Final Draft Announces Winners of Third Annual International Screenwriting Contest

ENCINO, CA - August 26, 2002 - Final Draft, Inc., (www.finaldraft.com),publisher of Final Draft(r), the #1-selling scriptwriting software,today announced the winners of its annual "Big Break" InternationalScreenplay Contest. Selected from over 2,500 entries, this year'swinner is "8 Track" by Shawn Corridan of Honolulu, Hawaii. "8 Track" isa coming-of-age drama set in the '70's, in which four teenage boysembark on a surfing/road trip to Mexico during the last weekend beforehigh school is to begin, a trip that profoundly changes theirrelationships and lives forever. He will receive $10,000 plus anall-expense-paid 3-day visit to Los Angeles to take meetings withindustry professionals. Winner Shawn Corridan said, "I had a watershedmoment while attending a pharmaceutical sales conference (khakis,starched white shirts, too-white smiles, backslapping, etc.) that sentme running into the arms of a possible screenwriting career. FinalDraft, both the software and the contest, made it all possible."

"Childproof" by Brad Henning won second place and he will receive$3,000. "Childproof" tells the story of a womanizing internet executivewho unexpectedly gets custody of a 10-year-old girl he fathered throughsperm donation.

"Kid Newz" by Janet Borrus & Susannah Blinkoff came in third andthey will receive $1,000. "Kid Newz" is a smart, funny, family featureabout three scrappy kids who become television's hottest investigativereporters.

All finalists will receive a copy of Final Draft scriptwritingsoftware, a one-year subscription to Creative Screenwriting Magazineand scr(i)pt Magazine, a $50 gift certificate from The Writers Storeand a copy of The Hollywood Creative Directory Producers Guide.

"Our congratulations and best wishes to Shawn, Brad, Janet, Susannahand all the other writers who submitted their work," said Marc Madnick,President and CEO of Final Draft, Inc. "Our Big Break contest keepsgetting more popular every year and we're happy to offer an opportunityto more and more writers and help start them on their way to asuccessful career."

The other "Big Break" International Screenplay Contest Finalistswere:

"10 Minutes to Paradise" by Janyce Lapore. A character-driven andaction-packed tale of contemporary New York City.

"The Courier" by Chris Saffran. A female cat burglar becomesentangled in a web of international espionage and is seduced by a CIAagent--who just might be poison.

"The Darkest Hours" by Sean Kelly. A satiric look at McCarthy-eraanti-communist propaganda that imagines America entering the 21stcentury under the merciless thumb of the Soviet Union.

"The Graybar Hotel" by Joel Rapp & Peter Van Pelt. A prisoninmate living the good life in jail is suddenly released and must nowget used to life as a free man.

"Ignatius Elf" by Charles Weir & Steve Clarke. A disenchantedChristmas Elf steals Santa's sleigh and reindeer to stop Christmas andto seek a better life as a California surfer.

"Irish Luck" by Sean Corrigan. A young and talented thief hiding hispast has one week to pay back a $40,000 gambling debt. He devises aplan to win back the money in an Atlantic City casino. While inAtlantic City, he encounters a beautiful young woman with an ulteriormotive who lures him into a museum heist.

"Mall Cop" by Alfred Thomas Catalfo. When armed bandits pull adaring, mall-wide heist, a hapless mall security guard who dreams ofbecoming a police officer proves that, this time, they've messed withthe wrong quasi-law-enforcement professional.

"Moon Shadows" by Jim Henry. A girl is abducted and held hostage,grows up and extracts revenge.

About Final Draft's "Big Break" Contest
Now in its third year, Final Draft's "Big Break" Contest has become oneof the most popular in Hollywood due to previous winners' success andits generous payout. The first contest's winner, "Dawg," by KenHastings, has been produced and shot by Gold Circle Films (starringElizabeth Hurley and Denis Leary), and last year's winner, "BreathingUnderwater," by Torye Mullins, has been optioned by Stephen J. CannellStudios.

A panel of industry professionals conducted the final judging: BrentArmitage, Kathie Fong-Yoneda, Lori Hughes, SoYun Kima and JohnTruby.

The contest was sponsored by Final Draft, Inc., The Writers Store,Creative Screenwriting Magazine, ScriptShark and scr(i)pt Magazine.

About Final Draft Inc.
Writer Marc Madnick and software engineer Benjamin Cahan founded FinalDraft, Inc. in 1991. They recognized the need for a scriptwritingsoftware package, which would eventually re-create and revolutionizethe way an entire industry writes and revises its scripts. Final Drafthas become the best-selling screenwriting program worldwide, with morethan 150,000 units sold since its introduction. Final Draft, Inc. wasnamed one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in 1998 in LosAngeles by Deloitte & Touche. Final Draft won the 2000 GoldenSatellite Award for Best Interactive CD-ROM.

Final Draft scriptwriting software is the leading scriptwritingprogram and is used worldwide by professional film and TV writers tocreate such Oscar(r)-winning hits as American Beauty and The UsualSuspects. Final Draft is endorsed by industry talents such as OliverStone ("JFK", "Any Given Sunday"), James L. Brooks ("As Good As ItGets", "Jerry Maguire"), Tom Hanks ("That Thing You Do", "Cast Away")Alan Ball ("American Beauty", "Six Feet Under") and Michael Bay ("PearlHarbor", "Armageddon").

Final Draft, Inc. also publishes Final Draft AV; the only dedicatedmulti-column word processor specifically designed for writingcommercials, corporate videos, documentaries, DV shorts, etc.
Final Draft, Inc. has two locations:

USA
Final Draft, Inc.
16000 Ventura Blvd., Suite 800
Encino, CA 91436
Phone: (818) 995-8995
Toll-Free Sales: (800) 231-4055
www.finaldraft.com

Europe
56 rue Dombasle
Paris, France 75015
Phone: 33-145-332525
www.finaldraft.com/fr

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Final Draft is a registered trademark of Final Draft, Inc.

Press Contact:
Frank Colin
colin@finaldraft.com
800.231.4055 x113
Final Draft, Inc.