Red Planet Pictures preps TV writing competition


Details

Michelle Clancy

| 08 November 2015





Independent production company Red Planet Pictures has announced the return of its writing competition.


The Red Planet Prize, which first started in 2007, aims to kickstart the career of Britain’s most exciting new writing talent by optioning their television pilot script in the hope of finding the next hit series. The winner will receive £5,000 to have their screenplay exclusively developed by Red Planet Pictures and will also have six months of intensive development with a dedicated and experienced script editor.

The winner will also receive one to one masterclasses with the crème de la crème of British writing talent including Tony Jordan (Life On Mars, Hustle, Dickensian), Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, Bleak House, War And Peace) and Sarah Phelps (Great Expectations, The Crimson Fields, And Then There Were None.)

“The Red Planet Prize is about finding hidden writing talent and giving them the opportunity to develop their skills through an unrivalled mentoring scheme,” said Belinda Campbell, head of drama at Red Planet Pictures. “Red Planet Pictures is all about the writer and we are committed to finding new voices, original stories and ambitious scripts from upcoming talent. We are looking forward to seeing all the hidden gems we are sure to uncover during this year’s competition.”

This year the judges are looking for brilliant new project to add to Red Planet Pictures’ diverse slate, which include the hotly anticipated new BBC period drama Dickensian, the ambitious new Motown musical Stop! In The Name of Love (BBC) and upcoming Sky One epic adventure series Hooten and The Lady.

Red Planet’s head of development Judith King added: “We’re looking for ideas that burst with character, people and worlds we’ve never seen before, new spins on genre or totally new genres! But most importantly ideas that are deeply truthful and personal to the writer – stories that only they can tell.”