Writer's Literary Screenplay Agency, Screenplay Writers' Agency,The Screenplay Agency

victoriastrauss

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Relax, if you didn't sign a contract and your script is registered, you've nothing to worry about. A good agent won't risk his reputation by stealing. A bad agency (like this one) isn't interested in your script, only in your money.

To avoid thread proliferation, I've merged your question with the existing thread on the Screenplay Agency.

- VIctoria
 

puddlejumper

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Whew!

Thank you, folks. I had a feeling something was off with those people. What I don't understand is how they get past the fact that everyone can type them into their Google and literally find out about their scam in ...well, it took me about 4 and a half seconds.

I know ...if your young and excited you don't think to check. I'm old and decrepit and have a decent amount of skepticism. And then I found y'all.

I think I'll hang around a while. Maybe I can find links to a REAL agency who accepts queries from unknown writers.

Peace

PJ
 

LitFa

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I feel so ashamed

Hi, I just found this forum today and quickly joined. I am so sad, I have already been taken by TSA. I was so excited that an agency was interested in my work that I was blinded. I signed a contract and I spent $95 on a referred critque. I know, I know, after reading these threads, I feel so stupid and I actually want to cry. They asked me to get an editor and I refused so they reviewed it themselves and then asked me to get another editor but I refused again. So far I haven't heard from them. My screenplay is not registered with the WGA. I do have it written in several formats including my original handwritten draft. I wish I had seen this site earlier. My question is this, does anyone know how I can get out of my contract? Also, is my script in danger of being stolen? I emailed the agency and asked them if I could terminate the contract and I am awaiting a response. I am open to any and all advice.
 

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LitFa said:
I signed a contract and I spent $95 on a referred critque. I know, I know, after reading these threads, I feel so stupid and I actually want to cry.

LitFa,

You are not stupid. These are professional con artists who've been in business way too long - and what Lloyd says is correct, so I definitely wouldn't worry.

Since they're so inept attempting to sell scripts (and novels, which is yet another octopus tentacle in Bouncin' Bobby's "empire"), they have to make their money somewhere, hence the "critique."

Oh, and :welcome:. Stick around some more. I've learned quite a lot perusing these boards, and I think you will, too. :)

~Nancy
 

LitFa

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Thanks

Thanks for the welcomes, I am glad to be here. Since TSA is a scam, does that mean that my contract is void? Can I use my screenplay to try and secure a real agent? Or should I just wait out the 90 day clause and use other material til then? I am thinking about joining inktip.com.
 

James D. Macdonald

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To get out of your contract just email them, backed up with a registered letter, saying "You do not represent me." Then forget that they ever entered your life.

After the second time you refused to hire one of their "editors" they probably deleted your screenplay anyway. As Lloyd said, these fellows have zero ability to sell anything. Their model doesn't work except as a way to drain hopeful writers' bank accounts.
 

GaryBuglass

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TheScreenplayAgency

God I wish I had come across this message board sooner! I'm another naive screenwriter who fell for TSA's "promise". I paid $95 for a pathetic critique and since the second draft of my screenplay was re-submitted I've received two responses. The first one was this --

Dear Gary,

Sorry I haven't been able to get you a proactive report on any marketing
results. (You beat me to the punch by a few days :)

In the past month there have been a couple of "internal matches" that
were relatively close to your work from the Look For Now (LFN) database
process. I am in the process of following up to discover if any of them
will agree to review your work. I will be continuing to work for you in
this manner over the next month if that's ok with you. It's slow, but
it is a good place for us to start and for you to get used to the slow
pace of the industry, which is almost tougher than writing!

Circle back to me in about a month if you have not heard from me before
then. During the next 30 days, if we don't have anything more concrete
from the LFN process, we will shift gears and get more aggressive and
discuss other options.

All the best,
Mary Bluestone
Senior Agent


3 moths past and I heard absolutely NOTHING so I sent a query e-mail - only to get the exact same e-mail sent back to me - word for word..including their promise..."During the next 30 days, if we don't have anything more concrete from the LFN process, we will shift gears and get more aggressive and discuss other options"...complete bull because more than 30 days have past and they haven't shifted gears or discussed ANYTHING with me thus far.

The latest e-mail I got from them when I sent another query a few days ago is a peach. Read this --

Gary,

Sometimes the LFN process can be maddeningly slow.

At this time, we are planning ahead and asking certain authors about
whether they would like to create a website to assist us with marketing
your work in more circumstances.

If you remember, email and having a website is one of the methods we use to market your work. It's more aggressive than just waiting for the LFN database to give a hit. The way having a website helps us is that we
have a certain group of buyers that we send an email pitch to. You can
also reference your website in any communications that you initiate.

The pitching website mimics your hotsheet, except it's placed on the web
in an attractive and industry accepted format.

If you would like to be included, you must have a website that the buyer
can click to. Uf you have one of these websites it gives us many more
options with marketing your work, so if you can afford it, we strongly
suggest that you have it.

If you would like to proceed in this manner, we found a web creation and
hosting company that does a great job and we have negotiated a greatly
Reduced price for our authors ($145 total cost.) That's the only cost
for the website for up to 2 years, and it includes creation, and hosting for
that time period. Of course if you can get a website done yourself
that's fine too, it needs to match this format exactly.

Here are a couple of examples of what the pitching websites look like.


http://www.stauthor.com/6044/Suffocate.htm

http://www.stauthor.com/6044/legendofdestiny.htm

http://www.childrensliteraryagency.com/Ghostplc.html


So, let me know your thoughts about proceeding with a website, or if
you'd rather wait and let the LFN process continue to move along.

I look forward to your reply.

Mary Bluestone
Senior Agent

CAN YOU BELIEVE THOSE SCAM ARTISTS OR WHAT???????? What a change from the very start huh? From the lame promise "we never charge a fee until we sell your work" to "we have negotiated a greatly
Reduced price for our authors ($145 total cost.) That's the only cost
for the website".

I URGE ANY ASPIRING SCREENPLAY WRITER/ AUTHOR TO STAY WELL AWAY FROM THIS USELESS, PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR AN AGENCY. IT IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME AND THEY DON'T EVEN DELIVER THE "PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP" THAT THEY KEEP PROMISING.

"We never promise a sale"....now I can see why. Because they CAN'T.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Woo! The infamous "you beat me to the punch by a few days" letter! You aren't the first or only to get that one, my friend. (See http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=818730 and http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26990&page=8 for more.)

As to the "Looking For Now Database," that's just more smoke and mirrors. Here's an editor's reaction to it: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26990&page=3

Now I see that they're back to pimping their "online pitch page" scheme. That's an old (and failed) scam of theirs. You could get a webpage elsewhere for a heck of a lot less than $145, if such a thing was useful for selling your book. Which it isn't.

Here's more about that (from more than two years ago): http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529&page=6&pp=25

Since you're looking for The Screenplay Agency in particular (not that there's a lot of difference among all the tentacles of The Literary Agency Group), try looking here for more: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/007246.html
 
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GaryBuglass

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I'm soooo glad I discovered you guys. There is no way I am going to pay anything else to this "agency". I am so close to sending them an e-mail right now and telling them where to shove it! The thought of having to go through the sleuth work of finding another agent is almost off putting.

I've noticed a lot of people have been asked by this agency to pay for an editor after the critique has been done. I never got asked this. When my critique was done I received this e-mail --

Gary,

I received your screenplay critique and I have reviewed it

A very nice critique! The editor said "there's not much to change , and
that you can probably make the changes yourself". That's almost rare, so we
congratulate you. We call this a "CR-GOOD" designation.

Many of our authors that get this CR-GOOD designation feel as though there
should be more to change. This isn't the case. Frankly, you've recieved the
top deisgnation that the editors offer and we'll move directly to marketing
because of it.

Please let me know if you are going to make the changes and approximately
how long you expect them to take. (If you ever want assistance let me
know).

After we receive your changes, we'll discuss marketing. Good job!

Best Regards,
Mary, Senior Agent

This e-mail was sent to me March 29. All I've received since then is the infamous "you beat me to the punch by a few days" reply - twice...now the "pay us to create your own website" scam.
 

James D. Macdonald

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In a spirit of fun I decided to Google on Mary Bluestone. An unusual name, and very few hits.

A couple of geneology sites don't seem relevant. Here are the ones that are:

A reader review of Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival
by Yossi Ghinsberg over at BN.com.

Listed as an agent at The Screenwriter's Market (where you can apparently post your own loglines). There doesn't seem to be a way to search the loglines over there other than by paging through and reading them one by one. Here's the Google cache:

Title: Dark Ruler
Author: Vito Di Bello
Agent: Mary Bluestone
Genre: Horror
Synopsis:
Judgment Day has arrived for Satan and his demons as one man learns the horrifying truth what must happen before all of hell is let lose on earth.
added: 2006-07-27 12:00:51-04

Real pay dirt is here, though, where the author thanks his agent Mary Bluestone: The Monroe Files. It's a series that's coming out from Ivy House Publishing.

What is Ivy House? It's a pay-to-play vanity:

The cost of our Tier 1 or 2 services range anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the particulars of your book (word count, binding, number of photographs or illustrations, etc.). Turnaround time for Tier 1 is four to six weeks, while Tier 2 takes about six months.

...

The cost of a Tier 3 contract starts at a minimum of approximately $9,000, averaging at about $14,000. The publication time frame is between 9 and 12 months.

Oh, excellent deal you've found for your client, Mary Bluestone. Keep up the good work!
 
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James D. Macdonald

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GaryBuglass said:
I've noticed a lot of people have been asked by this agency to pay for an editor after the critique has been done. I never got asked this.

It looks like they're evolving their scam. Perhaps too many people were saying "Pay for an edit? No way!" so they've dropped back to their tried-and-tested online pitch page scam in its place.

The "Aggressive Agent" deal that Victoria mentions is truly inspired. How can we charaterize it? "Unless you pay me up front I'm going to sit on my a$$ and wait for someone to call me"?

And w00t! part two! Just noticed this:


The last two links lead to broken pages. Check 'em out! Those are sure going to get a lot of requests.

For the one that isn't broken, look at "Praise/Reviews":


"It was intense!" - Best friend, Lisa Trabold.
"You've done it again, kid! It was amazing!" - Neighbor for 19 years, Jean Hurt.

I can't imagine anything less likely to fire a Hollywood executive with excitement about the commercial potential of your script than a review from your best friend or your next-door neighbor. Unless your best friend is James Cameron and you live next door to Steven Spielberg ... and in that case you sure don't need to go through The Screenplay Agency.
 

GaryBuglass

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HAHAHA. That's brilliant! I'm sure Hollywood executives would be thrilled to consider a screenplay that was praised by the writer's best friend. Jeez!

What I don't get about the misleading Screenplay Agency is this whole website option....here's a quote from my last e-mail from my (cough) "agent" --

"If you have one of these websites it gives us many more
options with marketing your work, so if you can afford it, we strongly
suggest that you have it."

What difference does having your own website make? Can't they just be like normal agents and submit your work through meetings with buyers, query e-mails etc.? It's just an excuse to get more money from you.

Also, I just LOVE how they advertise themselves on google. --

"EXPERIENCED. NO FEES. FAST."

Yeah, right! Experienced how? There is no evidence ANYWHERE of any successful clients through the screenplay agency (or their affiliates).
No fees? Gimme a break!! How come I was charged for a useless, unprofessional critique??? How come I'm now being asked to pay money for my own website???

FAST.....? Pull the other one. Since I signed their contract and was promised a "professional, fast business relationship" My best friend has met the girl of his dreams, married her and is now soon to be a father! Fast? I don't think so!

I just remembered another one of their false promises -- "Choose the screenplay that you feel is your best work. If accepted, we will discuss your other works with you later in the process"

Did I read that right???? "if accepted, we wil discuss your other works"......hmmmmm.....still waiting on that discussion Sherry!
 

xhouseboy

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GaryBuglass said:
"Choose the screenplay that you feel is your best work. If accepted, we will discuss your other works with you later in the process"

This is just Sherry-snake-speak for: 'we will hopefully squeeze more money out of you later in the process.'

As I mentioned some time ago, if Sherry had been around in another age she'd have lost count of how many times she'd found herself on the outskirts of town picking the tar and feathers off.
 

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Hopefully it won't be long until Robert Fletcher and his so-called "agents" go out of business. News of their fake and fraudulent business is spreading across the internet like wild fire.

They have pissed me off so much I feel like doing this -- :Headbang:

but when they go out of business I'll be doing this -- :roll:

and I'll be inviting everyone here that helped me open my eyes to their scam over to my place for a bit of this -- :PartySmil

Thanks again for all your help on this subject matter guys. I'm very grateful. Lets stick together to crumble these fraudsters into dust! :banana:
 

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A Change is as good as a rest (yeah, right)

I've noticed THE SCREENPLAY AGENCY has recently amended their home page. This is what they've added --


we are not finding employment for authors, our job is to sell your script :)
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What are we 'Looking For Now'? Here are just a few of the requests that we are in the process of fulfilling. (Note: if your work matches one of these requests, please let us know on your submission query.[/FONT]
  • Looking for completed script where one of the main lead characters or a central supporting character is a 10-year-old boy.
  • Looking for completed family-oriented animal scripts, i.e. scripts that revolve around a horse, a dog, or some other animal and that would garner a probable G or PG rating. Scripts should be live-action.
  • Looking for completed comedy script where the lead character is an African-American male in his 30’s. The more outrageous, the better.
  • Looking for smart, high-concept comedy set in a unique world and possessing an engaging protagonist. Can be R or PG-13, but should have a moral compass.
  • Looking for clever, completed psychological horror scripts,
  • Looking for completed feature sci-fi scripts. Only interested in big-budget summer blockbuster-type stories with strong fantastical elements that require lots of special effects.
  • ... and more are added every day.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We take pride in finding and developing fresh, new literary talent. We believe that just because you are a new writer doesn’t mean that your work should be excluded from the marketplace, and we promise to work hard to give you a chance at success.

Honestly, they will try ANYTHING to get people to contact them. Let's hope nobody falls for it, though. They're scam artists and they always will be.
[/FONT]
 

James D. Macdonald

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I've done some more Googling on Mary Bluestone, busy agent for The Screenplay Agency (and, apparently, The New York Literary Agency as well).

What did I find?

First, she represents at least one unsaleable screenplay: Death Note

Why is this unsaleable? I have no idea how well it's written. Instead, its author notes that it's based on a copyrighted work, a Japanese manga, which has already been made into a movie.

One interesting tidbit as far as marketing is concerned, there was a movie released in Japan based off of the same manga (Japanese comic) that this film is, and it held the top spot on the charts in Japan for several weeks, beating out other films such as The Da Vinci Code. The manga and anime (Japanese cartoon) that this film is based off of are extremely popular stateside as well as in Japan.

I'm just guessing, but I bet this would-be screenwriter doesn't own the film rights.

+++++

See more of Mary Bluestone here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=enl&q="Mary+Bluestone"+agent
 
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GaryBuglass

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The parasite continues....

A guy called Kent posted this on his myspace blog -- I discovered this through a search for the hatful Screenplay agency --


“what I really want to do for myself is write for television. I've written a screenplay and conquered the ever-so-difficult part of getting my foot in the door of Hollywood: landing an agent. I write for dramas, not comedies. Spec scripts are available upon request. Represented by The Screenplay Agency, Mary Bluestone.”

Poor guy. Not long until he realizes like the rest of us his dreams are about to get pounded on.
 

AC Crispin

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Getting Even With Robert Fletcher

I hope all of the folks posting here who are complaining about having been scammed by Robert Fletcher in one of the fake "agency" incarnations have written to me to get guidelines on what to do now that you've been scammed.

My email address is [email protected]

Feel free to pass it on to all known victims.

-Ann C. Crispin
Chair, Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com