screenwriting contests or not?

I graduated "film school" in the early eighties, right on the cusp of when nobody taught scriptwriting and then it became the latest overnight sensation/get rich quick scheme. (Fifteen years later: dang, I shoulda designed some software instead...) I stayed away from contests back then because there were only a couple that could be considered bona-fide, while the rest only promised that the winning scripts would be read and critiqued by 'an industry professional'. As far as I was concerned, this was just a way for some people to get paid for reading scripts. ie, my contest fee was, in effect, paying them to read my script. So I have stayed away from the contests for years and years. Then I found an explosion of contest sites on the internet. However, I myself am still using the same rule. I don't know who these 'industry professionals' are, what their experience is, how much clout they actually have. My reasoning--based on experience--is if some Name Personage won't read your script when it's personally HANDED to him or her via a colleague/close friend/ agent/gardener/ manager/ babysitter then why would that Name Personage invest themselves in reading scripts in contests? So: me? I'm going for the money. And the prestige. The prize money has got to be good. The contest has to have made a name for itself somehow. BOTH of those, therefore, have to help me make a name for myself and help the script rise above the murk. The connundrum seems to be whether the industry actually IS looking for originality and creativity. I was under the impression that most of the feeders in this huge pool are all looking for a great script (and/or great script that's actually made it into production) to make and/or continue their names on. After my experience of the past year alone, I'm beginning to think this just ain't so. The industry professionals that I know have laughed at my naivete. They cheer me on in their peculiar way, but they also laugh at WHY I EVEN attempt to get the attention of the 'system'. But: we are story-tellers. There are audiences out there. We do what we have to do. cheers--Hilary Feedback: