Screenplay Contest 2004 WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Please see WINNERS '04 page.

First prize $3,000 plus INKTIP.COM PROMOTION, FINAL DRAFT® SOFTWARE, SUBSCRIPTION TO MOVIEBYTES "WHO'S BUYING WHAT," HOLLYWOOD SYMPOSIUM PROMOTION, AND COMMEMORATIVE CERTIFICATE.
 

FOR CONTEST 2005 INFORMATION, SEE THE THS '05 PAGE.
 

SEMINARS:

         "HERO GOAL SEQUENCES"

                          ERIC EDSON
          PRESENTS HIS RENOWN SCREENWRITING LECTURE
              OUTLINING THIS UNIQUE & POWERFUL 23 STEP
                     CONCEPT FOR BUILDING SURE-FIRE,
                   COMMERCIAL SCREENPLAY PLOTS.
            
                 OFFERED EACH FALL THROUGH THE
             CAL STATE,NORTHRIDGE CINEMATHEQUE
                  AND EACH SPRING THROUGH THE
               UCLA EXTENSION WRITERS' PROGRAM.
               Check back for exact dates and times. 

       Also, look for Eric Edson's soon to be published book
       "HERO GOAL SEQUENCES:
           Building Your Best Screenplay"
 

Screenplay Contest 2003:
PLEASE SEE WINNERS '03 PAGE

NEWS !
2003 CONTEST SECOND PLACE WINNER LEE SHIPMAN HAS  OPTIONED HIS SCRIPT, "THE HAND THAT SHOOK THE WORLD," TO PRODUCERS AARON MAGNANI AND AMANDA ALPERT OF WATER BEAR PRODUCTIONS

AND:  "Thanks to my finalist placing in your contest (2003) I was queried by a respected agent.  It was truly unbelievable." --James Barclay

AND:  "My screenplay, Riding the Bubble, was a finalist in (your 2003) contest.  My finalist status (got) me an inquiry from a literary manager."         --Ken Sharp 

See article: "In Praise of Smaller Screenplay Contests"

Screenplay Contest 2002:
FOURTH ANNUAL SCREENPLAY CONTEST
   First Place Winner Michael O'Hare's script
     optioned by Blue Raven Productions

See Winners '02 Page

NEWS !
2002 Contest Winner Michael O'Hare quickly optioned his script "The Flesh Trade" to Blue Raven Productions.  Attorney Bob Woods brokered the deal, and Valerie McCaffrey is producing.

NEWS !
Symposium Contest Finalist Chris Farnsworth optioned his script "The Academy" to MGM.  He received a guaranteed rewrite fee against a mid six-figure purchase price.  Marc Evans at Industry Entertainment is the producer.  Chris was represented by Hohman Maybank Leib. 

  NEWS!
Hollywood Symposium Contest Finalist Brendan Foley (London, England) has made a deal for his screenplay and acquired representation in Los Angeles.

NEWS!
Hollywood Symposium Executive Director Eric Edson, screenwriter and university professor, recently taught his four evening course "The Structure of Hollywood Hits" for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.  The class is presented every spring.  Eric also teaches on the faculty of the graduate screenwriting program at Cal State University, Northridge.

  NEWS!
THS Board Member Michael Hauge, world renown lecturer and author of the book "Writing Screenplays That Sell," presented his seminar "Perfecting the Two Minute Pitch: Getting Hollywood to Read Your Screenplay" recently as part of the Cal State University, Northridge, Cinematheque held in the Armer screening room of Manzanita Hall on the CSUN campus. 
Check out Michael Hauge's web site at www.screenplaymastery.com
and the Armer screening room schedule at www.csuncinematheque.com.  

  NEWS!
Hollywood Symposium Contest Winner Zack Van Eyck and his writing partner Stacy Dymalski have optioned their feature script "Jupiter Landing," to director David Winkler ("Finding Graceland," "Judgement").  Mark Williams of the management firm Zero Gravity brokered the deal.  Pierce/Williams Entertainment will executive produce.

Symposium Contest Update:
Our co-sponsor, INKTIP.COM, will include the top three winners' scripts on their password protected film industry web site, announce and include them in the INKTIP print magazine "Players Marketplace," and send out a special e-mail announcement to the Inktip Industry Pro List, which includes some 6,500 agents, producers, managers, and film professionals.  We are pleased to have Inktip.com (Writers Script Network) as part of The Hollywood Symposium Screenplay Contest family.  www.inktip.com

NEWS !
Eric Edson, Executive Director of the Hollywood Symposium, recently moderated a panel discussion, FORGING A CAREER AS A FEATURE FILM WRITER IN HOLLYWOOD, at California State University, Northridge, for a packed house of students and industry pros.  Panelists included screenwriters Daniel Petrie, Jr. ("Beverly Hills Cop," "The Big Easy," former president of the Writers Guild of America), Dale Launer ("My Cousin  Vinny," "Ruthless People"), and Jessica Bendinger ("The Trouble With Charlie," "Bring It On," "Sex and the City").  The informative evening ended with a standing ovation for the panelists.

"Many people in the entertainment industry claim they are looking for fresh ideas.  The Hollywood Symposium actually followed through on their quest for originality and embraced the unconventional, looking for the best-written stories and not simply the safest."                
                    --Daniel Cubias & Kristan Ginther, ZOMBIE PRESIDENT

"I have found your contest to be most educational as well as inspirational.   I have entered a number of contest before, but, quite frankly, yours is the only one from which I have received useful feedback.  Being a winner this year has already brought more attention to my script."              
                    --Randall A. Wolff, THE TIMEKEEPER

Motion Picture and Television Production:
         Eric Edson, Executive Director of the Hollywood
            Symposium, recently served as co-executive producer and
            co-writer on LETHAL VOWS, a CBS Movie-of-the-Week, starring
            John Ritter and Marg Helgenberger. 

Script Development   

Screenwriter Training                                   

International Forum and Discussion