Also known as a “Reader.” The person who reads a written submission (usually a screenplay or a novel) for a producer or executive and writes up an evaluation report called coverage. Since producers and executives can’t possibly read every submission that comes through the door, they employ story analysts to sift through most of it, and the exec only reads what gets screened and/or what is dubbed high-priority.
A spec script is a screenplay written to be sold on the open market, as opposed to one commissioned by a studio or production company (see Work-for-Hire). No guarantee of payment. The greater risk of a spec script can pay off in a bigger sale.
The only way for a new screenwriter to break in is to have a strong spec screenplay that will establish them by being an impressive writing sample or their first sale.
The final draft of a screenplay before going into production. Has been given the final okay by the Director, the Producers and Executives and contains scene numbers and possibly camera cues and other visual references.
As a spec screenwriter, you should not be concerned with shooting scripts or formatting your script to look like one. Keep in mind that many of the produced screenplays you see posted online are shooting scripts, not submission drafts (see Reader’s Script) so you should not necessarily emulate the style and format of these drafts. Many shooting scripts also tend to be much longer than your average spec screenplay, which should be around 110 pages.
All screenplays and written material should be registered with the Writer’s Guild of America West or East before submitting to anyone or any professional entity. Your work (anything written may be registered) will be sealed in an envelope (or digitally archived) and date stamped. For non-members, this service currently costs $20 in L.A. (five years registration) and $22 in NY (10 years registration). It may be done online, via mail or in person at the offices in New York or Los Angeles. You should also copyright your work (see Copyright). Titles cannot be protected.
The submission draft. A screenplay written to be submitted to a production company. Should read well and flow; should not contain scene numbers or visual directions. A Reader’s script should feature a dynamic opening, short scenes, fast pacing and never exceed 120 pages in length (see Shooting Script). I suggest you keep it under 110 pages. HERE is more about what I like to see in a great script.
I always suggest opening with a compliment — the “kill ’em with kindness” approach — that way you don’t just sound like you want something from them but you’re here to contribute something to their obviously stellar output. Plus, everyone likes a little ego stroke, especially in Hollywood.
Open the letter by congratulating them on the success of their latest film and tell them how much you love one of their smaller, critically-acclaimed films. They will appreciate you noticing one of their lesser-known, more artistic efforts. I also suggest doing some research and pointing out an obscure fact about them and their work that could only have been known by someone who took the time to do their homework.
A short letter to a professional company, via email, mail or fax, making them aware of you and your screenplay and “pitching” the story to them in the hopes they’ll request it. Three to five short paragraphs and one page maximum — must be very clear and meticulously proofread. Must include your logline: one sentence, 20-30 words.
HERE is an article with more detail about my approach to query letters.
Attaching talent to your screenplay. I.e., getting an actor and/or a director to officially declare interest in the script to raise the chances of a sale and production. This is very difficult to do without representation (see Unsolicited Submission), and even more so to attach a “star” as their agents will refuse to look at a script not already funded for production. This is also referred to as attaching “elements.”
A major agency (like CAA or William Morris-Endeavor) can put together a package that includes their clients in the key roles (director, writers, leading actors) with partial financing and approach a studio for finishing funds and/or a distribution commitment.
A new writer wants to generate “buzz” on their script in some way that might get name talent to consider it. A contest/festival win, a referral from a friend or existing client or even a well-known true-life inspiration can help to build buzz on a script and get it read.
An Option is when a producer pays for the right to purchase a screenplay in a set period of time, essentially taking it off the market. In that period (e.g., 6 months, 1 year) they have the exclusive right to shop the script around, hoping to get it sold, financed, or produced. Most options to new screenwriters are for small sums of money; in most cases, a new writer should consider the track record of the producer (thus the likelihood of their script being sold and produced) as being more important than the price.
A sale is an outright purchase of a screenplay, but many sales listed in the trades contain the “guarantee/upfront” amount and the production bonus (e.g. $100,000 against $300,000). One sum is paid up front (usually in steps) and the remainder of the money is paid if and when the film either goes into active development or begins production. This is to insure the studio against overpaying for scripts that will just sit on their shelves, since they buy more material than they can actually make into films.
Dear Screenwriters,
I have been an Inktip member for years and I recommend it to every screenwriter I meet, coach or collaborate with. I know several writers who have found success by listing their scripts on Inktip.
In fact, Inktip is the only site outside of my own that I’ve ever endorsed for the simple reason that they have an incredible track record when it comes to getting films made.
I am proud to be selected by Inktip as one of their approved Consultants for the first annual Inktip Pitch Summit.
It’s the only pitch event that I’ve ever been involved with.
After emerging from my sub-basement cryo-chamber as my alter-ego Telematic Dan, I covered the red carpet premiere of Mad Men Season 4 in Hollywood, CA at the Mann Chinese Theater 6 (in the same complex as the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre).
For a round-up of the night, go here.
One moment that stuck out was when I asked actor Vincent Kartheiser (who plays advertising accounts man Peter Campbell on Mad Men) about what he looks for in a screenplay… his first response was…
Dear Screenwriter,
you gotta be willing to kill your puppies.
Here’s a quick rule that is deceptively simple, very powerful and utterly crucial. This is a rule none of us can escape. This applies to every scene in your script:
If a SCENE does not:
Louis C.K. in "Louie" on FX
I’ve hired a lot of writers… The more original, the more unique your stuff is, the better, I think, rather than trying to hit a certain place that’s going to get you employed. That usually just makes you like everybody else.
Continuing my coverage of FX Networks programming, I took part in a conference call interview with comedy veteran Louis C.K. who is premiering his new 30-minute comedy show “Louie” tonight.
Louis had some great insights into comedy writing and, for my money, elucidated the problem with network television and why it’s been getting its ass kicked by cable television for the past decade. Louis C.K.’s credits include Late Night with Conan O’Brien, “TV Funhouse” on Saturday Night Live, Lucky Louie on HBO and the cult hit movie Pootie Tang.
Premieres June 24, 2010/11:00 p.m. PDT
Dan Calvisi: You are listed as the only writer on IMDB. I don’t know if I missed some press materials where it lists other writers, but if that’s the case, what exactly is your writing process for writing these episodes?
Louis C.K. I am the only writer. That was a decision I made because I just wanted to write and make the show. Writers’ rooms, they kind of gravitate towards a certain place. There’s a need to perfect things in a writers’ room, and that can take a lot of fun out of a show sometimes. It’s a struggle. It depends on your personality. Some people love working with a writing staff. I had a great writing staff on Lucky Louie, but it sometimes felt like Congress or something. It’s like if you’re the president and you have the ability to just fire Congress, life would get kind of fun all of a sudden. Read more
A while back, I was sent an advance copy of Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories and I can report that is a fantastic book that gives you the inside word from the best, most influential and most legendary screenwriters in the business. If you’re working on your first screenplay, have written 50, or you’re just a movie buff, this is an invaluable glimpse into a segment of the industry that is absolutely CRUCIAL but rarely explored in such detail.
From Mike Binder to Nora Ephron to Steven E. de Souza to John August to Paul Schrader to Mick Garris to Frank Darabont to Larry Cohen to Josh Friedman… there’s bound to be a writer in here that changed YOUR life with their words that were translated into film. So don’t just worship the actors and directors; work a little harder and learn about the scribes that the pretty people need but will never give their due credit.
There’s a reason why that anti-gravity hallway effect in Inception looks so amazing.
It’s because that shit is real.
No CGI. It’s a giant rig that rotates 360 degrees and it must have cost a fortune. It’s another example of how and why Christopher Nolan is this generation’s James Cameron.
Like Cameron, Nolan insists on spending millions of the studio’s money on creating real, physical spectacles, sometimes for only a single shot.
This is why those aerial IMAX shots in The Dark Knight looked so amazing; those weren’t sets, they were real skyscrapers in Chicago and Hong Kong.
When we see Batman riding his batpod motorcycle…it’s real. They didn’t just hand off the scene to a bunch of animators.
A team of engineers spent months (and a batload of Warner Brothers’ cash) designing and building a new vehicle that a stuntman could actually drive.
Let’s be clear: they invented a vehicle. For..one scene? Yes, for one scene (okay, two and a half scenes, geeks).
Because this A-Team does not help people in trouble. They’re only out for revenge.
This A-Team did not serve time in the same military unit and then escape from a prison camp, thus bonding them together for life. In fact…
This A-Team doesn’t make any sense, whatsoever.
And it just got pitied like a fool by The Karate Kid, which made DOUBLE its gross in their mutual opening weekend.
At this time last year, “The Hangover” and “Up” were going gangbusters at the box-office — both ORIGINAL scripts.
But, wait, The Karate Kid is also a remake of a piece of campy 80s material. So why did it fare so much better?
I can give you the TOOLS — the professional screenwriting how to — to write a great movie screenplay or television script. My method is called Story Maps Screenwriting and it is the most simple, clear and effective roadmap to take you from your initial concept all the way to a polished draft that you can submit to agents, managers and producers in the movie industry in Hollywood. Read more
A script or screenplay Logline states the story in one active sentence, focusing on the concept, main story engine, unique Protagonist and main conflict. Ideally in 25 words or less…
A female FBI trainee must enlist the aid of a brilliant, imprisoned serial killer to catch another serial killer-at-large.
A logline is NOT a tagline. A logline is your story. A tagline is a marketing pitch that sells the movie, not the screenplay, e.g. “Truth has a soldier” or “This summer your mind will be blown.” Do not submit a tagline with your screenplay because you are in essence telling them how to market your movie, which is their job, not yours.
A unique premise easily understood in a single sentence. A high-concept screenplay often contains a “hook” that puts a twist on a classic situation or even another successful film. A concept that immediately sounds commercial that would attract big names and big box-office. E.g. “A superhero family” (The Incredibles), “A lawyer who can’t lie” (Liar, Liar), “Die Hard on a bus” (Speed), “Emma at an L.A. high school” (Clueless) or “Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets The Breakfast Club” (The Faculty). Very helpful with marketing because any one can quickly understand the idea (and hopefully get a sense of genre, tone, and theme) and will be inspired to read the script. But your concept, logline and pitch must be CLEAR. (See also cross-genre and The Big Idea)
Script Development is the process by which a written submission is developed into a final shooting script.
The department in a studio that handles all written material: finding the material, evaluating it and recommending to buy it.
