So what does this mean exactly? It means we stand for something, or better, for someone - you, the writer! And our actions reflect our words.
When the WGA writers strike was going strong, The Script Department was there - armed with dozens of cupcakes, and a battalion of The Script Department staff.
It means when it comes to your baby, you're in charge.
You want page notes? You got it.
Want them typed as note balloons in your PDF? We can do that, too.
We're here to inspire, educate, and facilitate. And while no script consulting company can promise to make you a professional writer, with one of the most experienced teams of story analysts in the industry, we can promise to find the professional writer in you. To take your writing to the next level, and the one after that, and when you're ready to blast off, we have the industry connections to pump you full of jet fuel.
Writing is a journey, not a destination. And we'd like to be with you for the long haul. So no matter where you are in the writing process, we're here to help.
Need some inspiration? Check out our Writer's Rolodex.
Need some motivation and inspiration? Check out The Rouge Wave for some serious screenwriting know-how, served up with a smile and a cupcake six days a week.
Feeling lonely in your writer's den? Commiserate with other Rouge Wavers (a motley, friendly crew) on the Rouge Wave II. You can chat about your favorite (or not-so-favorite) flicks, ask and answer questions, or just soak up some good vibes.
Whatever you need, we're confident we can help. With multiple script sales, rewrites, and options between us, not to mention access to agents and managers, we have the experience and the knowledge to point you in the right direction.
So whatever it is, just ask. After all, it's about you!
How do we know we can help you? We've helped these guys...
We here at The Script Department take pride in working with writers at every point along the way. From total neophytes, to writers with a few scripts under their belts seeking representation, to all-stars like Robert Chomiak and Paul Smith who still [wisely] value solid feedback before sending a script to their agents or a producer.
We've coached gazillions of scribes toward reaching their goals, and we'd be honored to do the same for you. Our clients have placed in competitions like The Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition, The Page International Screenwriting Competition, The Creative Screenwriting Competition, The Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, and the Warner Brother's Television Fellowship. They've scored representation, taken meetings at studios such as Universal and Fox, and most importantly, have come away from their experience with us as better writers - full stop.
From Detroit to Djibouti, we receive gifts and cards from satisfied clients the world over. (Not hinting here, just sayin'.) We have been wined and dined, mentioned in thank-you speeches, and have received innumerable "thank you" emails. (Again, NO pressure.) At The Script Department, it's not surprising we boast one of the highest client retention rates in the industry - a whopping 98%.
How do we do it? We connect with our clients and they return again and again, because they know that working with us means they, the writers, come first. Because to us - it's personal. Every time.
Having worked as a story analyst at several production companies, Julie began to tire of the heartbreaking job of giving script after script a PASS without any explanation to or empathy for the writer. In 2006, she founded The Script Department with the intention of providing story analysis in a kinder, more comprehensive way.
Each script consultation is like a mini-screenwriting lesson and The Script Department clients have consistently procured representation and placed well in competitions after having worked with Julie and her partners.
A lifelong Californian, Julie resides in Hollywood. When not working on one of her psychological thriller scripts or spending time with her two children, or one of her two dogs (Ray the Chihuahua, or Maddie the ShiTzu), she is writing her Young Adult novel and sharing her knowledge about writing, entertainment, and life in her popular blog, The Rouge Wave.
Since then Andrew has turned from the dark side into the light and is now a working writer, repped at ICM and Mosaic Media Group. Warner Brothers picked up his feature screenplay ABSOLUTE ANGELS and he is currently working on a Korean/American horror co-production. Some of his other recent work includes penning the horror flicks THE MERMAID and GRIM (which he also produced) for 24/7 Productions and Screenprojex, respectively. Outside of screenwriting, Andrew is also the US Editor of The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook US Edition and Co-Author of The Guerilla Film Makers Documentary Handbook. He consults and performs story analysis in both the fiction and non-fiction worlds.
And when he's not busy doing any of the above, he puts in some time as the Production Manager for Operation Repo, the #1 show on TruTV.
Andrew received a Bachelor of Arts in History from The George Washington University in Washington, DC as well as a Masters in Film and Video from The American University in Washington, DC. Always concerned with "giving back," he currently teaches at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios.
What are your favorite films?
EASTERN PROMISES, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, ALMOST FAMOUS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and SEXY BEAST.
Who are your favorite directors?
Cameron Crowe, Wes Anderson, Tony Scott, Genevieve Jolliffe.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
Sneaking into a drive-in theater in the trunk of my friend's car - along with two other buds and several cases of beer - to see BACHELOR PARTY.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Read as many screenplays as you possibly can, both good and bad, so you understand what the buyers want and don't want. Then read and experience life beyond the movie world as much as possible - it will only help you to be more creative.
After college, Margaux worked at USA Films in Acquisitions and Development, reading every script she could and meeting every assistant possible. After a year behind a desk, Margaux segued into the fast pace of reality television production where she directed 60 episodes of TLC's home organization show, CLEAN SWEEP. When the show ended, Margaux chose to focus on her own screenwriting career again, and took a job as the Director of Development at Writers Bootcamp, a professional screenwriting training ground, where she oversaw 300+ writers between LA and NYC.
During that time she found a new level of skill and interest in coaching and developing young writers' material. A Warner Brothers Television Fellow in 2007, Margaux is currently staffed on CW's critically acclaimed new series, PRIVILEGED. An overachiever by nature, when she's not in the writers' room, or at home working on her own pilot, she delights in helping emerging television writers at The Script Department. Click here to find out more.
What are your favorite TV shows?
PRIVILEGED, 30 ROCK, IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, DEXTER, and DAMAGES.
What Are Your Favorite Movies?
SOME LIKE IT HOT, CHARADE, HOT FUZZ, 3:10 TO YUMA, and DIE HARD.
Who are your favorite directors?
Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz), Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman, Mike White.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
When I saw PULP FICTION for the first time. I had wanted to be a writer up until that point, but PULP FICTION was the first time I realized someone actually wrote movies. I wanted to be the next Tarantino...and I was 13!
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
This business is made of those who stay and not those who leave. If you really want to do this, you have to keep going no matter what. If you don't love this with all your heart, save yourself the pain of trying to break into this lottery of a business. The quality writing will rise to the surface, if you stick around long enough to keep getting better.
What are your favorite films?
MANHATTAN, UNFORGIVEN, ROSEMARY'S BABY, GROSSE POINTE BLANK, THE APARTMENT, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, CHUNGKING EXPRESS
Who are your favorite directors?
Billy Wilder, Woody Allen, Wong Kar-Wai, Cameron Crowe, Marc Forster
What was your most memorable movie experience?
Seeing a midnight show of RESERVOIR DOGS when I was 15, and realizing how film can be a way for an artist to get across a singular vision -- I think it was the first time I really thought about who made movies, and that there was a writer, director, etc.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Be persistent. Write. Network. The screenwriters I know who have been successful are competent writers, but they aren't necessarily the best writers. They are the ones who kept working and never gave up. Somebody with ten good screenplays who is constantly rewriting and getting their work out there is a lot more likely to be successful than somebody with one great screenplay who just sits around. Much of this business is about finding a situation where all of the right factors converge, and you should do everything you can to increase the chances of that happening.
Early in his career, Robert worked as the editor of an alternative arts newsweekly, then later at a traditional weekly newspaper where he won the New York State Press Association's award for Best Creative Non-Fiction. He eventually moved into writing screenplays, earning a living doing adaptations and taking writing assignments from aspiring directors and producers who had the germ of an idea, but lacked the tools to bring the story alive on the page.
He has covered screenplays for writers (with an eye toward story and a satisfying writing experience) and for production companies (with an eye toward marketability and audience response). Aside from covering Script Department projects, Robert is actively involved in the 7th Art Corporation, a non-profit film appreciation and education organization, and makes it a point of personal pride to see at least three films a week. He finds it extremely fulfilling to pinpoint specific issues in the screenplays he reads, and recommends thorough and appropriate solutions, always with respect for the story the writer is compelled to tell.
He was also blessed with the opportunity to pick the brains of people like John Wells and Jan Sardi (SHINE, THE NOTEBOOK). In addition, he shot and edited several short films on Super-8, all bearing the distinct influence of Lynch and Fellini, his idols at the time. He has read well over a 1000 scripts and has written nine feature length specs of his own, as well as two television specs.
What are your favorite movies?
There are far too many to mention, and I'm always worried I'm going to forget some key ones. So instead of listing them all and being the catalyst for a bunch of glazed-over eyeballs, I'll just say that 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and THE EXORCIST are the two movies that made me passionate about films and really started me on my journey.
Who are your favorite directors?
Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Michelangelo Antonioni, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, and Steven Spielberg. Recent favorites include Lars Von Trier, Lukas Moodysson and Michael Haneke.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
Without a doubt, it was seeing 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in the Cinerama Dome back in the mid-'90s. I was sitting in the front row, and the movie dominated my entire world for over two hours and 20 minutes - just simply blew me away. I had already seen it a number of times (the first when I was five), but that night I fell in love with it all over again.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Think about the spec you're working on right now. It doesn't matter if you're in the early brainstorming phases or are on your tenth draft. Just close your eyes and think about it. Now ask yourself, "If this were an actual movie that was written by someone else, would the trailer, reviews, general publicity and internet buzz pique my interest so much that I would rush out to the theater to see it?" You should be able to answer yes to that question. If you can, then ask yourself "Would I love this movie?" as you approach every act, sequence, story beat, scene, line of dialogue, and visual. Strive for a longgggggggg succession of authoritative "yeses". If you can't answer "yes" to the initial question, then get your script to the point where you can, or work on something else - something that will elicit a "yes".
Not long after university, Maegan worked in the TV Literary department at the Endeavor Talent Agency, where her love of feature films expanded to include a passion for television. She has worked extensively as a script reader, providing coverage for Michael London, MTV Films and Mandalay Pictures. Maegan has written numerous screenplays of her own, as well as completed a rewrite for hire under the direction of Richard Benjamin (THE MONEY PIT, MERMAIDS, MADE IN AMERICA). She also wrote and directed a short film that was chosen for the 2008 LA Shorts Fest entitled TEN SIGNS YOUR ROOMMATE IS A SERIAL KILLER.
What are your favorite films?
Every film person will say there are too many to list so I'm going to just mention a few. CASABLANCA because it's timeless. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS because it was like nothing I'd seen before. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE because it's witty. And ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND for making me cry.
Who are your favorite directors?
Danny Boyle and Tim Burton
What are your favorite TV shows?
DEXTER, 30 ROCK, DAMAGES, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
THE NEVERENDING STORY blew my mind as a kid. It wasn't afraid of going to dark places despite being a children's film. Atreyu!
What advice could you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Not everyone is going to like what you write. Period. It just won't happen. You could write the greatest Charlie Kaufman-meets-Tom Stoppard brilliance, and there is still a chance that the first person that reads it will hate it. So you have to be prepared to keep going even when the criticism rolls in. You have to believe in yourself. But the trickiest part is that in order to learn, you need to be open to the feedback people give you while still staying true to the story you want to tell. Other than that, read all you can. Write all you can. And find some good friends to keep you motivated along the way.
Then, like many loose stones before her, she rolled into L.A. with lofty expectations, no car, little money, and way too much black in her wardrobe. She landed work on the much lauded shows, JOAN OF ARCADIA, JOEY, and SONS & DAUGHTERS. Currently she writes for film and tv and takes on freelance projects as well.
She has provided script coverage, in-depth analysis, and Latin market insight for clients ranging from Scott Free and Samuel Goldwyn Films to Paramount, Hero Pictures, and The Cortez Brothers. She has written and consulted for over 30 television, film, and commercial directors globally, with a special emphasis on emerging directorial talent in Latin America and Spain. Her script translations and subtitles have made their way to the Cannes Film Festival and to award-winning productions at the Montr&eacut;al World Film Festival, the Guadalajara Mexican Film Festival, and CineVegas.
She is available for translating completed English-language feature film scripts into Spanish and Spanish-language scripts into English. She can also correct Spanish dialogue in your English scripts on a page-by-page basis.
John Lovett is a 20 year Army veteran who has worked in the entertainment industry as a military technical advisor for over ten years. He has worked on motion pictures, documentaries, and television shows. As a produced screenwriter, he knows what the screenwriter needs and how it needs to be shown. Ask him your military questions.
For complete motion picture and television support, The Hollywood Military Advisor offers the filmmaker the following services: U.S./foreign military liaison; period research; screenplay and story board consultation; re-enactment/re-enactor coordination; pre-production/location consultation; production/post-production/ADR; weapons, military equipment, vehicle, and costume acquisition and consultation; actor and extra training; and weapons master. Started by prior and active duty military personnel, The HMA has over 10 years of experience providing military technical advice. The HMA has provided consultation and assistance to Warriors, Inc., Dreamworks Interactive, Legacy Interactive, Silvertouch Pictures, Synergy Group, and Nichols Productions.
