Rules & Guidelines

1. The entry fee is $50 per screenplay. Submissions are accepted via electronic submission. There is no limit to the number of screenplays you may submit. Late entry fee is $60 per screenplay.
2. Regular Deadline: Entries must be postmarked or received electronically on or before March 1st, 2010.
3. Final Deadline: Entries must be postmarked or received electronically on or before April 1st, 2010.
4. Each applicant will receive an e-mail notifying them of the writing competition results and providing them with screenplay analysis on their submission.
5. Submitted scripts must be original screenplays, and the sole property of the applicant(s).
6. All ages are eligible.
7. All entries must be in English and between 80 and 125 pages in length.
8. Under no circumstances will substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entry screenplay(s) be made. Screenplays will not be returned.
9. If a submitted screenplay becomes optioned or purchased between the time of submission and the end of the judging period, that screenplay will no longer be eligible.
10. Quarter Finalists will be announced June 15, 2010. Semi-Finalists will be announced July 15, 2010. Five Finalists will be announced August 1. The Winner will be announced August 7th, 2010.
11. The Winner of the 2010 Competition will receive $10,000. Four Finalists will receive $1500 each.
12. The Cordelia Prize will be awarded to the best screenplay written by a screenwriter residing in the UK and will receive $2500.
13. The Joplin Award will be awarded to the best screenplay written by a screenwriter residing outside the USA, Canada or the UK and will receive $2500.
14. All screenplays entered by January 4th will be automatically entered in our Title Contest. Finalists in the Title Contest will be picked by BlueCat Judges. The Winner will be voted on by the public between January 6th and January 20th and will receive $1000.
15. Screenplays submitted early will be eligible to receive their analysis early. Our Analysis distribution calendar is as follows:
    • Scripts submitted on November 1st, 2009 will receive their written analysis by November 10th, 2009.
    • Scripts submitted by December 1st, 2009 will receive their analysis by January 5th, 2010.
    • Scripts submitted on Fellini Day, January 20, 2010, will receive their analysis by February 1, 2010.
    • Scripts submitted by February 1 will receive their analysis by February 20, 2010.
    • Scripts submitted by March 1st will receive their analysis by March 20, 2010.
16. Any screenplay submitted early and having received our early analysis can be resubmitted by April 5, 2010 for the reduced fee of $35.
17. Competition judges, readers and employees of the BlueCat Screenplay Competition, past and present, and their immediate families, are not eligible to enter.
18. Previous winners of BlueCat Screenplay Competition are not eligible.
19. Past and present scripts consulted on through Gordy Hoffman's screenplay consultation service or BlueCat workshops are not eligible.
20. Past and present USC students of Gordy Hoffman are not eligible.