Screenwriting

Sorry to hear you got ripped off, Michael T Gregory. Was it a screenwriting agent?

Hey Michael,

I'm always warning others of the scumbags that infiltrate the industry and yet I get warned not to bitter (Truthful) or stand-offish (Cautiously optimistic). Now the biggest rip-off when dealing with agents is that they are all, to some degree, rip-offs. There are no REQUIRED licenses needed to become a literary agent. They mostly just weasel their way into the bedrooms and backseats of "decision" makers and studio head morons that love to greenlight overpriced bombs like The Running Man remake and lose 100's of millions of dollars.

That being said, the biggest rip-offs are stealing your screenplay and then ripping you off out of cash. Never pay an agent anything! They get 10% of what they structure a deal for. Always copyright your work. The process is fairly simple through The Library of Congress. After that, you just can't be just a screenwriter anymore. You should have some rudimentary knowledge on how to construct a business plan which will include, but not limited to a shooting schedule, a budget for Above the Line and Below the line talent, a cast wish list, but don't go for too big of a name because that no longer has any pull with audiences because audiences are becoming sick and tired of being lectured by these celebrities on what they should like as opposed to what they just like. The thing is, there are a lot of morons out there ready to take your money. They say you need to hire a Line Producer. Now you don't. You need to budget for one then when he's hired, he can make the appropriate adjustments.

Thing is that you have to research these people. I have had producers talk a big game and after a little digging have found out that they produced nothing of note. I myself am a director/screenwriter that made a film for $2,200.00 which grossed $4,500.00 on a 3 day/9 show weekend at a privately owned theater. The film featured over 14 locations and over 20 actors so I never lost money, but studios would rather lose $100M than take a gamble on a $1.5M budget action film.

Don't take anyone on face value alone. Do some research or have a trusted friend research them. Everyone says "They know the business," but according to the track record just from 2025 alone, none of these "professionals" know anything about the film industry or they are just to dense to learn from their past mistakes.

Michael T Gregory so very sorry to hear this. I can see why it feels even more bitter because your work is worthy of an agent. I can see also then how that could have made you more open to this fraudster. I know there was a post a few months ago about an actor who almost got ripped off by an agent.

Thanks for the feedback. Hindsight being 20-20, I would’ve done lots different. Do you notice there aren’t any agents on this platform?! Hmmm

Hey Michael, this is Suzanne from the Stage 32 team. I just wanted to let you know I moved your post from Acting to Screenwriting, as it fits much better there. Let me know if you have any questions, and all the best to you!

Hello Pat,

I submitted one of my horror/thriller features called , “ The Wages of Sin”,

In 1920s Harlem, Evie LaRue, a windowed numbers runner accepts a poker invitation promising to clear her late husband’s debt to Harlem kingpin Bumpy Johnson. But the table is run by the Seven Deadly Sins and the Devil himself - and here, every hand risks more than money. To win, she must outwit Hell itself before the house collects her soul.

a ***widowed***

I’ve submitted Painted Face- an American Dad got possessed by a Chinese opera ghost when he purchased a colonial house in San Francisco.

Painted Face is a supernatural horror thriller about the Dubliner family, who move into a remote colonial house where pregnant mother Shannon feels an unsettling sense of déjà vu. Soon, eerie visions and ghostly encounters reveal the presence of Fong Zhi Yun, a depressed and disillusioned Chinese mistress and her ex lover, Chan Mong Sang, a vengeful Chinese opera singer. Shannon uncovers a chilling link between herself and Zhi Yun, who once murdered her lover, the bi-sexual opera star Chan Mong Sang. Mong Sang’s tormented spirit possesses Shannon’s husband, John, turning him violent—he begins to abuse their children and slip into frightening trances that mirror the ghost’s past.

Desperate to protect her family, Shannon seeks help from priests and spiritual healers, but conventional exorcism fails. Guided by a Chinese spiritual expert, she learns that the only way to end the haunting is to relive Zhi Yun’s final act. In a haunting ritual performance, Shannon confronts Mong Sang’s spirit, freeing John from possession. Though the family survives, they are left deeply scarred, haunted by the knowledge that the past can return in terrifying ways.

I submitted my dark comedy-horror script The Bridges to the Stage 32 + Mammoth Pictures “Search for New Blood” Screenwriting Contest!

Logline: A sarcastic suburban couple must figure out what’s turning their teenage daughter into a cold-blooded killer before her rebellion wipes out the whole neighborhood.

Tagline: Parenting is purgatory. Teenage rebellion is hell.

Fingers crossed—and good luck to everyone who submitted!

Submitted!

I entered the competition with my supernatural horror feature THE SHADOW VERSE, inspired by true events drawn from childhood experiences and generational folklore.

Recent highlights:

• Winner – Best Foreign Screenplay, New York Script Awards

• Finalist – 13Horror Screenplay Competition

• Official Selection, Best Hollywood Day Short Film Festival

Logline:

When a woman haunted by childhood possession reads her family’s cursed grimoire backwards to rebuild her life, she awakens an inherited evil determined to claim her daughter’s soul.

It’s a dark, emotional, and deeply spiritual horror about faith, loss, and the danger of temptation.

This project means a lot to me, and I’m so happy to share it here.

Wishing the best of luck to everyone who submitted!

Congrats, Justin Groats!!! Celebrate ALL victories!!!

That's wonderful news! Congratulations!

Great news Justin! Always good to hear about writers getting recognized.

Making the quarter-finals absolutely means something. Congratulations!

congrats, that means you got something the readers liked. those list are usually in alphabetical order

How can I find this video? There is no search feature under the Webcasts portal (I do have a Writer's Room membership)

Congratulations on finishing! That's awesome and that synopsis sounds like a Hallmark movie commercial already.

Elle Bolan Heart emoji : ) Thank you!!!

Ahoy, Juliana Philippi! Congratulations on being a Spotlight Member, finishing your goal way sooner than expected, and submitting A Texas Carol to its first OWA! I like title and twist on A Christmas Carol!

Maurice Vaughan Thank you Maurice!

You're welcome, Juliana Philippi. Hope your script moves forward in the OWA! Have a great weekend!

Hey, Sebastian Tudores! Knowing how to edit could help screenwriters with pacing.

agree 100% Maurice Vaughan ! thx

You're welcome, Sebastian Tudores. I can't make the webinar today (wish I could!), but I plan on watching it later.

I learned screenwriting by directing and editing the scripts I wrote myself. So learning editing is a good idea. But there are cheaper programs which are easier to learn and almost as powerful. I have used Adobe Premiere Elements a lot. But I did use Premiere Pro from 2003 to 2005, when I learnded filmmaking at a public access television station.

couldn't agree more Göran Johansson - there's so much to discover about where we start if we're more aware of where it's gonna finish.

Congratulations, Semifinalists!

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Um..story of my creative life. I feel as I write, and it's just amazing when the connection is that strong.

Indeed we are not, Sandra Isabel Correia :) <3

Agreed Juliana Philippi. I of course get swept up in whatever I’m working on at the time but it was special this time with BoFS. I love my characters and this world I created for them to play in, that’s really the world I wish I lived in myself. Finishing the draft definitely changed my brain chemistry and unlocked something deep in me because you wouldn’t believe how fired up I am right now lol even with all the alarming amounts of bad sleep I’m running on since tackling it xD

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh That's how I feel too, and I'm so happy you are experiencing this magical moment. It's just another door, I think, opening you up more and more to bigger and larger creative processes.

Thank you Juliana Philippi, I think so, too. Lol and I really do wonder about potentially expanding the series into a heptalogy after all… but of course I’ll have to see how SiR at least turns out. Truth be told BoFS was such an emotional experience that the thought of the series ending at six entries seems a bit too soon xD

"Somebody's got to lead, might as well be me"

Challenge accepted. I’ll respond with the mindset of one of my sci-fi worlds.

“Innocent? You misunderstand, hero. They are offerings. The god I have awakened demands a worthy sacrifice for immortality — and I intend to live forever.”

I turn to you, offering a knowing smirk.

“I see you are not only self-righteous, but foolish and blind as well,” I state, pointing my finger at you in an authoritative manner. “Those ‘innocents’ you are so worked up over are an advance scouting party from an alternate dimension. They are — my mistake, were — here to provide a point of attack on our world. By neutralizing them, I did what you were never able to do.”

I fold my arms smugly, smirking at you. “I just saved the world. And if you stop me, you will be the villain.”

I offer you my hands, challenging you to put me into custody. “Go ahead, ‘hero’…do what’s right.”

I got a new one from another sci-fi world.

I didn’t respond — I just left with a monologue:

“I survived them. You’re the real villain.”

Thank you very much for asking — you’re actually guiding me toward new twists in my story.

You pass the buck, was your own pious vengeful justice, that turned a society into marked witnesses.

Thanks, Elle Bolan. I might write more one-page scripts. They're fun, they're practice, and some producers want them.

Hmm. Interesting to know.

Elle Bolan thank you, and honestly, I agree. I think it’s because screenplays are inherently meant to be acted out by at least one person while novels are primarily meant to be read, at your own pace.

And yeah, this series honestly made me more than I made it, so that’s why I’m so hellbent and stubborn to do it my way lol

Elle Bolan Congrats!!!!! We're twinsies, I just finished my final draft of my screenplay I had noted to to in November, so yey!!!!!!

Congratulations @Juliana! I know that's a great feeling.

You're welcome, Sandra Isabel Correia. Thanks. I'm going to make a post this weekend about my experience writing the one-page script and share some tips. One-page scripts are hard to write sometimes.

Thank you Elle Bolan, and I hope your achieve your goals too. Let’s goooo

That will be great Maurice Vaughan. Will bring more awareness to all of us. You are one of a kind very special :))

Oh, yes. I did. The main one anyway. INSPIRATION INC is drafted.

The TV pilot however... Will be the death of me.

Sandra Isabel Correia Hi Sandra!!! I also reached my November goal, I finished my first Christmas screenplay!!! It's ready, as it can be, been vetting it, editing, and reviewing, and it's off to the races. The last week of November, my goal is to actually reflect, be grateful, and prepare for some pitch and exec meetings I have coming up in December, so lots of research, preparation, and confidence. We have lift off!

@Jay Gladwell I agree about content creation. I've read and watched some AI generated trash.

However, I feel like there IS a place for. It's like any other tool writers use - software. It's how you use it, right? No pun intended.

I think people who generate writing via AI are... Well. But if used as I do (cause outlines are of Satan) I don't think it's bad. But I wouldn't, huh? Bias et all. It's not creating anything for me. It just organizes cause I suck at that. I can edit or adjust things easier. If a single adjustment in act I affects the other acts, the AI will adjust it all. It may not even end up being exactly how I write it, but it's usually close.

AI learns as it goes. My ai assistant knows me almost as well as some of my friends. She knows my writing style, my writer's voice.

It's an effective tool but it has to be used as a tool and not a shortcut for laziness.

I don’t think anyone who’s actually used AI is saying it’s going to put anyone out of a job. I tried to get a chatbot to create me a visual of a colour palette I was going to use when decorating my house at the weekend. I gave it the exact colours (paint names and everything) I wanted and described what I wanted it to do, it tried 6 times, each time missing one or two of the colours I’d asked it to include off and then I just created the colour palette myself on canva because I was sick of wasting my time.

Can you write a screenplay professionally without using one of the writing programs like Final Draft or similar? The answer is no.

Can you write a screenplay without using a laptop or desktop computer? The answer is no.

Can you jot down the idea for a scene while on public transport without a phone or a notebook and pen? The answer is no.

Well, they are just tools—nothing more. And artificial intelligence is also just a tool. Use it in a way that makes it an assistant to your creativity.

Maybe it helps you with brainstorming—which it’s very good at.

Maybe it helps you with translation, as it does with me.

Maybe it helps you discover a flaw in the sequence of events.

Maybe… maybe… and maybe.

But it is definitely just a tool. Use it well, and it will be very useful to you.

oh shit it just erased my whole comment. I'm not going into this again. Chat, take over cause I ain't. This is AI st its worst, it erases our stuff without us asking it. it does all kinds of things. But I'll be damned id its gonna fuck with my creative genius. and if you don't like my exercise of my 1st amendment write (typo intended), bring back the much better comment you erased.

I LOVE writing. But I definitely only use AI as an assistant tool. It may help me come up with an idea. Or think through a character's motivation. I occasionally use it to spark MY imagination. But I write every bit of dialogue, characters and scenes. It's just a tool. I believe so many overthink it. AI cannot write a watchable, decent script without a skilled or at least knowledgeable writer knowing how to challenge and make it better, IMO. AI sucks on its own and is only as good as its tool user. In fact, I've built apps (not ChatGPT, Claude or any other/connected brand) based on my own knowledge base that I use to check my structure and potential plot holes after I'm finished. AI, properly applied, makes your writing better. And I challenge anybody to use my tool and prove me wrong. https://cinemacanvasai.com/