Screenwriting : Script Doctor 101: What they do, how to hire one and become one by Alex Bloom

Alex Bloom

Script Doctor 101: What they do, how to hire one and become one

If you think you’ve reached a stage with your script where you need some help from a professional screenwriter, hiring one as a script doctor may be a good idea.

In Hollywood, studios and production companies spend hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on hiring a professional screenwriter to doctor a script. But you don’t have to.

Find out how can you also get a pro script doctor to work on your screenplay or TV pilot at a fraction of the cost: 

Craig D Griffiths

The Title makes me hate this article immediately.

How to become a “script doctor”. How to charge people money for advice when you not successful yourself. May as well be call “How to keep and myth alive and make money from your fellow writers”.

The ONLY PERSON that may have been worthy of this title was Carrie Fisher. She dead, the title dies with her.

This isn’t a real job. It is a title used to give authority to fakes. I hope I am not being ambiguous on what my opinion may be.

CJ Walley

Let's not conflate what a script doctor is within the industry with what a script doctor is within the break-in scene.

Industry script doctors, as described in the article, are a very real thing and often highly respected writers. Academy award winner, Diablo Cody, once joked in an interview about how she doctors scripts for films that frat boys go to watch, the very demographic who typically hate her credited work.

Within the break-in scene though, yes, huge red flag. In fact, one of my favourite burns is the easter egg in The LEGO Movie 2 where Rex Dangervest is introduced as an arrogant loser and "Script Doctor" flashes up as one of his skills.

Kiril Maksimoski

I was hired on consulting by the director I did short film with years ago...I guess all comes to relationships and trust

Dan MaxXx

Before the internet, a script doctor was generally employed by companies making movies. Some time after the internet boom, unemployed industry ppl started selling coverage reports, guru consultation, whatever to general public. The article posted is aimed at general public. Believe what you want to believe.

Other topics in Screenwriting:

register for stage 32 Register / Log In