What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

[Corey Mandell]

I just posted an article on What Are Your Real Chances of Success. The answer might surprise you. You can check out the article here:

http://coreymandell.net/blog/screenw...es-of-success/

[-XL-]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

Considering the title of the post you sure use the words "guess" and "assume" an awful lot.

[Signal30]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

I always wondered how the ratio broke down, roughly. Pretty much about how I figured.

Even worse, scripts submitted to the industry are graded through coverage, and these readers’ reports are put into a database accessible to all the other production companies and studios.

Never knew that, but it makes sense. Although the suspicion of something like that is why I've never even queried...I consider myself a decent writer with ambitions to make it up to good.

[wcmartell]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

63:17

- Bill

[JeffLowell]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

There is no coverage database. A studio doesn't pay a reader 100 bucks to cover a script and then offer it to their competitors.

[NikeeGoddess]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

battlefield earth is one of the worst movies of all time.

[Signal30]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

There is no coverage database. A studio doesn't pay a reader 100 bucks to cover a script and then offer it to their competitors.

That's too bad. Seems like it'd clean the process up.

[cshel]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

There is no coverage database. A studio doesn't pay a reader 100 bucks to cover a script and then offer it to their competitors.

That's good to know, and makes perfect sense, but then why do we keep hearing stuff about this mythical, big brother, script coverage database? Is this a practical joke perpetrated by readers to keep newbies from sending out their scripts before they're ready, so they don't have to read so much dreck?

[JeffLowell]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

The cynic in me would suggest that some script consultants would try to make people afraid to send scripts out before they're perfect... And they just happen to be able to make them perfect.

I sent out a lot of scripts to a lot of people before I broke in. Never stopped me from getting the next script read.

[jcgary]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

Is this a practical joke perpetrated by readers to keep newbies from sending out their scripts before they're ready, so they don't have to read so much dreck?

Dreck is easy to cover.

why do we keep hearing stuff about this mythical, big brother, script coverage database?

Cite please.

[odocoileus]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

I just posted an article on What Are Your Real Chances of Success. The answer might surprise you. You can check out the article here:

http://coreymandell.net/blog/screenw...es-of-success/

Even worse, scripts submitted to the industry are graded through coverage, and these readers' reports are put into a database accessible to all the other production companies and studios. So if you're submitting scripts that aren't well reviewed, these reports will follow you around like a bad credit score, making it harder and harder to get anyone in the industry to want to read your future scripts.

Does the coverage database exist or not? I mean, I've heard of coverage databases within a given agency, but is there an industry wide database? Is it really like a credit score?

[jcgary]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

Odo, did you actually read the thread before you posted?

THE DATABASE DOES NOT EXIST.

PERIOD.

END OF STORY.

[cshel]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

Cite please.

Alas, I am unable to remember exactly where I read about this, but there were at least three different ones I came across in my screenwriting internet reading in the last...six months? However, Jeff may be correct in that they may have been somehow connected with a coverage service. I will definitely take note in the future if I see this myth again.

[Knaight]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

Alas, I am unable to remember exactly where I read about this, but there were at least three different ones I came across in my screenwriting internet reading in the last...six months? However, Jeff may be correct in that they may have been somehow connected with a coverage service. I will definitely take note in the future if I see this myth again.

Yeah, it comes up pretty often. Can't point to any specific blogs/threads/etc right now, but I've seen it around a number of times. I think it works like any other myth/urban legend. It frightens and excites people, so they immediately pass their newfound knowledge on.

[jcgary]

Re: What Are Your Real Chances of Success?

What? You mean that thing I heard from that guy who didn't know anything but said he'd heard it from a guy I totally believe used to work at Carolco 25 years ago isn't true?

THE HUMANITY!

Seriously, guys:

STOP LISTENING TO DUMB PEOPLE.

Use some common sense.