Are you the next big thing on the big screen?

Coincidentally, we've got another writing-related item for the unemployed (or anyone else with time on their hands). Anyone who's ever harbored dreams of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter, but had to put them on hold to master the dull grind of a 9-to-5, you may now be in luck now that you have no day job.

Scriptapalooza, an international screenwriting competition, is currently accepting submissions (with a nominal application fee) through March 5. Each script is read by production company staff, talent managers and/or literary agents. The authors of the winning piece and the runners-up are promoted for a year by Scriptapalooza's staffers and pushed to "industry people" -- and best of all in this trying economy, the winner gets to take home $10,000! (Granted, that's for countless hours worth of work, but still?)

The Writers Guild of America west Registry and the Writers Guild of Canada both have ties to the contest, now in its 11th year. So, are you the next gifted author of a potential film treatment that can stand proudly alongside past finalists like Queen Sized and Prison Barbie? What are you waiting for?? Scribble out a story arc/outline, and some notes on setting and character, and begin?

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault News & Commentary