These days screenwriting contests like Launch Pad’s Feature Film Screenwriting Contest offer various prizes that can help aspiring screenwriters develop their craft and break into the film business. One of these prizes is the “Guaranteed Development Prize” (aka “Guaranteed Option Prize”).

But what exactly is this and how will it benefit you as a screenwriter? What comes out of it?

To answer these questions, you must first understand what a “screenplay option” is and what “screenplay development” entails.  

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Screenplay Option

A screenplay option is an agreement between you and another party in which you grant them sole rights to your script during the period dictated in the agreement; this usually ranges from six months to a year (although some option agreements can be for as long as eighteen months or the time can be extended). 

By granting this party sole rights during the agreed period, no other producer or production company is allowed to do anything with your script. The optioning party, however, can attach talent to your script (a director and/or actors) and they can shop it to different studios with the hope of setting up the project. 

If this production company is successful in setting up the project, the studio will purchase your script with the production company attached (who will negotiate their own production deal with the studio). This is how the majority of screenplay deals happen: a screenplay option is an important stepping stone.

Before attaching talent and shopping the script, however, it’s likely the production company will develop the script with you, which leads to the following…

Screenplay Development

Screenplay development is the process in which another party works on a screenplay with you: it can be a studio or a production company. In the case of an optioned screenplay, the company that optioned it will be developing it.

The developing process involves the writer receiving notes from various people at the production company and addressing their notes with rewrites. As noted, every option agreement is different and the length of time varies, but usually this lasts for several months and you’ll likely be asked to do multiple drafts.

If you’re working with a top tier production company, not only will you be receiving notes that will help make your script more marketable, you’ll be perfecting your screenwriting craft and learning how to work with people in the film industry. Filmmaking is a collaborative art form and this is true at the earliest stages of development. 

A writer developing a screenplay with a production company is the genesis of nearly every movie that gets produced in Hollywood. In many ways, screenplay development is the foundation of the industry and it’s how dreams become reality.

Read More: Q&A with Launch Pad Prose Winner Lorraine Brown

Your Screenplay Remains Yours 

The good thing about a screenplay option is even after going through the development process and rewriting your script unless the script is sold, all rights revert back to you at the end of the agreed interval. The production company does not own the script: it’s yours and will remain yours. An option agreement is not a purchase agreement (which you’ll sign if you sell a script) and it shouldn’t be mistaken for one. You’re essentially lending your script to this party.

Although by lending your script to a production company, you’re increasing your chances of a future sale. Like the old adage, “There’s strength in numbers,” the more people you have invested in your script, the better. As stated above, if it’s a top-tier production company, they’ll not only know how to improve your script, they’ll have all of the necessary industry contacts and connections.

Guaranteed Development Prize

So, now you know what a screenplay option and development entails and how it can benefit a screenwriter.  

As mentioned above, screenwriting contests offer various prizes and one of them is a “Guaranteed Development Prize”. Launch Pad’s Feature Film Screenwriting Contest gives aspiring screenwriters a chance to win the following:

“A Minimum of 1 project will be selected by each of our Development Prize partners Midnight Lantern Productions and Cosmic Arena Productions. They will each select one project from the Launch Pad Feature competition to develop with the writer(s).”

To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Guaranteed Development” add-on or make it to the Top 10 of the competition to be considered for this prize opportunity.

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.”

So, what comes out of a “Guaranteed Development Prize” is a top-tier production company optioning and developing your screenplay with you and it can potentially lead to a script sale. Regardless, the “Guaranteed Development Prize” is an opportunity to work with and learn from industry professionals and it could be an important step towards a screenwriting career.