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I need to clear something up here. In Hollywood, Everybody talks about scripts we've been reading, all the time. That's what you as writers want. The reason is that anyone who brings a script to a Producer stands to get an Associate Producer screen credit and pay if the project comes to...

Scripts do get stolen. But not like you think. If you pitch and get a request, a legit Producer will ask you to sign a Release Form or he won't read you. Send it in. A truly original story is called a Non-Derivative Script, and they are very rare. Chances are, your script is not original. We...

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in Hollywood everybody out here has more than one script. "What else you got?" is an often heard question, and all Screenwriters have an answer. That said, do not answer questions that haven't been asked. Stick with pitching one script, the one that just HAS...

For Producers, screenwriter competitions are not as much about finding scripts as they are about finding Writers. You might conceivably sell a low budget contest winning script to an Indie guy, but it's really about earning a writing assignment. Producers need to know you can handle story...

I'm a Professional Screenwriter-- what do you do for a living?. Nothing is obvious in my business, and we certainly don't waste our time trying to read the minds of idiots. Words are our thing. The only thing "obvious" is that you can't write. I was trying to help, but you lack even fundamental...

Admin: I wasn't sure where to post this. Feel free to move it to a more appropriate location. This program is a paid internship for college Juniors and Seniors. I got it via the Paley Center. https://www.paleycenter.org/education/rothinternship/

Stick with it. If you can't write a working log, how are you going to write a worthwhile synopsis muchless a script? Before I'll read a script, I require a logline that tells me at least three of theses things: Who, What, Where, When, and How? Who and What must be included, but the more the...

He said 63 through the 90s. No assumption needed.

Much better. but i would add "spends decades" or something of that nature to indicate the the time span.

This all fits in one sentence-- but there are no stakes mentioned. First lose the word "distinct" or any other word of that nature. NEVER assume your story is unique. It's career suicide if it isn't and you say it is. (I learned this by accidently saving some random guys career before I was in...

How about a logline archive for Screenwriters? I'd like to be able to see what's out there.

FYI: Stage 32 is not what it claims to be. Don't waste your money on any of thier "script services" and be careful of thier paid "experts". The "Coverage" they sell is baloney. Coverage is something written by a Studio Reader or Associate/Line Producer for the Producer and has nothing to do with...

Since you're in the LA area, go for a fellowship. It's that time of year. The two big ones are Disney and Nickelodeon. https://www.abctalentdevelopment.com/writing_program.html https://www.nickanimation.com/writing-program There is no application fee, and qualifying for either of these two...

Don't do the secondary shot thing. It's amateurish. The shot rates a slug or it doesn't. Even a MONTAGE or SERIES OF SHOTS each ultimately needs a slug. How else do you know what to shoot? Below works, because as written, 110TH STREET is a SHOT of a street sign: They turn right onto 110TH...

That's the proper way to do it.

To get passed the first round of Readers your script needs to be formatted as a spec, and I mean by-the-book formatted. The first round readers are people hired randomly and given minimal training. They aren't Studio Readers by any means. After that, you're on your own. But I do have one piece...

For a variety of reasons, contest winning scripts rarely sell, but contest winners and participants sometimes get work. Personally, back when I did contest, maybe six times, I always made it to the quarter-finals, but never placed. However, I entered a TV Contest in 2011, and, to make a long...

Read The Valachi Papers, Wiseguy (filmed as Goodfellas), and Casino. All are true stories of the inner workings of the Italian-American Mafia, although in the film (not the book) Casino the names were changed.

You're trying too hard to tell the story when you need to be describing the scene that tells the story. Let the scene speak for itself-- NO subtext in description. For example, "Visibly confused and lost she searches her bedroom." "Visibly confused" is subtext. How is she visibly confused...

He doesn't-- but he does know what budget range his script is. And then he looks for script calls. If you're not connected, you can try the various listing services. In any case, if you get a meeting about your script, the first question at that meeting is "What's the budget?" The movie biz is...