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More on Script Reading By Mary J. Schirmer
Some readers wrote in about a recent column on script reading. They wanted to know how to break in.
These are smart screenwriters because those who break into script reading will also be making valuable contacts in the business. These contacts may lead to script sales someday soon.
Every company involved in making movies has people who read scripts. Their job is to recommend a "good" script and get rid of a "bad" script so it doesn't waste the producers' time.
If you want the job of script reader, you need to convince the people who hire readers or who let you volunteer to read scripts that you know what you're doing. So you need some experience and some credentials.
Do you belong to any screenwriting groups, screenplay reading series, and/or writers' organizations? Did you go to film school? Have you written any films that actually got produced? Have you ever taught screenwriting or other forms of writing? Have you ever judged a screenwriting contest? Have you had an original screenplay optioned? These are all feathers in your screenwriting cap that you'd surely want to mention on your resume.
If you want to get some practice reading scripts, you can do a couple of things.
1. As I mentioned in the previous column, write coverage for screenwriters on www.zoetrope.com. You'll see material from LOADS of beginners, and you'll see every mistake that new screenwriters make. Be kind to them-- they're learning.
2. Call up your local film festival, and if they offer a screenwriting contest, volunteer to read scripts for them. They'll probably kiss your feet, or at least they'll buy you a soda.
3. Look on www.moviebytes.com for smaller screenwriting contests, and offer to help them read the mountain of scripts they'll receive.
4. If you're near a college or university that teaches screenwriting, you might see if the instructor will allow you to review scripts if they're going to have some type of student competition.
Develop a checklist for yourself, so that when you're reading, you'll be able to make notes about format, story, characters, theme, etc. You could then share your form when you send in your resume to try to land a reading job.
I've seen calls for readers on www.mandy.com and www.craigslist.com, LA and NYC. Not often, but I've seen them.
Once you're ready to be interviewed, start sending out resumes to production companies and studios. Do you know how to find lists of companies? There's a great, well-known book called the Hollywood Creative Directory. If you live in a film center, you might find it at the public or university library. A bookstore could order the latest Producers book for you, or something similar, like the Hollywood Blu-Book (not Blue).
Dig around on websites, and you'll come up with sites that list production companies, such as http://everyonewhosanyone.com/tt/tgpc1.html . The back-and-forth e-mails on this site are a hoot to read, too. They give you a feel for how touchy some company employees are.
You could also do an Internet search for companies whose names you remember, like Castle Rock Entertainment or Imagine Entertainment. Also, do a search for the major studios.
So, good luck with your job search. Keep in mind that pay rates go from zero to $75 or thereabouts per script read. Try to get paid at least $20. Reading a script and doing it justice takes at least three or four hours, if you actually read it. Have some respect for your own time and knowledge.
Thanks so much for reading the "Film Fuss" column. I just love getting mail from readers.
To read past Film Fuss columns, click
here.
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