Image Courtesy of https://www.launchscreenplay.com/

Well, here’s one way a kid could pay off those nagging student loans. The Launch, a fellowship co-founded by producers Jason Shuman and Zachary Green, has set an international Million Dollar Screenplay Competition for college students. Its mission: “To find the next generation of great screenwriters from around the world.”

The Launch will award $100,000 in education grants to eight finalists, with the grand-prize winner having his or her screenplay produced as a feature film with a budget of at least $1 million. The entry is $20, and organizers say every script submitted “will receive professional feedback from experienced industry screenplay readers.”

Accepting submissions from March 1-May 31 at launchscreenplay.com, the competition is open to students who are enrolled in an accredited college/university or graduate program. The Launch will look for screenplays with great stories, original voices and honest emotion in any genre. Winners will be announced in August with an anticipated start of production slated for Q4.

“Never before has a screenwriting competition focused solely on students — not only awarding large grants but guaranteeing at least $1 million to produce the winning screenplay as a feature film,” Shuman and Green said. “Our goal is to motivate as many students as possible to pursue their writing dreams.”

Final judging will be done by the Launch board of advisors, whose members include NALIPsters screenwriter Eduardo Cisneros & Valor Entertainment manager Carlos Bobadilla as well as casting director Barbara Fiorentino, APA agent Chris Ridenhour, educator Madeleine Sherak, actor Caitlin Mehner and others.

Read more at: Deadline.com