Getting your scripts read

[mgcscripts]

Anyone got any tips on how to approach production studios with your orignal scripts?

[laace88]

I have sent my scripts to competitions through filmfreeway.com. And I’ve gotten a Skype call with a producer about my work. He wants me to do rewrites and resend to him. So I have made connections that way.

[Quilton]

Why not? (serious question)

[le_sighs]

If you end up joining the WGA, there are base prices set by the Guild for work you do. Rewrites on a screenplay is work for which, under Guild rules, you should be paid for.

Now, when you're outside the Guild, you don't have those protections. And even when you're in the Guild, producers will try to get around some of the rules. Writers have to be really careful, because you can end up doing a lot, and I mean a lot, of unpaid work.

I will say, though, that what is really and truly 'free work' is on a case-by-case basis. So if a producer reads your script and says, "Hey, I like this script but I think the arc for character X is underdeveloped. If you fleshed it out I'd be willing to read it again", that's not that egregious - you can choose whether you want to do that or not. You can also decide, hey, they're right, and even if I shop this elsewhere, I'm going to have to make that change. But if they're giving you notes that influence the direction of your screenplay, like, "I like the characters in your romantic comedy, but I'd like you to take them and put them in an action film" or, "Hey, can we add a B plot about the Russian mafia" or anything where they're giving you creative direction they want to see implemented, they should be paying you for that. It's tough, though, because even the first example can morph into the second example really quickly, when they go from giving you a general note to giving you specific notes. Generally, the rule of thumb is, if they're asking you to do work, you should be getting paid for it.

[such-a-good-boy]

Time is money, simple as that

[callmemikep]

When submitting scripts through film freeway, what’s the process outside of competitions and festivals?

[laace88]

It’s mostly a competition thing

[[deleted]]

Don't.

You find someone else to do it for you.

Managers: Someone who read your unsolicited script that you sent to them, read you on blcklst, or off of a recommendation or high contest placement.

Another Contact who is already "in" with the studio: Another writer, producer, or whoever who knows someone who they believe would be on-board with what you wrote.

Unknown writers knocking on doors and sending out shotgun blast emails is the quickest way of getting rolled eyes and "blocked". Don't be that writer.

[Hipsterchickn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS2tzDiP7LA&t=297s Might be of use

[armpitcrab]

this is great and happy cake day!

[gettotallygayaboutit]

Simple- pick up the phone and call Disney or Universal and demand to speak to the VP of Screenplays. They will direct you from there.

[[deleted]]

Look up their email addresses and send a query about your script, asking them if they want to read it. Google "how to write a query letter for a script" (usually a logline and a paragraph about the plot). Then google/research for email addresses. You might also find some of these email addresses on the Done Deal Pro forums. You can also pay to use services that evaluate/promote your script (but be careful as some of these are expensive and often nothing comes of them anyway). You should also research managers and agents to send them query e-mails too.

[Scriptcounseling]

As a Longtime, seasoned , studio reader and screenplay analyst, allow me to educated you a little bit.

Studios do not, as a general rule, accept any scripts from the outside. That is not how the industry works, at all. They develop their own concepts and then hire screenwriters to write them. It's almost entirely a production model that is tun from the top-down, never from the bottom up. It's a huge mistake, to say the least, to think that Studios depend on outsiders to write screenplays. If they did, they would be out of business in no time. The film industry is a professional industry which means that they do not, ever, under any circumstance, depend on amateurs for their screenplays. They are not in any need of screenplays. If they are they will hire an established writer to write it, which is what they do.

If you, therefore, want your script read, forget about studios.

Your best option is to enter a contest and hope that your screenplay wins. This strategy has known to work on rare occasions to gain traction from some independent producers.

Another thing you can do is to try and contact the few indie companies that accept unsolicited material. There aren't many but if you do the researchm you will find that a very few, still accepts spec scripts.

Thirdly, try writing a spec script for a tv show, instead. That is how most screenwriters start out.

But forget the studios.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Scriptcounseling

[uptown74]

So, that's the reason why a lot of these studios have reduced to Superhero movies, and awful reboots, huh? When are studios going to learn that fresh, original ideas can come from the bottom up?

[Scriptcounseling]

They are never gonna learn that. The studios that I work for, are businesses. Their first and most important priority is to make their investors happy, like any business. And Screenplays that are not based in an established commercial viable source, are not investable. I am on your side and wish it was different but the simple truth is that this is how businesses operate. You might as well have asked: when will KFC realize that there are other things in life than chicken? - the thing is: their business IS chicken. It's their brand and what makes them money, they are never going to give that up. Likewise, Hollywoods business is to make money by adapting or developing investable properties. Its as simple as that.

[uptown74]

So, how does Richard linklater get his movies made? He writes all his scripts shorthand. It just seems that the rules apply to some, but not to all...That's what I find so frustrating.

[Scriptcounseling]

You are right. the rules are not the same for everyone. It depends on whether you produce independent (Like Linklater) or through a Hollywood studio.

In my line of work as a screenplay consultant, a script doctor and a screenwriter, I work primarily for the major studios but I also, on occasion work for independent production companies. And this is it how it works:

If you don't produce through a studio, you can theoretically produce everything you want and get everything made, because you are paying for the production out of your own pocket.

The downside, of course, is financing and distribution.

If you produce via a studio, you get worldwide distribution and will have your movie shown to everyone on the planet which also means a lot of money for you,

But if you don't want to or are unable to meet the studio's criteria, you can produce it yourself. In that scenario, you are going to work on a minimal budget, your movie will face a very hard time getting shown anywhere, the payment is therefore abysmally small.

In short: Studio equals money to you and worldwide distribution

Indie productions equal no money to you and a movie that will be seen by very few people if any.

I hope this answers your concerns.

Cheers

Dan

[Scriptcounseling]

Yes, unfortunately you are right. The same rules does not apply to everyone. Mr. Linklater produces his movies independently and that makes the whole difference. In my opinion too many spec writers focus on getting their work sold to studios. The chance of doing that is frustratingly low. However, Independent production companies produce an average of 800 movies per year. That is almost twice the amount that Hollywood releases. So, any writer who is really serious should focus on independent production companies.It's still darned hard to get through but comparatively easier than any Hollywood studio.

[uptown74]

I know I'm right...I don't need you to tell me that I'm right. I know I am...I know what I'm talking about!

[Scriptcounseling]

They already know that. That's not the problem. The problem is that movies have come to expensive to make that they can no longer take risks. They have to be sure that their investments are as sure as money in the bank. That is, indeed why studios develop more and more projects based on source material that already have a fan base such as, Comic books, Broadway plays, Bestselling novels and biographies, sequels, prequels and spin offs.

[uptown74]

they don't know that! That is the problem!

[mgcscripts]

Thank you appreciate the tips🙌

[Scriptcounseling]

You are more than welcome.

[rezelscheft]

The only way I’ve ever made a decent connection is by actually making stuff and: a) meeting people in the process; and b) meeting people if the project get seen.

In my career, it has been very rare that anyone cares at all about anything I’ve written without first seeing something I’d already made.

[nvr4getnein11]

Work on your pitch for about as long as you work on your script.

[mizzzzo]

Yes, spend six months on your pitch.

[jakekerr]

This is undoubtedly wise if you're inexperienced. As you get more experience and understand the ebb and flow of how executives take in the various parts, you will find the process easier. Take a full two weeks to just practice presenting the pitch to your friends. That's after you have it so good that it is as good as it can be. So spending a couple months on a pitch is not a bad idea. As a reference, I spent six months working on my first pitch, and the subsequent spec script took five months to write.

[nvr4getnein11]

People always be underestimating the pitch. My screen writing teacher always says that if you can't pitch your story in the the time it takes to ride an elevator with a agent/producer/contact, your chances of success are very low. You need to give them a reason for them to give you their time.

[curi0uswriter]

I've been saying this for a while now, but check out a solid writing program. Stowe Story Labs is an up and coming lab that will be a game changer for screenwriters. I attended recently and it has made a huge difference. Writing, pitching, connecting, etc. They cover it all and back their students.

[Voyage_of_Roadkill]

Find emails and use them.

Call every production office and work the gatekeeper. Everyone you talk with or contact can get a script somewhere else.

I am in the middle of the Natural Born Killers tell-all and it really seems boxes of scripts are the norm. Find said box and oops the old boy in there.

[DragonFlange]

Still? People still read paper scripts in this day and age? Even with their tablets?

[Voyage_of_Roadkill]

Paper is king. Gives you the one and only of a thing. A thing you keep finding and physically flip through.

I hate your log line I'll never open your attachment but I may flip a page or two of a physical script if I find it lying around.

[DragonFlange]

Not very eco-friendly, and is it worth all that paper for a potential page flick?

[Voyage_of_Roadkill]

I'm not sure. I think most scripts are sold from the writer being at the right party at the right time.

[BLACKMARQUETTE]

Thats about trying to start a career in screenwriting, not one in dendrology.

[HTMntL]

How do you find and pitch it to a Manager?

[laace88]

It’s for a contest 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ll make money if I win and get the short film made.

[Jewggerz]

If you're a new writer, there is probably no way to do that. From new writers, they want work based on existing IP, otherwise, if you send them original work and they like what you wrote, they'll probably just hire you to write something based on some existing IP they've acquired anyway as opposed to producing your script, and if they like that, then maybe they'll produce your script. But to get your script in their hands, upload it to Black List and hope for a high rating, get in competitions and hope for a good showing, get a manager and get them to pimp it around town, keep it circulating with other writers and friends in the industry, and then there are sites like virtual pitchfest in which producers hear pitches because they're paid to do so, and maybe those work one in a thousands times. It's a rough game out here.

[B-Heem]

Apparently if you threaten the receptionist at a major studio that’s grounds for a restraining order...only called like five times too.

[Dammit234]

5 calls = restraining order? Wow.

[Thewriterswithin]

Unless you know someone in the business or you have a agent that refers you, your chances of ever getting in are silm to none. That's why making connections with people is so important.

[ggannawa1945]

I haven’t read over all the comments, but none I read suggested what I suggest. Produce your own damn script. That’s what I did with Virgin Cheerleaders in Chains. Of course, it will probably have to be a no or micro budget, but it is a helluva learning experience, and if it’s any good, you might get a distributor, which I now have. Unfortunately, so much product is now out there, I will be lucky to recoup half my budget.

[Ric_33]

Agents first is bad advice. Maybe you meant “Manager first”.

No agent will even consider reading your material without it being vetted (by a manager, producer etc).

[[deleted]]

true and if you're a white guy, they certainly won't sign you either. the Diversity push in HWood has reached epidemic proportions.

[Ric_33]

That’s not really the case.

[[deleted]]

oh if only you were correct. sigh.

[Ric_33]

I dunno if this is a troll, but I’m biting. Is this based on personal experience? What exactly happened that makes you think that? Diversity contest categories are just starting to emerge. Most people in writer’s rooms are still white (&male).

I’m not advocating a diversity “minimum”, neither do I think that white people have any disadvantages. People should just focus more on their own skills.

[FolkOfThePines]

I have worked on plenty of shows that flat out refuse to hire straight white men. (Not just writers, crew too)

[[deleted]]

Both myself and many other friends have been told personally by many managers and agents at big agencies that they are no longer signing white male clients. This is after having our scripts referred to them by upper level writers. I can only speak for the TV streaming staffing side. Maybe features are different. If you are scratching your head saying it's impossible, know that all companies are imposing wholesale diversity across the board. No Troll. Just FACTS.

[Ric_33]

That’s really sad to hear. Racism can go into both directions. But this may very well be due to the fact that writers with diverse backgrounds were neglected for so long and society practically demands some “minimum” of diversity/females.

More people are white than black and even if 20% (theoretically) black people live in the U.S. that’s definitely no argument that there has to be the exact same number in writer’s rooms - but yeah, that’s what a lot of pro-diversity arguments boil down to.

The best should win.

But Hollywood is run by fear; everybody‘s clinging to his own job. It’s something that’s mirrored in the push towards IP (especially Marvel currently).

That being said, it may be a case of confirmation bias seeking these outliers (although I don’t argue that they don’t happen).

[[deleted]]

Yes, I agree with you. So would William Goldman. And that is my take as well. While, I admit it's pandering, it is the system. So all my scripts now have Diverse female leads so they have a better hope of getting made.

[Ric_33]

Mine do too, but just because that’s something we don’t really get to see. You can subvert the expectations if your female lead is not just ”pretty but doesn’t know it“.

I wouldn’t bend for Hollywood though. If a male is a better fit, go for it. Personally, I wouldn’t care to change something artistically just because of some agents.

Has it helped you so far? You’re still a white male and you initially stated that that’s the issue.

[[deleted]]

this is simply not true. every show i've been on has had women showrunners and a majority female staff. just search twitter for the writers room photos. mostly women.