I have to say, watching all these opinion leaders weep over the loss of Coverfly while claiming this only leaves the Black List as an avenue for writers to promote their scripts is eye-opening. This August will be nine years since Script Revolution launched. In the last twelve months, we've seen two films members have films they wrote released, one has had a script greenlit, one has had one sold, two have had options, and one member has become a staff writer. That's before getting into success stories for short scripts.
And they fail to mention many other platforms too, all of which may be of interest and writers should be made at least aware of, including: InkTip, Stage 32, Spec Scout, VPF, ScriptHop, ISA, Roadmap Writers, and Simply Scripts.
They're letting writers down.
So, what do we think's driving it all? Igorance? Elitism? Obsufication?
Laziness and fear is a part of it.
You see it in promotion/marketing for music, books, and movies as well. The rule of thumb used to be in marketing that people will generally remember up to 7 different companies within a certain industry, so to be in the top 7, companies all had to generate a unique image/logo/tagline to stand out from the rest. Now, instead of growing in number due to technology, the number has dwindled.
also, and this is an assumption on my part, the companies that make loads on contest/entry/pitch/feedback fees use some of that money for PR and they are often the ones feeding the news to these sources to write about, which guarantees they get mentioned and keep their name out there and growing.
When I worked in radio, we were often told which new artists we had to play, even if the audience wasn't into it because the major labels paid huge amounts to make sure we did.
The journalists might know this sight and even love it, but if they start bringing you in, it might upset the companies paying for coverage. They'll get a call from PR asap to squash that.
Or they are just being lazy and spitting back out what was spoon fed to them to finish content as quickly as they can to move on to the next assignment.
This might indeed be the crux of it. There's no commission to be had promoting Script Revolution. There's no lottery tickets full stop.
Exactly,
but that certainly is why a lot of us are here and learning/sharing and I appreciate you doing this. A lot.
Doug
CJ, it's all of the above, and also that the screenplay competition industrial complex is/was STRONG, especially when it comes to controling the spec-script market culture. I have writer-friends in their 50s and 60s who've been at this for decades who still swear by these contests and websites, despite little to no results. Younger, newer, desperate, etc. writers don't have a chance against this, especially with sites (names withheld) that have a cult-like following around their "Founder," as if he's not in the same boat with them.
I do feel like we've seen the break-in screenwriting world follow the Hollywood studio world. What was once run by artists is now dominated by Wall Street Guys and Venture Capital Tech Bros. What I can't understand is why so many writers want to be part of that. It's like they want this to be a corporate world.
CJ,
For me, I am nervous to hand over a script to the corporate overlords, but I don't have enough knowledge or access to "indie/midlevel" producers who might be able to greenlight a script like mine. I've worked with several crews as an actor, but don't have enough resources on my own to get it done properly.
In the end, though, to make this movie happen, I imagine I'll need to push it forward myself.
Doug
The amount of patience you need cannot be underestimated. People telling others to just go make a movie or just go query because a "good script" will work its way up are insane. I broke in after seven years, it's nearly another seven years since then, and I still don't feel any higher than the first rung.
Even most producers will acknowledge that tons of good or even great scripts don't get made.
I understand your feelings, CJ, but you have achieved a huge amount.
Thanks so much for writing that, Nick. It means a lot.
From what I've read, the whole "just write a good script" thing tends to come from working writers who want to believe this is a pure meritocracy, which is isn't.
No worries.
Yeah, I'd consider it a partial meritocracy! But very partial.
Hi all,
Circling back on this post as it's been a few months since the demise of Cover Fly, etc. Having been at this both full and part time since 2010, it has become much harder to "connect" with producers or film makers on your projects, especially if you are unknown or unproduced. 12 years ago, I could craft Query Letters specific to a producer and send them out. I would typically get 2 responses out of 10, occasionally asked to send the script for a read, but most were more of the "thank you, good luck, sounds like a great concept, not for us" kinda thing. I got two meetings in LA by doing this, so it used to work, BUT... back then, I got responses, which is more than I can say about today's world.
I've also moved off most contest entries as you are up against 100's, if not 1000's of other projects, and yours has to really stand out. Plus, writing for features is becoming, IMO, less and less requested, or relegated to proven writers who can give some confidence on a marketable product; streamers/TV are the thing. I've also focused on generating concepts for Indie budgets, contained settings, etc., as those pp/companies are sometimes easier to connect with and seem to have more time and interest in actually talking with you. I still feel The Gauntlet is the best bang for your buck on feedback that you can actually take and use to improve the work.
I believe you have to have a Pitch Deck or some sort of Pitch Reel for your project; for those execs or others who want a quick look at the overall tone, theme, story, but in a short digestible nugget. If you are okay using AI for this bit, taking your synopsis or outline beat and dropping it into ChatGPT 5.0 will do a decent job of generating a cohesive Pitch Deck, at least on paper. What you do with that is up to you, but it has helped me craft one Pitch Deck, and I am now working on my second.
Hi all.
FYI: CJ, this little gem of an email arrived in my inbox today. I immediately flagged it as junk and my concern is that they are referencing Script Revolution threads to create authenticity. This very forum thread is the one it references, but as you can see, there is no true entry here. I am not sure there is a SCR user that goes by Romin4040, but I wanted to give you the heads up. It is clearly AI generated, and it looks like a scam to get the end user to "click" on the two links to whatever they are selling, or worse, a virus awaits you. Here is the email, links removed just in case:
from: Script Revolution<info@scriptrevolution.com>
To: You
Hi rainycitywriter, Romin4040 has commented on: "They're still pretending we don't exist" ---- The narrow focus on a single
The narrow focus on a single platform usually stems from a mix of industry elitism and informational inertia. Hollywood often relies on a small circle of "prestige" brands, "Uhmegle", like the Black List, creating an exclusive bubble. High-profile opinion leaders frequently default to what is trendy or heavily marketed, overlooking grassroots alternatives.
Additionally, simple ignorance plays a massive role. Many commentators simply don't do the homework to discover thriving, "Coomet" active communities like Script Revolution. This lack of awareness ultimately does a great disservice to aspiring writers seeking diverse paths.
---- You can view the comment at the following url https://scriptrevolution.com/comment/6197#comment-6197 You can stop receiving emails when someone replies to this post, by going to https://scriptrevolution.com/comment_notify/disable/a3NoHsZehPWBicR0Nmdr... You can set up auto-following feature for all future posts by creating your own user with a few clicks here https://scriptrevolution.com/user -- Script Revolution team https://scriptrevolution.com/
Thanks for the heads up. I deleted it when I saw it. Very strange methodology of using AI to generate a reply and injecting links into it in such a clumsy way.