Who We Are
Founded by Julie Gray in 2006, the Script Department is a group of talented story analysts who are also writers. We are privy to the way scripts are analyzed by agents and producers. And with multiple managers, options, rewrites and sales between us, we have been on both sides of the equation. So we know how you feel and we know what kind of material Hollywood is looking for.At the Script Department, you will develop a working relationship with your story analyst and he or she will get to know you, your script and your writing very well. To us, every client is a unique individual deserving of our full attention.
Only the best analysts work at The Script Department. Each is invested in the success of our writers and the direction of our company. Because to us, this is personal.
Who We Are Not
We are not a faceless script service company which employs anonymous readers to churn out coverages as fast as they can for as little pay as possible.At The Script Department, we are veterans of a different work ethic, one that has taught us that overworked, underpaid story analysts just don't have the energy to put their best work into the notes your hard-earned money buys. Fatigue, reading too quickly, making errors, and glossing over notes are unintentional byproducts of a factory-like atmosphere. That's not a great way to have your work reviewed, take it from us.
Our Track Record
The Script Department has clients who are repped and produced, but who still value solid feedback before sending a script to their agent or a producer, for example, writers like Robert Chomiak and Paul Smith. We take a great deal of pride in these writers and many more like them.We also work with writers on every point in the curve: from beginners learning about screenwriting for the very first time, to writers with a few scripts under their belts seeking representation.
In fact, The Script Department has successfully coached hundreds of writers toward reaching their goals. 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. Our clients have found representation, taken meetings at studios like Universal and Fox, and most importantly, have come away from their experience with us as better writers — full stop.
We receive gifts and cards from satisfied clients all over the world, which makes us feel so honored. We have been taken out for dinner, mentioned in thank-you speeches, and received hundreds of emails. At the Script Department, we connect with our clients and they return again and again, because they know that working with us means that writers come first. Because to us — it's personal. Every time.
About Julie Gray
A published essayist and short fiction writer, Julie was the winner of the 2003 Creative Screenwriting Expo Writers Boot Camp Award. Julie graduated from the program in 2005, and is also an alumna of the UCLA Writers' Program Studio, and has read for the Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition as well as for Walden Media (Narnia) Seed Productions (The Tourist) Red Wagon Productions (Jarhead) Bedford Falls (Blood Diamond) and Cinergi (Swim Fan).
A lifelong Californian, Julie lives in Los Angeles. When not working on one of her psychological thriller scripts, she is writing her YA novel, or sharing her knowledge about writing, entertainment and life in her popular blog The Rouge Wave.
The Script Department Mission Statement
We embody professionalism, honesty, and industry connections, one writer at a time. We are committed to being personally involved with each and every writer no matter where they are on the curve. We are a positive presence in the screenwriting community and are respected by industry professionals.Our goal is to teach, encourage, coach, and ultimately empower each writer so that they are better writers after having worked with The Script Department. We help writers take their material to the next level of its potential. We inspire confidence and creativity. We give writers a realistic view of how their material may fare in a very competitive market.
Screenwriting is the powerful intersection of creativity and commerce we call Hollywood. The Script Department mentors our writers through what can be a challenging and frustrating path with honesty, encouragement, arming them with and the resources, introductions, and recommendations to raise the level of their game.
We value each writer as a unique individual with a unique vision and a story to tell. And we hold this truth to be self-evident: The difference between writers who make it in Hollywood, and those who don't, is that those who made it never quit trying.
Our Story Analysts
Unless specifically requested, Script Department analysts are assigned to your script according to their availability.Andrew Zinnes
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.
What are your favorite movies?
Almost Famous, Back to the Future, The Shawshank Redeption, 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 be more creative.
Margaux Froley Outhred
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, however, 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 wanted 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 coaching and developing young writers' material.
A Warner Brothers Television Fellow in 2007, Margaux is a staff writer for the CW. She is delighted to help develop emerging television writers at The Script Department. Click HERE to find out more.
What are your favorite TV shows?
South Park, Heroes, Dexter, and Friday Night Lights.
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 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.
PJ McIlvaine
PJ also has an indie holiday film THE TOWN THAT BANNED CHRISTMAS with Matt McCoy, Hunter Gomez, Jane Sibbett and Carol Alt currently awaiting distribution, hopefully for 2008. Ask her about the producers meeting where they thought she was going to show up in a fringed shawl with a cat on her shoulder.
PJ has placed in Nicholls, the People's Pilot, Austin and Moondance and was a staff member for the now defunct Screentalk, with numerous essays and articles published in Newsday, The New York Times, other media and various online sites. She currently writes a monthly column called "Adventures in Screenwriting" for Moviebytes.com.
What are your favorite movies?
So many movies, so little time! To Kill A Mockingbird, It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The Piano, Die Hard (the first and third), any Gerard Depardieu movie, B-horror flicks, and too many others to mention.
Who are your favorite directors?
George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and my husband.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
I have two. First, as a kid, screaming in horror over The Phantom of the Opera, I had nightmares for weeks. Second, semi-losing my virginity at the drive-in while watching Star Wars. Harrison Ford never looked so sexy.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Oh boy. That it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's okay to use three brads. If your mother says it's wonderful, it's probably not. Writing is like a discipline, the more you do it, the better you'll get at it. If you can't write to the exclusion of almost everything else, you're barking up the wrong tree. Develop the hide of a rhino. Read like the wind, write like the devil. Don't forget to spell check. Keep in mind that from writing a script, refining it, sending it out into the cold, cruel world, finding a champion, then that champion finding a champion, and actually getting the darn thing made can take years. So be patient. And kind. And sweet. Would you pay ten bucks to see your movie? It's not called Show Business for nothing.
What are your favorite TV shows?
Monk Monk Monk (for the superdupercalifraglicious Ted Levine), 24 (except for last season, yecch),
Project Runway, Jericho (before they killed off Gerard McRainey), Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen
Nightmares (Chef Ramsay can sharpen my knives any time he damn well pleases).
Bill Ballantyne
He wrote his first play The Al Cornell Story in 1982. It was an immediate hit, winning a Dora Mavor Moore Award. He was hooked. His second play, Bat Masterson's Last Regular Job, was performed in Toronto and in New York simultaneously. He has written sixteen plays, to date, receiving international praise.
In 2000, Ryerson University invited him to teach a course in script writing. The response was overwhelming: he was filling a real need. The word spread and he now does seminars with Victoria College, Theatre Passe Muraille, The Tarragon Theatre, The Yale Dramatists League and E-scripts.
Bill is also the chief film consultant at Warrington International, where he writes and edits documentaries, features and shorts. He maintains a small coterie of promising students whom he coaches privately, both for stage and screen. He has recently sold his film, Cooking For Two, and expects an October release.
To enter Bill's mind, please read Writing A Play, published in Scene 4 Magazine (November 2006) and in CanPlay (December 2006).
What are your favorite movies?
Hud, Five Easy Pieces, Pulp Fiction, The Big Lebowski, Fargo.
Who are your favorite directors?
Martin Ritt, Roman Polanski, The Coen Brothers, Elia Kazan.
What was your most memorable movie experience?
The final shots of Five Easy Pieces.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Write from the heart, make the stakes high, and take us through a transformation.
What are your favorite plays?
American Buffalo (Mamet), No Man's Land (Pinter), True West (Shepard), A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams).
Robert Southill
Robert Southhill is a native of upstate New York, but considers himself bi-coastal now. A lifelong reader and writer, Robert has a BA in English ("I speak it almost every day!"). He started his career in tech writing, taking 6 or 8 week assignments in different cities all around the country, traveling from town to town, getting in adventures and writing to make ends meet. He finally settled down working as the Editor of an alternative arts newsweekly, then 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 actually get the story on paper. 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). In his time working for several different Hollywood production companies, Robert learned fast what makes a script work, and just as importantly, what doesn't.
Aside form 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 3 films a week. He takes tremendous pride in pinpointing specific issues in the screenplays he reads, and recommends thorough and appropriate solutions, always with an eye toward respecting the story the writer is compelled to tell.
Ryan Dixon
Since arriving in Los Angles by way of Western Pennsylvania, Ryan Dixon has worked in development at MGM/UA, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Cruise/Wagner Productions, Endemol USA and IMAX. Recently he was the managing director of the creative consulting firm, Good in a Room founded by Stephanie Palmer and is currently a development consultant for O.N.C. Entertainment and CEO Michael Nathanson, the Oscar nominated producer of L.A. Confidential and former President of MGM.Aside from screenwriting and creative consulting, Dixon has collaborated on interactive theater projects that have been seen at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Actors Theatre of Louisville. In 2005 he directed and co-wrote the interactive stage thriller, American Standard for LA’s Edgefest and in 2008 he directed and was the story editor of the “choose your own adventure” play The Boomerang Kid. The LA Weekly called this production “fast paced and ingenious.”
Other more traditional theatrical ventures include directing David Ives’ All in the Timing and The Most Important Show Ever After Mama Mia!, a comedy revue written by and starring Josh Gad that was performed at Ars Nova in New York City.
Dixon has also written and directed the nationally released murder-mystery CD-ROM, Mixed Reception and is in the final stages of post-production on John Dunn’s Last Run, a 30-minute horror film he wrote and directed.
What are your favorite movies?
Jaws, Slapshot, The Tailor of Panama, Annie Hall, A Fish Called Wanda, Terms of Endearment, The Hudsucker Proxy
Who are your favorite directors?
Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Woody Allen, Blake Edwards
What was your most memorable movie experience?
Watching The Hudsucker Proxy for the first time when I was 14. My mother drove me 90 minutes to a run down theater at the Monroeville Mall (where they shot the original Dawn of the Dead). I was one of only three people in the theater, and from the moment the credits began, I was enthralled. It was if the movie was speaking directly to me.
What advice would you give aspiring screenwriters who are trying to break in to the business?
Instead of taking a machine gun approach to networking, focus on developing and cultivating industry friendships with those whom you share an authentic creative and personal bond. The chances are high that the big breaks will come through your true friends and not strangers you meet at random industry parties.
Tony Robenalt
Tony is an alumnus of USC film school’s undergrad screenwriting program, where he learned and honed his craft under the tutelage of such screenwriters as Chris Knopf (TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH), Ronald Austin (HARRY IN YOUR POCKET, “Hawaii Five-O”), John Furia (former president of the WGA), and Richard Krevolin (author of Screenwriting from the Soul), as well as producer Lynn Hendee (now president of Chartoff Productions). 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 thousand 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 twenty 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 looooooooong 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.
Emily Bracken
Bernadette Rivero
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 - Hollywood Military Advisor
John Lovett is a twenty 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 ten 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.