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Here are the winners of the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition:

THE LAUNCH PAD COMPETITION, IN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH BAD IDEA AND RECON LITERARY, IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS FOR THE 2019 LAUNCH PAD PILOT COMPETITION!

Every year, the quality of submissions seems to get better and better, and this year’s competition is no exception. We are honored to have been able to read such an imaginative, innovative and skillful collection of scripts from writers across the globe, and we look forward to sharing that work with the industry. We want to thank our judges for taking the time to read our finalists and make the difficult decisions that give us this fantastic group of winners.

With all of that said, we’re incredibly proud to announce our Overall WinnerTop Comedy WinnerTop Drama WinnerRecon Literary Guaranteed Signing WinnerBad Idea 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

GRAND ILLUSIONS

Noah Kloor

THE PRESTIGE meets PEAKY BLINDERS

The year is 1918 and a young factory worker longing to escape her difficult life is drawn inexorably into the glamorous and dangerous world of a touring illusionist and his troupe.

Drama Period

Overall Winner

Top Comedy

BRIGHT LIGHT

Dan Neilan

CORPORATE meets MANIAC

A woman working for a PR firm that specializes in rehabilitating the careers of awful men struggles to distinguish between the absurdity of the world around her and the symptoms of her own mental illness.

Comedy

Top Comedy

Top Drama

FLESH, INC.

Sophie Dawson

BREAKING BAD meets HOUSE

A dangerous network of black-market organ hunters is threatened after a broker gets blackmailed while securing an illegal heart for a little girl.

Action Crime Drama Thriller

Top Drama

Bad Idea Guaranteed Option Winner

OFFICE 39

Dave Miller

THE NIGHT MANAGER meets BERLIN STATION

When a North Korean agent walks into the American embassy in Seoul, a CIA agent and embassy employee must discern what is true and what is a lie in his elaborate story of espionage and intrigue.

Drama Thriller Spy

Top 25 Bad Idea Guaranteed Option Winner

Recon Literary Guaranteed Signing Winner

THE DISAPPEARANCE

Jess Harris-Distefano

THIS IS US meets THE FAMILY

Years after his father ran away with his two younger siblings, a sportswriter stumbles upon his long-lost family, and the secret threatens to upend his entire life.

Drama Thriller

Top 10 Recon Literary Guaranteed Signing Winner

Mentorship Program Winners

AMERICAN PSYCHE

Richard Nguyen and Vinita Mehta

IN TREATMENT meets THE GOOD WIFE

A psychologist to Washington DC’s political elite finds her worst nightmares coming to life when her star patient, a Senator, turns manic in the midst of drug abuse and sexual scandal.

Drama

Top 100 Mentorship Selection (Simone Finch)

KISS & MAKEUP

Liz Thompson

REVENGE meets GOOD BEHAVIOR

After accidentally killing the nephew of a powerful crime lord, a con artist flees to stay with her sister, only to discover that she is running a dangerous con of her own.

Comedy Dark Comedy Drama

Top 75 Mentorship Selection (Julian Silver)

PRINCES’ HOSPITAL

Lisa Kors

GREY’S ANATOMY meets HOMELAND

An American doctor is recruited to work in a luxury hospital in a Middle Eastern oil state, but adjusting to the new culture is more difficult than she expected.

Drama

Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Jenny Deiker Restivo)

 

(Listed Alphabetically)

ALOHA STATE

Julia Bergeron

SUPERSTORE meets FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

A woman arrives in Hawaii for what she thinks is an all-expenses-paid vacation won by her fiancé only to discover that he’s used all her savings to pay for the getaway. She breaks up with him and decides to enjoy the remainder of the trip, but finds herself staying to take a job at the dysfunctional resort.

Comedy

Top 50

AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP

Riley Madincea

ANGIE TRIBECA meets DOOGIE HOUSER MD

An unearthed VHS gives new life to the 90s most forgotten TV whizkid detective as the show’s backstage dramas finally come to light.

Comedy Crime

Top 50

AMERICAN INFAMY

Evan Iwata

THE TERROR: INFAMY meets PARENTHOOD

In 1940s Portland, a rebellious Japanese-American teenager must step up to help his family withstand the wave of persecution that arises after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Drama War Period

Top 100

AMERICAN PSYCHE

Richard Nguyen and Vinita Mehta

IN TREATMENT meets THE GOOD WIFE

A psychologist to Washington DC’s political elite finds her worst nightmares coming to life when her star patient, a Senator, turns manic in the midst of drug abuse and sexual scandal.

Drama

Top 100 Mentorship Selection (Simone Finch)

ARRANGED

Felicia Ho

CRAZY RICH ASIANS meets FLEABAG

The failed actress daughter of a Chinese-American family returns to her extravagantly wealthy but dysfunctional home, enlisting her matchmaker aunt to help scheme her way into an arranged marriage.

Comedy

Top 50

THE ARSONIST’S HANDBOOK

Todd Goodlett

DEXTER meets CHICAGO FIRE

A female arson investigator with a penchant for starting fires herself hunts for a deadly serial arsonist in Los Angeles, but the investigation threatens to expose her own crimes.

Crime Drama Thriller

Top 75

BAD COMPANY

John Rosans

WAITING FOR GUFFMAN meets ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

When one of their own becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, a small-town community theater troupe has to rally together and decide if the show really must go on.

Comedy Crime Dark Comedy

Top 100

BAD JEW

Adi Blotman

UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT meets DISOBEDIENCE

Days before her arranged marriage, a young Hasidic woman leaves her closed-off community and family to stay with her extremely secular cousin in Los Angeles and experience the world for the very first time.

Comedy

Top 25

BALLS

Dave Urlakis

SPORTS NIGHT meets 30 ROCK

The team behind the sideline entertainment at Chicago Bulls games deals with the untrained new co-host imposed upon them by management.

Comedy

Top 75

BAND OF OTHERS

Arun Narayanan

AP BIO meets GLEE

When an article in the school newspaper criticizes a high school’s jazz band for being all white, the students and administration go to great lengths to integrate the group.

Comedy

Top 75

BEA ROSE

Natalia Temesgen

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL meets IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

An aspiring black poet in 1920 uses her charm, cunning, and ability to pass as white in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but when a deadly massacre burns the wealthy black neighborhood to the ground, she is forced to confront her illusions of identity.

Drama Period

Top 50

BEANTOWNERS

Joe Ahern

THE MCCARTHYS meets THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

A successful Los Angeles couple is thrown for a loop when their boorish relatives from Boston come to town unexpectedly and bring worlds of trouble with them.

Comedy

Top 75

BOILING FROGS

Bryan Kelsey

BREAKING BAD meets ANIMAL KINGDOM

A southern teenager has spent years leading her family away from their criminal ways, but everything is put in jeopardy when her ruthless mother is released from prison and takes back control of the family’s drug operation.

Crime Drama

Top 10

BOTS

Michael Owens and Zachary Bidman

SILICON VALLEY meets WESTWORLD

After a terrible night out with a chauvinistic nightmare, an AI researcher discovers that her date is actually a highly-advanced robot, alerting her to a massive conspiracy and placing her in the crosshairs of the company she works for, its megalomaniacal CEO, and his army of misogynistic robots.

Comedy Sci-Fi

Top 50

BRIGHT LIGHT

Dan Neilan

CORPORATE meets MANIAC

A woman working for a PR firm that specializes in rehabilitating the careers of awful men struggles to distinguish between the absurdity of the world around her and the symptoms of her own mental illness.

Comedy

Top Comedy

BURGERS AND BIRYANI

Sai Saripella

FRESH OFF THE BOAT meets MODERN FAMILY

An Indian couple moves to America to live with their daughter and her white husband, setting up a major culture clash.

Comedy

Top 75

   BURT KOWALSKI: KING OF THE UNIVERSE

       Tanner Hansinger

STRANGER THAN FICTION meets HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

A failed science fiction writer grappling with mental illness questions his reality when one of his characters appears and claims to be from an alternate dimension where all of his stories are true and insists that he is the only one who can save them from disaster.

Drama Sci-Fi

Top 75

CAMP CREATION

Jack Barnes

GLEE meets SAVED

A Jewish boy chooses to attend a Christian creationist summer camp in order to raise his social clout just as a social media company buys the organization and turns it into a musical theater camp to create young stars for their platform.

Comedy Teen

Top 75

CAT LADY

Haley Melikian

FLEABAG meets CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND

After a breakup, a former pageant queen decides to get a cat, even though it feels like giving up.

Comedy

Top 25

CHERRY LIPS

Lauren Hussey

INSATIABLE meets GLOW

In 1994, Georgia Lee Jones was beloved by millions after being crowned America’s Barbie until it all came crashing down. Now considered a has-been, Georgia Lee has been shut out of Barbie’s Diamond Celebration and decides to get her fame back by any means necessary,

Comedy Dark Comedy Drama

Top 10

CITIZEN’S ARREST

Heather Wells Peterson

SHARP OBJECTS meets TRUE DETECTIVE

A woman is forced to return to her hometown when the podcast she works for decides to investigate a series of crimes that occurred there in her youth, thrusting the three surviving victims back into the public eye and forcing them to confront old wounds and buried secrets despite having spent their lives trying to be invisible.

Crime Drama

Top 100

CITY OF GOLD

Daniel Fisch

DEADWOOD meets KLONDIKE

In the lawless Wild West powder keg of Gold Rush-era San Francisco, a ruthless tycoon, a desperate woman miner, and a mysterious drifter fight over knowledge of gold in the surrounding hills.

Drama Western Period

Top 50

DANIKA BREWSTER

Heather Spiegel

REVENGE meets THE GOOD WIFE

When a skilled identity thief discovers that her own identity has been stolen, and her alter ego has become a high-profile missing person, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous mystery.

Drama Mystery Thriller

Top 75

DEEP EDDY

James Madejski

HOUSE meets ORANGE THE NEW BLACK

A New York City doctor with his medical license under review is assigned to work in a jail in his rural upstate hometown, but connections from his past threaten to undermine his already dangerous work.

Drama

Top 25

THE DISAPPEARANCE

Jess Harris-Distefano

THIS IS US meets THE FAMILY

Years after his father ran away with his two younger siblings, a sportswriter stumbles upon his long-lost family, and the secret threatens to upend his entire life.

Drama Thriller

Top 10 Recon Literary Guaranteed Signing Winner

THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA

Vandon Gibbs

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets DEAR WHITE PEOPLE

After black athletes stop attending SEC schools in protest of racist policies, the nation’s top football recruit has to decide whether to defy the boycott and attend Alabama or go to a Historically Black College as he is being pressured to do by his community.

Drama Sports

Top 50

EAT ME

Jeffrey Maccubbin

DERRY GIRLS meets THE GOLDBERGS

In 1990s Baltimore, a rebellious teenager is humiliated when her mother forces her to get a job at the local chicken shack.

Comedy Teen

Top 50

EVE

Amanda Mortimer and Connor Barry

SLEEPY HOLLOW meets THE BLACKLIST

Fifteen years after the arrest of Victor Frankenstein for the murder of his wife and the destruction of his lab, one of his monsters lives out her days as a nun. After a chimera attacks her, she is forced to team up with her creator in order to stop his experiments from tearing apart New York.

Action Drama Horror

Top 50

EX HUMANA

Helena Zhen

GATTACA meets WESTWORLD

In the near future, nearly everyone uses nanobots to monitor their health and improve their lives, but when a government official has his bots turned off by accident, he starts experiencing the world differently and begins to suspect that humanity is being controlled by its own technology.

Drama Sci-Fi Thriller

Top 25

FICHERA

Danny Cavada

COYOTE UGLY meets OZARK

The Latina employees of a bar in Los Angeles decide to take the business into their own hands in order to keep it alive.

Drama

Top 25

FIND HER

Erinne Dobson

TRUE DETECTIVE meets MYSTIC RIVER

When her sister goes missing, a young mom in coastal New England must work with a local detective in order to track her down while simultaneously fighting a custody battle for her daughter.

Crime Drama Thriller

Top 100

FINDERS KEEPERS

Melanie Recker

NATIONAL TREASURE meets WAREHOUSE 13

A collector of antiques enlists her estranged sister to help her follow the clues on a mysterious map that she finds at an estate sale and which may hold the key to uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy.

Action Adventure Comedy Drama

Top 100

FLESH, INC.

Sophie Dawson

BREAKING BAD meets HOUSE

A dangerous network of black-market organ hunters is threatened after a broker gets blackmailed while securing an illegal heart for a little girl.

Action Crime Drama Thriller

Top Drama

FRIENDS 4 EVER

Elizabeth Guest and Jennifer Golum

2 BROKE GIRLS meets YOUNGER

Two childhood friends who grew apart in high school are forced back together when one of them moves to New York and gets a job as a receptionist at the other’s company. In close proximity once again, the conflicts that caused their initial split rise to the surface.

Comedy Dark Comedy

Top 75

GHOSTRUNNER

Jonathan Flicker

BREAKING BAD meets THE GOOD WIFE

After her husband goes to prison for white collar crime, a former lawyer moves with her children to her rural hometown, where she becomes a reluctant partner in a local gunrunning operation.

Action Crime Drama Thriller

Top 50

GOOD HAIR

Daniel Landroche and Katie Nathan

CLAWS meets 30 ROCK

A manager of a high-end hair salon in West Hollywood is forced against his will to hire his former boss, a talented but egomaniacal celebrity hair colorist.

Comedy

Top 100

GOVERNMENT GIRLS

Adam Scott Epstein and Ilana Turner

THE IMITATION GAME meets CALL THE MIDWIFE

During World War II, a young woman from West Virginia answers the call and moves to Washington DC to work at the Pentagon, where she is enlisted to help root out a Japanese spy who is responsible for her brother’s death.

Drama Thriller Period

Top 75

GRAND ILLUSIONS

Noah Kloor

THE PRESTIGE meets PEAKY BLINDERS

The year is 1918 and a young factory worker longing to escape her difficult life is drawn inexorably into the glamorous and dangerous world of a touring illusionist and his troupe.

Drama Period

Overall Winner

GRETA

Samantha Manning

DISENCHANTMENT meets ADVENTURE TIME

A teenage girl from a dreary medieval village gets into trouble when she discovers that she is a witch.

Animation Comedy Fantasy Period

Top 25

GUNPOWDER

Kevin Sheridan

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets SNOWFALL

Trapped in a poverty-stricken town deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, a talented high schooler is given a chance to change his life when he is recruited to join his school’s football team by a new assistant coach.

Drama Sports Teen

Top 50

HOLD FOR OLYMPUS

Gian-Paul Bergeron and Kevin Kelly

HERCULES meets BOJACK HORSEMAN

After being fired from her position as Zeus’s assistant, a highly motivated young woman is assigned to the chill and unambitious Artemis, so she decides to give Artemis’s image an overhaul to make her the most popular god on Olympus.

Animation Comedy Fantasy

Top 10

HUSE RIGHT

Geetika Lizardi and Huse Madhavji

RAMY meets THE NEWSROOM

A left-leaning, Muslim broadcaster tries to rebuild his life after losing his high-profile job and his marriage by taking the only job he can get: anchoring the news on a right-wing channel.

Comedy Drama

Top 100

ICONIC

Brianna Janes

RAY DONOVAN meets DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

A gender-bending celebrity escort embarks upon a quest to become a self-made makeup mogul through the power of blackmail and social media.

Drama

Top 100

IMPACT

Liz Storm

HOMELAND meets FELICITY

A young woman from West Virginia with a talent for languages joins the Peace Corps and is stationed in Morocco, where she gets recruited by the CIA to become involved in efforts to fight extremism

Action Drama Thriller

Top 25

IN THE FLESH

Chloe Curran

UGLY BETTY meets SUCCESSION

When she is forced to step down from her family’s makeup empire, a woman decides to pass on the company to her plain, video game designer granddaughter, who is entirely uninterested in makeup, in order to keep control away from the scheming board.

Comedy Drama

Top 75

INFINITE

Michael Apgar

STAR TREK meets THE GOOD PLACE

A group of misfits from parallel versions of Earth find themselves abducted on an alien ship and discover that they are all the
carriers of an apocalyptic plague that has already wiped out multiple Earths.

Adventure Comedy Drama Sci-Fi

Top 10

IRON MOUNTAIN

Catherine Kelleher

FORTITUDE meets BROADCHURCH

In a remote subarctic indoor mining town, an engineer in his prime suddenly takes his own life, unlocking a conspiracy that shakes the community to the core.

Drama Mystery Thriller

Top 75

THE KINGDOM

Jeremy Landers

THE BIBLE meets ROME

After years of bloody defeat and economic oppression, the fractured peoples of Israel come together to choose their first king, the reluctant Saul.

Action Drama War Period

Top 75

KISS & MAKEUP

Liz Thompson

REVENGE meets GOOD BEHAVIOR

After accidentally killing the nephew of a powerful crime lord, a con artist flees to stay with her sister, only to discover that she is running a dangerous con of her own.

Comedy Dark Comedy Drama

Top 75 Mentorship Selection (Julian Silver)

LAUREL CANYON

J.P. Estes

THE AMERICANS meets ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

In the lead up to the turbulent 1968 Democratic Primary, a by-the-book FBI agent is sent undercover inside Los Angeles’ bohemian Laurel Canyon to politicize its rock star inhabitants, but when he finds himself going down the rabbit hole of their hedonistic lifestyle, he’ll have to choose between his mission and the new, broken family that has accepted him as one of their own.

Drama Period

Top 100

MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC

Emily Dubovi and Hannah Murphy

MEDIUM meets MY NAME IS EARL

A fraudulent psychic is suddenly bestowed with real psychic powers and must use them for good or else she will be doomed to an eternity of misery.

Comedy Supernatural

Top 50

MIDDLE GENTRY

Emily Duke

BROAD CITY meets THE FAVOURITE

Two privileged 21st century sisters are transported back in time to the 1800s, where they discover, to their horror, that their family was middle class.

Comedy Period

Top 25

MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR

Eunice Park

THE DEATH OF STALIN meets 30 ROCK

The anchor of the midnight news program on North Korean state TV fights for the open primetime spot while dealing with her new, inept co-anchor.

Comedy

Top 10

MITZVAH

Preston Walker and Russell Carter

AP BIO meets PARTY DOWN

A suburban Bar Mitzvah DJ struggles to keep his events clean despite an organized movement of kids fighting for the right to grind on the dancefloor, just as a flashy new event company threatens to steal his business.

Comedy

Top 50

N00BS

Jonathan Murnane

SILICON VALLEY meets VIDEO GAME HIGH SCHOOL

An underdog team of professional gamers win an important tournament and are catapulted into the spotlight in the cutthroat world of esports, but they are woefully unprepared for their success.

Comedy Drama

Top 50

NELLIE

Alice Packard

THE ALIENIST meets HARLOTS

In the dark and dismal world of 1887 Manhattan, young and ambitious female reporter Nellie Bly risks her reputation and her life to investigate a series of brutal crimes.

Crime Drama Mystery Period

Top 100

THE NEW APOLLO

Corinne Caputo

VEEP meets THE FIRST

An experienced female astronaut fights the system – and a competing team of young newcomers – to earn a spot on the next mission to the Moon.

Comedy

Top 100

NEW WAVE

Daniel Valero Fletcher

STRANGER THINGS meets TWIN PEAKS

When her father goes missing, a rebellious, wealthy teenager must get help from a mysterious detective in order to save her father from supernatural forces.

Drama Supernatural Teen

Top 75

NICE BRIEFS

Navid Mehrjou

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE meets ALLY MCBEAL

After a corporate lawyer is dumped by his boyfriend and discovers the ugly truth about his ruthless firm, he decides to quit and work with an old friend at a small, poorly-funded law firm trying to do good.

Comedy Drama

Top 100

THE OAK

Geoff Garza

RECOVERY ROAD meets SHORT TERM 12

A charismatic recovering addict running a poorly funded rehab facility for teenagers is in for a struggle after a clinical doctor with no field experience is brought in to run the center.

Drama Teen

Top 50

OFFICE 39

Dave Miller

THE NIGHT MANAGER meets BERLIN STATION

When a North Korean agent walks into the American embassy in Seoul, a CIA agent and embassy employee must discern what is true and what is a lie in his elaborate story of espionage and intrigue.

Drama Thriller Spy

Top 25 Bad Idea Guaranteed Option Winner

PARADISE VALLEY

Danielle Stratton

THE AMERICANS meets BETTER CALL SAUL

A New York couple steeped in organized crime must adjust to life in witness protection after relocating to an Arizona suburb.

Drama Thriller

Top 50

PARK RANGERS

Rob Smith

SUPERNATURAL meets GRIMM

A recent college graduate follows in the footsteps of her father and brothers by becoming the first ever female Cryptozoology Department Park Ranger. She is teamed with an older ranger to protect campers and tourists from the various monsters and creatures lurking in a North Dakota National Park.

Action Drama Sci-Fi Supernatural

Top 100

PERILS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD

Kranti Pally

OZARK meets FARGO

After losing his high-powered job, a bored man stumbles upon a mystery in his sleepy suburban town.

Dark Comedy Drama Mystery

Top 75

PETTICOAT PIRATES

Caroline Dean

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN meets AN EDUCATION

In 1964, a northern, working-class student fights a sexist society to revive women’s rowing at Oxford University after a 15-year ban.

Drama Period Sports

Top 50

THE PLAYER’S SON

Gillian Muller

BALLERS meets FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

After assembling his three biggest clients on the same NBA team, a high-powered sports agent must juggle the mounting pressures of the job along with a budding relationship with his son.

Drama Sports

Top 100

PRAY FOR ME

Annie Girard

WEEDS meets THE BOOK OF MORMON

To rescue her family from suffocating medical debt, a recently widowed mother of two returns to the religious community of her childhood to teach biology at a Christian Science college, despite not agreeing with the church’s anti-science beliefs.

Comedy

Top 75

PRINCES’ HOSPITAL

Lisa Kors

GREY’S ANATOMY meets HOMELAND

An American doctor is recruited to work in a luxury hospital in a Middle Eastern oil state, but adjusting to the new culture is more difficult than she expected.

Drama

Top 50 Mentorship Selection (Jenny Deiker Restivo)

QUEERDOS

Emilie Wapnick

EUPHORIA meets LADY BIRD

A recently out lesbian teen in Montreal starts spending time with the other queer kids at her school and finds a community of her own for the first time.

Drama Teen

Top 50

QUEST FRIENDS FOREVER

Chris Iredale

JUMANJI meets DISENCHANTED

When a magical board game transports a group of millennial friends into a high fantasy world, they must learn to put down their avocado toast and pickup broadswords in order to survive.

Adventure Comedy Fantasy

Top 100

RADIANT

Amanda McCann

A BUG’S LIFE meets BIG MOUTH

Two brothers, who happen to be glow worms living in a cave in New Zealand, realize they live in a cannibalistic nightmare society and leave home to set out on an odyssey to find the literal light at the end of their tunnel.

Adventure Animation Comedy

Top 10

THE REMNANT

Michael Natale

ANGELS AND DEMONS meets THE YOUNG POPE

After returning to Vatican City to investigate the death of a papal candidate, a world-weary, former member of the Swiss Guard finds himself mired in a dark conspiracy thousands of years in the making.

Action Drama Mystery Thriller

Top 75

REVOLUTION

Bradley Davidson and Madison Sorrentino

12 YEARS A SLAVE meets LES MISERABLES

In the lead-up to the Haitian Revolution enslaved and mixed-race people face oppression at the hands of the French colonists, creating a powder keg about to explode into history’s most successful slave rebellion.

Drama Period True War

Top 100

RUST

Justin Moran

FIREFLY meets THE EXPANSE

The crew of a small, unlicensed mining spacecraft encounter a man who was cryogenically frozen after a disaster decades before and take him on board, launching them into a world of bounty hunters, terrorists, and a mammoth mining conglomerate set on keeping the past buried.

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

Top 100

SALTY SWEET

Kristin O’Hare

SEX AND THE CITY meets SWEET BITTER

An infamous food writer struggles to keep her anonymity while skewering the hottest restaurants in Manhattan but the same critical eye and sharp tongue that make her reviews a must-read for foodies have turned her dating life into a disaster.

Comedy

Top 75

SAMSARA

Mitali Jahagirdar

SUPERNATURAL meets AMERICAN GODS

In the wake of a Hindu temple bombing, a former FBI agent pursues the suspect, only to discover the trail collides with a larger spiritual war between gods and demons over the fate of humanity.

Action Drama Supernatural Thriller

Top 75

SCHOOLING THE RICH

Elaine Loh

GOSSIP GIRL meets BIG LITTLE LIES

An aspiring actress works as a tutor to the children of the Hollywood elite in order to gain access to the people who could make or break her career.

Drama

Top 50

SCREWING MYSELF

Sean Tidwell

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER meets IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA

A young bachelor chronicles the wild screwups that led to all of his previous breakups in order to prevent others from making the same mistakes.

Comedy Romantic Comedy

Top 100

SHAM OF A MARRIAGE

Audrey Knox

YOU’RE THE WORST meets BIG LITTLE LIES

A straight woman and gay man who have been best friends for years live an unorthodox life – they are married and have children despite not being interested in each other romantically. When they enroll their in-vitro-conceived twin daughters into a fancy Texas elementary school, they are thrust into a competitive, drama-fueled world filled with sexy teachers, jealous ex-lovers, and a PTA that frowns upon showing up to meetings with rosé in your coffee cup.

Comedy

Top 25

SISTERS

Michelle Dahl

BROAD CITY meets SPEECHLESS

When a self-absorbed aspiring actress and her younger sister with Down Syndrome unexpectedly become roommates, they must figure out their differences and learn how to navigate adulthood together.

Comedy

Top 50

SPOOK

Justin Hughes

HOMELAND meets JACK RYAN

When rare earth elements are found in an obscure Middle Eastern country, the CIA starts an operation to overthrow the military dictatorship and replace it with a government more favorable to American interests.

Action Drama Thriller

Top 75

STEAM

Matt Yang King

MORTAL ENGINES meets SHERLOCK HOLMES

In 1850s steampunk London, a headstrong young woman rebelling against the rules of Victorian society is thrust into a sinister conspiracy when investigating her father’s mysterious murder.

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

Top 100

STROKE OF BARBARA

Jesse Acini

GRACE & FRANKIE meets SUPERSTORE

After his father dies, a retail worker who feels stuck in his job is forced to move in with and take care of his high-maintenance widowed mother.

Comedy Drama

Top 75

STUDENT VISA

Paul Chang

COMMUNITY meets SUNNYSIDE

A group of international students all arrive at a graduate business school in Iowa only to discover that it is a complete scam, but after the initial shock wears off, they are determined to make the most of it.

Comedy

Top 75

SUSIE HOMEMAKER

David Liberman

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES meets DEXTER

Susie is the perfect suburban housewife, mother of three, and member of her local PTA. She’s also homicidal maniac who’ll do anything to protect her family… anything.

Crime Dark Comedy Drama Thriller

Top 100

THE SWITCH

Thomas Clary

MINDHUNTER meets THE LEFTOVERS

When everyone on Earth switches into a new body overnight, an FBI agent who has woken up in the body of a wealthy CEO must help recapture every serial killer he’s ever put in jail now that they have “escaped” into other people.

Crime Drama Sci-Fi Thriller

Top 25

TALLEYRAND

Tucker Forbes

HOUSE OF CARDS meets THE CROWN

With France’s monarchy on the verge of collapse, a disabled, promiscuous and highly cunning Catholic Bishop betrays the church and joins a group of idealistic young aristocrats plotting to steer the country toward revolution.

Biopic Drama Period

Top 25

TEENAGE INFIDEL

Tom Carter

RAMY meets DERRY GIRLS

A Muslim teenager decides to rebel against her faith, but her family is not having it.

Comedy Drama Teen

Top 25

TEMPTING

Amy Huckabay

ENTOURAGE meets LUCIFER

A struggling screenwriter makes a deal with the devil to be successful, but things are complicated by the fact that the devil happens to be her ex-boyfriend.

Comedy Dark Comedy Supernatural

Top 50

THEY WALKED ALONE

Ian Masters and Jon Smith

PEAKY BLINDERS meets BOMB GIRLS

An English-Chinese law student leaves Oxford upon the outbreak of World War II and returns to live with his family in Liverpool’s Chinatown, where he begins working with the police amidst the turmoil of the blitz and the racial tensions plaguing the city.

Crime Drama Period War

Top 100

TRANSPLANT TOURISM

Andrew Yusi

BARRY meets LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL

A hitman who works for an organization that kills people to steal their organs for transplants finds a child at the scene of one of his hits and decides to take him home to hide him from his ruthless employers.

Action Crime Drama Thriller

Top 100

TUCKED

Robert Axelrod

POSE meets DISOBEDIENCE

After being excommunicated from the Hasidic community, a mother works to regain custody of her children and adapt to secular life while working at a wig shop run by a black Muslim drag queen.

Drama

Top 25

TWINKIE

Jacquelyn Li

LATE NIGHT meets FRESH OFF THE BOAT

A second-generation Chinese American writer gets staffed on a hit television show about Asians, but what seems to be a big break becomes a big dilemma when she has a sudden realization: she’s not very Asian at all.

Comedy

Top 25

UNDER ACT

Nir Shelter

BARRY meets CHUCK

After an out-of-work actor is mistaken for a gangster by real criminals during an FBI sting, he must work undercover for the feds to help catch a notorious drug lord.

Action Comedy Drama Spy

Top 50

UNTITLED GENDER CONSTRUCT SERIES

Will Seefried

EUPHORIA meets THE HANDMAID’S TALE

In a utopian colony where gender is a thing of the past, a teenager discovers an underground movement that finds the genderless society to be oppressive.

Drama

Top 100

UP THE RIO

Jamie Osnato-Rosario

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND meets ONE DAY AT A TIME

A Dominican-American man and his white girlfriend move into an apartment next door to his overbearing mother, and the proximity causes tensions to arise.

Comedy

Top 75

WE BOUGHT A FUNERAL HOME

Ryan Stanisz

SIX FEET UNDER meets IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA

After his wife tragically dies, a distraught man finds himself obsessed with death and grieving, so he decides to purchase and run a funeral home.

Comedy Dark Comedy

Top 75

WELCOME TO YOU

Courtney Burness

DEAD TO ME meets ALMOST FAMILY

After taking an Ancestry-style DNA test, a woman discovers that not only is the man who raised her not her father, but her biological father is a murderer.

Comedy Crime Drama

Top 50

WILLI WON’T PLAY

L.T. Gordon

THE CROWN meets THE NIGHT MANAGER

During World War II, British spy and future James Bond author Ian Fleming is sent to Spain to monitor the activities of the former King Edward in the face of Germany’s attempts to turn him to the Nazi cause.

Biopic Drama Spy War Period

Top 50

ZULU STATION

Stuart Selonick

ARCHER meets THE AMERICANS

At the height of 1980s Cold War paranoia, a hotshot young CIA agent blows an important mission and finds herself banished to a backwater CIA station in a tiny Eastern European country with the rest of the agency’s screwups and losers.

Comedy Spy Period

Top 100

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 10 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

It has never been more difficult to narrow down our finalists, as every one of these projects signals the arrival of a unique new voice. Half of this year’s top 10 come from female writers, and the ten include four half-hour and six hour-long scripts. From absurdist comedy to animated adventures, from hilarious science fiction to gritty crime dramas, these pilots are a fantastic collection of genres, tones and styles.

(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 10, 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)

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 10!

Project

Writer(s)

BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
INFINITE Michael Apgar
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
RADIANT Amanda McCann

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 25 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 25 pilots plunge us into immersive new worlds, bringing us behind the scenes of stage magic and beauty pageants, past prison gates and closed borders, through time and into space. It has been a true pleasure to read the exceptional writing of this year’s finalists, and we are honored to be able to share their innovative work with the world!

(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 25, 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)

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 25!

Project

Writer(s)

BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
INFINITE Michael Apgar
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
RADIANT Amanda McCann
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 50 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 50 introduce us to a wide range of captivating characters, from unpopular adolescent glowworms to Greek gods struggling with the intricacies of the social media age. Telling stories about the real people who shaped human history, athletes with immense pressure on their shoulders and teenagers just trying to figure things out, these pilots thrive on the strength of the unique, challenging, and lovable characters who give them life.

(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 50, 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)

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 50!

 

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
INFINITE Michael Apgar
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
RADIANT Amanda McCann
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 75 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 75 pilots will take you all over the globe, from a wacky Hawaiian resort to the secret halls of the Vatican, from a North Korean news station to the bustling streets of Morocco. Spanning such distant settings as the libraries of Oxford in the 1960s, the Royal Palaces of Revolutionary Paris, Black Wall Street in 1920s Tulsa and of course present day Los Angeles, these pilots transport the reader to places both strange and familiar through masterful writing and passionate storytelling.

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 75!

(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 75, 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)

 

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
ARSONIST’S HANDBOOK, THE Todd Goodlett
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BALLS Dave Urlakis
BAND OF OTHERS Arun Narayanan
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BEANTOWNERS Joe Ahern
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
BURGERS AND BIRYANI Sai Saripella
BURT KOWALSKI: KING OF THE UNIVERSE Tanner Hansinger
CAMP CREATION Jack Barnes
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DANIKA BREWSTER Heather Spiegel
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
FRIENDS 4 EVER Elizabeth Guest & Jennifer Golum
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GOVERNMENT GIRLS Adam Scott Epstein & Ilana Turner
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
IN THE FLESH Chloe Bucuvalas Curran
INFINITE Michael Apgar
IRON MOUNTAIN Catherine Kelleher
KINGDOM, THE Jeremy Landers
KISS & MAKEUP Liz Thompson
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
NEW WAVE Daniel Valero Fletcher
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PERILS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Kranti Pally
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PRAY FOR ME Annie Girard
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
RADIANT Amanda McCann
REMNANT, THE Michael Natale
SALTY SWEET Kristen O’Hare
SAMSARA Mitali Jahagirdar
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SPOOK Justin Hughes
STROKE OF BARBARA Jesse Acini
STUDENT VISA Paul Chang
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
UP THE RIO Jaime Osnato-Rosario
WE BOUGHT A FUNERAL HOME Ryan Stanisz
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 100 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are proud to welcome a new batch of writers to this prestigious Launch Pad community.

With a mix of hour-long and half-hour formats and genres that run the gamut from dark comedy to over-the-top satire to gritty thrillers and fantastical adventures, this year’s crop of pilots is more exciting and diverse than ever before. This year, fully half of our finalist scripts have a female writer, and our finalists come from multiple countries across the globe.

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot 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, 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)

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
AMERICAN INFAMY Evan Iwata
AMERICAN PSYCHE Richard Nguyen & Vinita Mehta
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
ARSONIST’S HANDBOOK, THE Todd Goodlett
BAD COMPANY John Rosans
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BALLS Dave Urlakis
BAND OF OTHERS Arun Narayanan
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BEANTOWNERS Joe Ahern
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
BURGERS AND BIRYANI Sai Saripella
BURT KOWALSKI: KING OF THE UNIVERSE Tanner Hansinger
CAMP CREATION Jack Barnes
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITIZEN’S ARREST Heather Wells Peterson
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DANIKA BREWSTER Heather Spiegel
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FIND HER Erinne Dobson
FINDERS KEEPERS Melanie Recker
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
FRIENDS 4 EVER Elizabeth Guest & Jennifer Golum
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GOOD HAIR Daniel Landroche & Katie Nathan
GOVERNMENT GIRLS Adam Scott Epstein & Ilana Turner
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
HUSE RIGHT Geetika Lizardi & Huse Madhavji
ICONIC Brianna Janes
IMPACT Liz Storm
IN THE FLESH Chloe Bucuvalas Curran
INFINITE Michael Apgar
IRON MOUNTAIN Catherine Kelleher
KINGDOM, THE Jeremy Landers
KISS & MAKEUP Liz Thompson
LAUREL CANYON J.P. Estes
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
NELLIE Alice Packard
NEW APOLLO, THE Corinne Caputo
NEW WAVE Daniel Valero Fletcher
NICE BRIEFS Navid Mehrjou
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PARK RANGERS Rob Smith
PERILS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Kranti Pally
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PLAYER’S SON, THE Gillian Muller
PRAY FOR ME Annie Girard
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
QUEST FRIENDS FOREVER Chris Iredale
RADIANT Amanda McCann
REMNANT, THE Michael Natale
REVOLUTION Bradley Davidson & Madison Sorrentino
RUST Justin Moran
SALTY SWEET Kristen O’Hare
SAMSARA Mitali Jahagirdar
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SCREWING MYSELF Sean Tidwell
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SPOOK Justin Hughes
STEAM Matt Yang King
STROKE OF BARBARA Jesse Acini
STUDENT VISA Paul Chang
SUSIE HOMEMAKER David Liberman
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
THEY WALKED ALONE Ian Masters & Jon Smith
TRANSPLANT TOURISM Andrew Yusi
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
UNTITLED GENDER CONSTRUCT SERIES Will Seefried
UP THE RIO Jaime Osnato-Rosario
WE BOUGHT A FUNERAL HOME Ryan Stanisz
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon
ZULU STATION Stuart Selonick

WELCOME TO THE LAUNCH PAD PILOT COMPETITION!

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 415 signings, 145 projects set up, 64 writers staffed, 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List, as well as 7 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.

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 thrilled to announce our exclusive guaranteed option partner for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition is Bad Idea, a diversified entertainment company founded to create high quality, engaging and story-driven content for global audiences. The company is aimed at discovering and developing new voices to be heard and seen across Narrative Film, Television, Documentaries, and Emerging Platforms. Some of their recent projects have included El Chapo (Netflix) and Opening Night starring Topher Grace & Taye Diggs (Netflix), and they recently sold Deadtectives starring Chris Geere and Martha Higareda (Shudder / AMC).

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

To continue the Launch Pad’s long tradition of helping writers to gain representation, with more than 400 signings to date, we are proud to announce this year’s Guaranteed Signing Partner as Adrian Garcia of Recon Entertainment. A former talent agent at Paradigm, Adrian Garcia went on to found his management company Recon Entertainment to continue and broaden his work with talented writers. Garcia has had writers appear on the Hit List, Black List and/or Young & Hungry List every year since 2014, and has a proven track record of signing Launch Pad writers, including winner Eric Koenig who sold his Launch Pad winning script Matriarch to Paramount in a bidding war.

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

Here at the Launch Pad, we know that getting started in the industry can be difficult, but that the best way to learn the ropes is by working closely with experienced writers who have already proven themselves and forged a path to success. That is why the Launch Pad is proud to offer exclusive mentorship opportunities for our writers to learn from those who have been there before and have insight on the process of breaking in.

Our first mentor this year is Jenny Deiker Restivo, who is currently a writer on the hit Fox show The Resident. A firsthand example of the success that can come from the Launch Pad Competitions, Jenny won the Launch Pad Pilot Competition in 2016 and landed on the Young & Hungry List later that year. She was selected for the 2018 Fox Writers Lab and her sci-fi Pilot, VESTA, is currently on WeForShe’s 2019 WriteHer List. Jenny loves genre television and dark dramas. 

Also on board as a mentor this year is Simone Finch, who has worked for Barbara Hall on Madam Secretary and Bruce Helford on Roseanne, most recently co-writing an episode of The Conners. A native of Boston, Simone received a BA in Theatre from McGill University in Montreal before moving to Los Angeles and starting a successful climb up the industry ranks.

Our final mentor is Julian Silver, a writer who appeared on the 2018 Black List and Hit List alongside writing partner Reiss Clauson-Wolf for their script The Seventh, about Custer’s Last Stand. He has also served as a Story Editor on the CBS drama SEAL Team, for which he has written four episodes. As an actor, he has appeared in guest spots on Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds

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.

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 25 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 25 pilots plunge us into immersive new worlds, bringing us behind the scenes of stage magic and beauty pageants, past prison gates and closed borders, through time and into space. It has been a true pleasure to read the exceptional writing of this year’s finalists, and we are honored to be able to share their innovative work with the world!

(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 25, 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)

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 25!

Project

Writer(s)

BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
INFINITE Michael Apgar
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
RADIANT Amanda McCann
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 50 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 50 introduce us to a wide range of captivating characters, from unpopular adolescent glowworms to Greek gods struggling with the intricacies of the social media age. Telling stories about the real people who shaped human history, athletes with immense pressure on their shoulders and teenagers just trying to figure things out, these pilots thrive on the strength of the unique, challenging, and lovable characters who give them life.

(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 50, 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)

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 50!

 

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
INFINITE Michael Apgar
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
RADIANT Amanda McCann
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 75 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are thrilled to introduce the newest group of talented Launch Pad writers.

This year’s Top 75 pilots will take you all over the globe, from a wacky Hawaiian resort to the secret halls of the Vatican, from a North Korean news station to the bustling streets of Morocco. Spanning such distant settings as the libraries of Oxford in the 1960s, the Royal Palaces of Revolutionary Paris, Black Wall Street in 1920s Tulsa and of course present day Los Angeles, these pilots transport the reader to places both strange and familiar through masterful writing and passionate storytelling.

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Top 75!

(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 75, 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)

 

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
ARSONIST’S HANDBOOK, THE Todd Goodlett
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BALLS Dave Urlakis
BAND OF OTHERS Arun Narayanan
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BEANTOWNERS Joe Ahern
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
BURGERS AND BIRYANI Sai Saripella
BURT KOWALSKI: KING OF THE UNIVERSE Tanner Hansinger
CAMP CREATION Jack Barnes
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DANIKA BREWSTER Heather Spiegel
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
FRIENDS 4 EVER Elizabeth Guest & Jennifer Golum
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GOVERNMENT GIRLS Adam Scott Epstein & Ilana Turner
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
IMPACT Liz Storm
IN THE FLESH Chloe Bucuvalas Curran
INFINITE Michael Apgar
IRON MOUNTAIN Catherine Kelleher
KINGDOM, THE Jeremy Landers
KISS & MAKEUP Liz Thompson
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
NEW WAVE Daniel Valero Fletcher
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PERILS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Kranti Pally
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PRAY FOR ME Annie Girard
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
RADIANT Amanda McCann
REMNANT, THE Michael Natale
SALTY SWEET Kristen O’Hare
SAMSARA Mitali Jahagirdar
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SPOOK Justin Hughes
STROKE OF BARBARA Jesse Acini
STUDENT VISA Paul Chang
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
UP THE RIO Jaime Osnato-Rosario
WE BOUGHT A FUNERAL HOME Ryan Stanisz
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon

Alongside our exclusive competition partners Bad Idea and Recon Literary, we are thrilled to announce the Top 100 Finalists for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more than 450 signings, 164 projects set up, 68 writers staffed, 7 bidding wars, and 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List. We are proud to welcome a new batch of writers to this prestigious Launch Pad community.

With a mix of hour-long and half-hour formats and genres that run the gamut from dark comedy to over-the-top satire to gritty thrillers and fantastical adventures, this year’s crop of pilots is more exciting and diverse than ever before. This year, fully half of our finalist scripts have a female writer, and our finalists come from multiple countries across the globe.

Now, without further ado, let us introduce you to the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot 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, 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)

Project

Writer(s)

ALOHA STATE Julia Bergeron
AMANDA SCHOPPE: TEENAGE COP Riley Madincea
AMERICAN INFAMY Evan Iwata
AMERICAN PSYCHE Richard Nguyen & Vinita Mehta
ARRANGED Felicia Ho
ARSONIST’S HANDBOOK, THE Todd Goodlett
BAD COMPANY John Rosans
BAD JEW Adi Blotman
BALLS Dave Urlakis
BAND OF OTHERS Arun Narayanan
BEA ROSE Natalia Temesgen
BEANTOWNERS Joe Ahern
BOILING FROGS Bryan Kelsey
BOTS Michael Owens & Zachary Bidman
BRIGHT LIGHT Dan Neilan
BURGERS AND BIRYANI Sai Saripella
BURT KOWALSKI: KING OF THE UNIVERSE Tanner Hansinger
CAMP CREATION Jack Barnes
CAT LADY Haley Melikian
CHERRY LIPS Lauren Hussey
CITIZEN’S ARREST Heather Wells Peterson
CITY OF GOLD Daniel Fisch
DANIKA BREWSTER Heather Spiegel
DEEP EDDY James Madejski
DISAPPEARANCE, THE Jess Harris-Distefano
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, THE Vandon Gibbs
EAT ME Jeffrey MacCubbin
EVE Amanda Mortimer & Connor Barry
EX HUMANA Helena Zhen
FICHERA Danny Cavada
FIND HER Erinne Dobson
FINDERS KEEPERS Melanie Recker
FLESH, INC. Sophie Dawson
FRIENDS 4 EVER Elizabeth Guest & Jennifer Golum
GHOSTRUNNER Jonathan Flicker
GOOD HAIR Daniel Landroche & Katie Nathan
GOVERNMENT GIRLS Adam Scott Epstein & Ilana Turner
GRAND ILLUSIONS Noah Kloor
GRETA Samantha Manning
GUNPOWDER Kevin Sheridan
HOLD FOR OLYMPUS Gian-Paul Bergeron & Kevin Kelly
HUSE RIGHT Geetika Lizardi & Huse Madhavji
ICONIC Brianna Janes
IMPACT Liz Storm
IN THE FLESH Chloe Bucuvalas Curran
INFINITE Michael Apgar
IRON MOUNTAIN Catherine Kelleher
KINGDOM, THE Jeremy Landers
KISS & MAKEUP Liz Thompson
LAUREL CANYON J.P. Estes
MARIA HIGGINBOTHAM IS A FREAKIN’ PSYCHIC Emily Dubovi & Hannah Murphy
MIDDLE GENTRY Emily Duke
MIDNIGHT NEWS HOUR Eunice Park
MITZVAH Preston Walker & Russell Carter
N00BS Jonathan Murnane
NELLIE Alice Packard
NEW APOLLO, THE Corinne Caputo
NEW WAVE Daniel Valero Fletcher
NICE BRIEFS Navid Mehrjou
OAK, THE Geoff Garza
OFFICE 39 Dave Miller
PARADISE VALLEY Danielle Stratton
PARK RANGERS Rob Smith
PERILS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Kranti Pally
PETTICOAT PIRATES Caroline Dean
PLAYER’S SON, THE Gillian Muller
PRAY FOR ME Annie Girard
PRINCES’ HOSPITAL Lisa Kors
QUEERDOS Emilie Wapnick
QUEST FRIENDS FOREVER Chris Iredale
RADIANT Amanda McCann
REMNANT, THE Michael Natale
REVOLUTION Bradley Davidson & Madison Sorrentino
RUST Justin Moran
SALTY SWEET Kristen O’Hare
SAMSARA Mitali Jahagirdar
SCHOOLING THE RICH Elaine Loh
SCREWING MYSELF Sean Tidwell
SHAM OF A MARRIAGE Audrey Knox
SISTERS Michele Dahl
SPOOK Justin Hughes
STEAM Matt Yang King
STROKE OF BARBARA Jesse Acini
STUDENT VISA Paul Chang
SUSIE HOMEMAKER David Liberman
SWITCH, THE Thomas Clary
TALLEYRAND Tucker Forbes
TEENAGE INFIDEL Tom Carter
TEMPTING Amy Huckabay
THEY WALKED ALONE Ian Masters & Jon Smith
TRANSPLANT TOURISM Andrew Yusi
TUCKED Robert Axelrod
TWINKIE Jacquelyn Li
UNDER ACT Nir Shelter
UNTITLED GENDER CONSTRUCT SERIES Will Seefried
UP THE RIO Jaime Osnato-Rosario
WE BOUGHT A FUNERAL HOME Ryan Stanisz
WELCOME TO YOU Courtney Burness
WILLI WON’T PLAY L.T. Gordon
ZULU STATION Stuart Selonick

WELCOME TO THE LAUNCH PAD PILOT COMPETITION!

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 415 signings, 145 projects set up, 64 writers staffed, 156 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List, as well as 7 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.

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 thrilled to announce our exclusive guaranteed option partner for the 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition is Bad Idea, a diversified entertainment company founded to create high quality, engaging and story-driven content for global audiences. The company is aimed at discovering and developing new voices to be heard and seen across Narrative Film, Television, Documentaries, and Emerging Platforms. Some of their recent projects have included El Chapo (Netflix) and Opening Night starring Topher Grace & Taye Diggs (Netflix), and they recently sold Deadtectives starring Chris Geere and Martha Higareda (Shudder / AMC).

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

To continue the Launch Pad’s long tradition of helping writers to gain representation, with more than 400 signings to date, we are proud to announce this year’s Guaranteed Signing Partner as Adrian Garcia of Recon Entertainment. A former talent agent at Paradigm, Adrian Garcia went on to found his management company Recon Entertainment to continue and broaden his work with talented writers. Garcia has had writers appear on the Hit List, Black List and/or Young & Hungry List every year since 2014, and has a proven track record of signing Launch Pad writers, including winner Eric Koenig who sold his Launch Pad winning script Matriarch to Paramount in a bidding war.

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

Here at the Launch Pad, we know that getting started in the industry can be difficult, but that the best way to learn the ropes is by working closely with experienced writers who have already proven themselves and forged a path to success. That is why the Launch Pad is proud to offer exclusive mentorship opportunities for our writers to learn from those who have been there before and have insight on the process of breaking in.

Our first mentor this year is Jenny Deiker Restivo, who is currently a writer on the hit Fox show The Resident. A firsthand example of the success that can come from the Launch Pad Competitions, Jenny won the Launch Pad Pilot Competition in 2016 and landed on the Young & Hungry List later that year. She was selected for the 2018 Fox Writers Lab and her sci-fi Pilot, VESTA, is currently on WeForShe’s 2019 WriteHer List. Jenny loves genre television and dark dramas. 

Also on board as a mentor this year is Simone Finch, who has worked for Barbara Hall on Madam Secretary and Bruce Helford on Roseanne, most recently co-writing an episode of The Conners. A native of Boston, Simone received a BA in Theatre from McGill University in Montreal before moving to Los Angeles and starting a successful climb up the industry ranks.

Our final mentor is Julian Silver, a writer who appeared on the 2018 Black List and Hit List alongside writing partner Reiss Clauson-Wolf for their script The Seventh, about Custer’s Last Stand. He has also served as a Story Editor on the CBS drama SEAL Team, for which he has written four episodes. As an actor, he has appeared in guest spots on Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds

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.

The 2019 Launch Pad Pilot Competition Prizes

The Launch Pad Competition is focused on identifying, discovering and helping launch the careers of our writers. Whether you make the quarter-finalists or win it all in any of our competitions, we work with you to help polish your work, prepare for meetings, craft you pitch, identify your follow up projects, and prepare yourself for anything that comes your way on the journey to becoming a professional writer.

(As a reminder, if you select any add-ons at time of entry, regardless of where you place in the competition, you will still be in the running for those add-on features.)

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  • You will be invited to our annual Launch Pad Party celebrating you and the other Launch Pad Winners of the year. This will be an exclusive industry event centered on showcasing and honoring you and your work, while also introducing you to agents, managers, executives, producers, and other creatives. This is a private guest list event tailored toward our winners from the year, and including some of our previous judges, mentors, partners and past Launch Pad Alums.
  • You and your project will be showcased individually to agents, managers, executives, and producers who are looking for new clients, new projects, and new writers. We specifically curate a meeting list for each winner based on their individual material, and what you, the writer, want to achieve now and in your career overall.
  • You and your project will be featured in both our individual launch Pad Competition Booklet, as well as our Annual Launch Pad Alum Booklet, both of which are shared with our industry network and beyond, including agents, managers, producers, executives and other creatives seeking new material and clients.
  • Your project will be announced on our sites and via press release and industry newsletter via The Tracking Board, Launch Pad, and our partners to more than 100,000 readers and industry members worldwide.
  • Your project will be featured in a special Launch Pad section of our annual Hit List, Young & Hungry List, and Spec Book.
  • You will receive an exclusive alumni profile on The Launch Pad website that highlights you, your project and any additional works you’d like to include.
  • Your work will be read, reviewed, and voted on by each of our 25 esteemed judges.
  • You will receive a free 1-Year Membership (or extension) to The Tracking Board.
  • You will receive 1 free entry into any future Launch Pad Competition of your choosing.
  • Lastly, you will be invited to join our Launch Pad Community of over 600 writers who came before you, where you can meet those who came before you, ask questions, work together, and network with a group of smart and passionate people who started in the same shoes you’re about to step into.

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  • You and your project will be showcased individually to agents, managers, executives, and producers who are looking for new clients, new projects, and new writers.
  • Your project will be announced on our sites and via press release and industry newsletter via The Tracking Board, Launch Pad, and our partners to more than 100,000 readers and industry members worldwide.
  • You and your project will be featured in both our individual launch Pad Competition Booklet, as well as our Annual Launch Pad Alum Booklet, both of which are shared with our industry network and beyond, including agents, managers, producers, executives and other creatives seeking new material and clients.
  • Your project will be featured in a special Launch Pad section of our annual Hit List, Young & Hungry List, and Spec Book.
  • You will receive an exclusive alumni profile on The Launch Pad website that highlights you, your project and any additional works you’d like to include.
  • Your work will be read, reviewed, and voted on by each of our 25 esteemed judges
  • You will receive a free 1-Year Membership (or extension) to The Tracking Board.
  • You will receive 1 free entry into any future Launch Pad Competition of your choosing.
  • Lastly, you will be invited to join our Launch Pad Community of over 600 writers who came before you, where you can meet those who came before you, ask questions, work together, and network with a group of smart and passionate people who started in the same shoes you’re about to step into.

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  • Your project will be announced on our sites and via press release and industry newsletter via The Tracking Board, Launch Pad, and our partners to more than 100,000 readers and industry members worldwide.
  • You and your project will be featured in both our individual launch Pad Competition Booklet, as well as our Annual Launch Pad Alum Booklet, both of which are shared with our industry network and beyond, including agents, managers, producers, executives and other creatives seeking new material and clients.
  • Your project will be featured in a special Launch Pad section of our annual Hit List, Young & Hungry List, and Spec Book.
  • You will receive an exclusive alumni profile on The Launch Pad website that highlights you, your project and any additional works you’d like to include.
  • You will receive a free 1-Year Membership (or extension) to The Tracking Board.
  • Lastly, you will be invited to join our Launch Pad Community of over 600 writers who came before you, where you can meet those who came before you, ask questions, work together, and network with a group of smart and passionate people who started in the same shoes you’re about to step into.

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  • Your project will be announced on our sites and to industry members via our Tracking Board and Launch Pad newsletters.
  • You and your project will be featured in both our individual launch Pad Competition Booklet, as well as our Annual Launch Pad Alum Booklet, both of which are shared with our industry network and beyond, including agents, managers, producers, executives and other creatives seeking new material and clients.
  • Your project will be featured in a special Launch Pad section of our annual Hit List, Young & Hungry List, and Spec Book.
  • You will receive an exclusive alumni profile on The Launch Pad website that highlights your project as well as your bio and upcoming works.
  • Lastly, you will be invited to join our Launch Pad Community of over 600 writers who came before you, where you can meet those who came before you, ask questions, work together, and network with a group of smart and passionate people who started in the same shoes you’re about to step into.

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  • Your project will be announced on our sites and to industry members via our Tracking Board and Launch Pad newsletters.
  • You and your project will be featured in both our individual launch Pad Competition Booklet, as well as our Annual Launch Pad Alum Booklet, both of which are shared with our industry network and beyond, including agents, managers, producers, executives and other creatives seeking new material and clients.
  • Your project will be featured in a special Launch Pad section of our annual Hit List, Young & Hungry List, and Spec Book.
  • You will receive an exclusive alumni profile on The Launch Pad website that highlights your project as well as your bio and upcoming works.
  • Lastly, you will be invited to join our Launch Pad Community of over 600 writers who came before you, where you can meet those who came before you, ask questions, work together, and network with a group of smart and passionate people who started in the same shoes you’re about to step into.

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Guaranteed Option Exclusive – Partner To Be Announced

  • A Minimum of 1 project will be selected from our exclusive development partner to receive an option agreement for their Launch Pad project.
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Guaranteed Option” add-on when submitting their project.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

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Guaranteed Signing Exclusive – Partner To Be Announced

  • A Minimum of 1 writer will be selected for representation by our exclusive signing partner(s).
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Guaranteed Signing” add-on when submitting their project.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

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Our Exclusive 2019 Launch Pad Mentorship Program – Mentors To Be Announced

  • A Minimum of 3 writers (1 per mentor) will be selected by our mentors to enter our 2019 Launch Pad Mentorship Program.
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Mentorship Program” add-on when submitting their project.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

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Aaron Lipsett

Heroes and Villains Entertainment

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  • His client list has brought in 5 award wins and over $478.4M at the domestic box office.
  • His clients have worked on projects like Into the Badlands, Swagger, St. Vincent, Raven’s Home, and Step Up: High Water.
  • Heroes & Villains is currently producing 50 Dates in 50 States, Bushido, Look Who’s Sleeping with Your Wife, and Tracker.
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Adam Kolbrenner

Lit Entertainment

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  • With his newly minted Lit Entertainment Group, Adam continues to be one of the top managers in the industry.
  • From 2018 alone, 6 of his clients landed on the Hit List, 3 on the Black List, and 2 were named to the Young & Hungry List.
  • Represents writers such as Justin Marks (The Jungle Book), Ed Ricourt (Now You See Me), and Dave Andron (Snowfall).
  • Has signed numerous Launch Pad Alumni in previous years including Aaron Sala (The Beast) and 2018’s Feature Comp Eric Cross (T).
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Adrian Garcia

Recon Entertainment

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  • Has had writers on the Hit List, Black List and/or Young & Hungry List every year since 2014.
  • Signed Launch Pad winner Eric Koenig and sold his Launch Pad winning script Matriarch to Paramount in a bidding war.
  • With an eye for discover new voices, Garcia has signed multiple Launch Pad Alums in the past years in film, tv and books.
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Andrea Dimity

Pannon Entertainment

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  • Represents Launch Pad writer Pete Barry, who sold his Launch Pad script Marian to Sony with Margot Robbie attached to star.
  • Represents Mitchell LaFortune, whose script Burn Run was sold to Thunder Road Pictures.
  • Represents multiple Launch Pad writers and writers who have appeared on the Hit List and Young & Hungry List.
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Andrew Child

Vertigo Entertainment

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  • Vertigo Entertainment has produced such films as the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s “It”, The Boy, Run All Night, The Departed, The Woman In Black, The Grudge, How To Train Your Dragon, and many more.
  • Andrew is currently serving as Executive Producer on the 2018 Black List script Cobweb, as well as the Production Executive for Yuba and Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.
  • His previous credits include The Lego Batman Movie, Death Note, and The Lego Ninjago Movie.
  • Vertigo Entertainment has previously served as a Launch Pad exclusive partner and has optioned multiple scripts from the competition over the past few years.
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Ben Neumann

Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment

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  • Represents Sarah Jane Inwards (Jellyfish Summer) & Kevin Rice (Born to Be Murdered).
  • Kaplan/Perrone was named top management company in 2018 with nine clients landing on the Young & Hungry list, eight projects on the Hit List and seven on the Black List.
  • Notable clients of Kaplan/Perrone include Joe Lawson (BoJack Horseman), Kelly Fremon Craig (Edge of Seventeen), Henry Gayden (Shazam), David Callaham (The Expendables) and many more.
  • Kaplan Perrone has signed multiple Launch Pad Writers since the competitions began in 2013.
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Brooklyn Weaver

Energy Entertainment

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  • One of the top spec selling managers in Hollywood, who has sold multiple Launch Pad scripts in film, TV and publishing.
  • His clients include Rob Liefeld (Deadpool), Brad Ingelsby (Run All Night, Out of the Furnace), Mark Mallouk (Black Mass).
  • His clients have created the hit TV series Reverie and Extant (Mickey Fisher) as well as Bates Motel (Anthony Cipriano).
  • Has had clients on the Black List, Hit List or Young & Hungry List every year since 2014.
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Charlie Ferraro

UTA

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  • His clients include such successful writers as Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War), Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty (Brokeback Mountain), Gary Whitta (Rogue One), and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock).
  • One of the top spec selling agents in Hollywood, he has sold the most, or second most of all agents every year of the past decade.
  • A partner at UTA, he has signed more than half a dozen Launch Pad writers in the past few years, setting up LP projects with Fox, UCP and Netflix.
  • Represented 5 projects on the 2017 Black List and 7 on the 2017 Hit List, and was the top agent on the 2017 Young & Hungry List.
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Dash Aiken

Romark Entertainment

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  • Romark Entertainment has been involved in three of the seven Launch Pad bidding wars, having previously set up Marian at Sony with Margot Robbie and Donald De Line, Matriarch at Paramount with Douglas Wick, and Tranquility Base at Fox with Ridley Scott.
  • Romark is currently developing the Launch Pad television projects Kill Creek with Scott Derrickson at Showtime, and Mr. & Mrs. American Pie with Laura Dern at Platform One.
  • One of the most prolific management and production companies, Romark clients are also developing projects at AMC, UCP, Endgame, Sony, Blumhouse, Vertigo Entertainment, Pacific Electric, Assemble Media.
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David Boxerbaum

Verve

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  • One of the top spec selling agents of all time, he has had the most sells, or second most every year of the past decade.
  • Recently moved from Paradigm to become a partner at Verve, where he has signed and sold multiple Launch Pad writers and scripts.
  • Has been behind 3 of the 6 bidding wars in the Launch Pad’s history, most recently selling LP writer Pete Barry’s Marian to Sony with Margot Robbie set to star.
  • Has had writers on the Hit List, Black List, or Young & Hungry List every year since 2013.
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Jake Wagner

Good Fear 

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  • Has signed more Launch Pad writers and set up more Launch Pad projects than any other manager in town.
  • Most recently set up John Wikstrom’s Launch Pad winning script AMA, which also appeared on the Hit List, Black List and Young & Hungry List with Assemble Media.
  • Represents Evan Daugherty, writer of Snow White and the Huntsman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Divergent.
  • Has had numerous writers appear on the Hit List, Young & Hungry List and Black List for 2018.
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Jeff Portnoy

Bellevue Productions

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  • One of the best spec-selling management companies in town, Bellevue has consistently appeared toward the top of every major end of year list for the past three years.
  • Had four or more clients appear on the Hit List, Black List and Young & Hungry List each of the past three years.
  • Previously set up Launch Pad writer Aaron Sala’s Launch Pad script The Beast with H Collective.
  • Bellevue is producing the upcoming Madonna biopic Blonde Ambition for Universal as well as the horror film Eli with Intrepid Pictures.
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Jon Huddle

Fourth Wall Management

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  • His clients Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley are the writers of Horrible Bosses, Vacation, and Spiderman: Homecoming.
  • His other clients have written such films as Keanu, Beauty and the Beast, Huntsman: Winter’s War, Fist Fight and Grown Ups.
  • His clients have been staffed on such shows as Rick & Morty, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Agents of SHIELD, Greenleaf, The Goldbergs, Saturday Night Live and more.
  • As a former UTA agent turned manager, he has signed multiple clients from the Launch Pad Competition, and had several appear on the Black List, Hit List or Young & Hungry List over the past few years.
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Julian Rosenberg

Circle of Confusion

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  • Julian reps Michael Dougherty (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), Matthew Sand (Ninja Assassin), and Brian McGreevy (The Son) to name a few.
  • Circle of Confusion clients include Adam F. Goldberg, creator of The Goldbergs, Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows), Gary Whitta (Rogue One), Jon Spaiths (Passengers, Doctor Strange, Prometheus), and the Wachowskis (Cloud Atlas, Sense8).
  • Circle of Confusion produces both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, as well as the upcoming Amazon series Daisy Jones & The Six.
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Kailey Marsh

Brillstein Entertainment Partners

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  • Recently joined Brillstein Entertainment Partners, following the succesful launch of her own Kailey Marsh Media.
  • Her clients are staffed on multiple upcoming Netflix series including The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Haunting, and Daybreak.
  • Represents Jeff Howard, writer of such horror films as Ouija, Before I Wake and Oculus as well as Nick Simon, the writer/director of horror films The Girl in the Photographs and The Pyramid.
  • Has had clients appear on several end of year best of lists including the Hit List, Black List and Young & Hungry List.
  • Is the founder and curator of the annual Blood List – featuring the best horror scripts of each year.
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Kasse Whitting

AGBO

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  • Recently named Vice President of Development at the Russo Brother’s new company AGBO.
  • AGBO is currently in production or development on a number of high profile projects including 21 Bridges, The Legend of Ochi, Canary, Dhaka, and Mosul amongst others.
  • Company recently did a deal to oversee and develop several MGM classics for today’s market.
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Lee Stobby

Lee Stobby Entertainment

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  • Not only signed the first ever Launch Pad feature and pilot winners, but has since signed more than seven Launch Pad writers over the years, and has set up their work or seen them staff on shows for places such as Netflix, HBO, Fox, Chernin entertainment, Romark Entertainment, Anonymous Content and Endgame Entertainment to name a few.
  • Represents clients such as Isaac Adamson, whose spec Bubbles topped the 2015 Black List and Hit List and currently has Taika Waititi set to direct.
  • Clients have written for such shows as Stranger Things, Superstore, CSI: Cyber, and The Middle.
  • Has had clients appear on most every end of year list such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List and Young & Hungry List each of the past four years.
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Leif Lillehaugen

Endgame Entertainment

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  • Company previously produced the films The Discovery, Come Sunday, Snowden, Self/Less, Looper and Freeheld, amongst others.
  • Previously acquired the Launch Pad winning script Winter from writers Andy Heriaud and Kaitlin Kelly.
  • Is currently developing the television adaptation of Looper, the new season of the Netflix series Last Chance U, and a currently untitled series with Netflix.
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Luke Maxwell

3 Arts Entertainment

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  • 3 Arts clients are staffed on such shows as Empire, Stan Against Evil, The Flash, Saturday Night Live, and Survivor’s Remorse.
  • 3 Arts produces such TV series as Better Things, Insecure, The Good Place, Baskets, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Silicon Valley, The Mindy Project and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
  • 3 Arts represents creative such as Aziz Ansari, Amy Poehler, Bo Burnham, Hannibal Buress, Issa Rae, and Jenny Slate amongst others.
  • 3 Arts produced such movies as Rough Night, 13 Hours, Unbroken, Edge of Tomorrow and the upcoming Call of the Wild.
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Melissa Graf

Makeready

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  • Makeready has a multi-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures.
  • The company is producing Sam Taylor-Johnson’s next film A Million Little Pieces and is developing Five Faces of Maria for director Francis Lawrence.
  • Makeready also has multiple TV series in development, including East of Jingletown at TNT and They Can’t Kill Us All at AMC, and recently acquired the sci-fi short story The Appearance in a six-figure deal.
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Michael Chung

Verve

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  • Formerly of UTA, Chung has worked with several Launch Pad writers both before and after transitioning to Verve, including Launch Pad Alum Carver Gray.
  • Verve was the top agency of 2018, landing 18 writers on the Hit List, 14 on the Young & Hungry List and 12 on the Black List.
  • Verve agents have signed more than a dozen Launch Pad writers, including Aaron Sala, Alanna Brown, Eric Gross, Brian T. Arnold, John Wikstrom, Liz Kerin, Pete Barry and Sarah Jane Inwards, amongst others.
  • Verve clients include Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed), Brian K. Vaughn (Under the Dome, Lost), Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) amongst others.
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Rachel Reznick

Weed Road Pictures

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  • Weed Road has previously produced The Dark Tower, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Lone Survivor, Hancock and I Am Legend.
  • Company recently oversaw the Transformers writers rooms, with the first film to come out of the process set to be released later this year with Bumblebee.
  • Run by Akiva Goldsman, the company has steered critical hits such as the WGN series Underground, and the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind.
  • Company is currently in development on the Launch Pad partner’s Inkshares new book adaptation A God in the Shed.
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Raquelle David

Elevate Entertainment

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  • Raquelle represents Jovanka Vuckovic, one of the writer/directors behind the anthology horror film XX and director of the upcoming Riot Girls.
  • Elevate’s clients include Taylor Sheridan, Academy Award-nominated writer of both Sicario and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Wind River, and Hell or High Water.
  • Elevate’s client Corin Hardy, who wrote and directed The Hallow, The Nun, and is currently working on the remake of The Crow.
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Rebecca Feuer

Scott Free

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  • Ridley Scott and his Scott Free production company have acquired more Launch Pad projects than any other company, picking up feature, pilot and manuscripts from previous competitions.
  • Scott Free was the first company to set up a Launch Pad script in a multiple studio bidding war for Daniel Turkewitz’s Tranquility Base.
  • Company has been behind multiple critical and commercial hits, including The Martian, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, All The Money In The World, Murder On The Orient Express, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and all of films from the Alien Franchise.
  • Scott Free produces such television series as The Good Fight, The Terror, The Man in the High Castle and Strange Angel.
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Tom Carter

Artillery Creative

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  • His clients have written for networks like NBC, HBO, TNT, USA, CBS, FreeForm, and on shows that include TIMELESS and CHICAGO PD.
  • Has previously signed several Launch Pad feature and pilot writers including Annabelle Seymour, David Hoffman, Devi Gowni, Jenny Deiker and Migizi Pensoneau.
  • He is producing the upcoming adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book DAWN with Ava DuVernay attached to produce.
  • He is also producing the adaptation of true crime thriller BURN for Anonymous Content with Mahershala Ali set to star and client Frederick Kotto set to write.
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Varun Monga

ESA

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  • He has had numerous writers appear on the Black List, Hit List and Young & Hungry list in previous years.
  • Has signed multiple Launch Pad Alumni, including A Giant Named Andre writer John J. Halligan and Woe to the Wicked writer Chris Dennis.
  • 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.
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  • All scripts must be submitted with a cover page containing ONLY THE SCRIPT TITLE, without any of the writer(s) names or discernable marks, including but not limited to WGA Registration numbers.
  • All scripts MUST BE submitted as a PDF.
  • All pilot scripts must be under 70 pages (any script with more than 70 pages will be disqualified without notice).
  • Do not submit any form of pitch document with your feature script.
  • Scripts with multiple writers are allowed (however, all entry fees must be paid under one account).
  • All scripts must be the sole property of the writer(s).
  • All scripts will be read at least twice to ensure the best judgment of your work. All scripts will also be read blind, with no names, or title pages allowed. We choose this option so that each script is judged by the work, and the words alone.
  • Pilots or features with a prior option are allowed, but at the time of submission and for the duration of the contest, must remain exclusively the writer’s property.
  • The only scripts not allowed to be entered are those which have already sold, have previously earned our “TB Recommends” honors, or received a top 25 placement in a previous Launch Pad competition.
  • Each script may only be entered one time. Once a script has been submitted, there are absolutely NO SUBSTITUTIONS of pages, drafts, or scripts overall.
  • The Launch Pad and all judges/readers will utilize whatever criteria they deem appropriate in deciding a winner.
  • All scripts will remain the property of the writer(s) throughout the contest (at no point will anyone from the judge’s panel, or Launch Pad ever attach themselves to your work without your consent).
  • Entrants may be contacted as a result of the contest by Launch Pad, the judging panel or other industry professionals in regards to representation, production, sale and/or option of the entered work.
  • Entrants are under no obligation to sell their work or otherwise attach themselves to representation in any form.
  • General script entries will not receive feedback, however, you can opt to upgrade and receive feedback on your script submission.
  • The contest is open to entrants 18 or older. It is an international contest and open to entrants worldwide.
  • The Launch Pad reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify these terms at any time without notice.
  • By entering this competition, you agree to receive periodic emails from The Launch Pad and The Tracking Board and. You may unsubscribe to these at any time.
  • During the Finalist rounds of the competitions The Launch Pad Partners and Judges will have exclusive access to entries.
  • All entrants understand and agree to allow Launch Pad to post details on their script (title, writers name, logline, genre, and competition details) as well as regarding the writer (biography, picture) to their site, or sister site to help promote the entrants work.
  • All purchases and submissions are final. No refunds will be issued.

Feedback Notes

  • Feedback MUST be purchased with submission order and cannot be added on later.
  • Feedback notes, if purchased, will be returned to writers following the announcement of the Top 10 Finalists.

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