Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

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  • Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

    I'm recently transplanted to L.A. and was wondering if any of us know a reader/analyst currently in the industry. I'm looking for reading work myself and was hoping to pick someone's brain about the experience.

  • #2
    i read. send me a pm if you like.

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    • #3
      Story analysts; editors guild

      Hit the link below for a good article about the story analysts who are unionized. Then hit the "Guild Home" option box at the bottom left of the page to learn about the guild and how to contact them.

      Even if you don't end up as a union member, you can request info about reading in LA and pose whatever questions you'd like to this professionals' resource.

      http://www.editorsguild.com/newslett..._analysts.html

      -- Carlton

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      • #4
        In my experience, what most confuses outsiders about coverage (especially those looking for reader gigs) is that coverage is not about how to improve a script. It's strictly about what's there on the page. It is not like one of those read-and-review peer sites. This is what ends up frustrating the bejeezus out of readers. You also have to know how to write coverage with your employer's goals in mind. Which means you will often have to pass on those rare good scripts if they are not what your employer is looking for. In all, it's a study in frustration.

        kullervo

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        • #5
          CE's got it right on (as usual)

          This is as good a primer as anyone would need on looking for reader work for the first time.

          Indeed, CE and Kullervo are right about coverage changing based on the company's goals. One of my favorite pieces of coverage to this day is my coverage on American Beauty which I read for Bruckheimer in 98. The fact that it wasn't exactly their type of movie was a footnote, however, in an overall rave review of the writing.


          -ExtHollywoodDay

          -www.bartgold.com
          - - - - - - -
          Script consulting still going strong.

          Details and updates here, as always: http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/...ead.php?t=9901

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          • #6
            Ps

            PS: You may find that the 'constructive input' factor varies from company to company as well. At one of my early gigs, the story editor literally told me 'we need you to be an assassin. The less of this pile we have to read, the better.'

            When I was reading for Team Todd and New Regency they were pretty specific about the reader embellishing upon the script's good points. Team Todd was hard to read for because they wanted you to make the coverage better than the script.

            By that point in my reading career I had developped a pretty specific style in writing my one-two page synopses. I felt I was accurately recreating the experience of reading the entire script in these synopses... for example a plot might be confusing since the reader was missing key information on someone's motives until such was explained the final scene. I would not go back and plant the information at the beginning of the synopsis. I would put it at the end so the exec would experience the same confusion.

            Mostly, folks appreciated the accuracy, but a few of them wanted the reader to go the extra yard and fill in the holes. There's no predicting which way any given executive would lean until you've written some coverage for them.


            I would add that contrary to some of the reader lore I heard about when I first started... I would NOT describe the average reader gig as the type of situation where the threat of firing and thrown coffee hangs over your head if you don't agree with the executive's call on every single piece. There is room to learn and adjust.

            Once I passed on City Of Angels, feeling that the angel character played by Nic Cage felt sort of creepy and stalkerish to me. I was called on the carpet by my executive V.P. of production, who was quite touched by the script. I explained my take and she said she saw my point. That was that. They didn't make the film.

            Years later when it showed up on Siskel & Ebert, the critics called Nic Cage's character creepy and stalkerish.





            ExtHollywoodDay
            www.bartgold.com
            - - - - - - -
            Script consulting still going strong.

            Details and updates here, as always: http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/...ead.php?t=9901

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            • #7
              Very satisfying, Ext!

              k

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              • #8
                Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                The snarkier and more dismissive my coverage was, the happier and more enthusiastic the studio was about that coverage. Sure, I snuck in some good points about scripts and was even applauded for doing so--as it gave the executives something nice to say to the agents. But, by and large, they really wanted me to do a Willard on those Kurtzes (scripts). Guess what? Many of those scripts deserved far worse. So much dreck makes its way around town. It's truly puzzling. The upside is that a writer can learn from reading. However, reading 97 horrible scripts for every 3 good scripts can seem like purgation or damnation. Take your pick. That's the reality.

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                • #9
                  Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                  dreck.

                  subjective business.

                  knowing dreck when you read it.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                    Wow. Thank you guys so much! This has been a wealth of information!

                    I'd written a cover letter and updated my resume, but I wasn't sure where I could pull scripts to cover from. I never thought of using recently sold specs!

                    I'm glad to hear about the different experiences you've had in doing coverage. I feel like I have a better handle now on what to expect and how to go about things.
                    "The intrepid Spaceman Spiff is stranded on a distant planet! Our hero ruefully acknowledges this happens fairly frequently." Calvin & Hobbs

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                    • #11
                      Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                      that goes double for me. Thanks everyone.
                      Cesahr
                      www.Baggagethefilm.com
                      "I could be wrong, and I probably am."

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                      • #12
                        Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                        Originally posted by AnconRanger
                        dreck.

                        subjective business.

                        knowing dreck when you read it.
                        Yes and no. You know dreck when you read it, usually by page one, but you hope you're wrong. You hope for a good script, every single time. No one wants to read dreck. You want a good script and you get excited and enthusiastic when you do read one. That happens all too seldom, between 1% and 3% of the time, and most script analysts would agree with that.

                        It's not hard to recognize a sub-standard script, just as it's not hard to recognize a good script. The better or worse a script is, the easier the coverage is. In the case of an awful script, the hard part is reading it. The real challenge of the job occurs on scripts with strong merits that are compromised by other weaknesses. An almost-good script can be the toughest to cover, and there are more of those than there are good scripts. Dreck rules the day though. There is an ocean of mediocrity out there and being a script analyst is like pearl-diving in that ocean. There are a lot of pearl divers, very few pearls, even fewer good pearls, and an endless amount of ocean.
                        Last edited by NiteScribe; 05-14-2005, 01:51 PM. Reason: clarity

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                        • #13
                          Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                          NITESCRIBE -

                          Did you ever give bad coverage to a script that was bought by another company, and even made into a good movie? Can you cop to the fact that maybe you just didn't SEE the film on the page, or you just didn't get it.

                          I've read coverage from legit prodcos and studios that passed on one of my scripts, and in the synopsis of the story they got things wrong - Things in scenes didn't happen the way they said. So me thinks that they didn't really read it carefully. This script by the way, ended up getting me a few options and a good amount of writing jobs, one that was made into a low budget movie.

                          Just wondering...

                          Landis

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                          • #14
                            Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                            Originally posted by Landis26
                            Did you ever give bad coverage to a script that was bought by another company, and even made into a good movie?
                            I've never given bad coverage to a script that was bought by another company. However, I have made a point in coverage that certain scripts would sell elsewhere. Those scripts did sell elsewhere.

                            If anything, as a script analyst, I've been too generous.
                            Last edited by NiteScribe; 05-14-2005, 03:05 PM. Reason: addition

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                            • #15
                              Re: Does anyone here know a reader/analyst?

                              NiteScribe, you've never given bad coverage to a script that was bought by another company?

                              Wow.

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