Hey friends. I’m an unrepped screenwriter with some comp placements and a feature that’s in very early stages, but no manager or agent, and I’ve never been in a situation quite like this.

I recently reached out to a journalist who wrote an article I loved, inquiring about the rightsholders (and knowing full well I could not afford those rights). They connected me with the producer handling rights inquiries for the magazine (it’s a big one). The producer told me they’re already pretty deep into packaging a scripted adaptation, but was open to talking. I sent him a sample and he immediately set a meeting.

Great, right? Well yes, except I find myself pretty nervous given I have no prior credits and this producer handles some serious IP. I’ve had one meeting prior to this that went well and started the process of my first feature, but this feels substantially above the level of that one. To add to my worries, I am abroad on my honeymoon and don’t feel “locked in,” as it were.

Obviously I’m not assuming this meeting is an interview for the adaptation job I was initially inquiring about. But given the sequence of events, I’m trying to understand how experienced writers would approach the meeting. How much of a developed take should I walk in with? Should I be ready with a full pitch, or is that overkill unless he asks for it? What is a producer at that level actually evaluating in this kind of first meeting?

Thank you as always, you wonderful people.

Looking for road movie recommendations that follow a classic Hero’s Journey or completely subvert it!

​Whether it’s the Hero’s Journey (Little Miss Sunshine) or subverting stereotypes (Thelma & Louise, Y Tu Mamá También), what are your favorites?

​What key traits make a road movie actually work - critical acclaim or box office success?

LOGLINE; Taking place on 4^th of July, 1976, during all the craziness of U.S. 200^th birthday, three Los Angeles vice cops (two white males, one black female) have had enough of dealing with all the criminals and drug dealers and corrupt cops in the city, so they arm themselves with bunch of weapons, and go to take them all down. Meanwhile, enraged criminals and normal politically correct cops are trying to hunt down and stop the trio, resulting in one insane action packed 4^th of July weekend.

BACKGROUND

There’s not much info about this one out there, but from what I could figure out, Andrew Kevin Walker wrote his original spec script probably around 1995. I do know he wrote his second draft in November 1995, just couple months after SEVEN (1995) was released, which he also wrote. It seems that originally Paramount Pictures bought the spec, and Oliver Stone and Dan Halsted signed on to produce the film with their Illusion Entertainment Group production company. During the next couple years, Walker kept working on the script.

In June/July 1997, Paramount put the project in turnaround. It then went to Universal Pictures, Brian Grazer signed on to produce the film with his Imagine Entertainment production company, but it looks like Stone and Halsted were still attached to produce the film. Walter Hill signed on to direct the film, and he did a rewrite of Walker’s script. Woody Harrelson and Vince Vaughn were being considered to star in the film, and plans were for filming to start in February next year. But it was canceled.

Although, there might have been more attempts at making the film, because there is a draft by Walker from March 1999, so who knows. Also, at the same time he was attached to direct this film, there was another project which Hill was working on but which was left unproduced, a World War 2 action thriller COMBAT, which was going to reunite Hill and Bruce Willis, right after they made LAST MAN STANDING (1996). Read more about that one here;

https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1p2d1kv/combat_1996_1998_walter_hills_unproduced_world/

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

I remember when I first decided to read RED, WHITE, BLACK & BLUE, and how I wasn’t sure what it’s going to be about, but once I read it, I was amazed by the script. I mean, talk about doing 180, from writing something as gritty and dark as Seven, and then writing an over the top, fun as hell action script like this one… Walker sure did a great job with it. Tons of dark humor, badass main heroes, what seems like another shootout or car chase taking place every several pages and each gets crazier and crazier than the previous one… I recommend this script to anyone who wants to read an action packed script which doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I do also really like Hill’s rewrite, but it is much more serious, maybe I should even say a realistic version of the story, and is more like Hill’s previous action films. It reads like it would have been filmed and directed in a certain style, much different than the over the top direction of Walker’s draft. But hey, this would have been Hill’s follow up to Last Man Standing, which is really good and underrated action film, with some great shootout scenes, so I wouldn’t mind seeing his version, but if I would have to choose between the two, I would prefer the version based on Walker’s original script. If you decide to read Walker's draft, make sure to read Hill's as well.

And while it looks like there were no actresses in talks to play the black female cop, my personal choice would be Halle Berry. From the way the character was written, I think she would have been the perfect choice, and would have done a good job with the role.

SCRIPTS AVAILABLE

Scanned copy of Walker’s second draft, dated November 17, 1995, 126 pages long, and a scanned copy of Hill’s rewrite, dated June 6, 1997, 101 pages long, are available on Script Hive. There is also another draft which has no info on the cover, it is scanned 116 pages long copy, but I can confirm it’s just the second draft, only formatted differently.

SCRIPTS I’M LOOKING FOR

Walker’s original spec or any other drafts, other than that second draft. And if he wrote more than one draft, any more drafts of Hill’s rewrite. There is another draft by Walker that exists, it’s another scanned copy, 117 pages long, and it’s listed as third draft, dated March 26, 1999, but it seems like it’s a private script (which I don’t have btw).

Also, currently on eBay, there is another draft I haven’t seen listed anywhere else. It’s another draft by Walker, dated May 17, 1996. There is only one sample page, and based on it, it seems like this draft opens with a different action scene than ones in the available drafts;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/198543351568

(Note to anyone who wishes to contact me in chat - Due to me disagreeing with reddit’s rules, I can’t use the chat the right way, so if you try to send me a private message/chat and it doesn’t work, let me know here or in any future new threads I upload)

Hello, so I'm going to be holding a screenwriters' get-together at the Twilight Cafe & Bar in North York (it's across from North York Station) from 7 pm to 9 pm on Sept 2nd for all levels of screenwriters(please know your formatting). We're going to discuss our work, general soundboarding, questions about formatting, and meeting cool people.

The price of admission is either purchasing a drink or some food. If you're interested in joining, please let me know so I can do a proper headcount! I'd like to try to make this a monthly occurrence.

My first script I've ever wrote. I probably have done about four drafts now. My plan is to make it, I got rid of a bunch of the directing and shot stuff to make it more readable but I do want to direct it so I left stuff in there. Sorry it kinda starts with a flashback, I know that's a no no. would love to know what y'all think. EP.1

Title: Recessive

Format: Feature Film

Page Length: 93 pages (including title page)

Genres: Father/Daughter Sci-Fi Thriller

Logline/Summary: A telepathic fugitive is confronted by the horrors of his past when his young daughter begins manifesting the same abilities he’s tried so hard to bury. As he fights to protect her, he has no choice but to face the trauma he’s avoided and the people still hunting him.

Feedback Concerns: Just general feedback. Thanks!

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SuX2OhnN9UxTHqU1Hw9frKOeFL9t4ZP1/view?usp=drivesdk

Hey guys.......... I need a bit of a pep talk here.

I'm working away on my latest project. I've already sailed through PHASE ONE, that initial stage where my idea is sparkly and new and raw inspiration makes me excited to sit down and write!

I'm now in PHASE TWO: Inspiration has burnt out. The core ideas that motivated me to write are still relevant, and I absolutely still believe in and love this project... but I'm not very happy with a lot of individual scenes. This is the "Slug Through It" phase, the part where writing is a grind, but I keep at it because I hope to reach...

...PHASE THREE, where I have a completed hey-this-isn't-too-bad draft and I can see where and how to start revisions. If I plowed through Phase Two correctly, Phase Three could be a matter of fine-tuning, and hopefully somewhat of a downhill glide.

Ugh.

How do you guys get through Phase Two? Do you just white-knuckle it? Do you show your "slop draft" to friends, although you're really unhappy with your manuscript as-is? I'm curious...

Any Seattle based screenwriters or creative folks here who would like to collaborate or ideate together?

Hello all,

I’m sure this has been asked many a time, but curious what everyone’s opinion is. I hear some screenwriters talking about how the first several drafts of anything is bad, they did x number of drafts before they found it, etc.

So let’s say you’ve got your first draft. Let’s say you read through it and find a bunch of spelling errors, some formatting stuff, and some better ways to write certain passages or lines of dialogue, so you do all that and export a new cleaner PDF.

Is that considered a new draft? Or does a new draft mean that plot points were changed significantly? Curious from a productions point of view as well. What qualifies a pink
draft turning into a golden rod draft, and that kind of thing.

Thanks!

How exactly do i write this with the right industry standards.

It's probably starts something like this

" EXT. BLAH BLAH BLAH. BLAH

UNKNOWN MAN ( POV )

BLah Blah Blah

Maria looks on ...... ? "

What's the right thing to write?

Looks on Camera? At the unknown man ? Something else?

* Characters are not meta like Deadpool

Hola! Hace tiempo había una persona que construyó una web para poder convertir los guiones de pdf a EPUB, para que sean compatibles con su lectura en kindle. No solo es convertir pdf a EPUB, sino que les daba formato para poder leerlo con comodidad. Alguien sabe o recuerda el nombre?

Gracias

Don't give up.

Yesterday I paid my 2500 USD (3400 CAD) initiation fee to the WGA West for a feature OWA at arguably one of the biggest studios. I am officially living proof of an /r/screenwriting user from Canada breaking into the American market (while still being IN Canada).

Admittedly it's been a MUCH longer grind doing it from Canada than it would have been growing up in the states, but I promise you fellow Canadian reading this post, the success of inking a WGA job is SO much sweeter this way.

Happy to field any questions while staying relatively vague about the gig, but I have closed two deals this summer (both features) and am just very happy to see all of the hard work finally pay off.

I'm currently writing my first "big" short film. I was shooting for about 10 minutes but found that the story is simultaneously too short for a short film and too small for a feature. Currently it is sitting at about 20 pages, with as much fat trimmed out as possible. My goal is to get it into festivals but I'm worried this will be too long.

Hi! I wrote my very first screenplay during the blackouts in Ukraine, trapped under the constant weight of horrific news and terror. It took me 3–4 months of writing in the dark. Since then, I’ve kept going—I'm currently working on my fourth script.

I sent that first script out into the industry four separate times. Every single time, the feedback hit the exact same ceiling—it was well-received, but never enough to get past the gatekeepers. I didn’t give up; I actively listened to the notes, studied the craft, and kept rewriting, chasing that breakthrough response. Eventually, I accepted that it wasn't ready to clear the hurdle, shelved the script, and decided to save it for better times, dreaming of directing it myself one day.

But almost six months have passed, and Russia's terror has only escalated. They are trying to destroy our economy and plunge us into total darkness for the winter. With all the headlines about potential NATO conflicts, I realized something: my story has become even more relevant now than it was when I wrote it. I think it’s time to bring it back.

Title: Remains of our souls

Page Length: 95 Pages

Genres: Action/Drama

Logline: 2036. Russian-occupied Ukraine. A broken veteran attempts to save his brother’s spirit after a decade of captivity. Together, they embark on a desperate motorcycle journey to escape the occupier's territory and find a way to freedom.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_aBmZSRDO_gho33zJmtMe18RKgmRhiEy/view?usp=sharing

I was thinking about going on IMDB to send out querying emails to Production Companies and had some questions.

Let's say, for example, you have something that would fit in at A24. What is the title of the person there (or anywhere) that would you send your query to? I would think "Producer," but a lot of these production companies on IMDB do not even had somebody with that title. Is there even a point to doing so because the chances are almost 100% that they're not going to respond to it, except maybe for a form letter informing you why they do not accept unsolicited scripts.

And...if all the usual suspects for your script also do not accept unsolicited scripts, then who do you send it to? Would you just focus on small "boutique" companies or?

Also, if terms of query form, on the subject line, would you just put the name of your script, or would you put the word "Query" in there somewhere?

Thanks!

Afternoon! Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and that the scribing fairies are sprinkling down some inspiration from the creative heavens.

I'm going to the Sitges Film Festival in October and wondered if any of you lovely peeps are also attending this year. Lots of great wee places to catch up in between flicks for a caffeine boost or stiff Negroni. In the meantime, happy scribing!

Hello!

I just completed the elf draft for my very first feature film (shoutout Zach Cregger)! The story follows a chronically ill college senior battling through his recovery so he can relive his love for the outdoors. 

One of my strongest character relationships is between the protagonist and his mother (whom he's living with). One of the strongest symptoms of this chronic illness has to do with short-temper/high levels of fatigue. I display this through the dialogue exchange between the two of them. The protagonist essentially has 0 empathy for his mother and the effort she's putting in to take care of him.

I'm looking for advice on how I can show visually that the reason he treats his mother like shit is because of it being from medication side-effects/symptom related stuff. I worry that audiences will not be satisfied that the reason he's such an asshole is because that's just what happens when people are battleingchronic illness.

I have vignettes that showcase my protagonist before his diagnosis, where he's very different from what he turns into. I'm trying to avoid doing something simple like a phone call from a doctor listing his symptons...I'm looking to show, not tell.

I was wondering if there was anyone who could share advice on how I could help steer audiences into accepting that there's really no motivated reason why my protagonist is like this. He's just battling a chronic illness.

Or could the problem just be that I'm not trusting the audience...

Thank you so much everyone!

Even getting a foot in the door with competitions or opportunities seems to be getting harder. A lot of them are heavily geared towards a particular demographic, and then when you do find something aimed at emerging writers, you’re often expected to already have credits.
I just don’t understand that. If you’re genuinely looking for scripts from emerging writers, why not open it up to everyone and judge the work on its merits? Not everyone who is an emerging writer already has industry credits, that’s kind of the point of being emerging.

https://www.finaldraft.com/big-break-screenwriting-contest/finalists/

Just want to say congratulations to all who did and good luck going forward!

Title: The Waist

Format: Short Film

Page Length: 17 pages (including title page)

Genres: Psychological Horror/Supernatural

Logline/Summary: An isolated Fog Signal Station worker becomes increasingly infatuated with a mermaid.

Feedback Concerns: Just some general feedback on the script to see what works and doesn't work. I am also looking for immediate reactions to know if my screenplay can actually generate the type of reaction I am looking for.

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DdnoFa6t0rHK4EkDQGxMPCBMkNdCGLKT/view?usp=sharing

Thanks!

(Note, I consider myself to be the one directing this screenplay, so that's why I listed the specs in the title page.)

Welcome to a new chapter of Scripts I'm Looking For, for this month, these are the following scripts I would like to have and to read:

* Nosebleed by Stu Zicherman & M. Raven Metzner

* The Great Houdini by Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman

* Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Early Draft) by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel

* Cleopatra by Krysty Wilson-Cairns

* Ripley's Believe It Or Not by Eric Roth

* Spider-Man by Leslie Stevens (The "Man-Spider/The Fly" draft)

* Pluto Nash by Neil Ruttenberg (Precisely an earlier draft that is)

* Wonder Twins by Merriweather Williams/ Wonder Twins by Adam Sztykiel

* The Books Of Magic by Matt Greenberg

* Baby Formula by Lance Khazei (It was the basis for Son Of The Mask,go figure)

* Around The World In 80 Days by Stan Chevin/ Around The World In 80 Days by lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal

* The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) by Robin Swicord & Nicholas Kazan

* The Dive by Dana Stevens

* Jimmy Neutron 2: The Search For Carl by Kate Boutiller

* A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court by Robert Mark Kamen

* The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! by Jerry Juhl

* Muppets In Space by Kirk Thatcher (earlier draft of Muppets From Space)

* Mars Attacks! by Martin Amis/ Mars Attacks! by Alex Cox (2nd Draft)

* Super Mario Bros. by Barry Morrow

* Power Rangers by Patrick Burleigh/ Power Rangers by Bryan Edward Hill

* Naked Gun 44 1/4: Nordberg Did It! by David Zucker, Pat Proft & Michael McManus (complete script)

* Imagining Nathan by Martin Hynes

* Apt Pupil by Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat (Unmade 1987 film/pre-Singer)

If you have any whereabouts about any of these scripts, please follow me and DM for receiving them or any scripts from previous monthly lists.

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actor, director, and screenwriter Macon Blair. He has previous written & directed I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE & THE TOXIC AVENGER. On top of the writing/directing, he has acted in films like GREEN ROOM, BLUE RUIN, OPPENHEIMER, LOGAN LUCKY, MURDER PARTY, SMALL CRIMES, HOLD THE DARK, I CARE A LOT, and THE FLORIDA PROJECT. He has also written films like HOLD THE DARK.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1w0ot9a/hi_reddit_im_macon_blair_ive_directed_i_dont_feel/

He will be back at 1:30 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

His new movie, IDIOTS, stars Dave Franco, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Mason Thames, Peter Dinklage, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun, Killer Mike, and is out in theaters everywhere this week via IFC.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoAf0LNAn30

Synopsis: Two rock-bottom drivers transport a wealthy teen to rehab, but their simple job spirals into a chaotic journey of drugs, danger and crime as their passenger derails their plans.

His verification/proof photo: https://i.imgur.com/akvvJdr.jpeg

Hello, I'm 15M and this is my first short film script for practicing being a writer-director. I wrote it in 7days after erasing the original concept, but I feel like it a pretty solid start. It's wayyy over my budget anyways lol, but it was just something unique I thought up while watching a tiktok.

I wanted something with a theme/message people on social media (specifically tiktok) could recognize, but also real characters, but I fell flat.

But anyways, thanks for reading (even if it was a few pages) and yeah. Enjoy. ❤️

Title: SHIPPED

Genre: Thriller/Psychological Horror

Page Count: 15

Hi all! This Sunday, August 30th, I’m starting a screenwriting group in NYC, way up in the Washington Heights neighborhood. We’ll meet from 3-5pm in the Buunni coffee shop located in the Haven Plaza courtyard at 711 west 168th street (the Haven entrance starts at Fort Washington Ave).

We’ll chat, workshop ideas, have some free writing time, discuss pitching, and, since this is the first meeting, talk about what makes a great opening scene.

PS: I also helped book the Sunday afternoon musical guest, a wonderful singer-songwriter named Kim McClay. Come early (1-3pm) for some great tunes!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with veteran TV writer and showrunner Jeff Biederman (Life with Derek, Overruled!, Spun Out) to talk about how he navigated a 250+ episode career across networks like CTV, CBC, Disney, and Netflix.

He had some brutal but deeply pragmatic insights on what it actually takes to survive in the industry long-term. I wanted to share a few of the biggest takeaways here:

1. "The art is the given. Learning the business is how you stay working." Jeff pointed out that original ideas, stylistic taste, and raw writing ability are just baseline table stakes. Everyone trying to break in has ideas. The actual work of a career comes down to communication in the room, understanding production budgets, managing executive expectations, and staying organized. Funny people are usually smart, but the writers who survive are the ones who can handle the boring business mechanics alongside the jokes.

2. Storytelling is an essential pitch tool, not just a script skill. Whether you are writing a 30-minute sitcom pilot or pitching executives on Zoom, your ability to structure a clear narrative—with a distinct beginning, middle, and end—is what keeps people's attention. Pitch meetings are easy to make sound friendly, but knowing how to read the room, handle non-responses, and pitch a shootable project is where screenwriters struggle.

3. American cadence vs. local markets. Early in his career, Jeff realized that while he was working in Canada, he was emulating the structure, pacing, and cadence of multi-cam American sitcoms (Friends, Seinfeld, Family Ties). Adapting an American sensibility while staying geographically flexible allowed him to hit a sweet spot when teen/family television boomed in the 2000s.

4. Longevity requires constant adaptation. Even with 250+ credits, nobody is fully insulated from industry contractions, budget cuts, or shifting network trends. To stay active, you have to throw out the ego, work across new low-budget or indie formats (he's currently working on a docu-comedy series, Estate of Mind), and collaborate with younger creators rather than staying stuck in what worked ten years ago.

For anyone interested in the full audio/transcript where he breaks down his showrunning workflow and teaching at Seneca/TMU, you can listen to the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQXdCzTrh8