Now Taking Script Coverage Bookings for January ‘24

Is your screenplay competition ready? Is your film script ready to go to film producers, film directors, and screenwriter agents? If so – wonderful, and well done! But bear in mind that you may think it is because you are subjectively attached to your screenplay. You may see it is a certain way. Others may not see it as you do. You need objectivity. I can provide it.

I have been hired to undertake over 200 script assessments by screenwriters (some of them Oscar winners), film producers, film directors, and film finance companies. I have become very good at seeing ways to improve screenplays and revealing what is wrong with them.

I can do the same for you.

Hire me to cover your script and you’ll get pin-sharp and very honest feedback for a reasonable price. Screenplay coverage for scripts up to 110 pages is £150.00/$200.00. For that, your screenplay will be assessed according to the following screenplay imperatives:

·         Film script premise. Is there a proven place in the film market for your concept? Does the concept match the genre? Does the concept match your designing principle?

·         Screenplay story line. Does the story work? Does the story match the genre? What does the beat-sheet look like? The beat-sheet must suit the screenplay genre and enable the story to be told in a cinematically attractive and expected way.

·         Characterisation. Do your screenplay characters live and breathe? Are they believable as people, and yet interesting enough to make the reader read-on? Do their characters change the story, and is the story changed by the actions your characters take because they are who they are? Do they change because of the story? Because is they change in spite of the story, you’ve got a problem. I can fix it. How about relationships? Different screenplay characters will relate in different ways. Their on-screen relationships are a product of their on-paper characters. I can show you how.

·         Film script dialogue. Does your script contain too much dialogue? Most screenplay do (though the amount of screenplay dialogue is genre specific). Most screenwriters overwrite dialogue, and burden it with exposition. Try to use as little dialogue as possible. Make characters do things instead of saying things. I can show you how.

·         Film script structure. Is your screenplay’s structure a product of the screenplay’s plot, which is itself a manifestation of the story, which engrosses the script’s foundational concept? Good screenwriters ignore the three (or five) act script structure with the same skill with which they use that structure. The script structure will be there, but at a subliminal level. I can show you how to do this by assessing your screenplay accordingly during script coverage.

·         Screenplay pace. Screenplay pace is to some degree linked to genre. We wouldn’t expect a period drama like SENSE AND SENSIBILITY to have the percussive, on-page impact or punchy pace of a thriller like PAYBACK. But your screenplay must be a page-turner nonetheless. The script reader should be motivated to keep on reading - to turn the page - because they want to know what will happen next. You can induce the script reader to do this in all sorts of ways. I can show you how.

·         Screenplay originality. Is your script original? If so – be wary; originality is usually prized in the creative arts, but screenplays are business plans. That means they can be original, but they must (unless you are Wes Anderson or Lars von Trier) conform to certain requisites – stuff audiences expect. You can mix this up. So while the story of the first THE MATRIX film is in detail pretty original, the story and structure are on-the-nose formulaic. So the story’s original elements are presented in ways that audiences can rely on to narrate this journey into another world.    

·         Audience Appeal. As mentioned, your screenplay is a business plan - one that needs to read like a work of art. Will it appeal to audiences? If so, which audiences? Know thy film audience demographics. Write for the most profitable demographics so the film has the best chance of making a profit. That is what film investors are looking for – though the kudos of investing in film and making relationships is also important to them. Find out what makes a film appealing to audiences. Learn how to make your screenplay prescribe a story that can be turned into such a film. Hire me to cover your script. You’ll gain insights on all of the above screenplay elements, and so make your screenplay better suited to going out there and being seen by people who can help.

Get in touch at nick@filmscreenwriter.net to hire me to cover your screenplay - or to provide any of the other screenwriting and film script consultation services you will see on this website. Talk soon!

“Nick Green's script coverage is a useful blend of insight and objectivity. An experienced screenwriter himself, he has the ability to identify issues with screenplays instinctively. Of value is that he reads scripts from a film investor point of view, namely: how will a screenplay leverage the film market and turn a profit once it has been produced, and if it won't, why not? He always finds constructive ways to improve scripts, too, which is a benefit to screenwriters and producers alike.” 

Ian Franses - Peacock Film Finance