How would you like to go to see a movie and tell your friends that you named one of the characters in the film?  Pretty cool, eh?  To get that opportunity…enter Shoom Zone Productions’ NAME THE MOVIE CHARACTERS CONTEST!  We have five movie characters from our sci-fi project, currently in development, that we are looking to name.  If a name you enter wins, we’ll give that character the winning name and we’ll put your own name in the credits! 

How It Works

1. Starting November 22, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time (“PT”), I’ll post on the Shoom Zone Production Blog (the “Blog”) a short description of one of the characters in the story that needs a name and the actor anticipated to play that role, if applicable.  Here’s the twist.  You won’t know which character it is until it is announced.
2. You’ll have one week to come up with some cool and interesting names for that character and submit them on the Blog.  
3. The official competition Judges will have one week to narrow down the submissions by picking the names that best suit the character. 
4. The names chosen by the Judges will then be posted on the Blog and everyone will get one week to vote for their favorite.  The name with the most votes wins!  If there is a tie, the Judges will break the tie by deciding on the winning name.    

This Contest is open to all human beings on planet Earth.  This Contest is not open to alien beings from other planets or beings from alternate universes. 

Be sure to carefully read all the Contest Rules and the Terms and Conditions (My lawyer went through great pains to write all that legalese!). 

Contest Structure:  The Submission Period for the first character’s name (the “First Round”) begins at 6:00 p.m. PT on November 22 and ends at 6:00 p.m. PT on November 29.  The Judging Period for the First Round begins at 6:00 p.m. PT November 29 and ends at 6:00 p.m. PT on December 6.  The Voting Period for the First Round begins at 6:00 p.m. PT on December 6 and ends at 6:00 p.m. PT on December 13.

Each subsequent Round will start one week after the previous Round starts and will follow the same structure as the First Round.  There are five rounds total—one for each character.

Finalist Notification:  Sponsor will notify the Finalists by email.  The chosen Finalists’ character’s names will be announced shortly thereafter on the Blog.

Winner Notification:  The winning Finalist will be notified by email.  The Finalist’s real name and winning character name will be announced shortly thereafter on the Blog. 

Names:  For some rounds, we may need both a first and last name for the character.  In other rounds, we may specify that we only need a first name.  In some cases, we may have a name already picked out, but we want you to help us decide.  In those cases, we will add the name to the finalist list for all to vote on.

Here’s What You Need to Do

To Enter the Contest: 

1. During the Submission Period, log on or become a registered member of the Blog.
2. Every Monday and running for five weeks (starting November 22, 2010 through December 20, 2010), I will post on the Blog a new character that needs a name.  You must submit your entries in the comments section of that Blog post.  You can submit as many names as you wish, but you must submit only one comment for each entry.  So, if you are submitting three names, for example, you will have three separate comments—one for each name/entry.  If there are multiple submissions of the same name, the first person to submit the name will win.  A different spelling of the same name will be treated as a different name.
3.  Next, fill out the Contest Form at http://www.shoomzone.com/contest_form.htm.  Be sure to fill it out completely.   

• Under Real Name enter your first and last name.
• Under Psuedonym (Handle) enter the name or pseudonym/handle you entered under on the Blog.  (For example, if your real name is Jane Doe, but you used your pseudonym CrazyCat9 on the Blog, enter your pseudonym so that we can match your entries with your real name.)  If you used your real name on the Blog, enter your real name in this field . 
• Under Email, enter your email address. 
• If you are over 18 years of age, click the first button.
• If you are under 18 years of age, you must first get a parent’s or guardian’s permission before you enter the contest.  When you get that permission, click the second button.
• Finally, press the Submit button.

To Vote:

1. During the Voting Period, log on or become a registered member of the Blog. 
2. I will post on the Blog a list of the character names that the Judges chose.  Enter your vote for your favorite name in the comments section of that Blog post.  Only one vote is allowed per voter per character.

Judges

• Amanda Rogers, Producer
• Shawna Buchanan, Screenwriter
• Joyce Harrell, I-Maniac Fan Club President
• Joan McCartney, former Administrator of Perseus Project

Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to this contest.  By submitting a name for a character in the movie, and otherwise participating in the contest, you agree to such terms and conditions.  Please read them carefully.

            1.         Shoom Zone Productions (“Producer”) is the sponsor of the contest.  You must be a registered member of the Blog to enter the contest.  If you are under the age of 18, you must also obtain the permission of a parent or guardian before participating in the contest.

            2.         All submissions of names for a character must be received by the close of the Submission Period for that character.  There is no limit to the number of names you may submit for any character.  If there are multiple submissions of the same name, the first person to submit the name will win.  If that person is disqualified from the contest for any reason, the second person who submitted the name will become the winner.  A different spelling of the same name will be treated by the judges as a different name.

            3.         If a participant in the contest does not meet or satisfy one or more requirements of the contest, Producer, in its sole discretion, may disqualify such participant or require such participant to comply fully with the requirements of the contest.  Any participant found by Producer to have tampered with the submission process or the operation of the contest, or to have attempted to do so, or to be in violation of these terms and conditions, or who has acted in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner, is subject to disqualification by Producer.

            4.         All decisions regarding the contest, including, but not limited to, eligibility of participants, acceptability of submissions, selection of winning names, and disqualification of participants, shall be within Producer’s sole discretion, and Producer’s decision shall be final and binding upon all participants.

            5.         Producer shall have the right to use all names submitted by you in the contest (whether such names are winning names in the contest or not), and to modify any such names, as Producer, in its sole discretion, shall determine, in and in connection with the movie, and all derivative works of the movie, and the distribution, advertising, and promotion thereof, in all media, markets, and areas, whether now known or hereafter developed, throughout the universe in perpetuity.  As sole consideration for such uses, Producer shall exercise reasonable efforts to include your name in the credits of the movie as a winner of the contest or among the persons and companies thanked or acknowledged by Producer for their contributions to the film. You acknowledge and agree that no further compensation whatsoever will be payable to you in consideration of any and all such uses.  The size, style, manner and placement of any such credit or acknowledgment shall be determined by Producer in its sole discretion.  No casual or inadvertent failure by Producer, nor any failure by any third party, to accord such credit or acknowledgment shall constitute a breach of these terms and conditions.

            6.         You represent and warrant that all names submitted by you in the contest shall be original to and created by you, and shall not infringe upon any rights whatsoever of any other party.  You shall indemnify and hold harmless Producer, its executives, employees, owners, shareholders, directors, members, and its and their representatives, successors, licensees, and assigns (individually and collectively, the “Released Parties”), from any liability or cost whatsoever (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of any breach or alleged breach of such representation and warranty or of any of these terms and conditions.

            7.         Producer shall not be obligated to use any name submitted by you in the movie or otherwise, whether a winning name or not, nor to produce, distribute, or exploit the movie, or any rights related thereto.  This contest shall in no way limit Producer’s right to utilize any name in the public domain, whether included in any submission in the contest or not, in and in connection with the movie, and the exercise of all rights therein and related thereto, without any obligation whatsoever to any participant in the contest.

            8.         Producer shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use your actual name, likeness, voice, appearance, and biography in connection with the advertising, promotion and publicity of the movie, and the exercise of all rights therein and related thereto, as described in Paragraph 5 hereof.

            9.         Any and all submissions made by you in this contest shall constitute “works made for hire” for Producer, and Producer is and shall be considered the author thereof for all purposes and the owner throughout the world of all rights therein.  In connection therewith, you shall sign and deliver to Producer such documents and instruments as Producer shall require to evidence its ownership of such rights or to effectuate the purposes hereof.  If you are considered a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside, your parent or legal guardian must execute all required documents on behalf of you. Noncompliance with any such documents and instruments, these terms and conditions, or any other instructions provided to you may result in disqualification.  Producer shall have the right to assign this agreement, and all rights granted, or agreed to be granted, by you herein, in whole or in part, to any person, firm or corporation.  You shall not assign this agreement, in whole or in part.

            10.       By participating in the contest, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from your participation in the contest or any Released Party’s use of any submission made by you in the contest in accordance with the rights granted herein.

            11.       The Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, incorrect, incomplete, delayed or undelivered submissions, all of which shall be either ineligible or subject to disqualification.  The Released Parties shall not be liable for failed, returned or misdirected notifications due to inaccurate information provided by you, or responses to notifications which are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, misdirected, damaged or otherwise not received, in whole or in part, by Producer.  The Released Parties are not responsible for any other errors or malfunctions of any kind, whether technical, network, printing, typographical, human or otherwise relating to or in connection with the contest, including, but not limited to, errors or malfunctions which may occur in connection with the administration of the contest, the processing or judging of submissions, the incorrect posting of submissions, the announcement of the winners or in any contest-related materials.

            12.       In the event of a dispute regarding online submissions received from multiple users having the same e-mail account, the authorized subscriber of the e-mail account at the time of submission will be deemed to be the participant and he/she must comply with these terms and conditions. The “authorized subscriber” is the natural person who is assigned the e-mail address by the Internet service provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses.

            13.       Producer reserves the right to suspend, modify or cancel this contest, or any participant’s participation therein, at any time, in its sole discretion, if a computer virus, bug, unauthorized intervention, or any other problem corrupts the administration or security of this contest, or for any other reason, and, if this contest is cancelled, to select the winners from among the non-suspect, eligible entries received during the applicable Submission Period prior to the cancellation date, using the selection procedure set forth herein.

            14.       The operation of this contest, and these terms and conditions, shall be governed by California and applicable federal law.  In the event of any dispute between the parties arising out of or relating to this agreement, the parties agree to submit such dispute to arbitration conducted in San Francisco, California, pursuant to the commercial rules of arbitration of the American Arbitration Association.  Any arbitrator utilized shall have substantial experience in the theatrical motion picture industry.  The prevailing party in any such arbitration shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.