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We Pass

So a friend of mine who just happens to be a reader for one of the big agencies as well as screenwriter trying to break in, sent me an email today… I thought this communication would make an outstanding followup to the last post.

Turns out that when my buddy was hired on to become a reader, he was sat down and given some basic instructions on HOW to get through screenplays rather quickly…

Your latest post cracked me up. We even talked about it here at work during lunch the day of. You really nailed it. One of your commentors also mentioned about many of “US” being English majors. Some of us are but most of us are trying to either become screenwriters in our own right or producers with a smattering of us trying to become writer/director/producers.

What I think your readers might find interesting is that we all abide by many of the same under the table rules. Of course some readers have their own pet peeves as you mentioned you also do, but that can and does work both ways. Sometimes it’s the pet peeve that makes us go ahead and read the rest of the damn thing and sure enough, 99.99999999% of the time, the script is so bad, we’ll all sit down and laugh about it.

If I am learning anything as a screenwriter, I’m really learning what not to do in my own screenplays. I’m sure a lot of your readers are aware that a lot of successful screenwriters were readers before becoming successful. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, that should serve more as a well-placed wake up call more than anything else.

So just to hand off to your readers in case some of them argue these finer points, I thought I would share with you, our “under the table guidelines” we’re given prior to reading our first screenplay.

You’ll notice there is no mention of weak action verbs as you illustrated in your post but this one is so obvious that it is assumed we know that already.

I hope it is entertaining.

Cheers,

Name Withheld by Request

Read it and weep…

Incorrect format:
If the writer isn’t willing to take the time and effort to learn basic screenplay formatting, why should we take the time to read it when we get paid by the script? This includes incorrect fonts, incorrect slugs, centering the characters and dialogue, right-justified text, and character’s intro not capped. WE PASS.

Directing the script:
No camera angles. No songs. No soundtracks. No actors. WE PASS.

Screenplay too long:
Screenplays should be no longer than 130 pages and that is pushing it for a spec. WE PASS.

Screenplays too short:
When a screenplay is less than 110 pages, we immediately begin to worry if there’s going to be enough story in it to entertain and 99.99999999% of the time, there isn’t. WE PASS.

Notes to the Reader:
My own personal pet peeve. I hate them. I don’t think they’re cute. I don’t think they’re funny. When I read them, I either pass right away or dig in with both feet to find a reason to pass. Don’t tell me what I should know after having just read the scene. I should be able to figure it out from reading your action and description. Don’t tell me what a character is thinking. Don’t explain things to me that you should be explaining with your action, description, and dialogue. WE PASS.

Colorful covers:
We tend to keep skipping these scripts. Sometimes, if the screenwriter is a friend of a friend and we have to read it no matter what, we’ll go ahead and put a regular white cardstock or agency cover on it but most of the time, screenplays with bright colorful covers are rejected immediately. I should also mention the use of graphics or binding material other than brass brads. Don’t use them. WE PASS.

Boring first 10 pages:
This is actually one of the first things that get drummed into us. The inciting incident is nice during the first 10 pages but if for some reason, you don’t have your inciting incident within the first 10 pages, those first 10 pages better be phenomenal and provide conflict, action, tension, and/or suspense. WE PASS.

Structure:
You’d be surprised at how many scripts we have to read that have no discernable structure. That means setting up the Protagonist. Inciting Incident. A crisis. Setting up the Antagonist. Subplots. Several twists, a climax, and resolution. WE PASS.

Action and description that cannot be shot:
You can’t shoot a character that’s thinking or dreaming of something that’s happened to them in their past unless you’ve written that past in some action and description. Let me mention notes to the Reader again. WE PASS.

Dialogue:
Dialogue shouldn’t be flat or on the nose. Good dialogue uses subtext. Bad dialogue explains the plot. Bad dialogue tells us what happened instead of letting us see it happen. Talking heads and specifically, pages of talking heads. It’s not somebody else’s job to figure out what your characters should be doing while they carry on their conversations. It’s the writer’s job. There’s nothing worse than two characters standing together yapping for an entire page (or more) without something else also happening. Show don’t tell. WE PASS.

Pet peeves:
Every reader I know has his and her pet peeves and though there’s no way to know who will end up reading your script, it’s best to cover as many bases as possible. Some of us readers for our agency also provide freelance reading for studios and producers so all the above still applies.

So there you go. Defy the basics at your own peril… It’s cool. Your story will shine through, right?

Unk

Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2024|Under Tips

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128 Comments

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128 Responses to “We Pass”

Christian H. on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2033

It’s a good thing there aren’t a bunch of mechanical engineering “don’ts.”

Aaah, screenwriting. The most complex profession that has the most amateurs(read:we don’t need no stinking classes).

Wow, maybe I shouldn’t have done this condensed PhD program. I’m fucking losing it.
Susan P. on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2041

To anon..thank you for sharing your information. I was reminded of being handed student assignments that had detailed butterflies, bunnies and flowers on the cover – and more often than not the content being dismal. I guess I’m saying that many of the issues you raise are matters to avoid in virtually every level of education.

The one element that stood out was II being “nice” within first ten pages. In every screenwriting book I’ve read, the advice is page 10 to 15 – depending on script length. Whilst I absolutely concede (no reservation!) the importance of having vital and energetic writing in that first ten pages, I would have thought that an II around page 12 would be fine.

I don’t believe we disagree at all but I wanted to just raise the point.

I sometimes wonder if some writers worry about giving up their best ideas early in the script and so hold back. I aim to engage the reader from the first scene because that’s what I want when I go to the cinema.
turkman on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2059

This may be a stupid question but what kind of brass brads? I actually had a script sent back to me once because my brass brads were too long. There was even blood on the return envelope.

turkman
Connie on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2100

Thanks Unk. I guess this is what you mean when you say to perform your due diligence?
Rob on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2110

Long time lurker and professional screenwriter, Unk.

It never ceases to amaze me how others really do think their screenplay is so well written that it will magically float to the top of the heap.

I too used to be a reader and we handed off hundreds of specs to the shredding guy every month.

When a really really bad script would appear, you’d be surprised at how fast the author’s name was spread around town so we could all immediately hand that writer’s material to the shredding guy.

Suffice to say that if a script didn’t look right to us, we handed it off.

The only problem was that the writer really never knows why we passed on their script. Even if we read and actually provided coverage on the script, the coverage was never shared with the writer.

I miss the shredding guy. He was a funny.

Rob
Faisal on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2114

Interesting points raised here.

One that particularly bothers me is this one:
Screenplays too short:
When a screenplay is less than 110 pages, we immediately begin to worry if there’s going to be enough story in it to entertain and 99.99999999% of the time, there isn’t. WE PASS.

Since when did 110 become the acceptable length for a screenplay? I have seen brilliant screenplays between 95-105 pages, sometimes even lower.
Just when you think you have got it all, this comes up :S
FAISAL
Unk on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2120

Christian,

It’s good to write when you’re fucking losing it…

turkman,

Not a stupid question. Everybody I know wants to see screenplays bound with #5 ACCO brass brads. 1 1/4 inches in length.

So when you go to Staples or wherever, don’t buy their brand because they suck. They break. They cut. They’re CHEAP.

Always go with ACCO #5s. You can even use ACCO’s brass washers with them. Most people I know love the washers.

Connie,

Damn woman… What the hell are you up to these days? Hey… Didn’t you used to be a reader too?

Ah… Due diligence. I think the sense of entitlement mindset is slowly taking over the importance of performing due diligence.

Rob,

Ah… The secret database… LOL.

Faisal,

110 pages has increasingly been a favored page count… Used to be 120 but no more. Most of the time, a script gets rewritten and exceeds 120 pages so many producers prefer to start with less because they know they’ll end up with more.

Plus, my Reader buddy just said that when a script is less than 110 pages, the red flag pops up and they prepare themselves for a script that may not have enough story. Doesn’t mean it’s not okay to have less than 110 pages. Especially comedies.

Unk
Susan P. on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2138

Faisal, my ‘take’ on the 95-105 is that often, once a rigorous review takes place, that page length is dropped. This is the crux of the concern I believe.

Mind you, I have seen complex discussions re how some script applications can be used to extend or shorten scripts – sometimes by a surprising number of pages.

To my mind, ‘wangling’ via applications rather flags to me a potentially inadequate script. I use one application and hope it cuts it. :)

—-

Damn it’s hard to ‘translate’ US brad sizes to what we have here in metrics.
Unk on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2145

Susan,

Just go with ACCO #5… LOL.

One of the best and most natural ways to CHEAT page length without anyone being the wiser is to configure your screenwriting software to add 2 blank lines before writing your next master location slug.

This will normally — depending on how you write — add 3 to 6 extra pages of screenplay but it’s perfectly acceptable to take out one of those blank lines so that you’re only using one blank line before the new slug.

Either way works but if the 2 blank lines gives you 114 pages and the 1 blank line cuts it down to 110, guess what?

Unk
Steven on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2218

I am confounded on the format. I use Movie Magic Screenwriter and it formats the Dialogue in the center with the character above it. So this means that I should reformat the Character and the Dialogue on the right?
This was a very informative email you received and I, as well as most, appreciate the tips. I have written a suspense screenplay that is only 94 pages, if I include any more pages, it will surely be fluff writing and nothing more. I just figured that on the rewrite by the studio, they would change and/or add some things as they often/always do.
I was under the impression that shooting scripts should not exceed 120-130 pages. I guess I was wrong.
Susan P. on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2247

Steven,

Unk was referring to blank lines before SLUGS e.g. INT. UNK’S MIND – NIGHT (please see the humor in the example :)). Some people double space end of a scene and prior to those slugs; some single. Obviously across a whole script changing from single to double will add pages – the reverse being true also.
luzid on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2254

The 110-page rule? Ridiculous. Hell, the script for IN BRUGES is 94 pages — and we all know it’s no comedy.

I’ve heard from OTHER studio readers that 100 pages is not only a fine length, but actually considered a tight, professional number to attain.

Everything else, yeah. But that rule is nonsense.
Unk on Tuesday: 17 February 2009|2339

Steven,

If you have the same Movie Magic I have, then it’s not centering the character cue or dialogue. It may LOOK centered but in actuality, it’s formatting both according to actual margins.

Which is fine.

I’m pretty sure what my Buddy is talking about are writers that use a word processor and try to format their screenplay without actually formatting according to margin length. Probably trying to copy what THEY THINK THEY’RE SEEING from another script i.e., centering both character name AND dialogue down the center of the page.

As for the under 110 page rule… Again, not a deal-killer at all but because most scripts are SHIT, it can cause a reader to be prepared for not enough story. That’s ALL he’s saying.

Susan,

Exactly.

luzid,

Again, not a rule. A baseline if anything. Or as he says, a guideline that causes a reader to look a little closer to see IF there’s enough story.

Less than 110 pages and there might not be enough story. It’s simply SOMETHING to look for and the page count is the first alert to this. A rule that makes you look a little harder… Not a hard and fast rule that you must meet 110 pages.

What’s so hard to understand about that? LOL.

Anything more than 130 pages and you pretty much know elements will have to be cut.

Unk
lighthousekeeper on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0031

i work as a script consultant and also teach screenwriting courses, and i’ve never quite understood what the hell is going on with so many bad scripts. don’t people get feedback? don’t people rewrite?save everyone some time…get feedback, rewrite, more feedback, rinse, wash, repeat. sorry…thanks for letting me vent. :)
luzid on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0032

Unk,

What’s puzzling about the “rule” is how arbitrary it seems, especially in relation to hitting your turning points at 25/50/75 pages into the story.

Not that those are set in stone, but I’m hearing these days that the “Golden 100″-length script with the act breaks (and midpoint) landing on those pages is desirable. Logically, if the script is longer than 100 pages, your points will move from that nice tight symmetry.

I’m *not* contending that such a tight structure is essential to every script — but it sure did help me level up my game when I started structuring that way. Maybe it’s the mathematics, but 100 pages just feels right to me, and allows me to maximize my story.
Unk on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0045

luzid,

I understand exactly where you’re coming from and if your 100 pages are full of story, then you’re fine.

But having said that, it IS just as possible for your script to be put under a little more scrutiny at 100 pages.

I know I’ve personally read scripts hitting between 100 and 105 pages where much of it was overwritten which easily brought the page count down to less than 100.

I’m in the business and I’ve NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THE “Golden 100.” LOL.

In fact, that’s a new one on me.

Unk
terraling on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0049

Thanks very much sharing this Anon reader, even though it is all very sensible, nice to see it set out. The idea that there are secret rules (inconsistently applied) to ‘weed out the slush pile’ as one reader put it is hugely frustrating.

The only thing I would take exception to is under ‘directing the script’, I would have thought there are instances when a particular piece of music might be appropriate or even necessary and is the writer’s choice as much as the director’s. In one of my own works I also defined and used a custom transition because I felt it was an important way of moving between scenes in this specific instance, and I’m sure I got nailed for it because it was atypical rather than on merit.

One gripe about readers is them not paying attention while reading, leaving their email alerts on, phone calls whatever. I’ve had feedback with really dumb comments where it is evident that the script has been skimmed at the very best, missing points that have been clearly made.
Unk on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0052

terraling,

You’re right… Which is why I try to read everything we get.

Unk
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0132

terraling,

There may be cases where a particular scene may be difficult for the reader to understand without some use of camera style directions or say POV, HOWEVER, this said, in my opinion you should only use those as a last resort – and then perhaps seek advice from an experienced writer/reader. So many writers tend to way overdo these elements – and in some cases rely on them rather than writing WELL.

As to music, copyright is a principle issue. In your script you can simply state what TYPE or MOOD of music you would include without actually naming anything. In my current work I have the main character playing the piano but don’t name any tune at all – in fact, given my set up, it would be impossible to do that. LOL But it’s always best to avoid copyright red flags.
Hogwash on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0323

Hogwash that this kid works for a BIG agency. He is talking crap. No agency or reputable firm would employ this guy, or accept the rules he claims are standard. They are to professional for that.

He probably works for a company that advertises on craigslist that preys on vulnerable budding screenwriters.

I repeat. His delusional attitude and standards would never be accepted at any reputable Hollywood organization.
Eric on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0336

Questions-

Format-
Slugs- Any place that teaches how to write them? I’ve read scripts with all different sluglines, and it seems every website I go to has different advice. Between screenwriting.info, “teach yourself screenwriting” and my complete idiot’s guide to screenwriting, I can’t find definitive rules.

Length- I hate to disagree with one part of a great post, but again I’ve been aiming for 90-100 pages (which i went over of course) because that was what I read that I should aim for. And now I find I need to aim for 110. Frustrating.

Music- Tone or mood music is ok then? That’s what I’ve been assuming.

And a final thought on rules. To me, you need to know the rules before you can break them. Yes, In Bruges was 95 pages, but that dude is a genius, and has spent years writing plays before he wrote that. You need to know act structure, characters, etc. before you can decide where to break the rules.
sansicarus on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0400

Great post. Great blog. I read theatre scripts for a crust and come across many of these issues. I can’t stand notes to the reader and ignore them completely. If it’s not in the script, it’s not in the script.

A (possibly silly) question about brass brads – I’ve been using bulldog clips down in Oz. Is it two brass brads per script, in the standard ring binder position, or one up in the top corner?

Cheers.
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0422

Hogwash.. on what basis do you sweep anons statements away [with such disregard]? Any agency has ‘rules’ even if they are implicit – what ‘rules’ do YOU support?
Joshua James on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0653

I thought Snyder set the limit for comedies at 100 pages, but I could be wrong.

I have no disagreements with anything your reader wrote (and I would also add that my own writing has improved immensely once I started reading other people’s scripts, so it’s truly helpful) … I just have a couple comments.

I’ve been tasked a few times for “directing the action” via sub-headings … it gets frustrating, simply because it is proper format, obviously, but occasionally I think some folks have it as their personal pet peeve … it’s my pet peeve when people DON’T direct the eye with the script – LOL!

Subtext vs on-the-nose … this is tricky, my experience is that sometimes when a script is read fast (or read by someone who doesn’t understand how dialogue works, which goes back to the HOW IT PLAYS talk we had on your previous post), sub-text is often missed … and then when one incorporates notes, the end result is the dialogue ends up more on-the-nose than originally intended … (I should add, when one incorporate notes from people whom you have to take notes from) … so it’s a tricky, sometimes sticky situation. Not for me, of course – LOL! I ain’t complaining about anyone I’ve worked with … I’ve loved ‘em all!

But I have heard stories from others … heheheheheh.

One last note … on writing thoughts … it can be done, right? As long as one is careful not to abuse it, I’ve seen many pros do it well … for example:

EXT – BOATYARD – NIGHT

Unk steps off his luxury yacht. Stops. Looks to the right. Sees the

DEAD BODY

of an OLD MAN, face twisted in pain.

UNK

looks to the left. Sees a

GREAT DANE

sitting on its haunches. GUN in its mouth.

Unk looks at the body again.
Looks back at the Great Dane.
What the fuck?

The Great Dane wags its tail.

The “What the fuck?” moment can get flagged, but it’s a legit way of writing a scene.

MERYL runs down a dark street. Cops block the end. She turns back. More cops behind her.

What to do now?

She reaches for the fire escape ladder.

Whatta you think?
Christian H. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0844

Plus, my Reader buddy just said that when a script is less than 110 pages, the red flag pops up and they prepare themselves for a script that may not have enough story. Doesn’t mean it’s not okay to have less than 110 pages. Especially comedies.

Unk

Yeah. I find that comedies start to drag out longer than 95 pages unless it’s an action comedy.
I actually use genre to determine length with a 4 Act structure.

Comedy – 23 page acts
Thriller\Action – 25 page acts
Drama – 28 page acts
Horror – 24 page acts

Of course this is flexible. By using a 2 page sequence base you can be granular enough to “have enough story” though it does help to always use setup\buildup\payoff for character interaction.
emily blake on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|0906

It astounds me that anyone would not follow proper format. There’s so much ambiguity in screenwriting, so much to be confused about. But format is something you know you can get right. Why screw up the only certainty in the business?
Trevor on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1142

Joshua,

I think the type of directing the script that readers get pissed off with is when people use “CRANE UP”, “ZOOM IN ON”, “DOLLY RIGHT”, ect. From what I understand your way of directing the eye is perfectly acceptable.

Unk (or reader friend),

What’s the rule about naming music that’s in the public domain? I assume the issue is just with copyright? So if I have a particular piece by Bach, that should be OK, no?
Faisal on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1323

Unk,
I totally understand your point about the possibility that a shorter script might not have enough story. Most the time, that is the case too.

I am just worried that people don’t take this rule as a hard and fast one, and actually try to STUFF their scripts to inflate them to 110 pages, and actually screw up the story in the process.

Lastly, here are some of the scripts I own and are good and/or sold for high figures which prove my point:

Stay – 106 pages
Frozen River (Oscar nominated) – 108 pages
Doubt – 95 pages
The Nines (John August) – 100 pages
Panic Room – 104 pages
Donnie Darko – 99 pages
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1405

Trevor, In Oz – and this may be internationally – any music composed before 1955 and where the author died prior to that date is copyright free. But I regularly see people argue as to why they should not include contemporary music and of course that is problematic. I should think stating a Bach piece is fine but you could also just say “classical music” or “classical waltz” or similar.
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1449

Faisal.. this issue of pointing to individual scripts as exceptions to rules keeps arising and I guess one can only remind what has been said before.

OK, you are at your desk and a script from David Koepp lands in front of you. Heck, you are going to want to READ that script and to hell with the page length.

Conversely, a script lands in front of you from Toby Farnarckle IV – a complete unknown. You know ZILCH about Mister Farnarckle so you approach the reading in a slightly different way. You look at back page and see the length, you scan first page, you flick to page 10 and read (or whatever your process is).

New writers cannot expect the same largesse as accomplished writers. That’s just the way it is. Even using Black List examples is problematic – particularly for someone like myself who doesn’t live in the US.
BarbieReader on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1555

Some very funny comments here.

I too am a reader at an agency and from everything I’ve read so far, this is more or less the same guidelines I have to work within. Where I work, we have three levels of reading priority.

1) Sold and produced writers. These are our priority screenplays. These are the scripts that must be read yesterday.

2) Referred or recommended writers. Somebody with a reputation referred these writers to us and they submitted their spec.

3) Everyone else.

I usually read level 2 specs most of the time with the occasional level 1 spec tossed in because someone at the top is too busy to read it right now. Happens a lot on Friday!

I don’t even bother with the level 3 specs. We have unpaid interns reading these and doing the coverage so what does that tell you?

I’m 25 with a masters in English. Surprise, surprise, I write screenplays. 110 pages is the magic number where I work unless you have a comedy but when any script is less than 110 pages, we have to be prepared for the spec not to deliver and most of the time, they do not.

Great site! One of our interns turned me on to you.

BarbieReader
Ashley at Selling Your Screenplay on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1648

The items in his list fall into two categories – things you can easily spot without even reading the script and things that you can spot only if you read at least some of the script.

I point this out because I think that if the reader has to read the script in order to spot a problem you can overcome the problem with a great story (hard but possible). A good example is using an actual song title in your script – sure some folks won’t like that but you have to read the script to know the writer has done it, and assuming it’s not on the first few pages the reader has probably already decided if he likes the script or not so I doubt that has ever in-and-of-itself caused someone to pass on a script.

Things like using a bright red cover, screenplay length, some strange fasteners to hold the script together, and inproper formatting would broadcast to the reader that the writer is an amateur and the reader can tell these things before they’ve read word one – so there’s a good chance that they won’t even read word one.

Stuff like not using good action verbs, using the passive voice, or putting in notes to readers (which was a large part of the UnK’s last post) while important, a great story could overcome these issues because the reader has to actually read a few a bit to find them.

I’m certainly not advocating anyone do these things. I’ll do anything and everything I can to get my scripts read, optioned, sold and ultimately produced and I’ll be printing out this list and hanging it in my office so I can keep an eye on it from time to time.

I’m not sure making sure you have structure, making sure your dialogue is good, and making sure your first 10 pages rock with a good inciting incident really belongs on this list. Those aren’t pet peeves those are the pillars of screenwriting. A great story can’t overcome them because you can’t have a great story without them.
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1654

BarbieReader.. I have a problem with unpaid interns reading scripts although this depends on how much supervision they are given. Heaven help the first fifteen or so they read if their voice is the solo one in decision making. Now, let me say that I am not condemning interns out of hand HOWEVER, review experience counts for a lot and understanding both personal bias and the market counts also.

To my mind there is a dismissive undercurrent to have unpaid, inexperienced people – no matter how smart they are – reading a raft of scripts. The solution? Not sure there is another cost-free option but this scenario leaves me cold. Once again, I would hope there is regular intervention and guidance from experienced reviewers.

As to academic quals – I have both a Masters degree and a PhD. Does that make me a better writer as such? No. But I trust it allows me the capacity to intelligently respond to critical review. My quals SHOULD lead me to offer few technical writing flaws BUT so many people these days have ‘paid-for’ degrees that I see many basic grammar errors in the work of people who claim higher education.

That comment is certainly NOT a dig at you but one intended for the broader audience.
Anonymous Reader on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1749

I’m not the reader in Unk’s post but I’ve been a reader for 10 years. The list from Unk’s buddy would be considered lenient where I work.

From my experience, at least a third of the readers I’ve known never even read a script all the way through because we get paid on a per script basis. They will read just enough for them to write up the coverage. This is just what I know to be true from the readers I’ve known. That percentage could be higher or lower.

Interns always help trim down the pile of spec scripts from unsolicited writers. That’s just the way it is. Their training stems from trial and error. They read a script and write up the coverage and we (the more experienced we) tell them what they did right and wrong. It helps to have read the script they created the coverage on but that is often not a reality.

In fact, most interns are not hard enough on spec scripts from unsolicited writers. I personally like to give interns some scripts I’ve already covered to see what they come up with because I find it’s easier and faster to get them on board that way.

One big element we look for in unsolicited scripts is a fast read. That’s usually a good sign of things to come but not always.

The bad news is that 99% of the scripts I read do not read fast. Usually, by page three, I’m already out of the story flipping ahead. This is just the reality. During my tenure, I’ve only given eight unsolicited scripts a recommend. That’s how bad these scripts really are. Three of these scripts, you’ve probably seen and the rest unfortunately sit in development hell or were not even purchased.

Where I work, we’ve been mandated to only recommend a script that we perceive as “ready to go into production tomorrow.” Anything less gets a pass or a consider.

My personal pet peeve is dialogue. Especially dialogue where the characters keep stating the name of the character they’re speaking to. Another peeve is explanation or overwriting of dialogue. I just read one today where the character said: Unbelievable! Well that’s it, we’re all out of options! All the character needed to say was: Unbeliveable! The explanation of unbelievable just wasn’t necessary but I can’t tell you how much it happens.
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1808

Anonymous Reader.. I am cheered by this from you:

“I personally like to give interns some scripts I’ve already covered to see what they come up with because I find it’s easier and faster to get them on board that way.”

I reflect on my experience reviewing on another site where I completed a few and then took a break for some weeks and READ a lot of reviews and READ a lot of quality scripts as well as absorbing information from Unk et al. In the end I wound up Reviewer of the Month (peer assessment) but I knew those early first few I did had small flaws in them. Indeed, I wound up contacting the writers and discussing the same.

It’s a grand idea to have an intern commence on works you know and have analyzed yourself.

Dialogue is one of the most difficult elements of learning to write scripts – particularly when, like myself, you come from a prose background. I pare back ALL the time and, indeed, write in a generally clipped manner as much as possible.

It might sound odd but I find thinking like a man helps. Women are generally more ’speech rich’ than men are.
Unk on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1849

A little gas on the fire… A reader sent these links to me via email.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HOLLYWOOD SCRIPT READER

DAY TWO IN THE LIFE OF A HOLLYWOOD SCRIPT READER

Enjoy!

Unk
poyfekt on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1930

Here’s the list we have to go by:

CONCEPT AND PLOT

1. Imagine the trailer. Is the concept marketable?

2. Is the premise naturally intriguing – or just average?

3. Who is the target audience? Would your parents go to see it? Would your children?

4. Does your story deal with the most important events in the lives of your characters?

5. If the story is a fantasy-come-true, does it quickly turn into a nightmare-that-won’t-end?

6. Has a strong “need to know” hook been built into the story early on?

7. Is the concept original?

8. Is there a goal? Is there pacing? Does it build?

9. Begin with a punch – end with a flurry.

10. Is it funny, scary, or thrilling? All three?

11. What does the story have that the audience can’t get from real life?

12. What is at stake? Life and death situations are the most dramatic. Does the concept create the potential for the characters’ lives to be changed dramatically?

13. What are the obstacles? Is there a sufficient challenge for our heroes’ weaknesses?

14. What is the screenplay trying to say and is it worth trying to say it? In other words, does it have a theme?

15. Does the story transport the audience?

16. Is the screenplay predictable? There should be surprises and reversals within the major plot and also within individual scenes and subplots.

17. Once the parameters of the film’s reality are established, they must not be violated. Limitations call for interesting solutions.

18. Is there a decisive, inevitable ending that nonetheless turns out unexpectedly?

19. Is it believable? Is there suspension of disbelief?

20. Is there strong emotion – heart – at the crux of the story?

21. Does the second act drag?

TECHNICAL EXECUTION

22. Is it properly formatted?

23. Proper spelling and punctuation?

24. Is there a discernible structure?

25. Are all scenes needed?

26. Do screenplay descriptions direct the reader’s mind’s eye rather than the director’s camera?

27. Does the screenplay begin as far into the story as possible?

28. Does each scene begin as late a possible? Does each scene end as early as possible?

29. Visual, Aural, verbal – in that order. The expression of someone who has just been shot is best; the sound of the bullet slamming into him is second best; the person saying “I’ve been shot!” is the least effective.

30. What is the hook, the inciting incident? You have ten pages – read ten minutes – to grab the audience.

31. Does the screenplay allude to the essential points in the story two or even three times and hit the key point very hard?

32. Repetition of locale. It helps to establish the atmosphere of the film and allows audiences to “get comfortable.” Saves money during the production.

33. Repetition and echoes can be used to tag secondary characters. Dangerous technique to use with leads.

34. Not all scenes have to run to five pages of dialogue and/or action. In a good screenplay, there are many two-inch scenes. Sequences build pace.

35. Small details add credibility. Has the subject matter been thoroughly researched?

36. Every line in the script must either advance the plot, get a laugh, reveal a trait, or do a combination of two – or best case, all three at the same time.

37. No false plot points. No backtracking. Do not mislead the audience – they will feel cheated if important actions are taken based on information that has not been provided or turns out to be false.

38. Tell your story with pictures.

39. No more than 125 pages, no less than 110. The first impression will be of a script that “requires cutting” or “fleshing out.”

40. Don’t number the scenes of a spec script. MOREs and CONTINUEDs are optional.

CHARACTERS

41. Are the parts castable? Does the film have roles that stars will want to play?

42. Action and humor should emanate from the characters and not just be thrown in for the sake of a laugh. Comedy that violates the integrity of the characters or oversteps the reality-world of the film may get a laugh, but it will ultimately unravel the picture.

43. Are the characters people who care deeply about something – especially other characters?

44. Is there one scene where the emotional conflict of the main character comes to a crisis point? This is especially important and should relate to both their inner and outer conflict. In other words, the hero has an internal problem that is hidden from him or her. The second act brings it out – the third act, the hero must resolve both inner and outer conflicts.

45. A character’s entrance should be indicative of that character’s traits. First impression of a character is most important. Especially the protagonist.

46. Lead characters must be sympathetic – people we care about and want to root for.

47. What are the characters’ wants and needs? What is the lead character’s dramatic need? Needs should be strong, definite, and clearly communicated to the audience.

48. What does the audience want for the characters? It’s acceptable to be either for or against a particular character – the only unacceptable emotion is indifference.

49. Are the characters defined by their actions or by their dialogue? They should be defined by their actions.

50. Are the characters complex? Do they possess faults? Characters with doubts and faults are more believable and more interesting. Heroes who have done wrong and villains with noble motives are better than characters who are straight black and white.

51. Characters can be easily understood by audiences in terms of “what is their greatest fear?” Gittes, in Chinatown is afraid of being played for the fool. In Splash, the Tom Hanks character is afraid he can never fall in love. In Body Heat, Racine is afraid he’ll never make his big score.

52. Character traits should be independent of the character’s role. No cliches.

53. All character conflicts should be both internal and external. Characters should struggle with themselves as well as others.

54. Character “points of view” must be distinctive within an individual screenplay. Characters should not all think the same. Each character must have a definite point of view in order to act and not just react.

55. Distinguish characters by their speech patterns, vocabulary, sentence structure, revealed backgrou0nd, level of intelligence.

56. “Character Superior” sequences (where the character acts on information the audience does not have) usually don’t work for very long – the audience gets lost. On the other hand, when the audience is in a “superior” position – knowing something the characters do not – it almost always works as long as it is not predictable.

57. Does the writer run each character through as many emotions as possible? Love, hatred, laughter, despair, grief, and revenge?

58. Does the protagonist change in some way? Even if they are just more committed to their goal?

59. Unbelievable character actions imply an unrealistic world. Fully-developed characters convey the sense of a believable world.

60. Does the writer involve the protagonist through most of the story? Does the protagonist control the outcome of the story?
Joshua James on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|1959

The above list lifted nearly exactly from Terry Rossio “DEATH TO READERS” column … link here: http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp05.Death.to.Readers.html

Terry says he wrote that as a guideline for himself as a reader and gave it to the story editor. Later on, he went back for more work and there was a new story editor. She gave him HIS list as a guideline, not realizing he was the author of it.

I guess it’s really made it’s way around …
Captain Reader on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2004

Susan P. Any company that employed an idiot like this guy could only be making C and D grade movies.

Seriously, what a delusional imagination of power. His words: “ Colourful covers = WE PASS”.

That’s funny. So a reader’s role is to make sure that screenwriters don’t use a colourful cover. LOL. Stupid me. I thought a reader’s role was to find a great screenplay for their employer. But apparently it’s to rid the world of colourful covers.

MAYOR OF SCREEN CITY
Captain reader. There have
been reports of colourful covers
turning up all over the city.

Captain Reader
Don’t worry Mayor. I will fight for
truth and justice. They will all receive a PASS!

MAYOR OF SCREEN CITY
You are my Hero Captain Reader.

And Captain Reader returns to exercising his right hand… as usual.
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2126

Captain Reader.. I wonder if being ambidextrous would prevent carpal tunnel syndrome? :)
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2150

First of all… Bravo! Love it on here!

Second of all… I’m all for a good debate, but to all the fuckers who think they know their shit rocks. Why you gotta always disagree with someone(someone who knows his shit, and walks the walk) who states his opinion?!?!

He states his opinion on what we can do to better ourselves! Better our chances of success.

A wise man I know says this about running your own business, “The easiest thing we can do to be successfull, is look professional”. The easiest thing we can do in our scripts, is make it look professional!

People always have to argue over something that is pointless. It goes to show that they don’t KNOW shit. I’m not one to talk, cause I don’t know shit, but fuckin’ come on!!!

Alright Susan… I’m sure you got the itch to comment on my comment. Let’s hear it…
Susan P. on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2200

Ryan.. I didn’t spend time disputing the original poster as such so I presume your initial comments weren’t directed at me. This said, I don’t see blogs as static spaces where we all gather in joyful sycophantic chants. If Unk had a problem with responses he would be the first one to say so.
Luzid on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2208

Uh, Ryan? 110 pages versus 100 pages isn’t pointless. It goes to the heart of structure, at least for me — which is exactly why I expressed my concerns as I did.
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2208

Susan,

That wasn’t towards you at all. Just the others who have to argue over stupid shit. And, I’m all for a good debate, but people just gotta act like they know their stuff when in actuality they have just shown they don’t.

I just had my panties in a bunch.

The last part of my comment came off differently than I’d liked it too. I apologize. Can’t correct it now…
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2210

Damn! I’m just striking out! It wasn’t to you Luzid, either. LMAO!

That’s actually legit, in my opinion.

It’s those others who say you can have butterflies on your cover if you’d like… Or whatever those stupid things were. Just the idiotic stuff.

I give up!!!!
Luzid on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2214

LOL @ butterflies.

Look, I hear ya on that. I’m just sore because I feel like I got smacked down a little by Unk re the 100-Page Golden Rule thing (which, despite not yet being in the industry, I really have heard from people on the inside).

There’s just so many mixed messages, sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating.
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2220

Understandable.

All I know… We should make our shit look professional. I’m here for a career and a passion.

I want to be here for a very long time. I don’t want to be a one hit wonder like those cockroaches that plague this industry.

If we stick within the general guidlines… We’re one step ahead of the others who don’t. Anything to get that edge over the other cockroach.
Luzid on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2224

We’re on the same page, Ryan. (Is that page 100, or 110? LOL!)

The frustrating thing about this post is, I think that by writing tight 100-page specs I *am* being professional… and some pros and industry-connected people agree, while other people (like the reader that started all this discussion) say otherwise. Welcome to Hollywood and its idiosyncrasies, I guess!
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2230

Luzid,

From what I’ve seen and read. Don’t stress if it’s within 100-110. Unk just gave a great example of how to over come that if you need to add or subtract a few pages, without it being obvious.

If it were me… I’d focus on others than the page number. That shouldn’t be a problem once you’re in the story.
Luzid on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2235

Yeah, it’s more the mixed messages that frustrate me.
Ryan on Wednesday: 18 February 2009|2237

LOL. Don’t listen or pay attention to what others say. Just listen to Unk. He knows his shiz.
Seth on Thursday: 19 February 2009|0023

You march into McDonalds and ask for a Big Mac. A greasy weasel behind the counter brings back a patty that is raw on one side and burnt black on the other… he slaps it down onto a dirt encrusted counter. This is kinda shocking because McDonalds isn’t like that.
He then scoops a hand full of pineapple chunks from a rusty tin and makes a smiley face on the patty.
“That’ll be $200,000 please”

Now, would you feel obliged to have a taste of that pineapple smothered patty before you told him where to stick his creation? Or would you just walk out and try to find a real McDonalds?

Hollywood is buying burgers… they want them wrapped the way burger should be wrapped, to taste the way burgers should taste and to have all the right ingredients.

If you don’t want to make burgers, then stop screenwriting and do something else. Hollywood isn’t in the business of paying you to be an artist, they are in the burger business and if you’re in the burger business you need to present all the right ingredients in the right wrapper. This isn’t negotiable.
lighthousekeeper on Thursday: 19 February 2009|0132

Trevor,
I personally would avoid naming any particular piece of music. You don’t wanna loose your reader with “Bach pours from the other room”. If your reader doesn’t know the difference between Bach and Mozart, what does it really matter…you just risk losing them. go for “classical music”, i’d say.
Captain Reader on Thursday: 19 February 2009|0529

INT. CITY HALL – DAY

MAYOR OF SCREEN CITY
Captain Reader. You have sent me an invoice
for $500 for your coverage of 10 screenplays.

CAPTAIN READER
Yes Sir.

MAYOR OF SCREEN CITY
But you didn’t read any of them.
You gave them all a PASS because
they had red covers.

CAPTAIN READER
And your point is?

Captain Reader returns to exercising his right hand… as usual.
Tom on Thursday: 19 February 2009|0712

poyfekt,

That’s a great list. Thanks for sharing. I especially like #1, as I imagine the trailer to my film all the time. It helps me determine if there are enough “moments” in the script.
Adam (Taormina) on Thursday: 19 February 2009|0935

Does anyone else smell the hypocrisy of these “readers”? Are there rules, YES! Should you follow them….YES!

But by their criteria, you’d think that every script given a recommend and thus made into a film is a brilliant masterpiece. Come on, let’s not take each other so seriously.

Because of some of these rules, and the narrow thinkers who impose them, we get dumped on with a shitload of tripe like “Traitor”, “Righteous Kill”, “Eagle Eye” and other half baked crap. These steaming piles of dogshit not only made it past readers, they also made it past studio bosses and A list actors! They missed the forest for the trees, as it were.

I submit to you that Hollywood has lost it’s way. Our fixation on screenwriting minutiae has blinded us from the true goal: telling a compelling story. Don’t believe me? Go to blockbuster sometime and check out all these shit movies that made it past these ever vigilant readers and then some.

Rather than boning up on every screenwriting book in print, I think most readers need to start at a more sophomore level – “Your ass and a hole in the ground – a comparative study” would be a good place to start.
Christian H. on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1040

Fucking crap. Now I have to decide if I want to extend my comedy? Fuck.
Susan P. on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1333

Adam.. I admit, you amused me no end with this line

“Your ass and a hole in the ground – a comparative study”

LOL

I think there are always films we wonder about but you don’t think there is a quality difference – in the main – between scripts that go to cinema as opposed those that ONLY go to DVD?

I do know the situation in Oz is poor and becoming worse every day – principally because there is almost NO chance for new writers. What opportunities do exist are highly incestuous. Did we go to school together?

—

Captain my Captain Reader.. are you developing a red cover fixation? :)
Caitlin on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1458

Luzid, I have also been aiming for a tight 100 page script, and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your efforts toward establishing clarity on the ideal page length issue!
Susan P. on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1507

Unk…that Day In the Life Of….well… err..

I wasn’t impressed and indeed, one section didn’t make sense. She was in her apartment having received the script in her pj’s at 7pm and at 7.30 some guy is tapping her on the shoulder asking to put his headshot up on her wall?

But for someone who says she’s a reader (and implies at a higher level) she spends most of her days doing anything and everything else and just kind of slips reading in – in a pretty disinterested and offhand manner when she is generally tired and possibly boozed up. The name dropping didn’t do a thing for me. In fact, I found her writing not overly engaging. I gave up on the second ‘day’ and didn’t finish it.

Is that as good as it gets? Is there a constant expectation you roll from screenings, to parties, to other parties and so simply can’t make the READING a priority? Perhaps I’m naive about the set-up.

I don’t particularly like working 9 to 5 either and that’s why I freelance from home BUT, if you’ve got a job, you DO the job and not respond to it like it’s as meaningful as replacing the loo roll. :)
Luzid on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1528

Susan, color me unimpressed as well. Once I realized she wrote about as well as the scripts she passes on (plural words ARE NOT POSSESSIVE and don’t require commas — a rookie mistake I’m shocked to see in someone who wants to be a writer), I kinda stopped taking her seriously.

Besides, I know what it’s like to be a reader. I’ve done it. The whole thing smacked of, well, exaggeration (the delivery guy’s comment seemed very unlikely to have actually been said).
Susan P. on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1540

Luzid.. Yes, there was an ‘unreal’ quality to several of her dialogue sections. I’ve had some funny quips with couriers but NEVER from their side – always from me.
Luzid on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1711

Why thank you, Caitlin! Nice to see I’m not the only one crazy enough to think a tight, solid 100-pager is a goal worth shooting for. : )

I appreciate the appreciation!
Unk on Thursday: 19 February 2009|1936

Hogwash, (or Captain Reader since you’re both using the same email and IP address),

Not that it amounts to a hill of beans but the guy with the list in the post is somebody I just happen to know who does in fact work at a big agency — that’s how I met him.

I’ve had enough conversations with him to know that nobody there is of the opinion that the system is perfect. Far from it. Specs with bad covers and incorrect binding, fonts, and formatting just happen to be the easy way to start taking out the trash. Could there be a gem in there?

Certainly.

The problem is that many of these people have actually felt guilty at one time or another for tossing these specs out without a read… Every once in a while, they go ahead and break the cycle by reading one of these scripts that has an OBVIOUS problem that would usually get them tossed… And guess what?

They stink. They’re HOGWASH. LOL.

You said:

His delusional attitude and standards would never be accepted at any reputable Hollywood organization.

Hell of a statement… How in the fuck would you know? I think I’ve seen more delusional TYPES in Hollywood more than in any other community I’ve ever been associated with… Me included. LOL.

How else you gonna make it?

It’s actually NOT their job to find great screenplays… It’s only their job to read screenplays and write coverage on them.

Bottom line?

People are fucking people and are always going to be fucking people. The goings on you read about in the days in the life of a reader happen all the time. Like it or not.

Eric,

Slugs? Just pick up THE SCREENWRITER’S BIBLE to start with and make sure your screenwriting software is formatting them correctly. Some writers prefer one dash mark between the location and time of day — some writers prefer two dash marks. Either way is fine.

90 to 100 pages isn’t a bad number to shoot for. Nobody ever said a screenplay couldn’t be 90 to 100 pages. It’s just that the MAJORITY of specs from unsolicited writers that run under 110 pages tend to not deliver so in effect, readers tend to be prepared for that to happen.

Just PROVE THEM WRONG if your spec is under 110 pages.

Music… LOL. Now listen to this. I was told during my last rewrite to go ahead and add any songs or music that came to mind for any specific scenes. Mind you, this is a spec that’s already sold and in preproduction. I did exactly that and I still ended up having a “DISCUSSION” about it. LOL.

So no… You do NOT want to mention specific songs in your spec. A type of music is fine. Is it a deal-killer? Usually not unless you’ve named a hell of a lot of songs throughout. One or two… No problem.

As always, there are going to be scripts that break the cycle of what a reader is looking for. That’s always gonna happen because GOOD WRITING is GOOD WRITING and always floats to the surface. It may take awhile but it floats.

sansicarus,

Thanks!

Here in the U.S. of A, we punch 3 holes in our specs and insert ACCO #5 brass brad fasteners only in the top and bottom holes, leaving the center hole open. The covers are usually blank white cardstock covers. ACCO even has these cool little brass washers that fit on the back of the brad that keep things nice and tight. As I said before, everyone seems to like these. I’ve seen people STEAL them from specs they were tossing. LOL.

Susan,

Maybe you actually know Hogwash or Captain Reader… His email address says he’s from Oz. Sydney actually. Maybe Captain Reader reads scripts from down under.

Josh,

Snyder set the limit? LOL. I did not know that. Now I do.

LIMIT SET!

But seriously… Nobody said a script couldn’t be under 110 pages and if your script is in good shape (and it is, right?) then it should easily withstand the under 110 page scrutiny mentioned. That’s all that is and I would venture to say that if your script starts out really well and keeps on KEEPING ON THAT WAY, nobody is going to be thinking about it being under 110 pages.

And yes, thoughts can be written as long as it’s done correctly. Remember, everything you’re reading here is what’s done INCORRECTLY.

I think the wrong assumption to make is that most of the unsolicited specs are needles in the haystack waiting to be found.

They’re not.

Christian,

Agreed.

emily,

You’d be surprised at how much MORE you’d be astounded but you’re correct… Formatting is perhaps, the ONE thing that could be done without any red flags popping up. A little research and there you go.

Trevor,

Right… Copyright and cost.

Faisal,

People are going to do what they want to do. Trust that. Like I said, under 110 pages is not a deal-breaker. Nobody ever said that. If anything, I think I can surmise that the reason this was SAID is because think about it… Readers get paid to read screenplays. Usually per screenplay. So you’re a reader and you have to take say, 10 unsolicited specs home with you over the weekend… Which ones are you going to take all else being equal?

The ones with the less page count.

So now what happens over a long period of time? You discover that the majority of specs with less than 110 pages never reach their potential.

No different than walking in a pair of shoes that always give you blisters… After you wear them a few times, you stick a pad on the area you get the blisters on.

Susan,

Yup.

BarbieReader,

Thanks! I’ve heard of the priority levels before… I’ve heard them called PILES. LOL.

Ashley,

You said:

…I think that if the reader has to read the script in order to spot a problem you can overcome the problem with a great story (hard but possible).

Agreed.

Anonymous Reader,

I’ve heard the same thing time and time again… Everybody is looking for that fast read. I’ve heard this for YEARS and come to think of it, creating a fast read was the first major tweak and improvement I made to my spec writing. Thanks for sharing…

poyfekt,

Good list. Seen it more than a few times in my perusal of the business.

Josh,

I’ve definitely seen it there before…

Captain Reader/Hogwash,

You said:

So a reader’s role is to make sure that screenwriters don’t use a colourful cover. LOL. Stupid me. I thought a reader’s role was to find a great screenplay for their employer. But apparently it’s to rid the world of colourful covers.

I thought you were a reader since you are Captain Reader… LOL. Or, are you simply being facetious?

Either way, from the readers I’ve talked to in my life — over 10 — I’ve never actually heard one tell me that their job is to find a great screenplay for their employer. They always say their job is to read screenplays and write coverage and most of the time, it’s an exercise in futility. I’ve read HUNDREDS of pieces of coverage and after a while, many of them read the same… As in they have lifted some of the coverage from previous coverage and plugged it into some new coverage since it’s very likely a similar problem. Sure, everyone’s got their eye out for that amazing spec but if that was in fact their JOB, I suspect MORE amazing specs would be found.

Or maybe I’m just fucking delusional too.

Ryan,

No harm no foul. I don’t care what anyone writes… LOL. Take what you like — toss what you don’t.

I do find it interesting however, that this post garnered even more email than the previous post. From both Readers and Writers and both sides attacking the other.

You can always count on there being a problem when 99% of the shit you sift through is in fact SHIT. After a while — people being people — they aren’t going to be taking a lot of what they do as seriously as they did in the beginning.

It brings the visual of the simple digging of a hole to my mind… You know that if you dig down 50 feet, you MIGHT find a gold nugget. You MIGHT not. So you dig and you dig and you dig. After you’ve gone down 5 feet, you’re not as motivated as you were in the beginning but you continue to dig anyway… Probably not looking quite as hard through each shovel of dirt as you dig deeper but you continue to dig because that’s what you’re paid to do.

Luzid,

I think I explained this above but just for YOU, one more time. Less than 110 pages isn’t a deal-breaker especially for a comedy. The only thing that was said by the Reader was that in their experience, most of the scripts with page counts under 110, didn’t deliver enough story… Whatever that means. Could mean almost anything if you think about it. In my estimation, this would NOT be a reason to lengthen your page count. However, a simple flip through the pages of a less than 110 page script and I could tell you whether or not you need more whitespace. I know for a fact, that scripts that have more whitespace and still meet the 110 page rule are going to get read.

Take that however it works for you but don’t stress your page count if in fact, your story and script is solid.

But I must repeat… Never heard the phrase, GOLDEN 100. Never heard anyone say 100 pages were preferred over 110. I have heard many many many times however, that 110 pages is the new 120 pages. Again, take that for what it’s worth.

Seth,

Do you use Scrivener? LOL.

Adam,

I more or less agree with you which is why I try to read everything we get.

Unfortunately, the system works. Sure, a few needles get trashed along the way but since NOBODY is willing to read every script that comes in, they cut corners. Knowing that corners are indeed cut, I feel it only worth mentioning that one might want to perform a little cleanup prior to submission.

Because if YOU THINK there are hundreds of specs worthy of turning into a movie that get trashed by all these readers, THINK AGAIN. LOL.

Nope.

Some admittedly do have great stories or have the possibility of becoming great stories, screenplays, and movies. Unfortunately, not too many in the business that I know are looking for a spec that needs all this. They want one READY TO GO.

Christian,

I reiterate what I wrote to Faisal. Don’t sweat it IF it’s a solid story and screenplay.

Susan,

I know of worse stories that happen in the day in the life of… Much worse.

Whew. I’m done.

Unk
Adam (Taormina) on Thursday: 19 February 2009|2206

“Because if YOU THINK there are hundreds of specs worthy of turning into a movie that get trashed by all these readers, THINK AGAIN. LOL.”

Quite the opposite – I think 98% of the stuff out there is garbage. I think that of the 2% they pick, 1.5% of that is garbage, albeit with proper formatting and STRONG action sentences….GRR!

I think the remaining .5% is worthy of being made into a good or maybe great movie.

Yes, the system works, but isn’t perfect.
Seth on Friday: 20 February 2009|0113

(Unk – Scrivener, huh. You must be psychic LOL)

Personally I can’t imagine what working as a reader must be like. It must be pretty soul destroying to arrive every morning and know that you have to wade through a huge pile of bad writing and you’d have to be a saint not to find short-cuts.

What I keep thinking is I’m going to have to write an incredible first paragraph to get their attention. I mean my first ten pages are going to have to be stunning, just to persuade them to read on.

The readers don’t owe me a reading, I figure I have to earn it. It my responsibility to be discovered, not theirs to discover me.
Susan P. on Friday: 20 February 2009|0128

Seth..whilst I agree with the ending of your post, I find the first paragraph problematic. Does the same apply to a dentist, a doctor, an accountant, the person laying your cement driveway or tiling your kitchen? A reader is a professional job like any other – no excuses to cut corners as such and be precious (or to think oneself precious).
Seth on Friday: 20 February 2009|0333

Personally I have nothing but admiration for anyone who takes on reading spec scripts as a way of making a living. I sincerely hope that any professional readers who are watching this thread appreciates the sincere admiration of Seth and will take special care to read the next Seth script that comes across their desk. Seth thinks readers are awesome people, genuine heroes.
Captain Reader Hogwash on Friday: 20 February 2009|0340

Unk. Give us a bone. Does he work at one of the big agencies; for example CAA, ICM, WMA or ENDEAVOUR? I strongly doubt it.

While I actually agree with most of his points. (the logical ones) I don’t agree with his arrogant and unprofessional attitude and the hypricosy of it.

He expects all screenplays to be professional. But he is being unprofessional and dishonest to his employer, by not reading a script that he is getting paid to read in its entirety.

Double fucking standards. You professional. Me No.

If this guy passed a script that should have been a consider because the cover was blue, then he is a wanker and delusional. He has his hand on it too much. Simple!

That’s why I reason he can’t work at a BIG agency. They would never accept his crappy standard. A small agency he can bluff. But for how long…..
Susan P. on Friday: 20 February 2009|0349

“genuine heroes” Seth? LOL Oh dear. I regret, compared to military service personnel, CFA personnel (firefighters), emergency department doctors and nurses et al – readers would battle to be considered ‘heroes’ (heroines?) in my book. Still, I gather you hope to ingratiate yourself and I wish you the best.
Captain Reader Hogwash on Friday: 20 February 2009|0352

Unk. Give us a bone. Does he work at one of the big agencies; for example CAA, ICM, WMA or ENDEAVOUR? I strongly doubt it.

While I actually agree with most of his points. (the logical ones) I don’t agree with his arrogant and unprofessional attitude and the hypricosy of it.

He expects all screenplays to be professional. Yet he is being unprofessional and dishonest to his employer, by not reading a script that he is getting paid to read in its entirety.

Double fucking standards.

If this guy passed a script that should have been a consider because the cover was blue, then he is delusional, and he has his hand on it too much. Simple!
Susan P. on Friday: 20 February 2009|0446

Captain Reader Hogwash.. What readers/agencies do you know – or have experienced – who do NOT follow similar lines to the guest writer? I guess I should add – on the matter of the covers.

It seems eminently logical to me that in a highly competitive field with scores of scripts being forwarded, that (what we may conceive of) minor issues may be used to cull back numbers. In any submission manual I have seen, it has been made clear that you do not adorn with colored covers et al – against that, why is there an argument?

The reader has already said that the occasional exception is made, and on what grounds. Is it so difficult to simply adhere or abide to industry standards? Clearly if you send work with colored covers then you’ve not taken the trouble to read submission guidelines. To coin the vernacular – “tough”.
Captain Reader Hogwash on Friday: 20 February 2009|0550

Susan Peabrain. You are missing my point. Read what I wrote.

I will repeat it for your Peabrain.

He expects all screenplays to be professional. Yet he is being unprofessional and dishonest to his employer by not reading a script that he is getting paid to read in its entirety.

That’s the crux of my arguement.

I have nothing else to add to this topic nor the spare time to respond.
luzid on Friday: 20 February 2009|0555

Unk, I have to say – great post. It generated a lot of discussion, and most of it useful.

Kudos on taking the time to answer everyone, too.
Susan P. on Friday: 20 February 2009|0558

Captain..the moment you stooped to name calling you lost your argument because in doing that you showed you had none.
Seth on Friday: 20 February 2009|0624

Captain, I understand your frustrations. We all work hard at writing our screenplays and after months of slaving over a typewriter it seems only fair that the work we put in is shown some respect and consideration and yet we also know that this probably isn’t going to be the case.

Susan, I hear what you’re saying. We should expect the people who read our scripts to show a high degree of professionalism and at the same time it is our responsibility to submit according to their guidelines.
Christian H. on Friday: 20 February 2009|0917

UNK,
I was just venting. My head exploded a few months back. I think I could write an actual doctorate thesis on film making now so I’m happy at least.

I got good contest feedback recently even though I hate contests. SOmeone, I think it was Josh echoed my sentiments exactly when he mentioned how readers don’t try to understand what the writer was trying to say. I guess it’s subjectivity. I have a script that got coverage from 5 different pros and…wait for it…

NONE OF THEM WERE SLIGHTLY THE SAME.

That’s kind of disheartening but it also proves my theory that even if your movies suck there will be someone who will appreciate your suckiness. I believe it would help if you could submit a little synopsis in the front of the script. I mean just a genre, theme, maybe some general plot.

Anyway, I think that no one should really worry about exact specs other than formatting and line length(slug and dialog).

The key to screenwriting now is Google. I have found the texts that USC uses, that Tisch uses, not to mention about 5 pro writer blogs, clips of all the great films(Birth of a Nation, Irreversible, etc) and probably read a PhD worth of analysis and opinion. If you really want this you have to compete with college grads in BFA\MFA so you’d betterr know more about film making than screenwriting rules. Those are easy…I also found daily script, drews script o rama, simply scripts and oh yeah the ubiquitous screenwriter’s bible.

I think that’s another reason why the first ten mean so much. You can tell how much study a person did in that long. The reader may not love your script but they won’t hate you.
Unk on Friday: 20 February 2009|1959

Adam,

I agree with you. Studios simply do like taking chances unless of course they need the tax write off… LOL.

Again, this is why I go ahead and read everything we get just in case. Do I like the way the system works? Obviously not but how do you change it?

I think that’s why places like Zoetrope and TriggerStreet exist but even with sites like these, a lot of garbage has to be read to find something worth reading and in the end… How many of the best scripts from these sites actually get made?

I don’t know and I don’t know if I want to know.

I do think the internet COULD be used to find some great material… I just think a better way exists to utilize it.

Seth,

Agreed.

Susan,

Agreed but that’s one of the problems with the system. People. It’s no different than the millions of people cutting corners at their day job every day.

If it’s like most organizations that I’ve witnessed, 80% of the work is accomplished by 20% of the people.

Hmmm. Maybe I’m being too kind.

Captain Reader Hogwash,

Here’s the bone. You did in fact mention the agency that this guy works for. I just won’t say which one. But again, you are incorrect. The agency RELIES on the judgment of these readers to weed out the shit. The agency KNOWS that they routinely toss unsolicited scripts without reading them simply because of the red flags mentioned. Hell, they RELY on the readers to do exactly that. LOL.

Read what he wrote again… The list he gave me are in fact the guidelines given to all the readers. They didn’t make the list up. LOL. These are the guidelines THEY WERE GIVEN.

This is the REALITY… Now you know why it’s so difficult to break in ON AVERAGE. But you don’t have to believe it… LOL.

Christian,

Feel free to VENT here anytime…

Unk
Kristy on Friday: 20 February 2009|2139

Wow – I go on vacation for two weeks and all hell breaks loose. Damn, Unk!

Great list, but not anything I haven’t heard before. If you do the work and get to know the industry a little before you jump in, you’ll run across this list of guidelines time and again. They’re not indicative of this one agency.

Just out of curiosity, why do the overzealous on this site feel the need to resort to name-calling? Are we in the third grade that we can’t produce a logical argument and rebuttal that doesn’t include personally attacking those who disagree? I thought we were all adults here…my mistake.

Susan, you handle that much better than me. I commend you.
Seth on Friday: 20 February 2009|2239

Do you really want to know why people resort to name calling or are you just trying to shame the Captain into feeling unwelcome here? Just curious.
Unk on Friday: 20 February 2009|2355

All I know is that I am DELUSIONAL. Just like my reader buddy…

Unk
Captain Reader Hogwash on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0514

Well I suppose that’s why they get paid $50 bucks a pop. They are the bottom of the shit. You know the saying. You pay peanuts you get monkeys.

Readers are the only profession that actually brag about their dishonesty.

Ladies and Gentleman, that’s why sequels are made. As the other saying goes: Nobody ever got sacked buying Microsoft. It’s a easy choice for these studio executives to justify to their bosses a sequel rather than to try and find and make a story from an unknown scriptwriter.

The 80/20 will never get broken. 80% of ANYTHING is a wank and 20% have talent. This rule applies for every industry in the world. It cannot be debunked.

Good night and good luck. Even you Peabrain… I’m joking.

Sorry.

Pea is too big. Capsicum seed brain. (they’re really tiny)
Susan P. on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0546

So, they say, are some penises. Luck of the draw really. Ah indeed, mirth abounds.
Kristy on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0636

@ Seth – Neither. I’m just making a point. I’m not in a position to suggest that someone is unwelcome, it’s not my blog. I just think it’s a shame that as writers many of our own resort to this tactic rather than talk it out.
Unk on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0703

A couple of reader links:

CONFESSIONS OF A GENIUS SCRIPT READER

Ever Wondered What Hollywood Literary Agents Really Think?

Unk
Susan P. on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0721

This is an interesting comment explored in the first link of Unks’. This has crossed my mind before re motivational drive:

“…a reader will never recommend you since they’re frustrated writers themselves and don’t want anyone else to succeed.”
Seth on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0939

Hey, sorry to throw a curve ball into this mix, but doesn’t anyone here believe that people are capable of being fair, open hearted and generous?
I may be naive but I don’t believe that people deliberately set out to sabotage other people’s careers or that most people would suppress a script out of jealousy.
What I think is more likely is that people don’t rave about a script because if it turns out to be a lemon, that makes them look bad.
I can believe people act out of fear, but I just don’t live in a world where people are petty and mean for the sake of it and I guess if people believe that Hollywood is like that, then why do they want to go there? It sounds horrible.
Susan P. on Saturday: 21 February 2009|0948

Seth.. Without giving away a specific example, I do know of one process related to writing where people sit in judgment of others but through personal desire are tempted – and sometimes do – short shift (I hope you use the term in the US) the grading or marking of others ‘work’ [in the hope that this will assist THEM to climb].

I think this arises when any field is ultra competitive and there is a sense that one needs to be ruthless in order to achieve.

I think re readers that bias could be resolved – perhaps – IF readers themselves had a separate and distinct review process that led them to feel they had ample opportunity.

In saying this, I’m not suggesting all readers would short shift others – but I do think it happens. I would also think, as with any profession, that there are different ‘levels’ (if you will) of reader. Some will be particularly fine and instilled with conscience; others won’t be. After all, these folk are human like all of us.
Seth on Saturday: 21 February 2009|1040

I’m sure there is some truth to the idea that some people in Hollywood act in a ruthless manner to achieve success and what a miserable life that must be. I’ve seen “The Player” so it must be true! LOL

I also believe that there are people in Hollywood who are nice, kind, open hearted and who just want to help people make good movies (and money).

I think some people here may have taken the wrong message from the rules provided. They see it as evidence that the industry is full of weasels because they use guidelines many people feel are unfair and unreasonable. What I see is a guy who was prepared to disclose these guidelines so unknown writers can have a fair shot at getting our script through the door. I just can’t see what ruthless end is served by this act of generosity.
Unk on Saturday: 21 February 2009|1832

Seth,

You’re absolutely correct. Now he’s wondering if he should have shared at all… LOL. I keep telling him, “Hey, it’s the internet… Ain’t nothin’ but a thing.”

Being armed with as much knowledge as possible never hurts. If however, after being armed, you decide NOT to become dangerous, then you only have yourself to blame.

Unk
Seth on Sunday: 22 February 2009|0034

Well, pass on my sincere thanks anyway…
emily blake on Monday: 23 February 2009|0023

When I first started writing screenplays I never found the rule that your cover had to be white. I just saw that it shouldn’t have crazy fonts or pictures or crap all over it. So I went and bought powder blue card stock because it is a pretty color.

I still have tons of it and it seems silly to have to go buy white card stock when the blue is perfectly good. If it’s the difference between a pass and a consider I suppose I will do so, but I’ve always used the blue and never had anyone mention it. This is actually the first time I’m seeing that it should be white and only white.

Although I disagree with the captain’s delivery, I agree that it seems silly to toss a script because of the cover’s color since that has nothing to do with readability. Does the color of the cover truly make the difference between a pass and a consider?
darthpaul on Monday: 23 February 2009|0209

Great post. Love your armed and dangerous philosophy Unk. Added that to my list of kick-up-the-ass quotes.
I understand the frustration but name-calling is going a bit far, huh? Agree to disagree and move on. Life to live, scripts to write. Channel it there if you can.
Tom on Monday: 23 February 2009|0705

“Does the color of the cover truly make the difference between a pass and a consider?”

No, but it’s acceptable for readers to toss scripts with blue covers pages… and that’s all we really need to know.
Moviequill on Monday: 23 February 2009|0734

One can learn a lot just from reading the comments, good stuff.

I am currently reading for the opening rounds of a major contest and I have to say I know what a studio reader must feel like. Tons of shit out there. Simple mistakes.

Use a spellcheck people.
Use Google people.
Learn how a story works people.
Read an actual script to at least get the look of one down, people.
Find an exciting story with tension people.
Anne on Monday: 23 February 2009|0929

I used to work/read at CAA and Paramount and the only rule I’d really disagree with is the “110 pages is too short.” If it’s a comedy, 80-110 is the sweet spot. If you’re longer than 110, especially as a spec comedy, people start to roll their eyes.

Unk- I love your blog.

Everyone- Don’t give up. Don’t get bogged down with the “rules.” Don’t stop pushing your writing to everyone you meet. Fire in the belly. :)
Susan P. on Monday: 23 February 2009|1445

Moviequill..and – learn the difference between prose writing and script writing.
Luzid on Monday: 23 February 2009|1637

Moviequill — learn to use commas properly, people.

; )
Roger on Thursday: 26 February 2009|1147

I used to work as a reader for a few different production companies, and I agree with most of these points, but am surprised by a couple. First, the 110 page thing. If that’s what the current thinking at agencies is right now, I believe it, but I’ve never seen anyone pass on a script because of length, unless it was an especially egregious example (eg, 150 pages). The idea that a 110 page script will almost always be fuller and better than a 100 page script seems rather silly to me. It depends on the story. (It also depends largely on the formatting: if a script has a lot of short, rapid-fire snippets of dialogue, or big blocks of action, or if there’s a lot of short scenes, etc). For those writers fretting about it: don’t. Focus on making your script better.

Also odd is the complaint about structure. This may just be because the reader in question worked for an agency, which is one step earlier on the assembly line, so he’s bound to get crappier scripts. But in my experience at production companies, I hardly ever saw a script with poor structure. The writers had all clearly done their homework: read Syd Field or Robert McKee and taken a class or two. The inciting incidents were where they were supposed to be, the act breaks were in place, the characters grew and changed. The problem was almost never competency, the problem was INTEREST. Rare was it that I came across anything unique: an intriguing premise, an unexpected twist, a character I hadn’t seen 1000 times before. Nothing stood out. Everything read like an exercise from a screenwriting textbook.
Shane on Thursday: 26 February 2009|1255

So, if I write the next Magnolia, which is roughly 200 some pages, or the next Zodiac, which is right around the same, then I’m going to be rejected without a second thought? That’s weak.

Maybe I’ll just stick to writing a sequel to The Three, by Donald Kaufman. Voiceover, Deus ex machina, car chases and guns!
Anne on Thursday: 26 February 2009|1720

Shane, The Three is VERY psychologically taut. :)
Shane on Friday: 27 February 2009|0729

My mother is helping me write it. She’s great with structure.
Aaron on Friday: 27 February 2009|0832

Shane,

If you’re P.T. Anderson and have an oscar nominated screenplay already under your belt you could probably get away with a script of Magnolia’s length.

Also, I’m fairly certain I’ve read an interview with Vanderbilt wherein he explained how the first draft of Zodiac was under 120 pages and that it was Fincher who told him to make it as long as he needed to.

What you should realize is that PT Anderson’s first script is under 100 pages and I would imagine the script Vanderbilt sold while in film school wasn’t longer than 120 pgs.

I would add, if your script is as good as Magnolia or Zodiac then it won’t matter…
Michael on Saturday: 28 February 2009|0206

Very educational blog! Including the posted agency “we pass” rules and all the cross talk it generated. Thank you all!

If I may ask a relatively newbie question about intros. Suppose I need to summarize 6 yrs of lives of main characters right before the main story starts. I was thinking I could spend 2 or 3 minutes (is more ok? say 5?) with sequential snippets of their lives (photo stills and video clips) progressing to “today”, all while the credits are shown over the “action” (unobtrusively). I’ve seen it done with several (many) films. It establishes the backstory and dives into the immediate “after” with the real first scene.

My question is how to write such intro in the script? I’m guilty of not yet reading any bibles or recommended texts, so far I’ve spent tons of my time reading various things on internet. Would the said bible and texts teach how to write such intro correctly? Can someone recommend a reading that would help with that? Or perhaps explain it on this blog?

What about you readers out there, what do you say about a script that starts with such intro? Any guidelines/rules from your perspective?

Thanks much to all.
Michael
Susan P. on Saturday: 28 February 2009|1847

Michael, I think you are best to grab The Screenwriter’s Bible and look to format of elements like a montage or series of shots BUT, why do it? WHY show all that back story? Is it to be arty? Does the material directly affect the story you’re going to tell? Are you simply wanting to ‘fill the audience in’?

Everything put on paper for a script (or indeed any creative work) needs to have a specific point – and it needs to be efficient. COULD your script do without what you suggest and be just as effective?

IF backstory of some sort is super important to understand what is happening NOW, then so be it. But if you are simply filling in stray events – I consider there is little point.

So, for example, a woman who is now a noted and accomplished disabled athlete had a car accident ten years ago. In this example you could consider starting your script with that accident. Or, her not disabled, accident, struggle – and now. (Tho that in itself is telling a story :))

But would you want to start it with her graduating high school and going to her prom and having her 21st birthday? Probably not if these life elements aren’t key to the core story you want to tell.
Michael on Sunday: 1 March 2009|0354

Hi Susan,
Ok, sounds like I can’t avoid reading the Bible, will do so asap.

The backstory is necessary to establish the basic relationship between some of the characters, it will help in understanding their interaction later in the story. Of course there are other ways to do that. One is the dreaded flashback, but I won’t do it because of so much negativity about it. I can make the intro as part of the main story, at the beginning, but that will kill the first 10 pages (or more) and thus will kill the script. I can also weave it into the story, about 1/4 way or so into it but I think that would be distracting from the main story flow, hmm, I’ll have to think about doing that correctly.

Thanks for your help.
Trevor on Sunday: 1 March 2009|1031

I didn’t want to take part in the switch of topic , but I have to say this. Michael, there’s nothing wrong with flashbacks if they are the best way to tell your story. Somewhere along the line people became convinced that it was a no-no, but really you can structure your time-line in any way that complements the story. The issue was people started relying too much on flashbacks when they were unnecessary. I would, however, stay away from gigantic montages (especially with still pictures) at the beginning of the story. That’s lazy writing. Let the backstory trickle out during your script and you may not even need flashbacks.
Michael on Sunday: 1 March 2009|1504

Thanks Trevor, you are probably right, a single relatively short (and well done) flashback shouldn’t subtract from the story. I think I’ll write it both ways and see how it reads and what others think. I know how to add flashbacks to the script, I just need to learn how to write the intro (the tech details). Hopefully the Bible will be enough.
thanks
Stew on Monday: 2 March 2009|1340

I noticed one of the “no no’s” (directing the script– no camera angles, no songs, etc) and was wondering about exceptions to that rule. I just finished another script and actually used part of the lyrics of a popular motown song as one character’s bit of dialogue. The melody of this same song is later played by another character and has a direct correlation to the scene and the way in which the other character who hears it reacts. Is that considered a red flag, too or can exceptions like that be overlooked? Apologies if my question was a bit confusing…
Stew on Monday: 2 March 2009|1351

One other question relating to proper formatting–I’ve own a pile of screenplays, from the Godfather to Forrest Gump to African Queen, that all appear slightly different or seem to stray from the strict standards that are outlined here and in other popular screenwriting “how-to” books. I’ve used Celtx and Final Draft and have inevitably made some minor formatting mistakes while writing. Is there a site or any place one can send their script to be re-checked or even re-typed in this all important correct format before shopping it around? I’d rather get going on my next idea/script than bogged down by these iron clad rules. Seems like it would be better left to a secretary or someone who’s an expert at obeying these formatting guidelines but lacks a creative flair.
Susan P. on Monday: 2 March 2009|1559

Stew.. I think if you click on Anne’s name (poster) you’ll find they offer a relevant ’service’. Take a look.

Your music issue comes down to the same old copyright beast. You are implying your script is dependent on paying for copyright for that particular song. That may be fine BUT that does tend to be a red flag. Solutions to this were discussed earlier in this topic. :)
Stew on Monday: 2 March 2009|1810

Thanks for the response, Susan. I actually stumbled upon Anne’s “relative service” shortly after posting my question here but certainly appreciate your advice. I also understand about the copyright issues with regard to songs. Push comes to shove, I could always re-write those areas and skirt the issue. Guess I missed the earlier discussion so thanks for calling that to my attention as well. :)
Unk on Monday: 2 March 2009|2002

Shane,

Yup. If you send it in as a spec, it would be difficult to get it read once they heft and leaf through it…

Of course, once you’ve sold — have a name so to speak, you can do just about anything you want and somebody is definitely going to read it.

Weak or not — that’s just how it IS.

Michael,

You could easily do what you’re saying if you feel that’s the best way to do it. Though the name of the movie(s) escape me right now, I’ve definitely seen it done before.

Sounds like it would be a pretty long scene however. Two or three pages of that would make ME stop reading.

One wouldn’t. Maybe even one and a half… That’s an entire minute to a minute and a half of showing the photos and videos.

If you write it as a MONTAGE, it should relay your theme and provoke emotion from us so CHOOSE your video and photos WELL. If you do it as a simple SERIES OF SHOTS, then you’re just compressing time and you don’t have to be as choosy but it wouldn’t hurt. LOL.

You can read about both of the above from a reply I made on the forum earlier today:

What’s Your Problem?

Stew,

A few lyrics as dialogue isn’t going to keep your script from getting read because they’d have to at least read that far to know you even did it. LOL. Now if they like the script, KEEPING them in could be another story.

To type your screenplays with proper format, you might look at some of the ads in the magazines or perform a search on Google:

screenplay typist

Unk
Michael on Monday: 2 March 2009|2152

Unk, thanks very much for the response and for the examples you give in that other link, helps a lot. It will be under a minute, it will be a montage of scenes (not static photo shots) that will show some tragedy that leads to “today”.
thanks
Michael
Mr A on Thursday: 5 March 2009|1133

I don’t feel this is an intelligent question, but for some reason my brain is not working today.

Regarding-
Directing the script:
No camera angles. No songs. No soundtracks. No actors. WE PASS.

One would Pass if it has these or doesn’t have these? I assume if it has, considering DP and Director would decide angles, etc.
Susan P. on Friday: 6 March 2009|0344

Mr A. IF those elements are included, yes, the reader would Pass. :)
Stew on Friday: 6 March 2009|0753

Thank you, Unk, for responding to my post. Your site is truly refreshing and a great platform for fellow screenwriters to ask questions and discuss issues of concern.
One thing that puzzles me lately is the apparent lack of really good scripts/films being made. I’m wondering if some of these ‘readers’ are accidentally passing on scripts that may not be perfectly formatted (or have broken a few of the rules mentioned here), but whose content was potentially more compelling than those that obeyed these commandments and were given the green light. It’s like giving a kid an “A” for handing in a perfectly correct paper with regard to grammar and proper punctuation that, at the same time, lacked any real substance or originality. These days, there’s way too many remakes being produced, and so few truly captivating original films that I can find at my local video store or redbox. I did enjoy quite a few of this year’s academy award nominees but, aside from that, I’m continually disappointed by what’s being produced and marketed lately. Do we really need a new production of Friday the 13th or Last House on the Left? Look how pathetic the remake of Hitchcock’s Psycho was! What’s next– another attempt at The Godfather series?
Just wondering who’s picking/hiring these readers and how they can hold on to their jobs after choosing such lame scripts. I think if I met any, I’d PASS on the majority of them. No disrespect intended…
Mr A on Friday: 6 March 2009|0923

Susan, thanks! I am no stranger to film, but most of the directors I’ve worked with wrote their own screenplays.
It was an easy connection to make, my mind was too clouded yesterday.
Thanks again.
Susan P. on Friday: 6 March 2009|1731

Mr A – it sounds like you are used to see shooting scripts where, of course, camera directions and so on exist – and are intended to.

Sometimes we newcomers can tend to confuse spec expectation with shooting scripts which is why I guess readers, such as Unk’s guest, try and underscore these basic issues so often. :)
Unk on Friday: 6 March 2009|1819

Mr. A,

As Susan said… The majority of the time when a reader reads these things in the script, they rarely finish reading unless it’s one hell of a story.

Stew,

That’s actually why I read everything that comes across our desks… I’m not a reader but having come from a spec background and still writing specs, I too am aware of the READER… LOL.

Highly aware.

You pose a good question but the reality is that there are simply TOO MANY SCRIPTS coming across everyone’s desk and in my humble opinion, not ENOUGH readers see their job as FINDING a great spec for their boss. In reality, many readers are given an agenda… To pass or recommend a spec. I’ve heard of many specs that were NOT well written but the readers were told to give it a recommend. Happens all the time.

But the reality REALLY is that most of these scripts simply do not pass muster. They’re crap. Please make note that I’m talking specs from unknown screenwriters.

The biggest problem from just what I have seen with my own eyes is derivation and cliché. In other words, we’ve already seen it and it wasn’t that great the first time we saw it so why would we want to see it again?

I am certain that a few great specs get passed over or not even read which is why the spec screenwriter needs to keep submitting assuming his or her spec is written at the professional level.

If not… Whew. You might actually be shooting your own foot because if your script is fairly bad, your name can often get passed around and if it does, then more than likely, the pass you receive simply means it wasn’t even read by anyone because they already know about you.

On top of that… The reason the studios keep making remakes and sequels is because of the built-in fan base. As appalling as it might be, their little model of movie making works.

But my feeling on that is that it works more because of the current ticket-buying demographic who, let’s face facts… Are tantamount to Pavlov’s dogs.

Unk
Mr A on Friday: 6 March 2009|1841

Susan,

You’re right in most of the scripts I’ve read. There has been the occasion to read indie scripts where the director was also the writer, so he was lucky to be afforded such pleasures.

Unk,

Understood. I’ll keep my angles and shots out for now.

To both, thanks! Much appreciated.
leBeau on Sunday: 22 March 2009|0635

I have yet to see a spec that got produced and didnt break some of these rules. These aren’t rules but things that stand out if the whole script is boring and bad. You cant use these rules categorically.
Moviequill on Saturday: 28 March 2009|0721

Another wonderful list that should be printed out and taped to the monitor
Eric M on Thursday: 2 April 2009|1242

Yes. Should be required reading for anyone thinking about writing a screenplay.
km on Monday: 13 April 2009|1616

I cannot believe how cut throat and shallow development departments are, granted I understand the work load and willingness to cheat for money, but man to simply piss on other peoples hard work they may have spent years making is just so unbelievably sadistic.

I think one of the major problems may be the bitterness of readers, I mean to an extent. In all honesty is a reader going to get more money if he/she finds that one script that just blows them away? No. So what is keeping them from just shit canning all the scripts and making up gibberish coverage? Or even out of jealousy. It may not be the case all the time but between this, Will Akers jib-jab, and the probability of writers handing over their scripts to the wrong type of development company, why not just make your own goddamn movie and deal with the distribution and financing?
I mean 99% of all the good scripts I’ve read are written in collaboration between a director and a writer, almost none of them follow the ‘formulas & structure’ I read about to the T.
Almost all directors (good directors anyhow) know the 1 minute per page is bullshit, a 160 page script can be 90-98 minutes long, and a 50 page script can be 2 hours. Perfect example of this is The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, the Mexican standoff action is 3 lines long, that’s a 15minutes fucking sequence.

INT. DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT READING ROOM – DAY
A reader, JOHN, small, frail, white skin, blue eyes and unshaven holds his coffee cup with his dirty fingernails with his left hand, in the right hand is a script.

John’s intern, GARY, enters the room with the coffee kettle.

GARY
How’s your coffee John?

A man kicks down the door wearing nothing but a jockstrap on his head welding a shotgun — he shoots them both in the fucking head.

THE END.

There, a ‘who done it’, little coverage, 6 8ths of a page, all the action on the first page, keeps your attention, we’ll get Michael Bay to direct it, he’ll change the intern to some sort of CGI alien that speaks like Morgan Freeman — $500mil.

BAM! HOLLYWOOD.
ronjlilek on Thursday: 16 July 2009|0715

Unk-
This is GREAT stuff. Thanks.

Others-
Unk is giving us insights into the realities of the industry. It ain’t always pretty; life ain’t fair; read and learn.
mizdaice on Wednesday: 22 July 2009|1642

Unk et al:

Tip o’ the hat to all! Great stuff and lots of it too.

A superb site.
mike on Saturday: 10 October 2009|0108

I also read for a small nothing of a company. I managed to go through over 200 scripts from new writers trying to break in. 195 of them were just plain bad, of the 195, at least 100 were terrible, unreadable beyond 10 pages. of the 200, I passed on 195, over one hundred of them I never read past 10 pages, 30 of them lost me by page 4 and I read about 45 of them in their entirity. I don’t feel ashamed about any of the passes and if a red flag appeared, then I looked more diligently for flaws in the script and usually found them. I have read for writers, for free, and have recieved some really bad emails from writers that felt I was off my rocker, and wanted to know how I could judge a script without reading the whole thing. I never did tell them that I couldn;t read the whole thing because it was almost painful to read such garbage. Anon is right on, and so is Unk.

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