I'm trying something a little different

Just a moment of your time before we resume our regular broadcast schedule

I spend a lot of time thinking about screenplays.

As I’ve been hinting for the last couple of years, I have once again been working as a screenwriter. I had made the decision to retire, but an irresistible offer reminded me that screenwriting is part of me, deep down in my bones. I’ve been reading scripts as long as I could lay hands on them, since I first found books with screenplays in them. When I was fourteen, the unit publicist on Starman gave me a copy of the script to keep, and I took it apart, studied it, tried my best to learn formatting and function from it.

I read screenplays constantly. I try to read everything on the annual Black List, and I read scripts all year round, looking at them for all sorts of reasons. I am fascinated by the different ways people take the basic rules of screenplay grammar and bend and twist them to do the most incredible things. I am delighted when I encounter a strong voice on the page, but more than that, I am always impressed when people learn economy and precision.

When I was at Ain’t It Cool News, one of the things I was known for (positively and negatively) was the script reviews that I published. It was an intrusive practice, something mainstream media had an absolute line-in-the-sand against, which is part of the reason we did it. We were brats. But there was more to it than that, at least for me. By that time, I’d been in LA for the better part of a decade, and one of the things that became clear to me is that screenplays are like water, and water leaks. If something is in development somewhere, trust me, everyone else in town is reading it. There is a vast network of information constantly flowing from office to office to computer to computer, and before computers, Xerox machines would work overtime, after hours, churning out copies of everything. People read so they know what is going on. They read so they know what the state of the art is right now. They read so they can realistically guess if something might work or not. They read for all kinds of reasons, but believe me… they read. I think one of the most important jobs I ever had was as a script reader for various companies and studios. When you do that, you see it all. Good. Bad. Professional. Amateur. Great executions of average ideas. Terrible executions of great ideas. And every once in a while, you’d read something and genuinely be surprised by the story or the craft or the underlying ideas, and that would be delightful.

When I wrote those script reviews at Ain’t It Cool, there were real-world ripple effects. Things that were stuck in development suddenly got unstuck. Things that were barreling ahead out of control sometimes got sidelined. More than anything, what I really tried to do was emphasize certain priorities of mine… craft, character, story… by discussing everything that was being done. When you read a movie review and someone criticizes the script, they’re really reacting to the final thing that was based on that script. In some cases, that document didn’t look anything like the film, so it seems crazy to me not to read if you really want to understand what role the written word has in the process of filmmaking. When I would publish a script review, I knew full well that it would be read at every studio in town, and I think the reason they were so widely shared is because I came to every one of them from a position of deep passion for the craft I’m writing about. I love great writing. I love it when something really connects on the page, and when it doesn’t, I can’t help but try to figure out why. I don’t think everyone agreed with me, but I do think everyone in town was also reading all of those same scripts and if nothing else, my reviews would lead them to really think about their own reactions.

I have written scripts for Revolution Studios, 20th Century Fox, Showtime, HBO, NBC, New Regency, and more, and I’ve worked in both television and feature films. I have been a WGAw member since the mid-‘90s. In 2024, I was a Screenwriting Mentor at the SXSW Film Festival. When I talk about screenplay, I am talking about something that is very important to me.

And now, for the first time ever, I am ready to talk screenplay directly with you.

There is enormous value in having someone read and react to your screenplay. Nobody writes in a vacuum. I have my small group of readers I trust and respect, people who will fearlessly and directly react to whatever I send them, who tell me when something’s working and who will be clear with me when something’s not. I know how hard it can be to find someone whose opinion you trust and respect. By this point, I hope I’ve earned both trust and respect from you as a reader, and that’s the exact energy I will bring to the script feedback I’ll offer you. Over the past thirty years, I have had countless people ask me to read things for them, at every level of development or production. Until now, I’ve never made this offer to the general public, and I have had to turn down so many requests from strangers over the years that I genuinely felt bad about. Today, that finally changes.

I have a limited amount of time I can dedicate to this per month, so I’ll put this up in the store while it’s available and take it down when it’s not. I want to make sure I give everyone their feedback within a 45-day window, so that means being aware of how many of those slots are available.

While my work was controversial, it also directly impacted dozens if not hundreds of projects over the years. I have been on hundreds of film sets over the years, I’ve read thousands of scripts, and I’ve talked story with filmmakers for three decades now. What I offer is a wealth of experience and some hard-earned ideas about what makes a screenplay special. More importantly, I believe I can give you actionable notes that will help you better unlock the story you’re trying to tell.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Depends on what you want.

For $250, I’ll read your script and send you a written summary of my reaction.

For $350, I’ll send you my notes and then spend an hour on video with you to dig deeper.

For $500, I’ll send you my notes and then give you two one-hour video sessions.

WOULD YOU READ ANOTHER DRAFT?

I’d be happy to, but each read is a separate fee.

This is where I offer up a disclaimer to inform you that I am a working writer and I am constantly developing material of my own. If you send me your script, you do so with the understanding that I will not use anything of yours in my work, and if I feel that your work is in some way in conflict with something I am already developing, I will refund your fee. You understand that there is a chance that there may be some similarity to something generated independently, and you accept that responsibility when you send your work for consideration.

Basically, I’ve got too much stuff of my own to write. I have zero interest in taking anything from you. I’ll be cool. You be cool.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?

I cannot (and would not) promise that my notes and input will make your script more commercial or I cannot guarantee you’ll sell something, but I will give you my honest, unvarnished feedback, and I will do my best to give you actionable notes you can use to better showcase your ideas and your voice.

What you’re paying for, more than anything else, is experience. I have practical experience going back decades, and for any writer, that kind of perspective can help you see your own material with fresh eyes.

Please follow this link to the page where you can select which product you want.

Thanks, and for anyone interested, I look forward to talking to you about your work soon.