A brand new competition is searching for the UK’s most inventive and creative writers to take on Hollywood and come up with an alternate ending to a movie classic for a chance to win £2,000.

If you ever thought you could do a Scorsese, Lucas or Spielberg better, then this competition – sponsored by cartridgesave.co.uk – is for you. Whether it’s getting ET home, Bogart and Bergman at the airport, that twist in Sixth Sense, it is the ending that can truly make a movie and this is your chance to give it a rewrite. All The Alties needs is for you put pen to paper and submit 750 words, either as prose or scripted dialogue. Visit cartridgesave.co.uk/TheAlties for full details.

There are five categories to enter: best comedy or rom-com; best action or adventure; best fantasy; sci-fi or horror; best family or animation; and best drama or thriller.

Entries will be judged by jury panel of three acclaimed industry experts: Manchester Metropolitan University’s senior Lecturer of Film Studies Andy Moor, Film & Theatre Critic Kevin Bourke and script writer Martin Paul Roche.

Check out the video below for some insider hints and tips from MMU’s Andy Moor.

The winning entry will scoop a £2,000 prize fund to be invested as the winner desires – be it a cutting edge home cinema, an adventure to fire your creative juices or a pilgrimage to the heart of film, Hollywood, it’s completely up to you. We just want to reward your fun and creativity handsomely. Two runners-up will receive £250 and we will be awarding two further entries from each category a box set to the value of £30. Judge Kevin Bourke said,

“Every film has twists and turns right up to the end, that’s why we love them so much. Imagining a different twist than the one you see on screen is something everyone has done in the cinema.

“It’s best to start with a film you really love and characters you know inside out – that will make it easier to imagine how else their story might have played out.

“After that, it really is limitless, these people are under your control and you can come up with a finale more explosive than anything Spielberg, Coppola, Scorsese or Orson Welles could imagine!”

The deadline for entries is 4th September 2015.

8 Top Tips for writing a film ending

• Watch the movie you’ve chosen again before you start to write. This is vital to refresh the plot, characters and setting in your mind.

• Have a rough idea of where you’re headed. If you’ve got the seed of an idea work it through to an approximate ending, even if you don’t know the ultimate final line.

• Plan it out. Writing down plot ‘bubbles’ or milestones along the way in your story is a good idea, allowing you to flesh out the plot and dialogue in between these larger events.

• Keep it tight. You have a word count to keep within, so edit yourself as you write, don’t use 50 words where 5 would do and never let your story drag.

• Fantastic first line. Grab the reader from the very start with something dramatic, whether it’s a piece of dialogue, an event or disaster – the possibilities are endless. Just hook us from the first words.

• Plenty of twists. Every Hollywood writer knows the power of the unexpected twist – so have a few of your own up your sleeve, ready to pull out at the right time, ie when no one’s expecting it!

• Big finish. Make it exciting, poignant, uplifting, just don’t let it fizzle out.

• Get a second opinion. Show your work to someone else when you’re done – first to copy check it for spelling and grammar and second to give you vital feedback on your story. A fresh set of eyes will very often point out something you’d not considered.