The idea for Hollywood’s next blockbuster film is in your head. Now you’ve got your first movie script tucked into the bottom drawer of your desk. Professional script coverage can get your screenplay out of the drawer and into the studio.
Work submitted to be turned into movies is read at a large production office or studio. At the studio, a trained reader writes up an outline of your story and reviews how well you’ve written characters and dialogue. This information is given to studio heads to let them know which stories to consider for next years slate of movies.
There are two basic types. The most common is for a reader at a studio or production company to do the review. They are going to give feedback that aligns with the studio or company for which they are reading.
Also available through web sites is reviews done for a fee by an independent reader. He or she will write up a summary for you and give you comments to help you improve your writing. This information can be misleading, though, since the reader is giving you his or her own personal comments and not giving you comments relevant to what any given studio is looking for.
If you get notes from a studio, you have a basic idea of the what the reader is looking for based on which studio he or she works for. An example would be getting covered by Fox Searchlight Films. The readers at that studio are looking for edgy, character-driven dramas. If your work falls into that category, it’s no guarantee, but you could get a good review.
With a pay for hire reader, you don’t know where he or she is coming from. The feedback they provide could even be detrimental if they don’t personally respond to your writing but your script is in fact perfect for a studio. There are risks involved, but every writer should try out script coverage and get an understanding for what readers are looking for. It might even lead to you selling your first movie.
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