There are many script coverage buyer’s guides but I’ve never wanted to do one, because I didn’t want to be part of the noise and bullshit that so many other script coverage services are churning out. But man, after seeing SO MANY “Top 5 Script Coverage Services” articles which are just flat-out stupid wrong and self-dealing, I said to myself, “Self, let’s write a script coverage buyer’s guide that cuts through the crap, once and for all.
Blacklist score has become the holy grail for many aspiring screenwriters. But does it really matter? I mean, really? Do any screenplay ratings or scores matter? Dive in and get my short answer, my medium answer, and my long answer. Or don’t. That’s cool too.
AI script coverage (that is, script coverage generated by AI or “artificial intelligence”) is starting to take hold of the screenwriting space, and it doesn’t bode well for screenwriters looking for honest, critical feedback on their screenplays. When I started this script coverage company in 1999, AI was firmly in … Read more
“Is script coverage necessary?” I’ve been asked this question hundreds of times in my long, long career as a script reader and script consultant. When I first started out, as an intern at a talent and literary agency, and was asked to read scripts and write coverage, I even asked … Read more
How do I write a screenplay logline? What is a screenplay logline supposed to do, really? Wikipedia’s illustrious hive mind defines a screenplay logline like so: A screenplay logline is a brief (usually one-sentence) summary …that states the central conflict of the story, often providing both a synopsis of the … Read more
A writer in my class the other day asked me “What are the three basic things I should know about writing script coverage?” The short answer is: avoid anger, see the big picture, and be as objective as possible. The long answer is: there are a lot more than three … Read more
“Screenwriting guru.” Ick. If those two words don’t make you nauseous, you’re either not a screenwriter or you’ve sniffed too much glue. Over the two decades of running my script coverage service, I’ve seen a lot of self-appointed screenwriting experts come and go, and it hasn’t always been pretty. At Screenplay … Read more
The difference between mediocre screenwriting and solid screenwriting often comes down to the screenwriter knowing the difference between what’s working in her script and what’s not. Beyond the various euphemisms for cutting your favorite moments (e.g. “Killing your darlings, ” or its less popular counterpart, “Drowning your puppies/kittens”), there comes … Read more
Script consultants are miffed. Some of them, at least. Because script coverage exists. And because screenwriters not only have a plethora of free feedback options (writers groups, online forums, etc.), they also have paid script coverage services like mine as a low-cost alternative to high-priced script consultant services. So many … Read more
Are script coverage services worth it? Paid script coverage, that is? Commonly, when screenwriters need notes, they ask their peers, their fellow writers, or their writers groups. But what about writers who don’t have a lot of access to any of those resources? That’s where paid script coverage services come … Read more
Script coverage for Boogie Nights, which I recently found on the interwebs, thanks to a sleuthy Redditor, teaches us screenwriters and script readers some key lessons that we need to keep in mind when considering script coverage for own screenplays: Lesson 1: script coverage is extremely subjective! Every reader has their … Read more
Not long ago the question of whether or not to upload your screenplay to an online service like Inktip or Blacklist, or a forum, paid or otherwise, was a decision that no screenwriter had to make. There simply was no point to do so, other than for us to share … Read more
Writing a brief synopsis for a screenplay is the act of distilling the script’s story down to its essence while maintaining absolute brevity. You may recall that Polonius told his king, amongst other things, that brevity is the soul of wit. What he failed to include, perhaps due to his … Read more
In the last century, in the year 1994, I worked at a boutique talent and literary agency in Beverly Hills called Media Artists Group. For some perspective, Dean Martin and Bob Hope were still alive, Married with Children was still on the air, and The Simpsons was only on it’s fifth season. Another … Read more
Have you ever considered giving yourself script coverage? Have you ever considered reading your own script and providing script coverage for it? Lo, and yea, and verily, the benefits can be massive, not just for the script itself, but for a screenwriter’s long-term ability to distance herself from her own work.
Sometimes, we script readers get lucky. That is, when we dig into a screenplay to give script notes or provide script coverage, sometimes we know right away that the script we’re reading is gonna be a painful read.
Most times, that takes us a few pages. But sometimes, right off the bat, we get some really great clues that let us know “Hey, this screenwriter isn’t professional.”
Your script has a lot of working parts — character, dialogue, conflict, action, theme, beats, acts… It’s a heady brew of elements. And that heady brew boils down into an awful lot of specific criteria that anyone reading your script will judge it by, whether you’ve sent it in to a script contest, or a script coverage company, or an agent, or studio, or a name actor.
Sitting down to do your screenplay rewrite? Awesome! Do you have some notes to go on? No? Alas, script notes are valuable, right? Getting anybody to read your spec script is often a bit of a challenge, but trying to get script notes on it can be twice as hard. Folks … Read more
Even stupid script notes are great for screenwriters. There. I said it. When a screenwriter asks for script notes from a script coverage company or a screenwriting group, that screenwriter assumes she’ll be receiving good notes on her screenplay, but even the bad ones can be good. And by good … Read more
Script coverage and script notes are two different beasts , but are really not all that far apart. Here are the primary differences: Script notes = MRI. Script coverage = checkup In a nutshell, script coverage is 2-4 pages of synopsis, comments, logline, and header information. It’s a quick doctor … Read more
Telling a screenwriter that his script needs work isn’t easy. There are three immutable laws that govern screenwriting writ large: 1) Everybody has a script 2) Everybody is a critic 3) Some screenwriters aren’t quite good at handling honest feedback As screenwriters, we’ve all done “friend reads,” right? Me, despite … Read more
They say a company is never supposed to publish the bad things people say about them. Well, they may be right, but some of these are just too hard to resist posting. We’ve been reading scripts and providing script coverage at Screenplay Readers since 1999, and have had a ton of awesome … Read more
A great script reader requires five elemental traits: A Script Reader Must Have The Eyes and Ears of a Filmmaker First and foremost, the great script reader must be highly adept in the language of cinema. And not only on the written page, but in all aspects of production, post-production, … Read more
It’s the age-old question every screenwriter asks herself: “To cover my script, or not to cover my script?” Well, not really, but it’s still a valid question. Does screenplay coverage help a screenwriter to improve her script? Like any notes from anyone, free or paid, it all depends on who’s … Read more
How you react to critical feedback on your script defines you as a screenwriter. It’s that simple. To be fair, there is such a thing as good critical feedback and such a thing as bad critical feedback, but a smart screenwriter will be ready to use either variety of feedback … Read more
Has your screenplay ever received a RECOMMEND when getting script coverage? As a script analyst running my own script coverage company, Screenplay Readers, I’m constantly bombarded with questions from screenwriters and producers, but perhaps no question is asked more than: “What do I have to do to get my script rated … Read more
In the late 1990s, I worked for legendary B-film maverick Roger Corman, who made Bucket of Blood and the original Little Shop of Horrors, and whose film company gave some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers their first shot at directing – Ron Howard, James Cameron, Joe Dante, Martin Scorsese – the … Read more
A screenwriting critique – It can be fun to do one, but it’s not always fun when it’s your script that’s being critiqued. If you’ve ever received script notes on one of your screenplays, you know how frustrating it can be if the reader who read the script just flat-out didn’t like it, and/or gave … Read more
My company Screenplay Readers has been reading scripts and providing script coverage since 1999, and we’ve run across all types of script readers who have been a part of our team, or who have applied to be part of our team, but didn’t make the cut. Here’s a list of … Read more
So you’ve gone to all the trouble of writing a script, which you happen to think is the greatest little romantic comedy since they invented Romantic Comedies in 2018. And you’ve gone to all the trouble of getting feedback on that script from friends, writers groups, and even paid for … Read more
