Hey everyone.

I've been lurking here for a few years. I rarely log in so I don't have much presence on the forum, but I always toss my latest work on here once I finish and occasionally do some script swaps with people.

The last 6 scripts I've written have been done live on my twitch, which is twitch.tv/majinbuu1831

With intros out of the way, I just wanted to share that I've also loaded my work onto Amazon Studios, and my drama pilot has been at the evaluating stage for over 4 months now.

Submitted it in the beginning of December, and I'm still in phase 3.

At this point I think it's been in evaluating longer than any other script has before, especially since they only recently did away with the 45 day guaranteed response time.

I hope they pick it up! (OBVIOUSLY)

Give it a read if you like.

It's adapted from a novel I self-published through Amazon.

https://studios.amazon.com/projects/135950

By whatever metrics they use, it's managed to hit the top unproduced drama in their popularity search.

https://studios.amazon.com/series?series_type=drama&sort=site_activity

And they do say that public feedback helps make a difference in whether they decide to move forward with a project. So if you take a look and happen to read it, please hook me up with an honest star review on AS. I'd definitely appreciate it!

Dead Star

a 1 hour serialized Fantasy Drama

Logline:

Facing war between two medieval Kingdoms a young lord and a mysterious stranger with God-like strength must oversee a desperate peace summit, while far to the North, a man stalked by wolves is driven to insanity as he confronts a danger which threatens to destroy the world.

Game of Thrones meets The Terminator with a focus on character like Lost. Dead Star takes place in the medieval ruins of a collapsed space-faring civilization. The proposed first season is an adaptation of my published fantasy novel, "Dead Star: Frozen Magic."

Good luck!! :)

Thanks!

Fingers crossed!

Good luck with the project, Gregory. Good news that they are still evaluating. Keep us posted.

It's a long shot, but it's all long shots in screenwriting. Gotta be in it to win it.

Rise & Grind: ‘Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left behind those who hustle.’ – Abraham Lincoln

Two more weeks. No change in status. Still evaluating. 5 months and not a peep. Sigh.

At least it wasn't rejected 2 days later like my 2 were.

It might be worth emailing them to check what's happening...

Good luck with the project, it sounds good from the logline - right up my alley as I love that sort of thing.

I didn't know Amazon got rid of the 45 day response deadline. That's bad in my opinion, they could literally keep you on tenterhooks for months (as they have with you) and then just say no. Meanwhile you could have lost out on other opportunities if you had been pitching elsewhere. They also could take some of your ideas and put them into other projects.

Do they have a non-exclusive or exclusive option on the work while they are evaluating?

It's been years since I submitted to Amazon (and got rejected of course) - I could do with revisiting and seeing what they are up to as I'm developing a TV series idea I'd like to pitch around some time this year.

Hey mark!

Thanks for the interest!

When AS did away with the 45 day responses, they changed their terms. It is no longet an exclusive submission, so you can submit to them and anyone else simultaneously.

Its been 5 1/2 months and its still on evaluating.

Also Anthony - Amazon Support verified it's being evaluated and kicked around their readers. I just have to wait, there's no more update beyond that.

Good to know - thanks!

And if you get a response from Amazon let us know.

Best of luck. ;-)

Best of luck then, everything crossed for you!

Thanks! If you wanna check out my most recent tv pilot, here's the google drive link.

It's an animated comedy!

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-series/m-1494626995/

EPICS

When a professor of archaeology discovers a pile of ancient tablets, he translates the epic tale of two unstoppable universal heroes and their adventures throughout time and space.

This is the AS link to it if you happen to read it and want to comment about how fucking god awful it is.

https://studios.amazon.com/projects/154679

It's really cool that Amazon accept submissions from anyone. I wonder how many readers they need to employ just to weed through the swamp. Must be daunting.

They also allow you to resubmit new drafts or versions with technical comments even after they decline you. It's possible that a submission can find a reader that isn't a good choice for your material and auto declines it. Try again and again and again!

Over six months in. Still on evaluating.

7 1/2 months in evaluating.

Customer Support assured me 3 weeks ago that it was not forgotten and they escalated it, and told me I'd receive an e-mail update the next day. I never got one.

Meanwhile since then Nick Hall has been promoted to the Head of Drama at AS.

At this point I imagine I'm as close as possible to there being a chance it'll get optioned.

8 months in evaluating and it's pending a business decision.

1 month later and still evaluating. Still pending. No change in status.

Most boring, slow thread ever, I know.

Update: After 9 months in evaluating, it jumped straight to complete. They passed.

After reading this thread a few weeks ago i decided to submit something. Mine is currently stuck on 'deciding'. Whether that's better than being stuck on 'evaluating' or not i'll let you know. Gotta be in it to win it.

Good luck!

I have something in Deceiding right now too, but after 9 months of evaluating I've pretty much completely written AS off. But it DOESNT HURT AT ALL to submit everything you have.

Quoted from GregoryM Update: After 9 months in evaluating, it jumped straight to complete. They passed.

Sorry to hear. That's a long time to wait for disappointment. And they don't give a word of feedback, either, do they?

No. They dont provide any comments. I resubmitted it after they passed, since they passed right after the previous guy in charge left. And its been in evaluating for 4 months now? 3? A long time. Another one of my projects on there has been in deciding for 5 months, but I've kind of written off their open submissions. Still, it doesnt hurt to try.

Bloody hell, 9 months just to get a pass. That's ridiculous!

I have something I was considering submitting but to wait that long is insane.

Is it free to submit, Gregory?

Lol - after saying all the above I went and checked out the process. Not only is it free to submit but they don't stop you submitting to other competitions, festivals or trying to get the script optioned/produced. So I've submitted one. Sure they can still try and steal my idea but it's registered with the Library of Congress and there's always a risk anyway.

As it could be 9 months before they pass, I'll try to forget about it and move on to other projects.

I believe that once you submit to Amazon, you've given them a free "first look option", so that you are NOT free to option or sell your script to someone else unless Amazon passes within the time they're allowed under their terms and conditions that you would have had to agreed to before you send your script.

If you do option or sell your script to someone else while Amazon remains alive under its terms, and Amazon later exercises its option, you'll be in middle of a legal dispute.

Bogey - That's the way it was initially, but Amazon changed their policy a few years ago.

There's no downside to open submissions through their site. and it's no longer an option, just submission for open consideration.

That said - it's definitely a submit and forget situation over there.

My script Shadows Beyond has been in deciding for 8 months, and The American Dream, a recent submission in evaluating for 2.

Notably, the day after I submitted TAD, another project I had in evaluating for 5 months got passed on. So they DO make decisions on projects that get past the initial 1 week overwhelming denial phase, but it's not quick by any means.

Quoted from GregoryM Bogey - That's the way it was initially, but Amazon changed their policy a few years ago. There's no downside to open submissions through their site. and it's no longer an option, just submission for open consideration. That said - it's definitely a submit and forget situation over there. My script Shadows Beyond has been in deciding for 8 months, and The American Dream, a recent submission in evaluating for 2. Notably, the day after I submitted TAD, another project I had in evaluating for 5 months got passed on. So they DO make decisions on projects that get past the initial 1 week overwhelming denial phase, but it's not quick by any means.

The current Submission Agreement doesn't even mention the word option. It does, however, give Amazon some pretty broad rights to your uploaded content if you choose to make it public.

You can switch it back to private if you get some outside offer.

Seems simple enough, but the included-by-reference Account Agreement includes this gem buried in paragraph 10:

Quoted Text If the rights granted to Amazon under this Agreement or any Amazon Studios Agreement should revert to you under any copyright law or similar law, and if you are at any time thereafter prepared to enter into an agreement with a third party for the license, exercise or other disposition of all or any of those rights, you will, before entering into the agreement, give Amazon notice of the proposed terms (and all modifications of the terms) and the party involved. In each case, Amazon will then have 10 business days in which to elect to acquire the rights involved on the terms contained in the notice.

I'm not a lawyer, but I think that only applies if you yank Amazon's rights by some means other than making the project private (though I have no idea why you would).

It's over.

Amazon studios closed submissions forever today.

My two projects still being considered will 'still be considered' but submissions are closed, and in 2 months the site will be deleted.

RIP