Please allow me to introduce myself

A few years back, I was reading scripts for a production company run by a very well-known producer, a man whose name graced the titles of many hit films. As happens a lot, I didn't meet this man until I had read at his company for a few months. It all depends on the company. This was one where the "top guy" depended on his staff to handle the details, as he had reached the level of success where he felt he could count on them and just deal with the broader vision of his company.

One day, while with the Executive to whom I reported, we happened to encounter the Producer in the hall. When the Executive introduced me , the Producer got a sly smile on his face and said, "Ah, the man who hates everything."

I read for the company for three more years and those were the only words the Producer ever said to me.

Such is the life of a Hollywood Script Reader/Story Analyst (more on the difference between those two titles in a later entry). The job is to review the material sent to the Executives and highlight the truly exceptional scripts for the company, whether it be a major studio looking for a broad range of material or a single producer looking for one project striking enough to attract investors and talent.

The job is to look for the best the scripts, the exceptional ones, the ones that make the person reading them want to turn the page.

Are you a Writer? Have you written something that is "just as good as the films out there now?" If so, you haven't aimed high enough. Look to exceed the level of those films, for we've already seen those films. If you're writing a genre film, expand on the ideas of the genre, do not merely regurgitate what you've already seen. Give someone too much and they know you're creative and they can help you pull back a bit. Give them not enough and you just seem lacking.

Do I "hate everything"? No, that's just a distinctive label, not a true indication of what I do. The entries to follow will be a chronicle of my adventures in the development process of Hollywood. I already know many writers can't stand to think the likes of me hold some sway over their work. All I can really say is "too bad." It's a fact of the business. Men and women like the producer I mentioned above need gatekeepers, that's where I come in. Write a great script and your vision will be championed. But also remember, even the great ones don't always get bought or made.

As for my background, let's leave it at years on the job and thousands of pieces of material. This is Hollywood, after all. Age is more a state of mind than a counting of your years.

If you press me, I'll claim to have been a child prodigy. Yeah, that sounds good.