Thread by @jonathanwstokes

Here’s my humble two cents! In Hollywood, I would say you should never ask someone for something that is not in their immediate self-interest. It will almost always create an awkward situation... 🧵 1/

In conversation, you can mention that you have scripts and are looking for reps but leave it at that. Any writer will be able to read between those lines. The repped writer is then free to offer to help if they are so inclined.🧵 2/

This is all just my opinion, of course, but I think this soft approach spares the repped writer the embarrassment of being put on the spot, or the discomfort of turning you down. This is a deep etiquette question though, so here’s my more thorough attempt at an answer...🧵 3/

Speaking only for myself, if an acquaintance asks me to pass a script to my reps, what they’re really asking me for is 2 hours of my time followed by 2 hours of my reps’ time. That’s like asking an acquaintance for 4 rides to LAX! 🧵 4/

First, I have to read the script to make sure it’s undeniable. 2 hours. If it is undeniable: great! I get to do my reps a huge favor! But, as anyone who has read a lot of scripts knows, there is a 99% chance the script is not undeniable. 🧵 5/

(I hope that “99%” does not sound 100% mean-spirited. I humbly think that if you polled every exec in Hollywood, they would largely agree that 99% of spec scripts are not smashing it out of the park, and that most professional scripts don’t smash it out of the park either!) 🧵6/

So, in reading an acquaintance’s script, there is a 99% chance I will be investing 2 hours of my time in a script that is deniable... One that I cannot proudly show my reps. Plus, there is the added pain of hurting that writers’ feelings when I tell them this opinion. Ouch! 🧵 7/

If the script is not fantastic, I cannot ask my reps to read it without sacrificing some of my credibility. If I was to make this mistake with my reps a 2nd or 3rd time, they would stop reading scripts that I send them. I would be the boy who cried wolf. 🧵 8/

I would then be unable to help out a truly great writer in the future. 🧵 9/

Lastly, I’ll say this. Like most people in Hollywood, I wake up every day hoping I will discover an amazing script that blows my mind. Nothing would make me happier than to help a deserving writer get their shot... 🧵 10/

But, personally, I would feel more comfortable being the one to offer to read that writer’s script, than being put on the spot! Joe, I hope this helps! /🧵 #Screenwriting