From the category archives:

Screenwriting FAQ

Do most agents and production companies expect you to provide coverage along with your submitted screenplay?

March 10, 2010

I got this question recently:
“Do most agents and production companies expect you to provide coverage along with your submitted screenplay?”
As a writer you would never pay for “coverage” of your script. And if you did somehow get it from someone you submitted to (which does occasionally happen), you would never submit the coverage to [...]

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Submitting your script through an agent or manager

March 3, 2010

I got this question recently:
“I have found through my years of sales that selling over the phone is one of my greatest attributes. I love it. I find myself getting uncontrollably excited over the chase of cold calling production companies! I turn it into a game just to see how many people I can [...]

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Writing a spec script based on an existing franchise

February 24, 2010

I got this question recently:
“I wrote a screenplay based on an existing franchise. I’m in the process of pending the permissions with the right attorney. If I am granted the rights to sell my script, and that’s a big “if”. What is the right way to state it in my query letter, if it’s what [...]

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Is it okay to send a query letter of one script to several production companies at the same time?

February 17, 2010

I got this question recently:
“Is it okay to send a query letter of one script to several production companies at the same time?”
Yes. It is okay to send out the same query letter to multiple production companies at the same time. Most of your query letters whether faxed, emailed or snail mailed will [...]

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Is it absolutely vital that you register your screenplay?

February 10, 2010

I got these questions from a screenwriter in the Netherlands:
“Is it absolutely vital that you register your script? Do industry insiders bother to read your script if it’s not registered?
Also, are you aware of any production companies that accept scripts by email? Is it something you can request if they ask you to [...]

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Should you submit your query letter via email or snail mail?

February 3, 2010

I got these questions recently:
“I live in Belgium and want to send out A LOT of query letters. Should I send them via email or regular mail?
Also, I have written two screenplays. Do I send both query letters to the same company or is it better to spread them thin throughout the other companies?”
I [...]

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Writing the 175 page spec script

January 29, 2010

I got this question recently:
“My screenplay is LONG (175 pages), which is viable for a 3-hour movie, but I’ve heard that producers and contests won’t read anything over 120 pages, which is odd because the majority of the most successful movies ever are 3 hours long (Godfather, Dances with Wolves, Titanic, Avatar, Braveheart, etc.). [...]

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Will you read my screenplay treatment

January 27, 2010

I got this questions recently:
“As someone who’s not in the screenwriting business but thinks he has a “great” idea for a movie screenplay, I was wondering if you’d be willing to read my treatment for a movie I’ve had swimming around my head for 15 years?
The treatment is 10 pages long but what I’m [...]

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Signing a release form for your screenplay

January 20, 2010

I got this question recently:
“In a situation where a producer or production company reads my query letter and loves the idea, what do I do if a producer ask me to sign a release form before I can submit the script?”
Release forms are a very normal part of the screenplay submission process.  When making cold [...]

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Query letter headings and self-address stamped postcards

January 13, 2010

I got these questions recently:
“I’ve seen websites that recommend using the agents’ first name on the ‘Dear…’ line, and other websites where they discourage this? What do you think?
Is it better to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope or a self-addressed, stamped postcard?  I’ve heard postcard and envelope. Is the trend more toward postcards?  What’s your [...]

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