Frequently Asked Questions

If I’m the winner or a finalists, do I automatically give up rights to my script?
Entrants—including the winner and finalists—do not give any rights to their work to American Zoetrope or the participating production companies and agencies. Should one want to buy or option your script, represent you, or hire you for other work, you will be contacted directly.

What are the prizes?
The Grand Prize-Winner receives $5,000. The winner's and top ten finalists' scripts are considered for option and development by American Zoetrope, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Alphaville, Fortis Films, Shangri-La Entertainment, GreeneStreet Films, FilmColony, The Schiff Company, Pretty Pictures, Hart Sharp Entertainment, This Is That, Phoenix Pictures, Number 9 Films, Matinee Pictures, Michael London Productions, and Bull's Eye Entertainment. Those writers will be considered for representation by ICM, UTA, Paradigm, William Morris, The Gersh Agency, CAA, and The Firm, and receive screenwriting software from Final Draft.

When can I submit to the 2006 contest?
You may submit to the contest beginning June 2, 2006. The EARLY DEADLINE is August 1, 2006. The FINAL DEADLINE is September 1, 2006. The winner and finalists will be announced on www.zoetrope.com on February 1, 2007.

How do I submit a screenplay to the 2006 contest?
All entries must first be pre-registered at the website, www.zoetrope.com/contests. There are no hard-copy application forms. We will begin accepting registrations on June 2, 2006. At that time, you may elect to submit a screenplay and pay the entry fee online or you submit a screenplay and entry fee via mail.

Can I pay online with a credit card and then submit by mail? Or, can I pay with a check or money order and then submit online?
Unfortunately, no. You must either submit and pay online or submit and pay by mail. There are no exceptions.

Do I need an entry or application form?
There are no hard-copy application forms. The application process in completed online through an electronic pre-registration, which opens June 2, 2006, at www.zoetrope.com/contests.

What file formats do you accept for online submissions?
We accept Adobe Acrobat PDF, Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft, Microsoft Word, and Rich Text Format files.

What happens if there’s a problem with my electronic file?
We will contact the writer as soon as we encounter problems with a file and allow the entrant to send a replacement script.

Do I give up any rights to my screenplay by entering it in the contest?
No. Entrants—including the winner and finalists—do not give any rights to their work to American Zoetrope or the participating production companies and agencies. Should one want to buy or option your script, represent you, or hire you for other work, you will be contacted directly.

Can I enter more than one screenplay to the contest?
Yes, but please note that each screenplay submission requires a separate entry form and a separate entry fee.

Can I enter the same script from a previous year's contest?
Yes, you may but we discourage writers from entering the same script unless it’s fundamentally different from the previous version. Each year, we employ the same handful of professional readers, so it’s unlikely that, without substantive changes, a script would place differently from one year to the next.

How can I confirm that my entry was received?
Members of the Virtual Studio, American Zoetrope's free online workshop site located at www.zoetrope.com, can track submissions from their member homepages. Entries will be listed on the top right-hand side of the member homepage. To track your submission, please join the Virtual Studio when you enter the contest.

Will a confirmation email be sent upon my script's arrival?
Regrettably, our system is not yet configured to send confirmation emails. To track your submission, please join American Zoetrope’s free workshop space, the Virtual Studio, at www.zoetrope.com when you enter the contest. You’ll see your entry listed on the top right-hand side of your member homepage.

Are citizens of countries other than the United States eligible?
Yes. However, screenplay submissions must be in the English language and will be protected only under U.S. copyright law.

As a foreign citizen, I have difficulty finding United States dollars. What other options do I have?
Please find a nearby bank or financial institution that can write a money order payable in U.S. dollars. You may also submit and pay online with a credit card.

What is the U.S. Motion Picture industry standard screenplay format?
You may consult any number of screenwriting books or screenwriting software. You may also refer to our guide to standard screenplay format, which is in the Screenplay section of the member area of this site. Please do your best to make sure that your screenplay is formatted correctly. Pages must be typed and not handwritten. Please proof your screenplay for typos and spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. Please make certain that your pages are properly numbered and in the correct order.

Will you disqualify my screenplay if it isn't formatted correctly?
We will read scripts where the formatting is fundamentally similar to standard screenplay format.

Screenplay submissions are supposed to be approximately 87 to 130 pages in length. If my screenplay is shorter than 87 pages or longer than 130 pages will it be disqualified?
No, within reason. We do allow leeway of a few pages.

Should I include a title page and, if so, what should be on it?
There is no need to include a title page as submissions are read blindly and identified only through the assigned tracking number. Entries, however, that arrive with a title page will NOT be disqualified. We’ll simply remove that information from the script before giving to a judge.

Should I include a logline or synopsis?
We do not read loglines or synopsis. We prefer that each script speak for itself.

How do I copyright my work?
As noted in the Official Rules, you are responsible for ensuring copyright of your work. For answers to all U.S. copyright questions (e.g., about procedures, fees, etc.), go to the Library of Congress' copyright website at www.loc.gov/copyright.

How should my screenplay be bound?
Do not permanently bind your screenplay. The screenplay should be copied onto three-hole-punched paper with two to three metal fasteners (brads). We suggest the Acco brand #6 or #5 solid brass fasters.

How do I change my contact information if my email, mailing address, or phone number changes before the winner and finalists are announced?
Members of the Virtual Studio, AZ’s free workshop site located at www.zoetrope.com, can update their information. The entry’s title will appear in the upper right-hand side of the member page. Click on the script and then select to edit the appropriate information. If you are unable to change this yourself, you may send a request to contests@zoetrope.com.

Who is reading the screenplays?
A small handful of American Zoetrope staff and professional readers, who are bound by confidentiality agreements, are reading the screenplays. The Judge will select the Grand Prize-Winner from eleven finalists.

What are these readers looking for in a screenplay?
The readers are looking for a screenplay with the best and most well written story--regardless of genre or budget requirements.

Do you provide notes, coverage, or feedback to screenwriters?
Unfortunately, we do not.

When will the 2006 winner and finalists be announced? Will the quarter- and semi-finalists be announced earlier?
The winner and top-ten finalists will be announced February 1, 2007, on the website. The semi- and quarter-finalists will be announced at the same time.

How will I learn whether I’m the winner or a finalist?
The winner and top-ten finalists will be contacted directly by American Zoetrope on February 1. We’ll also send a list of winners and finalists to all those who included an active email address with their submission. We do not send announcements by postal mail.

Will you provide updates on the Winner and Top-Ten Finalists from the previous contests?
Yes. When we hear news from past winners and finalists, we post notice on the website. If you're a previous winner or finalist and have news about your career since the contest, please send it to contests@zoetrope.com.

What is American Zoetrope?
American Zoetrope is Francis Ford Coppola's motion picture production company. In our first thirty years, we have produced some of the most important films in American cinema, which have gone on to receive sixteen Academy Awards and seventy-two Academy Award nominations. Four Zoetrope-produced films are included in the American Film Institute's top one hundred American films.

American Zoetrope has constantly embraced the creative possibilities of technology, and is known for orchestrating alternative approaches to filmmaking and challenging Hollywood standards. American Zoetrope has its headquarters in the historic Sentinel Building in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

What is a zoetrope?
Zoetrope [fr. Gk. zoe, life + tropos, turning, changing]: an optical toy that converts a series of pictures of successive attitudes into the semblance of continuous motion: wheel of life: life revolution.

With all other questions, please e-mail contests@zoetrope.com.