…
Comedy Drama Fantasy
Top 75
DISTORTION
Chris Howard
THE MAZE RUNNER meets 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Decades after an alien invasion wiped out most of humanity, an idealistic young journalist who’s spent her entire life in an underground bunker believed to be the last bastion of civilization risks everything to journey to the planet’s surface and learn the truth about the outside world.
Action Sci-Fi Young Adult
Top 100
DON’T GO THERE
Jeffrey Field
THE STRANGERS meets WAIT UNTIL DARK
On the coldest night of the year, a violent man who has just murdered four people seeks refuge in what appears to be an empty home, only to discover that the elderly woman living within may be far more dangerous than anything waiting for him outside.
Drama Thriller
Overall Winner
DREAMER OF DREAMS, THE
David Kushner & Joshua Bullock
FINDING NEVERLAND meets BIG FISH
After his daughter’s death and pregnant wife’s near-fatal stroke, famed author Roald Dahl uses his storytelling to help his children triumph in the face of tragedy — unknowingly creating many of the classics we know today.
Biopic Drama Period
Top 75
ELECTRIC GARDENS
Amy Blackwelder and Bill Daley
THE 100 meets NEVER LET ME GO
After a robot uprising has destroyed most life on earth, a group of teenagers who are being held captive are given the opportunity to escape by a soul-seeking robot, but must decide if they can put their trust in those who’ve doomed them as they fight for their freedom.
Sci-Fi Young Adult
Top 100
EXTRAJUDICIAL
Craig Bealer
CON AIR meets THE ROCK
A third-year law student visiting a high-profile death row inmate finds herself in a fight for her life when a terrorist group takes over the maximum security prison intent on breaking him out.
Action Thriller
Top 75
FADUMA & MIKE
Matthew Stenerson
BEFORE SUNRISE meets LOVING
A widowed Somali-American teacher and a plumber from the Midwest struggle with personal and societal pressures as they begin to fall in love.
Drama Romance
Top 75
FIFTH COLUMN, THE
Paul Sheridan
ZERO DARK THIRTY meets MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
In a post NATO-world, a disgraced CIA operative teams up with the former Prime Minister of Russia to rescue his wife, the First Lady, and the First Son, whom the Russian President holds hostage in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt that left his own family dead.
Action Thriller
Top 75
FIGHTING GIRLFRIEND, THE
Alexander Vargas
FURY meets G.I. JANE
The incredible true story of Mariya Oktyabrskaya, a woman who after her husband was killed by the Germans in WWII convinced Stalin to make her the first-ever female tank commander, and in doing so became a beacon of hope for all of the Russian people.
Biopic Period War
Top 25
FINDING CUMBERBATCH
Ivan Tsang
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH meets FANBOYS
After accidentally destroying Benedict Cumberbatch’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds, superfan Eryn Soo wakes up to discover his entire career has been wiped from existence. Now she must do everything in her power to right this wrong and make him the brilliant star he once was, including teaming up with struggling actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Comedy Fantasy
Top 50
FISSURE
Sean Gallimore
TREMORS meets 27 METERS DOWN
After a devastating earthquake tears the ground apart beneath them, four friends find themselves trapped in their car as a swarm of mutated flesh-eating insects surround them.
Horror Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 100
FLASHBACK
Gabriel Robertson and Ken Petrie
LOOPER meets THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
n 2054 Chicago, time tourism has become the most sought-after vacation available – but when Jake and Pris’ dream trip to 1960’s London ends with Pris’ mysterious death, Jake finds himself on the run from the past and being hunted by the future as he tries to discover what happened in his new present.
Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 75
FOOL’S ERRAND
Christina Tucker
DRIVE meets A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
A low-level criminal who was hired to drive around a crime lord’s goddaughter, finds himself caught in a violent web of deceit and revenge, when he discovers she wants him to kill the man who hired him.
Crime Drama
Top 50
FOOL’S ERRAND, THE
Chris Bramante and John Murphy
THE PRINCESS BRIDE meets FUNNY PEOPLE
Set in a medieval fantasy kingdom, an aging comedian attempting to pioneer the art of stand- up comedy may have finally landed the gig of a lifetime – the royal wedding. But to get there he must gather his troupe of entertainers and make the perilous journey to the castle to claim his stardom.
Adventure Comedy Fantasy
Top 50
FORGOTTEN WARRIOR
Xander Bernstein
HOMECOMING meets ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
In a future where people experiencing PTSD can have their memories erased, a traumatized military pilot who underwent the procedure starts to experience flashbacks of her erased memories that slowly begin to reveal a conspiracy at the highest levels of the government.
Action Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 100
FRANK & STEIN
Danny Baram
SHAUN OF THE DEAD meets VAN HELSING
Frankenstein’s Monster has put his old life behind him. He’s now just “Frank,” and with his wife – the plucky Suzie Stein – he lives a quiet life in the small town of Shonyville. But when an army of vampires invades, Frank and Suzie must lead the people of Shonyville in a battle against their undead enemies.
Action Comedy Horror
Top 25
GOOD MEN ARE HARD TO FIND
Jason Hynes
LONE SURVIVOR meets APOCALYPSE NOW
A former MI6 agent is tasked with protecting three American deserters on the run from their commander during the War in Afghanistan. The commander, a veteran bomb expert from Iraq, will do anything to stop them from exposing her war crimes.
Action Thriller War
Top 75
GREEN V. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
Daniel Parino
LOVING meets A TIME TO KILL
In 1950’s New Orleans, a black couple is barred from adopting a mixed race child. With the help of an ambitious young lawyer, they take on the State in a legal battle over race and family to give a young girl a home in a time and place that says she doesn’t deserve one.
Drama Period True
Top 25
GUARDIAN
Natalie Baseman
OTHER PEOPLE meets THE BIG SICK
A sardonic stand up comic on the brink of late night success struggles to balance her life on the road with her new role as a parent when her dying sister requests she take guardianship of her two young nieces.
Comedy Drama
Top 25
HANDSOME DEVIL
John Gisser
NEIGHBORS meets LITTLE NICKY
When the son of the Devil accidentally kills a mortal at his underworld frat party, he is sentenced to Earth as punishment, where he is tasked with returning an uncool frat back to its prominent party-machine ways.
Comedy Fantasy
Top 50
THE HANGING MAN
Esther Geller
TRUE GRIT meets 12 YEARS A SLAVE
A precocious young girl is forced to defend her abolitionist family against ruthless bounty hunters when they’re stranded for the winter on the Oregon Trail, a task made treacherous by the discovery of a lynched runaway slave.
Drama Western
Top 50
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HARVEY?
Sam Wright
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA meets THE SOCIAL NETWORK
The true story of Zelda Perkins, the one time assistant, enabler and victim of Harvey Weinstein who worked for him during his most turbulent period and took him on at the peak of his power.
Drama
Top 50
HAVEN, THE
Cord McConnell
READY PLAYER ONE meets THE ROAD
In a dystopian future where people have escaped reality for an addictive VR haven, a young boy sets out to find his missing sister, who may or may not still be alive.
Action Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 75
HIGH GROUND, THE
Dawn MacLeod
RED SPARROW meets BRIDGE OF SPIES
In the heart of the Space Race, a Russian KGB translator discovers that she was in fact the daughter of a killed American spy, and now sets her sights on defecting to America with the schematics for Sputnik.
Action Spy Thriller
Top 75
IDA
Guy Polin
SELMA meets MUDBOUND
During the late eighteen hundreds, African-American journalist and activist Ida B. Wells battles white supremacists and an intransigent Federal government in her quest to stop lynchings and enact Federal anti-lynching legislation.
Biopic Drama
Top 75
IN GREED WE TRUST
Ron Peer
LOGAN LUCKY meets MATCHSTICK MEN
After a cunning con man learns that a millionaire is searching for a son given up for adoption thirty years ago, he masquerades as the heir. All goes well until a sadistic P.I. discovers the scheme and kidnaps the con man’s girlfriend to get a cut of the score.
Crime Dark Comedy Thriller
Top 10
INCARNATIONS
Albert M. Chan
CLOUD ATLAS meets I, ORIGINS
An agnostic scientist unable to come to terms with the death of his four-year-old son discovers startling scientific evidence of reincarnation and sets off in search of him.
Drama Fantasy Sci-Fi
Top 100
JANET, WHO NEVER SMILES
Keren Bloom
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK meets YOU
A man and a woman reeling from their own troubled pasts, start to open up to one another and along the way fall in love.
Drama Romantic Comedy
Top 100
J.D., HARPER, TRUMAN
Mat Raymond
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE meets ON THE ROAD
In the early 1960’s, authors J. D. Salinger, Harper Lee, and Truman Capote embark on a cross- country road trip from Los Angeles to New York City.
Biopic Drama Period
Top 100
JUDY’S SEARCH FOR GOD
Dave Wade
THE WIZARD OF OZ meets SAVED!
After her entire life is ripped out from under her, Judy decides to throw everything to the wind and set out on a road trip adventure on a quest for God.
Comedy
Top 100
LAST CANADIAN VIRGINS, THE
Evan Rindler and Jon Rizik
CABIN IN THE WOODS meets SUPERBAD
When a group of high school seniors discover they’re trapped in a teen comedy, they realize the only way to break free from the generic Hollywood tropes they’ve all been created on is to completely reject their stereotypes.
Comedy Satire Teen
Top 50
LAST SAXON KING, THE
Chris Ryden
BRAVEHEART meets MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS
In 1066 two warriors with a vested claim to the English throne collide in a legendary battle that will forever shape the future of Europe. The true story of the Norman conquest and the Battle of Hastings.
Action Drama War
Top 50
LATCHKEY KIDS, THE
Richard Martin
GOONIES meets STAND BY ME
After one of their friends passes away, a group of kids set out on an epic treasure hunt that they believe their recently deceased friend is guiding them towards.
Adventure Coming-of-Age
Top 75
LIMO DRIVER, THE
Tejal Desai
NOTTING HILL meets WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON
Recently divorced single father Martin finds his life turned upside down when a mega-star pop icon gets into his limo amidst a publicized nervous breakdown, and convinces him to let her stay with him while she tries to get her life back on track.
Romantic Comedy
Top 75
LIMPING LADY, THE
Devi Gowni
THE IMITATION GAME meets ALLIED
The incredible true story of Virginia Hall, the legendary WWII spy (and the first woman to join the CIA), and her journey across the Alps with a wooden leg, several injured POW’s in tow, and the Nazi army closing in behind them.
Biopic Spy Thriller
Top 10
LOVERS A’GO-GO
Christian Palacios Canterbury
HAIRSPRAY meets ALMOST FAMOUS
A spirited but awkward teenage girl in 1964 Akron, by a fluke, wins a dancing competition and flies to Hollywood to perform onstage with the Rolling Stones, finding adventure and romance along the way.
Comedy Drama Romance
Top 100
MAN FROM THE DEEP, THE
Robert Riley
DUNKIRK meets INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
When a ship that is evacuating children during WWII’s London Blitz is sunk by a U-boat, one of the surviving crew members is sent on a vicious, vengeance-fueled quest to find the man responsible for the atrocity.
Action Thriller War
Top 100
MARGO & PERRY
Becca Roth
TULLY meets FRANCES HA
When an aimless twenty-something meets a young girl who she believes to be the daughter she gave up for adoption as a teen, she decides to become the girl’s babysitter in order to get closer to her and learn about the life she missed.
Comedy Drama
Top Drama
MARVIN
Jason Gilmore
RAY meets SELENA
Legendary singer Marvin Gaye overcomes personal turmoil, professional tragedy and the mighty Motown machine to record What’s Going On, one of the greatest and most subversive albums in pop music history.
Biopic Drama
Top 100
MEMORY BANK, THE
Adam Cooper and Daniel Cooper
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND meets THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
A neuroscientist, able to fulfill his patients’ desires using memory transplants, faces an escalating crisis after agreeing to help a mysterious woman satisfy her urge to commit murder.
Drama Sci-Fi
Top 50
MENDICANT, THE
C.J. Wells and Jeff Singer
SE7EN meets FIRST REFORMED
Seven years after leaving his former life as a family man and ritual-homicide FBI investigator, a devout ascetic mendicant priest is coerced into assisting his former partner in hunting the puppet master behind a series of family annihilations when the sole surviving child from his last case appears to be in the perpetrator’s crosshairs.
Crime Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Dan Benamor)
METHOD & HIS MADNESS, THE
Mimosa Jones Tunney
SUFFRAGETTE meets THE BIG SHORT
When Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and S.S. McClure bring the most famous woman in the world to America to take on the education establishment, the press and the most powerful university at the time devise the first public smear campaign to destroy her and her work.
Biopic Drama
Top 100
MOTHERBIRD
Donovan Yon
SPEED meets TOP GUN
A female fighter pilot struggles against a conspiracy when she is ordered to shoot down a hijacked airliner heading to the West Coast – with her estranged family on board.
Action Thriller
Top 25
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
Jonathan Marx
GO meets RESERVOIR DOGS
The death of a young woman sets a group of con artists, killers, and criminal investigators on a collision course with one another in a twisty tale of revenge and redemption.
Action Comedy
Top 75
OLIVE TREE, THE
Marie Maroun
SON OF SAUL meets QUEEN SUGAR
A Lebanese man living in America returns home to Beirut after his father’s death, where he is forced to confront the harsh realities of his service in the military during the Lebanese Civil War, and to attempt to remedy some of the mistakes of his past.
Drama
Top 100
OPERATION BROTHER SAM
Gustavo Freitas
ARGO meets JACK RYAN
Based on a true story. During the Cold War, an aging Intelligence Officer must lead a rogue team of spies to investigate a US Ambassador involved in a conspiracy in Brazil.
Action Thriller True
Top 75
OPERATOR, THE
Huey Q. Pham and Jessica Petrucci
JOHN WICK meets TAKEN
After years of trying to prove herself in the military, a strong-but-traumatized Army veteran must help save the kidnapped officer who always blamed her for her brother’s death — her father.
Action Thriller
Top 50
OUTSIDE THE WIRE
Valerie Anne Brotski
THE IDES OF MARCH meets WIND RIVER
An army pilot returns home after her husband is killed in a car crash, but soon finds that his “accidental” death was not accidental at all.
Drama Thriller
Top 75
PIXEL EDGE, THE
Michael Felker
TRON meets IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
After her father’s death, a young woman is told that in order to receive her inheritance she must play through a mysterious old arcade game her dad left her, a game which she’ll soon discover is more familiar than she could have ever imagined.
Drama Sci-Fi
Top 50
PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT
Paul Chang
HELL OR HIGH WATER meets FARGO
When a desperate single mom and a shady restaurant owner coincidentally attempt to rob a bank at the same time, their getaway plans are derailed, thrusting them together into a world of drug trafficking, murder, and good old American televangelism.
Action Comedy Crime
Top Comedy
POACHERS
Adam Etheridge
BLOOD DIAMOND meets BEASTS OF NO NATION
Returning home to Africa for the first time in 20 years, a CIA operative with a traumatic past has to work with her estranged Father to defend his animal reserve from a ruthless gang of ivory poachers.
Action Drama Thriller
Top 100
PRISONER, THE
Nathan Wilcoxen
THE DEBT meets HANNA
A Holocaust survivor Nazi Hunter recruits his teenage niece to help him take out an SS officer hiding in Argentina.
Action Drama Thriller
Top 25
RAW DATA
Gareth Wronski
SPY meets THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD
After a hapless NSA analyst is framed for a massive data breach, he is forced to team with a sociopathic CIA agent to bring down the conspiracy and clear his name.
Action Comedy
Top 10
RED ROCK
PJ Hamilton and Scott Hamilton
ALIENS meets THE DESCENT
The survival of Mars’ first terraforming team is left in the hands of a group of genetically- modified miners whose mission to detonate warheads beneath the ice caps leads them five miles below the surface and directly into the hive of the hostile species that was there first.
Action Sci-Fi Thriller
Top 75
RELUCTANT DRAGONS
John Perez
SAVING MR. BANKS meets NORMA RAE
The true story of Art Babbitt, the animator who led a 1941 labor strike for overworked and underpaid artists against their boss, the big cheese himself… Walt Disney.
Biopic Drama Period
Top 10
ROOMIES
Gareth Wronski
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS meets THE NICE GUYS
Two college roommates – one antisocial, one a ray of sunshine – struggle to expose a corrupt politician after he frames them for a murder in their dorm.
Action Comedy
Top 50
SAM AND THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Alexandra Fletcher
JENNIFER’S BODY meets CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
When 17-year-old Aimee and her friends attempt to cast a spell to summon their perfect boyfriends, the arrival of a hot British transfer student at her boring school seems to be everything she wanted… except for the fact the he may also be a demon.
Comedy Drama Supernatural Teen
Top 100
SCATTERING JAKE
Erica Tachoir
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE meets THE DESCENDANTS
Soon after finding out that her recently deceased husband was cheating on her with her now pregnant best friend, a woman sets out to on a road trip with her overbearing in-laws and the eccentric recent recipient of her husband’s transplanted heart to scatter the ashes of her husband and to rediscover the life she always wanted.
Comedy Drama
Top 50
THE SECOND LIFE OF BEN HASKINS
Matthew Kic and Mike Sorce
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND meets HER
Nineteen years after his death, a man’s consciousness is revived in the body of a recent suicide victim, and he sets off on a journey through an unfamiliar world to find the wife he left behind.
Drama Sci-Fi Romance
Top 25
SHADOW
Cody Pearce
THE GREY meets STRANGER THINGS
When a Boy Scout troop investigates a mysterious SOS signal in the middle of the wilderness, a terrifying and inexplicable force begins hunting them.
Horror Thriller
Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Matt Leslie)
SIX SHOOTER
Sean Nichols Lynch
CROCODILE DUNDEE meets MISSISSIPPI GRIND
Clive, a swamp tour guide by day and a degenerate gambler by night, finds himself in over his head after an arms deal in the Louisiana bayou goes horribly awry.
Action Crime Comedy
Top 25
SLUMBER
Becky Head
INTO THE WOODS meets THE PRINCESS BRIDE
A shallow and entitled Prince sets out on a quest to find, wake, and marry Sleeping Beauty in order to become the King he believes he is destined to be. But, as his journey continues he soon realizes he may not be the only one who came up with this foolproof plan.
Adventure Comedy Fantasy Romance
Top 50
SMOKEJUMPER
Jeremy Craig
TOP GUN meets ONLY THE BRAVE
A reckless hotshot rookie training to become a smokejumper, a firefighter who jumps from airplanes to fight forest fires, must learn to become part of the team when the real world life and death scenarios of the job start to consume them.
Action Drama
Top 75
SOFT BOYS
Sam Greisman
LADY BIRD meets LOVE, SIMON
When an intriguing new student catches his eye a shy, awkward teenage boy must struggle to find himself and own his queer identity amid the turmoil of high school.
Drama Romance Teen
Top 50
SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE
Matthew Koppin
INDIANA JONES meets NATIONAL TREASURE
After the capture of Adolf Eichmann, two treasure hunters are caught up in a perilous globetrotting adventure to recover a lost holy relic, stolen by the Nazis for the rebirth of the Fourth Reich.
Action Adventure
Top 75
SOPHIE & VALENTINA
Lucy Luna
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE meets A FANTASTIC WOMAN
Losing her eyesight to macular degeneration, a dance teacher hires a Mexican transgender woman to escort her to Mexico in hopes of finding a miracle healer.
Comedy Drama Romance
Top 50
SUMMER OF LOUISA
Lisa Franek
ALONG CAME POLLY meets THE WEDDING DATE
After learning that the love of her life is getting married to someone else, Louisa decides to reinvent her life, trying something new every day of the Summer in an attempt to find a “plus one” to take to the wedding.
Comedy Drama Romance
Top 50
T
Eric Gross
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON meets ROCKY
The true story of how Lawrence Tureaud, a poor kid in Chicago with 12 brothers and sisters, fought and charmed his way into becoming the single lettered icon of saintly compassion and macho energy: Mr. T.
Biopic Drama Period
Top 25 Verve Signing Winner
THESE SAVAGE MEN
Keith Clark and Nick Lentz
TRUE GRIT meets THERE WILL BE BLOOD
An oil tycoon hires a drifting gunslinger to track down his long-lost son, but when the trail leads to a small town, and people are reluctant to talk, the gunslinger slowly begins to unravel a conspiracy that not only endangers himself, but also his employer.
Crime Drama Western
Top 75
THIS KISS
Dennis Curlett
GROUNDHOG DAY meets THE PROPOSAL
A 32-year-old interior designer, desperate to get married, wakes up to find she now has the power to see how all of her relationships will end after just one kiss.
Fantasy Romantic Comedy
Top 10 Romark Entertainment Guaranteed Option Winner
TOXIC
Daniel Turkewitz
CHRONICLE meets STRANGER THAN FICTION
After discovering that anything they create in their self-made comic books starts to happen in real life, a group of high school kids set out to reinvent their lives in ways once only thought possible in the world of make believe.
Action Comedy Teen
Top 75
TRAGIC BEAUTY
Jace Serrano
FACTORY GIRL meets BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
The true story of Donyale Luna’s meteoric rise to become the world’s first African-American supermodel, and the personal and tragic struggles that followed, and ultimately led to her early death.
Biopic Drama
Top 50
TRES BANDITOS
Thomas Leupp
KEANU meets GOON
After running afoul of his shady underworld creditors, a washed-up hockey player becomes involved in an outlandish scheme to steal the most famous trophy in the world – the Stanley Cup.
Action Crime Comedy
Top 75
THE TRIAL
Ashley Hudson
WHAT LIES BENEATH meets FINAL DESTINATION
When the jury in a young girl’s murder trial turns in a verdict of “not guilty”, something from the beyond begins picking off the jurors one by one.
Horror Thriller
Top 100
UNASSIGNED LANDS
Katie Golden
GODLESS meets TRUE GRIT
Two estranged sisters — one a pampered city girl, one a mean tomboy — team up with a ragtag group of pioneers to fight their way across Oklahoma and claim land in the famously violent Land Rush of 1889.
Action Drama Western
Top 10
UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED
Travis Carr
SELMA meets THE IDES OF MARCH
The true story of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in the House of Representatives, who took on the mainstream political machine of the early 70s as she set her sights on becoming the first female President of the United States of America.
Biopic Drama
Top 75
VENICE PIER
Evan Laughlin
DIE HARD meets INSIDE MAN
When a group of armed men hijack the Venice Pier, take hostages and request a huge ransom, a veteran cop has to handle the situation, with the politically ambitious and morally
Action Thriller
Top 100
WAITING GAMES
Jeffrey Field
LOST IN TRANSLATION meets FEARLESS
A charismatic liar who spins elaborate yarns to strangers in hospital waiting rooms concocts a scheme to help a grieving mother deal with the disappearance of her twin daughters.
Comedy Drama
Top 50
WAITLIST
Sheila Jenca
ACCEPTED meets FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
After discovering he is number three on the waitlist to get into Harvard, a high school senior and his classmate set out to find three students who were accepted into the prestigious school and convince them not to go.
Comedy Teen
Top 50
WEEKEND WARRIORS
Daniel Hogan
ZOMBIELAND meets OFFICE SPACE
When a mysterious event suddenly turns humanity into mindless, violent drones, two hard-partying office rivals—still inebriated from the night before—discover the drugs and alcohol in their systems are preventing them from becoming infected. The only way to stay alive will be to party like it’s the end of the world.
Comedy Sci-Fi
Top 50
WENDIGO
Michael Langer
LOGAN meets CHILDREN OF MEN
A young Native American mother and her twins in the last stages of a terrifying genetic mutation must navigate a near-future American West and escape the man hell-bent on putting them out of their misery.
Action Sci-Fi
Top 100
WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND
Osagie Jesuorobo
THE ROAD meets A QUIET PLACE
Two years after a nuclear apocalypse, a mother and daughter emerge from their bunker and attempt to survive and retain their humanity in a world that is out to kill them.
Action Drama Thriller
Top 100
WHERE THE GROUND TOUCHES THE SKY
Brittney McCallum
12 YEARS A SLAVE meets QUEEN
Set in the antebellum South, a headstrong slave girl rescued from an oppressive plantation by a kind-hearted man is raised as a companion for his daughter, with whom she falls in love.
Drama Period Romance
Top 25
WHY THE WILLOW WEEPS
Lafayette Parish
MISSISSIPPI BURNING meets TRUE DETECTIVE
Years after his best friend is killed by the KKK, a black lawyer and military veteran returns to his Louisiana hometown to investigate a string of similar murders.
Crime Drama Period
Top 100
ZOMBIE PLANE
Bill Hargenrader
TRAIN TO BUSAN meets SNAKES ON A PLANE
Trapped on a flight taken over by zombies, a rapper who works for an organization of celebrity zombie hunters must team up with an intoxicated insult comedian in order to save the world… or kill each other in the process.
Action Comedy Horror
Top 100
THE LAUNCH PAD COMPETITION, IN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH VERVE, GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT AND ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT, IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 10 FINALISTS FOR THE 2018/2019 LAUNCH PAD FEATURE COMPETITION.
After months of reading, reviewing and debating, we have finally made it to the last round of finalists before our overall winners are announced – The Top 10!
These stories capture humanity in all of its facets, from thrillers in which the fate of the world hangs in the balance, to personal stories of motherhood, love and friendship that speak to important truths in all of our lives. Written with nuance, intelligence and heart, these scripts find humor in darkness, political relevance in true stories from the past, and emotion in the silliest of situations. Blending genres and crossing boundaries, these scripts innovate and excel, heralding the arrival of a talented collection of new writers.
So, once again, without further ado, let us introduce you to the Top 10 finalists of the 2018/19 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
(As a reminder: If you entered into the Mentorship Program, or signed up to be part of the Guaranteed Signing or Guaranteed Option prizes, regardless of making the Top 100, you are still in contention for those prizes. Those winners are selected from the entire pool of submissions separately from the finalist rounds, and will be announced alongside the winners next month.)
| Project | Written By |
|---|---|
| #CONSPIRACY | Michael Owens & Zach Bidman |
| DON’T GO THERE | Jeffrey Field |
| IN GREED WE TRUST | Ron Peer |
| LIMPING LADY, THE | Devi Gowni |
| MARGO & PERRY | Becca Roth |
| PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT | Paul Chang |
| RAW DATA | Gareth Wronski |
| RELUCTANT DRAGONS | John Perez |
| THIS KISS | Dennis Curlett |
| UNASSIGNED LANDS | Katie Golden |
THE LAUNCH PAD COMPETITION, IN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH VERVE, GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT, AND ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT, IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 25 FINALISTS FOR THE 2018/2019 LAUNCH PAD FEATURE COMPETITION.
These 25 features capture what it’s like to be a misfit looking for a home, the struggles of an amputee fighting for their country, the wonders of the first kiss, and the impact of saying that final goodbye. Whether it’s trapped thousands of feet in the air or held up with on the coldest night of the winter, our writers take you on adventures from the land of the giants to the deserts of Nevada, the projects of Chicago to the picket lines of a union strike. These scripts tell the harrowing true stories from a lawyer fighting for a couple’s right of adoption to a woman hell-bent to fight Nazis with her homemade tank. There is something for everyone in this collection of stunning work from a talented group of emerging writers.
So, once again, without further ado, let us introduce you to the Top 25 finalists of the 2018/19 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
(As a reminder: If you entered into the Mentorship Program, or signed up to be part of the Guaranteed Signing or Guaranteed Option prizes, irregardless of making the Top 100, you are still in contention for those prizes. Those winners are selected from the entire pool of submissions separately from the finalist rounds, and will be announced alongside the winners next month.)
| Project | Written By |
|---|---|
| :OPENWIDE | Edward Somers |
| #CONSPIRACY | Michael Owens & Zach Bidman |
| A GOOD DEED | Christina Pamies |
| ADULTHOOD | Thomas Thonson |
| ANNABELLA | James Marios Ellinas |
| BEANSTALK | Aarthi Ramanathan |
| DON’T GO THERE | Jeffrey Field |
| FIGHTING GIRLFRIEND, THE | Alexander Vargas |
| FRANK & STEIN | Danny Baram |
| GREEN V. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS | Daniel Parino |
| GUARDIAN | Natalie Baseman |
| IN GREED WE TRUST | Ron Peer |
| LIMPING LADY, THE | Devi Gowni |
| MARGO & PERRY | Becca Roth |
| MOTHERBIRD | Donovan Yon |
| PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT | Paul Chang |
| PRISONER, THE | Nathan Wilcoxen |
| RAW DATA | Gareth Wronski |
| RELUCTANT DRAGONS | John Perez |
| SECOND LIFE OF BEN HASKINS, THE | Matthew Kic & Mike Sorce |
| SIX SHOOTER | Sean Nichols Lynch |
| T | Eric Gross |
| THIS KISS | Dennis Curlett |
| UNASSIGNED LANDS | Katie Golden |
| WHERE THE GROUND TOUCHES THE SKY | Brittney McCallum |
IN OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH VERVE, GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT AND ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT, WE ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 50 OF OUR 2018/19 LAUNCH PAD FEATURE COMPETITION.
These 50 features tell the stories of a wide range of characters, from kings to Cumberbatch, supermodels to stand-up comedians and Frankenstein’s monster to the monster’s lurking at work. These scripts teach us the inspirational true stories of groundbreaking politicians and respected astronauts, the struggles of animation in the 1940s and a kid from the streets that told us all to pity a fool. Touching every genre and tone along the way, these 50 features will take you on a journey from questioning the first ‘I love you’ to scattering those final goodbyes to even playing a video game comprised of your biggest regrets. There is something for everyone in this collection of stunning work from a talented group of emerging writers.
So, once again, without further ado, let us introduce you to the Top 50 finalists of the 2018/19 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
(As a reminder: If you entered into the Mentorship Program, or signed up to be part of the Guaranteed Signing or Guaranteed Option prizes, irregardless of making the Top 100, you are still in contention for those prizes. Those winners are selected from the entire pool of submissions separately from the finalist rounds, and will be announced alongside the winners next month.)
| Project | Written By |
|---|---|
| :OPENWIDE | Edward Somers |
| #CONSPIRACY | Michael Owens & Zach Bidman |
| A GOOD DEED | Christina Pamies |
| ADULTHOOD | Thomas Thonson |
| ANNABELLA | James Marios Ellinas |
| ARTIFICIAL | Jonathan Dillon |
| BEANSTALK | Aarthi Ramanathan |
| CHALLENGER | Skye Emerson |
| DON’T GO THERE | Jeffrey Field |
| FIGHTING GIRLFRIEND, THE | Alexander Vargas |
| FINDING CUMBERBATCH | Ivan Tsang |
| FOOL’S ERRAND | Christina Tucker |
| FOOL’S ERRAND, THE | Chris Bramante & John Murphy |
| FRANK & STEIN | Danny Baram |
| GREEN V. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS | Daniel Parino |
| GUARDIAN | Natalie Baseman |
| HANDSOME DEVIL | John Gisser |
| HANGING MAN, THE | Esther Geller |
| HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HARVEY? | Sam Wright |
| IN GREED WE TRUST | Ron Peer |
| LAST CANADIAN VIRGINS, THE | Evan Rindler & Jon Rizik |
| LAST SAXON KING, THE | Chris Ryden |
| LIMPING LADY, THE | Devi Gowni |
| MARGO & PERRY | Becca Roth |
| MEMORY BANK, THE | Adam Cooper & Daniel Cooper |
| MENDICANT, THE | C.J. Wells & Jeff Singer |
| MOTHERBIRD | Donovan Yon |
| OPERATOR, THE | Huey Q. Pham & Jessica Petrucci |
| PIXEL EDGE, THE | Michael Felker |
| PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT | Paul Chang |
| PRISONER, THE | Nathan Wilcoxen |
| RAW DATA | Gareth Wronski |
| RELUCTANT DRAGONS | John Perez |
| ROOMIES | Gareth Wronski |
| SCATTERING JAKE | Erica Tachoir |
| SECOND LIFE OF BEN HASKINS, THE | Matthew Kic & Mike Sorce |
| SHADOW | Cody Pearce |
| SIX SHOOTER | Sean Nichols Lynch |
| SLUMBER | Becky Head |
| SOFT BOYS | Sam Greisman |
| SOPHIE & VALENTINA | Lucy Luna |
| SUMMER OF LOUISA | Lisa Franek |
| T | Eric Gross |
| THIS KISS | Dennis Curlett |
| TRAGIC BEAUTY | Jace Serrano |
| UNASSIGNED LANDS | Katie Golden |
| WAITING GAMES | Jeffrey Field |
| WAITLIST | Sheila Jenca |
| WEEKEND WARRIORS | Daniel Hogan |
| WHERE THE GROUND TOUCHES THE SKY | Brittney McCallum |
AS OUR JUDGES, PARTNERS AND MENTORS BEGIN THEIR DEEP DIVE INTO THIS YEARS FINALISTS, WE, ALONGSIDE OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERS VERVE, GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT AND ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE NEXT ROUND OF FINALISTS IN THIS YEARS COMPETITION, AS WE PRESENT OUR TOP 75.
These 75 features tell the stories of a wide range of characters, from superheroes to smokejumpers, lawyers to limo drivers and detectives to devils. These scripts show us the inspirational true stories of groundbreaking politicians and respected astronauts, shedding new light on the lives of famous actors and introducing us to untold war heroes. Touching every genre and tone along the way, these 75 features will take you on a journey from the lawless American West to the mythical land of giants and even the surface of Mars. There is something for everyone in this collection of stunning work from a talented group of emerging writers.
So, once again, without further ado, let us introduce you to the Top 75 finalists of the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
(As a reminder: If you entered into the Mentorship Program, or signed up to be part of the Guaranteed Signing or Guaranteed Option prizes, irregardless of making the Top 100, you are still in contention for those prizes. Those winners are selected from the entire pool of submissions separately from the finalist rounds, and will be announced alongside the winners next month.)
| Project | Written By |
|---|---|
| :OPENWIDE | Edward Somers |
| #CONSPIRACY | Michael Owens & Zach Bidman |
| A GOOD DEED | Christina Pamies |
| ADULTHOOD | Thomas Thonson |
| AMEN SISTERHOOD, THE | John Doble |
| ANNABELLA | James Marios Ellinas |
| ART OF LETTING GO, THE | Jason Chan |
| ARTIFICIAL | Jonathan Dillon |
| BARLEY GANG CREW, THE | Vijay Ilankamban |
| BEANSTALK | Aarthi Ramanathan |
| CHALLENGER | Skye Emerson |
| DINNER PARTY | John Gisser |
| DON’T GO THERE | Jeffrey Field |
| DREAMER OF DREAMS, THE | David Kushner & Joshua Bullock |
| EXTRAJUDICIAL | Craig Bealer |
| FADUMA & MIKE | Matthew Stenerson |
| FIFTH COLUMN, THE | Paul Sheridan |
| FIGHTING GIRLFRIEND, THE | Alexander Vargas |
| FINDING CUMBERBATCH | Ivan Tsang |
| FLASHBACK | Gabriel Robertson & Ken Petrie |
| FOOL’S ERRAND | Christina Tucker |
| FOOL’S ERRAND, THE | Chris Bramante & John Murphy |
| FRANK & STEIN | Danny Baram |
| GOOD MEN ARE HARD TO FIND | Jason Hynes |
| GREEN V. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS | Daniel Parino |
| GUARDIAN | Natalie Baseman |
| HANDSOME DEVIL | John Gisser |
| HANGING MAN, THE | Esther Geller |
| HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HARVEY? | Sam Wright |
| HAVEN, THE | Cord McConnell |
| HIGH GROUND, THE | Dawn Macleod |
| IDA | Guy Polin |
| IN GREED WE TRUST | Ron Peer |
| LAST CANADIAN VIRGINS, THE | Evan Rindler & Jon Rizik |
| LAST SAXON KING, THE | Chris Ryden |
| LATCHKEY KIDS, THE | Richard Martin |
| LIMO DRIVER, THE | Tejal Desai |
| LIMPING LADY, THE | Devi Gowni |
| MARGO & PERRY | Becca Roth |
| MEMORY BANK, THE | Adam Cooper & Daniel Cooper |
| MENDICANT, THE | C.J. Wells & Jeff Singer |
| MOTHERBIRD | Donovan Yon |
| NO REST FOR THE WICKED | Jonathan Marx |
| OPERATION BROTHER SAM | Gustavo Freitas |
| OPERATOR, THE | Huey Q. Pham & Jessica Petrucci |
| OUTSIDE THE WIRE | Valerie Anne Brotski |
| PIXEL EDGE, THE | Michael Felker |
| PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT | Paul Chang |
| PRISONER, THE | Nathan Wilcoxen |
| RAW DATA | Gareth Wronski |
| RED ROCK | P.J. Hamilton & Scott Hamilton |
| RELUCTANT DRAGONS | John Perez |
| ROOMIES | Gareth Wronski |
| SCATTERING JAKE | Erica Tachoir |
| SECOND LIFE OF BEN HASKINS, THE | Matthew Kic & Mike Sorce |
| SHADOW | Cody Pearce |
| SIX SHOOTER | Sean Nichols Lynch |
| SLUMBER | Becky Head |
| SMOKEJUMPER | Jeremy Craig |
| SOFT BOYS | Sam Greisman |
| SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE | Matthew Koppin |
| SOPHIE & VALENTINA | Lucy Luna |
| SUMMER OF LOUISA | Lisa Franek |
| T | Eric Gross |
| THESE SAVAGE MEN | Keith Clark & Nick Lentz |
| THIS KISS | Dennis Curlett |
| TOXIC | Daniel Turkewitz |
| TRAGIC BEAUTY | Jace Serrano |
| TRES BANDITOS | Thomas Leupp |
| UNASSIGNED LANDS | Katie Golden |
| UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED | Travis Carr |
| WAITING GAMES | Jeffrey Field |
| WAITLIST | Sheila Jenca |
| WEEKEND WARRIORS | Daniel Hogan |
| WHERE THE GROUND TOUCHES THE SKY | Brittney McCallum |
TOGETHER WITH OUR EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION PARTNERS VERVE, ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT, AND GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT, WE ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE TOP 100 FOR THE 2018 LAUNCH PAD FEATURE COMPETITION.
Now with more than 400 writers signed, 140 projects set up, 61 writers staffed, 6 bidding wars, and more than 130 appearances on the annual ‘best of’ lists such as the Black List, Hit List, Young & Hungry List and Blood List, this years Launch Pad Feature Competition is set to introduce the next 100 writers to become part of the Launch Pad community.
Featuring writers from Australia, Denmark, Ireland, England, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, China, and of course the United States, this years new class of writers offer stories and characters as diverse as their locales. From smart & witty comedy to dark & brooding drama, from larger than life science fiction to introspective character studies, this years new crop of writer has something for everyone.
So, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition Top 100!
(As a reminder: If you entered into the Mentorship Program, or signed up to be part of the Guaranteed Signing or Guaranteed Option prizes, irregardless of making the Top 100, you are still in contention for those prizes. Those winners are selected from the entire pool of submissions separately from the finalist rounds, and will be announced alongside the winners next month.)
| Project | Written By |
|---|---|
| :OPENWIDE | Edward Somers |
| #CONSPIRACY | Michael Owens & Zach Bidman |
| A GOOD DEED | Christina Pamies |
| ADULTHOOD | Thomas Thonson |
| AERIAL | Sean Harrigan |
| AMEN SISTERHOOD, THE | John Doble |
| ANNABELLA | James Marios Ellinas |
| ART OF LETTING GO, THE | Jason Chan |
| ARTIFICIAL | Jonathan Dillon |
| BARLEY GANG CREW, THE | Vijay Ilankamban |
| BEANSTALK | Aarthi Ramanathan |
| BEAST OF RED FOREST, THE | Graham Funke |
| BOYFRIEND WHISPERER, THE | Dani Messerschmidt |
| CHALLENGER | Skye Emerson |
| DEMENTIA | Joe Toto |
| DINNER PARTY | John Gisser |
| DISTORTION | Chris Howard |
| DON’T GO THERE | Jeffrey Field |
| DREAMER OF DREAMS, THE | David Kushner & Joshua Bullock |
| ELECTRIC GARDENS | Amy Blackwelder & Bill Daley |
| EXTRAJUDICIAL | Craig Bealer |
| FADUMA & MIKE | Matthew Stenerson |
| FIFTH COLUMN, THE | Paul Sheridan |
| FIGHTING GIRLFRIEND, THE | Alexander Vargas |
| FINDING CUMBERBATCH | Ivan Tsang |
| FISSURE | Sean Gallimore |
| FLASHBACK | Gabriel Robertson & Ken Petrie |
| FOOL’S ERRAND | Christina Tucker |
| FOOL’S ERRAND, THE | Chris Bramante & John Murphy |
| FORGOTTEN WARRIOR | Xander Bernstein |
| FRANK & STEIN | Danny Baram |
| GOOD MEN ARE HARD TO FIND | Jason Hynes |
| GREEN V. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS | Daniel Parino |
| GUARDIAN | Natalie Baseman |
| HANDSOME DEVIL | John Gisser |
| HANGING MAN, THE | Esther Geller |
| HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HARVEY? | Sam Wright |
| HAVEN, THE | Cord McConnell |
| HIGH GROUND, THE | Dawn Macleod |
| IDA | Guy Polin |
| IN GREED WE TRUST | Ron Peer |
| INCARNATIONS | Albert M. Chan |
| J.D., HARPER, TRUMAN. | Mat Raymond |
| JANET, WHO NEVER SMILES | Keren Bloom |
| JUDY’S SEARCH FOR GOD | Dave Wade |
| LAST CANADIAN VIRGINS, THE | Evan Rindler & Jon Rizik |
| LAST SAXON KING, THE | Chris Ryden |
| LATCHKEY KIDS, THE | Richard Martin |
| LIMO DRIVER, THE | Tejal Desai |
| LIMPING LADY, THE | Devi Gowni |
| LOVERS A’GO-GO | Christian Palacios Canterbury |
| MAN FROM THE DEEP, THE | Robert Riley |
| MARGO & PERRY | Becca Roth |
| MARVIN | Jason Gilmore |
| MEMORY BANK, THE | Adam Cooper & Daniel Cooper |
| MENDICANT, THE | C.J. Wells & Jeff Singer |
| METHOD & HIS MADNESS, THE | Mimosa Jones Tunney |
| MOTHERBIRD | Donovan Yon |
| NO REST FOR THE WICKED | Jonathan Marx |
| OLIVE TREE, THE | Marie Maroun |
| OPERATION BROTHER SAM | Gustavo Freitas |
| OPERATOR, THE | Huey Q. Pham & Jessica Petrucci |
| OUTSIDE THE WIRE | Valerie Anne Brotski |
| PIXEL EDGE, THE | Michael Felker |
| PLEASE LET EVERYTHING BE ALL RIGHT | Paul Chang |
| POACHERS | Adam Etheridge |
| PRISONER, THE | Nathan Wilcoxen |
| RAW DATA | Gareth Wronski |
| RED ROCK | P.J. Hamilton & Scott Hamilton |
| RELUCTANT DRAGONS | John Perez |
| ROOMIES | Gareth Wronski |
| SAM AND THE 7 DEADLY SINS | Alexandra Fletcher |
| SCATTERING JAKE | Erica Tachoir |
| SECOND LIFE OF BEN HASKINS, THE | Matthew Kic & Mike Sorce |
| SHADOW | Cody Pearce |
| SIX SHOOTER | Sean Nichols Lynch |
| SLUMBER | Becky Head |
| SMOKEJUMPER | Jeremy Craig |
| SOFT BOYS | Sam Greisman |
| SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE | Matthew Koppin |
| SOPHIE & VALENTINA | Lucy Luna |
| SUMMER OF LOUISA | Lisa Franek |
| T | Eric Gross |
| THESE SAVAGE MEN | Keith Clark & Nick Lentz |
| THIS KISS | Dennis Curlett |
| TOXIC | Daniel Turkewitz |
| TRAGIC BEAUTY | Jace Serrano |
| TRES BANDITOS | Thomas Leupp |
| TRIAL, THE | Ashley Hudson |
| UNASSIGNED LANDS | Katie Golden |
| UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED | Travis Carr |
| VENICE PIER | Evan Laughlin |
| WAITING GAMES | Jeffrey Field |
| WAITLIST | Sheila Jenca |
| WEEKEND WARRIORS | Daniel Hogan |
| WENDIGO | Michael Langer |
| WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND | Osagie Jesuorobo |
| WHERE THE GROUND TOUCHES THE SKY | Brittney McCallum |
| WHY THE WILLOW WEEPS | Lafayette Parish |
| ZOMBIE PLANE | Bill Hargenrader |
AND FOR OUR PILOT WRITERS…
VERVE, GOOD FEAR, ROMARK ENTERTAINMENT AND THREE NEW MENTORS ANNOUNCED!
We are incredibly pleased to announce that Verve, Good Fear Film + Management, Romark Entertainment and screenwriting mentors Matt Leslie, Joe Russo and Dan Benamor will be our exclusive Signing, Option and Mentorship Program Mentors for the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
In addition to announcing this years exclusive partners and mentors, we’re also very excited to announce that we will be extending the competition to run through the month of November (ending at 11:59pm PST on November 30th, 2018), and for the next three weeks we will be offering up multiple new promotions in tandem with our new partner announcements!
NEW ENTRY PROMOTIONS AND PACKAGES
Beginning on November 8th, we will roll out new promotion packages that will both reward previous entrants, as well as all entrants until the November 30th deadline.
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTER 1 NEW SCRIPT
-FREE AUTOMATIC ENTRY INTO THE 2018 MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. (no additional steps or selections needed at check out – we will automatically include you in the selection pool for the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition Mentorship Program).
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTER 2 NEW SCRIPTS
-FREE AUTOMATIC ENTRY INTO 2018 MENTORSHIP PROGRAM AND THE GUARANTEED OPTION PRIZE AND A FREE 1-YEAR MEMBERSHIP TO THE TRACKING BOARD, OR 1-YEAR EXTENSION TO THE TRACKING BOARD. (no additional steps or selections needed at check out – we will automatically include you in the selection pool for the 2018 Launch Pad Mentorship Program and the Guaranteed Option Prize). As a reminder, all Tracking Board subscribers will also receive their membership discount upon entry as well.
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTER 3 OR MORE NEW SCRIPTS
-FREE AUTOMATIC ENTRY INTO 2018 MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, THE GUARANTEED OPTION PRIZE, THE GUARANTEED SIGNING PRIZE AND A FREE 1-YEAR MEMBERSHIP TO THE TRACKING BOARD, OR 1-YEAR EXTENSION TO THE TRACKING BOARD. (no additional steps or selections needed at check out – we will automatically include you in the selection pool for the 2018 Launch Pad Mentorship Program, the Guaranteed Option Prize and the Guaranteed Signing Prize). As a reminder, all Tracking Board subscribers will also receive their membership discount upon entry as well.
PREVIOUS ENTRANT PROMOTIONS AND PACKAGES
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTERED 1 SCRIPT PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 8TH
-$20 OFF DOUBLE ENTRY PROMOTIONAL CODE. If you’ve previously entered 1 script into the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition you will receive an email with a promotional code good for up to two new additional entries into the competition. That entry, as well as any additional entries made will take advantage of new entrant promotions as well. (As a reminder, Tracking Board subscribers will also receive their additional discount applied at check out).
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTERED 2 SCRIPTS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 8TH
-$25 OFF TRIPLE USE ENTRY PROMOTIONAL CODE. If you’ve previously entered 2 scripts into the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition you will receive an email with promotional code good for three additional new entries into the competition. Those entries, as well as any additional new entries made will take advantage of new entrant promotions as well. (As a reminder, Tracking Board subscribers will also receive their additional discount applied at check out).
ALL ENTRANTS WHO ENTERED 3 OR MORE SCRIPTS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 8TH
-$30 OFF TRIPLE USE ENTRY PROMOTIONAL CODE. If you’ve previously entered 3 or more scripts into the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition you will receive an email with a promotional code good for up to three additional new entries into the competition. Those entries, as well as any additional entries made will take advantage of new entrant promotions as well. (As a reminder, Tracking Board subscribers will also receive their additional discount applied at check out).
Year six is here, and the competition that has led to more signings, success stories and careers than any other writing competition in the world is now underway. With more than 371 signings, 127 projects set up, 59 writers staffed, 134 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List, as well as 6 bidding wars, the Launch Pad Competition has become the premiere hub for Hollywood discovering new talent.
WHAT MAKES LAUNCH PAD SO SUCCESSFUL?
By utilizing our deep relationships within the industry we’ve not only become the only competition that continually features Studio Presidents and Agency/Management Company Partners as judges, but the only one that has also formed exclusive partners with people such as Ridley Scott, Michael De Luca, Roy Lee, Joel Silver, Jeremy Garelick, Adrian Askarieh, as well as companies Artillery Creative, Bellevue, Echo Lake, Endgame Entertainment, Energy Entertainment, ESA, Fourth Wall Management, Good Fear Film Management, Heroes & Villains, Inkshares, Lee Stobby Entertainment, Oil & Cattle, Paradigm, UTA and WME – all of whom have previously committed to guarantee to option material or sign writers out of our competitions.
Additionally, we continually shake up our judges pool, carefully selecting the judges we feel will best represent each competition, all the while ensuring a consistent balance of hot-newcomers and seasoned veterans. And, as you’ll see from this years list of phenomenal judges, not only do we work diligently to ensure our judges make up a creative mix of representatives who can sign writers and executives who can acquire projects, but we always work to include those who’ve had great success with our Launch Pad writers before.
In the five years that have led up to this competition we’ve watched our Launch Pad writers go on to steer blockbuster franchises, Emmy-winning series, craft New York Times Bestsellers, and set up dozens upon dozens of projects well beyond their original Launch Pad entries. Now, we’re ready to find the next great wave of Launch Pad writers!
A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR JUDGES
This year’s judges include a mix of fresh faces and returning judges and feature a curated mix of agents, managers, producers and executives. A majority of this list also includes those who have previously signed, set up, or acquired Launch Pad scripts in the past. You’ll find heads of development and production, agency and management company partners, those who have topped the Black List, Hit List and Blood List in years past, as well as those who created the Blood List. Our judge pool selections this year have also been some of the most prominent players in the feature spec market, with several of them having been involved in the biggest spec sales ever in Hollywood, as well as the most feature spec sales per year in multiple years. Our judges this year truly represent what the Launch Pad means to us – an opportunity to begin your career.
WHAT MAKE US DIFFERENT FROM THE REST?
For most competitions on the market today, whether win or lose, the finish line usually comes with a brief blog post announcing winners on the competition site, immediately followed by a new competition turning on. For us, that was never even close to enough. Our focus has always been on discovery and elevation. The reality is, a vast majority of the writers working in Hollywood today got their start with a competition. But, they also lost or made finalist rounds in several that never blinked an eye. While it’s impossible to discover every great writer every year, we go to great lengths to ensure those who make any finalist rounds with us are given attention far beyond a blog post. We not only advocate for all of our finalists, and work closely with them to fine tune loglines, bios, and additional works, but we also feature all of our finalists in our high regarded Launch Pad Alum Booklets, our “Best Scripts of the Year” lists, our industry released Announcements, and via our partners we also include them in the end of year Spec Book, Hit List and Young & Hungry List.
Additionally, we work with every finalist to prepare you for what comes next – whether representation meetings, pitch meetings or generals. Preparing a series bible for your TV pilot, crafting your additional works for interested reads, and navigating the series of meetings that inevitably follow. We track every read received through the competition, and we share all of this info with you along with the way, so you know who’s reading, and can gauge how far your work truly is going. And, as our end of competition and end of year lists go out to the more than 25,000 industry members we work with, as well as to our exclusive panel of former partners and judges, we’ll work with you to be sure you put your best foot forward every step of the way.
GUARANTEED OPTION PRIZE
We are incredibly thrilled to have the company that set up the first Launch Pad script ever return to be our Guaranteed Option Prize partner. Beyond setting up the Launch Pad script Tranquility Base with 20th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott, Romark Entertainment has become one of the most prominent companies involved in Launch Pad success stories, having set up projects from our feature, pilot and manuscript competitions each year since 2014. Some of those projects include the aforementioned Tranquility Base with Fox, Matriarch with Paramount, the Margot Robbie-starring feature “Marian” at Sony, the Scott Derrickson-helmed manuscript turned Showtime TV series Kill Creek, and the upcoming TV series Mr. and Mrs. American Pie with Laura Linney.
As in previous competitions, our guaranteed option partner(s) will select a minimum of 1 project from this years competition to option. To be eligible for the guaranteed option prize, all entrants MUST select the “Guaranteed Option” add-on at time of sign up.
GUARANTEED SIGNING PRIZE
One of the leading agencies in Hollywood, Verve has been a mainstay of year-end lists and spec sales listings for years. Verve agents have been behind some of Launch Pad’s most successful sales, including Pete Barry’s MARIAN selling to Sony and Amy Pascal for Margot Robbie to produce and star. With clients staffed on shows like Shadowhunters, Runaways and Disenchantment, and writing films from The Meg to The Smurfs, Verve is the place to be as an up-and-coming writer.
With more than 10 writers signed from the Launch Pad competition to date, we’re excited to have Good Fear Film + Management join us this year as our Guaranteed Signing Partner. A leading management company, Good Fear has clients staffed on shows such as 13 Reasons Why, Snowfall, Shadowhunters, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and AP Bio. Their writers are behind such diverse films as Hidden Figures, Snow White and the Huntsman, and the upcoming The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Good Fear are producers on David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake as well as the upcoming live action Mulan remake from Disney. With first look deals at New Line and Universal Cable Productions, Good Fear is a perfect resource to connect your work with the right people across the town.
As in previous competitions, our guaranteed signing partner(s) will select a minimum of 1 writer from this years competition to represent. To be eligible for the guaranteed signing prize, all entrants MUST select the “Guaranteed Signing” add-on at time of sign up.
THE LAUNCH PAD MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Being a writer is all about learning through collaboration, and working closely with experienced writers who have already taken those first steps in the industry can be an invaluable experience. That’s why the Launch Pad offers exclusive mentorship opportunities for our writers to learn from those in the know.
Our first mentor this year is Matt Leslie. Matt previously worked as a Development Executive for Producers Matt Alvarez and Scott Bernstein, and was heavily involved in developing the script for the 2015 global box office smash STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. He also co-wrote (with his writing partner, Stephen J. Smith) and produced the indie thriller SUMMER OF 84, which premiered in the Midnight Lineup at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Leslie & Smith have a number of film and television projects in development at various production companies in Los Angeles.
Joe Russo, an award-winning filmmaker whose short films have featured in festivals both domestically and internationally. With writing partner Chris LaMont, Joe has appeared on the Tracking Board’s Young & Hungry List and Hit List, as well as the Blood List. The duo has sold multiple scripts which are scheduled for production. As a producer, Joe recently wrapped the horror anthology feature film NIGHTMARE CINEMA, starring Academy Award Nominee Mickey Rourke (THE WRESTLER), with segments from acclaimed filmmakers, including Joe Dante (GREMLINS) and David Slade (AMERICAN GODS). The movie recently debuted as the opening night movie at the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival to rave reviews. Joe also produces the interview series “Post Mortem” with Mick Garris on the Blumhouse Podcast Network.
And finally, we are pleased to welcome mentor Dan Benamor, a screenwriter for film and television and a former development executive. As an executive, Dan shepherded films like FINAL GIRL (with Wes Bentley and Abigail Breslin) and TIFF premiere AMERICAN HEIST (with Adrien Brody and Hayden Christensen) to production. As a screenwriter, highlights of Dan has worked as a Staff Writer on the Netflix Original Series ROMAN EMPIRE: MASTER OF ROME and the Western STAGECOACH: THE TEXAS JACK STORY, starring country singer Trace Adkins, Kim Coates and Judd Nelson. Dan currently has two independent films post-production and is one of 19 writers to ever receive a “Recommend” from The Tracking Board’s coverage program.
As in previous competitions, each of our mentors or mentor teams will select a minimum of 1 writer each from this years competition to mentor. To be eligible for the Launch Pad Mentorship Program, all entrants MUST select the “Mentorship Program” add-on at time of entry.
REAL NOTES = REAL FEEDBACK
Continuing with the same educational ideas behind the origination of the mentorship program, and continually looking to identify new ways to give our writers even more of a leg up when entering the Launch Pad Competition, we’re thrilled to announce the return of our Feedback Notes Program. Rather than receiving a few vague disconnected sentences or paragraphs from other coverage services or competitions out there, we’ve struck a deal with our professional readers (reading for places such as Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony, Paramount, Universal, Anonymous Content, Circle of Confusion, CAA, UTA, Paradigm, Skydance and more) to provide 1-2 pages of in-depth notes on your competition entry. 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 the actionable notes and insight you deserve.
The Launch Pad is more than just a writing competition. We’re here to be the first step in starting your writing career.
