How It Works

JIM MERCURIO IN-DEPTH SCRIPT ANALYSIS - $1200

If production is around the corner or if you want unparalleled specificity and attention to craft to polish your script and make strides toward becoming a professional, then click here for more information or contact filmmaker and consultant, Jim Mercurio.

About Jim Mercurio

Jim Mercurio produced Hard Scrambled, a feature film starring Kurtwood Smith (That 70's Show, Robocop), Richard Edson (Do the Right Thing, Stranger than Paradise) and Alanna Ubach. The film played closing night of the Cinequest Film Festival and won Best Dramatic Feature at Garden State Film Festival.

Jim wrote and directed the two hours of bonus material for Hard Scrambled which, Video Business said, " ... is designed to play like an indie filmmaking seminar ... This is the kind of value-added material DVDs were made for." The Washington Post called the bonus material, "A must for would-be filmmakers."

He directed and co-produced the feature film March which stars Sean Kanan (Hack!), Cynda Williams (One False Move), Rena Sofer (Traffic) and Michelle Phillips (The Mamas and the Papas). It played opening night of the Lake Arrowhead Film Festival. Chris Potter of the Ann Arbor News gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "March is in fact an astonishing and deeply disturbing meditation on the tangled conflicts of the human heart ... remarkable first film."

Jim also was executive producer of Hand in Hand, a micro-budgeted one-location feature that was shot in conjunction with the Los Angeles Film School. He has won several awards for his screenwriting, including the most prestigious college writing award, the Hopwood Award (past recipients include Arthur Miller and Lawrence Kasdan), which he received while receiving his Masters in film from the University of Michigan.

The former Director of Development for the producer of Allison Anders' Gas-Food-Lodging, he is nationally ranked as one of the top screenplay consultants in the country. He has Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated clients. His column was singled out by the LA Times as "hilarious," when they chose Creative Screenwriting as the best screenwriting magazine. Jim has taught screenwriting and filmmaking at the Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles, Siggraph in Boston (invited by Disney) and at the Duke City Shootout in New Mexico. He has spoken in front of thousands of writers and he has directed more than forty DVDs on screenwriting. He is known as one of the top screenwriting educators in the country and a champion for undiscovered writers. Jim is an avid poker player and has been playing since before it became cool. He is also a poker columnist for the national poker magazine, All In.

CHRISTOPHER KEANE ON-SCREEN BUNDLE - $1200

This is a personal, hands on, analysis with 10-15 pages focusing on the main character as the driving force that will raise your screenplay's bar higher than it's ever been. Consultation includes a copy of Chris' new book, Romancing the A-List: Writing the Script the Big Stars Want to Make (release date: April, 2008) and a one hour+ phone consultation.

About Christopher Keane

One of the foremost script analysts in Hollywood, Christopher Keane is a working writer and WGA member with credits in features (Paramount, WB) TV movies and series (ABC, USA Network popular series and CBS Film). Chris has written three best selling books on screenwriting: How to Write a Selling Screenplay, Hot Property and Romancing the A-List (April, 08). He has taught and lectured at Harvard, NYU, Emerson and Northeastern Grad Schools, The Smithsonian, and National Press Club.

THE 20/20 CONSULTATION - $595

A highly personalized, in-depth analysis focused on crystallizing the spine of the story and the writer's vision. Emphasis is on the protagonist's journey, making every element (e.g. action, description, dialogue, character, tone, conflict) in the script work toward its seamless and professional expression. Includes two thorough reads, 5-8 pages of notes, and a two-hour phone conference.

About Sheila Gallien

Sheila Gallien worked for six years alongside Oscar-nominated screenwriter William Broyles, Jr. on projects including Unfaithful, Cast Away, Entrapment, and Planet of the Apes. Previously, she worked at CAA as a literary agent's assistant, and as a freelance reader. Her original screenplay, Dropping In, is being produced by Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want, Where the Heart Is, Aquamarine) and her company, Storefront Pictures (What Women Want, Where the Heart Is, Aquamarine), and has the interest of a major star. Sheila is repped by The Wachter, Rabineau, Sanford and Harris Literary Agency. Sheila models her consults after years of experience in intensive script meetings with actors, directors, producers, and studio executives, while developing screenplays from inception to release. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii.

If your script has reached the professional level, it will be read by a literary agent at Wachter, Rabineau, Sanford and Harris.

DOC-TONIC - $350

Have a great doc idea but don’t know how to get started? Or are you in the middle of a project and don’t know what to do next? Get one-on-one consulting with filmmaker, consultant and author of The Documentary Film Maker’s Handbook, Andrew Zinnes. Topics include: Research, copyright issues, production, post, sales & distribution.

Includes: 2 hour consult in person/phone/webcam or skype and two week, unlimited email access.

About Andrew Zinnes

Andrew Zinnes has over a decade of development experience working for Norman Lear's (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, STAND BY ME) Act III Productions, Donald De Line's (DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE, THE ITALIAN JOB) production company at Paramount Pictures and USA Networks' Original Movies division (HELEN OF TROY, DEAD ZONE, MONK).

Since then Andrew has turned from the dark side into the light and is now a working writer. His feature screenplay ABSOLUTE ANGELS was picked up by Warner Brothers and he is currently working on a Korean/American horror co-production. Andrew is repped at ICM and Mosaic Media Group. Outside of screenwriting, Andrew is also the US Editor of The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook US Edition (aka The Guerilla Film Makers Hollywood Handbook) and Co-Author of The Guerilla Film Makers Documentary Handbook. He does consulting and story analysis in both the fiction and non-fiction worlds.

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.