Good afternoon,

i have a questions which is, if a person was to send in their script and the production company takes them and tells you that they'll "take a look and come back to you and they don't reply in the next 1-2 day's, is that a good thing or bad?

I've heard stories of people sending in their script and getting a reply within a really short period of time and the production company only read 10-20 pages not liking them.

It sometimes takes months for a company to read your script.

I got a reply this week for a script I sent over 2 months ago. The week before that, a company told me their process can take 3-4 months for a review. That they'll get back to me before the end of July. Another told me 6-8 weeks.

It's different. Some don't reply at all.

It's a waiting game, be patient. They read a ton of scripts.

Send and forget.

2 months seems about right. The longer they take to get back to you the better. Shows they're seriously considering your work for their slate, IMO.

That's a decent amount of time.

But that can also be just the beginning of more waits.

You have to file it to the back of your mind or you can go nuts overthinking why you aren't getting a timely enough reply.

Hollywood can move very slow...

Shawn.....><

Last production company I sent a script into said they'd take up to 3 months to reply and they were correct.

:-)

Mark,

Out of interest, what was their response?

I do recall the BBC had a similar time. They wrote a very nice letter to me, but basically it was a no, Ho hum.

R

Quoted from rendevous Mark, Out of interest, what was their response? I do recall the BBC had a similar time. They wrote a very nice letter to me, but basically it was a no, Ho hum. R

Probably something along the lines of... sorry, after a lengthy discussion we've decided that your story isn't quite right for our slate at the moment.


Agents are similar. Around 6-12 weeks with 2 months being an average.

If you got a nice letter that's a good thing, shows you have something. Try them again.

Hi Syed,

Generally when scripts are sent to production companies, they have someone who reads it for them, this is usually the receptionist, because the higher ups are either too busy or not around to do so. It is more than likely that a response will come from them. (These are usually automatic emails). If you do not get a response it probably means that didn't like the script. You can however phone them up to find out.

In answer to your second question, people who read scripts will often base their final decision on the first 10 pages, because if that doesn't hook them, then they see no point in reading the rest. Even if that story has the potential to win "Best Picture" at the academy awards. It's all about those first 10 pages, if you can get them hooked with that then it's much more likely that they'll read on to the end. If they do like the script, then they'll give to the head of the company, i.e. the person you want to read and like your script.

Hope this helps,

Jonathan

Quoted from DustinBowcot after a lengthy discussion we've decided that your story isn't quite right for our slate at the moment.

Pretty much this.

Funny story. A producer's assistant sent me a email that started like that. "We talked about your script at a meeting today in our offices, and...". Then the assistant proceeded to give me notes, on what he thought didn't make sense and what he didn't like.

Now here comes the funny part... his notes didn't make a lick of sense. The things he gave me notes about were never in the script.

I think he read the script to a point, gave up, and he was arrogant enough to think he could guess where the story was going. So he gave me vague criticism on things that never happened in the script. Actually, the story went in a totally different direction than what he assumed. So basically I got criticized about something I didn't write. :)

And this was a respectable production company that has made some good, well-known movies.

Quoted from rendevous Mark, Out of interest, what was their response? I do recall the BBC had a similar time. They wrote a very nice letter to me, but basically it was a no, Ho hum. R

It was to Red Production Company in the UK. They are the only company online I found who confirmed they would accept and read unsolicited scripts so I sent them No More Tomorrows.

After 3 months they sent me a letter saying my script needed development and their slate was currently full anyway. So I went out and made it myself. :-)

Quoted from MarkRenshaw It was to Red Production Company in the UK. They are the only company online I found who confirmed they would accept and read unsolicited scripts so I sent them No More Tomorrows. After 3 months they sent me a letter saying my script needed development and their slate was currently full anyway. So I went out and made it myself. :-)

Good for you, fella. I see it's in your signature, so I'll have a look.

There's an awful lot of promises made in this business. Few are kept.

Every time I get an offer for a script, there's a load of talk for a while. Then I agree thinking 'I'll probably never hear from them ever again.'

And sure enough I don't.

Quoted from DustinBowcot If you got a nice letter that's a good thing, shows you have something. Try them again.

It was rather good. I do recall I did a while ago. Never heard from them again. Still, at least they didn't make any promises.

Speaking of the Beeb, I heard this horrible story where they were offering writers the opportunity to do a script for Eastenders. I use the word opportunity in its widest sense.

Anyway, you get three months to finish it. At the end of it they pay you, something like a grand I think, but only if they like it. If they don't like it you don't get paid.

Writing Eastenders for three months and then not getting paid. I think they should add that to one of the rings of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy.

R

I got to the final of their writer's room thing last year... they're having another one this autumn. With the BEEB, your face has to fit and sometimes that can take a while, look at Danny Dyer. Worth having a bash mate, I'll send you details once it's on if you like. Great thing about it it's free. Which is why I'll be entering again this year.

I don't watch Eastenders and thankfully my gf stopped watching around a year ago so I rarely get to see it at all these days. I could turn my hand to anything if they paid me, but to write Eastenders and not be paid is certainly a hell unto itself.

Quoted from DustinBowcot I got to the final of their writer's room thing last year... they're having another one this autumn. With the BEEB, your face has to fit and sometimes that can take a while, look at Danny Dyer. Worth having a bash mate, I'll send you details once it's on if you like. Great thing about it it's free. Which is why I'll be entering again this year. I don't watch Eastenders and thankfully my gf stopped watching around a year ago so I rarely get to see it at all these days. I could turn my hand to anything if they paid me, but to write Eastenders and not be paid is certainly a hell unto itself.

I'd say there are far worse things that you could have to write, even if you did get paid for it:

Honey Boo Boo
The Duggars (19 and counting)
The Kardashians
and many others that I won't go on.

I'd much rather work on a new version of manimal (I liked that series back then, newbies, google it)...

Manimal has actually crossed my mind a few times but I've never written the idea down on my ideas board. Probably because I can't see a viable way of making it work for today. It failed in the 80s too. I think it ran for two seasons?

I loved it, but I was just a kid. I think they probably ran out of places for the story to go as he was never really challenged. You may remember it better as you have ten years on me, but I remember that he got out of scrapes by turning into any animal he wanted which meant he was pretty much unstoppable anyway.

The other salient point I took from that article is not so much what program you're writing for but the fact you're being paid a measly grand for three months work - do the Maths on that one - and at the end of it if they don't like what you've done they're wholly within their right to pay you zilch. Poor form to say the least, but I suppose if you know going in then that's the gamble you'll take.

Quoted from DustinBowcot Manimal has actually crossed my mind a few times but I've never written the idea down on my ideas board. Probably because I can't see a viable way of making it work for today. It failed in the 80s too. I think it ran for two seasons? I loved it, but I was just a kid. I think they probably ran out of places for the story to go as he was never really challenged. You may remember it better as you have ten years on me, but I remember that he got out of scrapes by turning into any animal he wanted which meant he was pretty much unstoppable anyway.

I remember Manimal. They kind of blew the budget on the first episode so most of his adventures involved him tranforming into a panther.

Anyone remember Automan? lol.

I do vaguely remember that. It was probably already cancelled in the US by the time we got it though.

Wow, I can't believe 2 others on here remember Maanimal.  My sister and I loved it.  I don't recall Automan.  I do recall Ultraman.  I loved that series too.

The thing about Manimal was that they didn't have the budget to do the special effects.  Today, that wouldn't be a problem.

As for a series, I could easily make that up.  Problem is, it has such a bad rep, I don't know if a station would bite, even if you showed them a finished project.  It's considered one of the worst series ideas ever.  It didn't even last a full season.

But, I think the problem was that they didn't have a budget and didn't think about both the comedy and action gold they had.  I think it'd be a great series.

In this minute, I came up with this:

Lets keep his history.  He was trained by some mystic how to shape-shift into whatever creature he wants to.  There are comic book characters like that, I think...  And lets not think logically about the matter conversion (to change from a 200 pound human to a 12 pound bird etc, no one thinks about the Hulk or Transformers).

He's a spy.  Top spy.  But, no one knows how he's so good.  It's because he can transform and escape any situation.  He'd make Black Widow seem sloppy.  Or make the "He" a "she".  

Do the doctor who thing where in the first episode he saves someone (a hot love interest) and she sees the world through his eyes, and like Doctor Who, teaches us through the newbie.  

The difference between then and now is you need to have others.  You need to have a hated enemy.  Perhaps an assassin early in the show that he has to stop.  

I could see this being a cross of say Highlander meets Transformers meets an earth bound Doctor Who.

Anyone remember Prince Planet?  Star Blazers?