Final Draft Blog

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Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.

Christopher J. O’Bryant on trading script reads and Twitter handles

August 18, 2021

Debt collector by day, screenwriter and professional writers champion by night, Christopher J. O’Bryant is a 2019 Academy Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist and 2020 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards finalist. But just add those prestigious cre...

Write On with Big Break Winner Mira Z. Barnum

August 12, 2021

Mira Z. Barnum won the 2020 Big Break Screenwriting Contest for her TV pilot Beirut. She talks to Write On about what it takes to win a screenwriting contest: I personally suffer from perfectionism, but the most important thing is to get [your script...

Rising Through the Ranks: Jonathan Barger

May 21, 2020

Jonathan Barger has only been in Los Angeles for six years. Still, since the move he’s optioned an original script, been hired by a production company to do a rewrite, and had a management company attach itself to a feature he co-wrote. It may seem l...

Big Break Welcomes Newest Judge: Development Exec, Neil Thomas

May 6, 2020

Neil Thomas, TV executive for MRC Studios, wants a more diverse Hollywood. The TV development manager, who is of South Asian descent, uses his platform to uplift, embolden and champion diverse voices and writers in the industry. It's why he was the p...

2020 Big Break Screenwriting Contest - Rachel Kiner Gives Feedback

April 23, 2020

While the world awaits a cure for COVID-19, Final Draft is encouraging writers to do what they do best: Write. The Big Break Screenwriting Contest® 2020 is open and accepting submissions at early bird pricing.

The Importance of A Diversity Category

April 22, 2020

Ben Johnson had doubts anyone would ever hear his voice. As a person of color from South Africa, Hollywood and his dreams of being a screenwriter always seemed thousands of miles away in a land far, far away. But his talent and passion were reaffirme...

Big Break Prize Package Provides Industry Access for Writers

April 8, 2020

Behind every top screenwriting contest is a group of hardworking individuals tirelessly working to ensure the writers who enter have the best possible experience. Usually, that includes access and exposure to the right people in Hollywood. One of the...

Big Break Screenwriting Contest: The Importance Of A Blind Read

April 3, 2020

When Lori Crawford sits down to read a script, she's ready to immerse herself in the unknown world the writer has created. It's a favorite pastime for her, as well as a part-time job; she's been a reader for the Big Break Screenwriting Contest since ...

From Concept to Congratulations: The Big Break Journey

March 25, 2020

Todd Goodlett has been “on cloud nine” since finding out that his original script, The Arsonist’s Handbook, was the TV Grand Prize Winner in the 2019 Big Break Screenwriting Contest — a feat, he says, he once never imagined, and that has already take...