So you wrote a script.

That's fantastic!

Now what?

Is it unbelievably hot? Does it grab readers somewhere tender and drag ‘em to places they've never been? Places they never want to leave? Places they couldn't leave if they wanted to?

You think so, huh?

It probably doesn't matter. Even if it is, your chances of selling it are about 1 in 10,000.

Especially if it isn't unbelievably hot.

But what if it's close?

People usually wonder if their script is "good enough." They're right to wonder.

Here's how good it has to be:

You either need someone WITH the money to produce it WANT to produce it or you'll have to put up the money yourself if you ever want to see it on a screen. That's the bottom line.

And nobody -- except Mel -- ever puts their own money into a movie...

I know a thing or two about screenwriting, though, and I am able to help you to understand if your script is good enough, or, if it isn't, how it could be.

Although I started out at a top agency, I don't have an agent currently and haven't had one for years. No agent has ever gotten me a single piece of paying work. Despite that, here's a brief list of some of what I've done: I have created (sometimes with writing partners) scripts out of nothing, of which I have optioned 3 to production companies. One of these was in development for three years, presumably to star Samuel L. Jackson. I was also contracted to co-produce that project.

Another script I optioned had a character from a book (and movie) I didn't have any rights to, but Carolco paid for it anyway. It would have been RAMBO IV if the company hadn't gone belly up...

I haven't actually seen it yet, in cash, but for what it's worth, on two different contracts I have signed with actual, WGA signatory production companies, my quote is half a million dollars... By the way, I am a member of the Writers Guild of America, west.