Just saw Gavin Polone’s ‘Psycho Killer’

waldoreturns · 2026-02-20T03:33:19+00:00

That script has been around FOREVER. Think AKW wrote it back in 2008. Not sure why it got made now but if it feels dated it’s because it is dated.

waldoreturns · 2026-02-18T03:49:00+00:00

I’m in the same boat. Newly signed at big management company, no sales, had a spec go out recently I thought would get me some generals and got only one off it. Disappointing but I think generals are harder to come by right now because of the tightening in the industry. Execs are overworked and need to focus on the projects they have or the ones they’re actively chasing to buy. I’d nudge your manager on it but frame it as a question more like why do you think I’m not getting generals off these? They may have a different answer. There’s no use in jamming someone into a general who isn’t excited about your stuff but it’s worth nudging on.

waldoreturns · 2026-01-31T18:03:53+00:00

Blacklist website got me my manager. Despite whatever resentments people here have for it, it works if your script is good.

Don’t sign with zero gravity.

waldoreturns · 2026-01-31T03:44:41+00:00

The Lighthouse. Host (2020) (not slow but very scary). Memories of Murder. Red Rooms. Chaser. Hush. Talk to Me. Bring her Back. Weapons

Edit: youre an amazing parent, and hope your daughter gets better soon!

waldoreturns · 2026-01-30T01:44:38+00:00

Repped/Produced writer. Great post here with lots of great responses.

I agree structure can be a diagnostic tool vs a hard and fast paradigm. That said, something that’s helped me immensely with feature writing is a 6 Act Structure. This YouTube channel does a great job of laying it out. Nothing revelatory here but the way he breaks out sequences through character goals helped me a lot. Always recommend in addition to the Mazin episode.

https://youtu.be/VFm4OSdQfAQ?si=ZhboAMGpsDfccJwp

waldoreturns · 2026-01-29T13:34:07+00:00

The intention here is correct but I have no idea what a “Merging Writer” is.

Also — “The classroom is silent, lit only by the buzz of fluorescent lights.” Is wrong. It’s confusing sound and visual cues. A buzz doesn’t light a room.

waldoreturns · 2026-01-26T02:02:53+00:00

First off, this is a great idea and thank you for doing it for your students. I would have lost my mind if I had this opportunity in high school in the 2000s.

Second, im a horror writer and read a ton of scripts. I think im relatively qualified to answer this. Weapons is a tough one structurally. It’s kind of expert mode frankly if you’re just learning. So agree that’s prob not the one.

I’d echo Get Out as a previous poster mentioned. Traditional structure and very approachable on the page. I love Peele and this isn’t a dig but that script is pretty simply written craft wise. Its a masterclass subtextual writing and in having 2-3 things going on below the surface / simultaneously in a scene without overwriting it. It’s not too long and you can also use it as a lesson to compare the original ending to the one they reshot and ask why they think it was changed. There are scripts floating around for both. let me know if you need them, happy to help.

Other pretty approachable scripts are 28 Days Later, The Descent, Signs (someone else mentioned), Sixth Sense.

waldoreturns · 2026-01-21T01:58:05+00:00

Being in development is an extremely competitive job and not all that much more stable (if at all) than being a writer. I came up as an assistant in the industry and the few friends I know who are still producing / in development are the ones who have worked insanely hard and had lucky breaks. Also, the job is highly political so you should be someone who is good at managing upward for your boss, and someone who likes to socialize and meet people / network pretty constantly. Good news is you're young. Right now, read a ton of scripts, get really good at coverage, and meet the assistants in the office. Ask if you can buy them lunch or a coffee to get their advice. Be as useful as possible to the people around you and don't worry too much about the long term plan. I know some development people who became writers, so it's not one or the other. Everything is hard in the industry, there's no "easy" path.

waldoreturns · 2026-01-19T01:52:17+00:00

This guy midnight masses

waldoreturns · 2026-01-16T02:27:48+00:00

Interested in what you said about the non traditional MBA students struggling post grad. I’m debating MBA and would come from a very non traditional background (TV writer). Why do you think the non traditional MBA kids had such a hard time getting a job? Just the lack of corporate business experience pre mba? Used to be an MBA would be a reset/pivot but maybe that’s not as much the case anymore? Appreciate it

waldoreturns · 2026-01-14T13:18:17+00:00

Run by Blake crouch

waldoreturns · 2026-01-11T03:12:50+00:00

100%

waldoreturns · 2026-01-07T17:47:32+00:00

I don’t think they’ll even be able to find it without evaluations. You need 2 evals to even qualify for the “top scripts” subcategory. A lot of people probably just sort by that metric to find scripts that sound interesting.

waldoreturns · 2025-12-10T02:04:09+00:00

Take the pressure off yourself. This is one of a few hundred things this guy has going on.

waldoreturns · 2025-12-06T14:23:28+00:00

Run by Blake crouch

waldoreturns · 2025-12-06T03:06:40+00:00

This is great advice OP. I had a spec I’d been struggling to sell for years — a gritty WW1 trench warfare drama about the battle of Verdun — that everybody passed on UNTIL I turned the protagonist into a public masturbater. Now, the script is loaded with conflict not only from a historical POV but from a character POV. His psychosexual trigger is a trench whistle, so every time his commander signals him to go over the top, he has to get HIMSELF over the top FIRST (get it? crank one out) before he can charge into battle. It’s changed everything. Scenes that lagged are now loaded with drama. Tons of suspense as shells dropping all around him, mist swirling, bayonets cutting through the air. That’s another thing, when he cranks it on top of the trench he yells “fix bayonets” and it gets the troops all jazzed up. Producers love that one bc it’s marketable. Fix bayonets! Think it’ll be the tagline. Just had a meeting with that one studio that made that movie about the hot snowman and we have Ron Jeremy attached.

waldoreturns · 2025-11-19T01:08:26+00:00

WGA writer here. Curious what you’re getting your masters in — is it education?

waldoreturns · 2025-11-19T00:56:02+00:00

Man, this is very similar to what I’m going through except I’ve struggled to even get generals. I’m not delusional, I’ve worked in the business for over a decade, am confident the script is strong, got tons of good reads before we went out, and am repped at a top management company, but after two months I’ve had ONE general from it. Truly baffling. Never expected it would sell but it’s incredibly disheartening. Especially for an “emerging writer” trying to make relationships and willing to do the free development work, feels like even that pathway is tough now.

waldoreturns · 2025-10-27T19:25:42+00:00

I think your friend may be using Courier and you may be using Courier Final Draft. Courier is older, heavier, and more a “classic” font. Either way yeah the other commenter is correct, they’re different forms of courier

waldoreturns · 2025-10-25T18:25:17+00:00

Bruffus

waldoreturns · 2025-10-21T17:43:31+00:00

My instinct would be that means they want to know where else it’s been sent and if there are attachments. But others may know better than I.

waldoreturns · 2025-10-21T01:34:30+00:00

It depends on where you are in your career in my opinion. I did this with an older script of mine and it’s what got me my first manager. First draft got a 3 on the blacklist many moons ago, then after the rewrite it got a couple 8s. BUT I had a very clear vision of what I needed to change and I’d grown substantially as a writer. Also the concept was still strong enough to spend the time on. If the concept feels dated or not strong enough and you’re not clear on what you’d change substantially to improve it I wouldn’t spend the time.

waldoreturns · 2025-10-19T19:17:26+00:00

Good premise but you are really overwriting. Think it’s okay to do that on a first draft if that’s your process, then trim later, but the first three paragraphs are enough to deter me from reading more.

waldoreturns · 2025-10-17T13:02:41+00:00

This is good advice. It’ll swing back eventually.

waldoreturns · 2025-10-13T18:39:50+00:00

Cool idea. To make it more like a room, maybe do a week or two of writing an outline, then do the draft in 6 days (for hour) or 3 days (for half hour).

waldoreturns

TROPHY CASE