In the event you had been in any respect plugged into the filmmaking or screenwriting group within the spring of 2024, you heard one thing in regards to the new “$400 script competitors,” The Gauntlet, launched by ScriptHop. However for those who took the time to go to the location, you realized it was truly intentionally not a contest; it was one thing else completely. And it was solely $380.
So, after speaking about it with our screenwriting skilled Jason Hellerman (“everyone seems to be speaking about it, however I don’t know anyone who’s doing it,” he mentioned), I figured I’d submit.
Now, I need to be clear, it’s not the ’70s. This isn’t {a magazine}. No Movie Faculty doesn’t supply me an expense account (although Editor, for those who ever need to, let me know!). I paid my very own $380 to enter the Script Gauntlet.
The Guantlet (Sure, It is the One With Shane Black)
‘The Good Guys’CREDIT: Warner Bros. Photos
Why? Actually, the names on the header. Don Bohlinger. Jim Herzfeld, Shane Black. Significantly, The Good Guys is a high ten film for the twenty first century. Folks whose work as screenwriters, and whose dedication to the group of writers, I took critically. That is an trade the place endorsements matter. For The Gauntlet, individuals whom I revered had been endorsing the platform. I used to be interested by what system they’d constructed and the way it could be helpful to the filmmaking group at massive.
Additionally, let’s be trustworthy, if it had been horrible, I might nonetheless get an article out of it. In the event you haven’t learn it, I entered a $300 contest a protracted, very long time in the past with Thunder Studios that became a complete trainwreck, and that article did okay. So, I’ve performed this earlier than, and something for content material, child.
The very first thing to essentially perceive about The Gauntlet is that it is vitally, very a lot not a contest. There aren’t any “winners.” It’s not run on an annual cycle the place, on the identical day yearly, they’ll announce their picks which might be by no means heard from once more.
A Higher Strategy to Develop
You progress by way of phases, stacking up a powerful variety of readers.
Credit score: ScriptHop
It’s exhausting to search out the exact time period for what it’s, however I consider it proper now as a growth funnel. An open platform for submitting work the place you get actionable suggestions on getting ready it for trade submission.
The method is scaffolded: you ship in your script, and the primary 20 pages are learn by a number of skilled readers. At the moment, for Spherical 1, it’s seven readers. If that’s rejected, you’ll be able to revise and submit primarily based on their suggestions.
When you make it by way of that step, you go to Spherical 2, the place the complete challenge is learn by 5 extra readers who’re completely different from the unique batch of seven. In the event that they provide the go-ahead, you get despatched on to the Closing Spherical, the place 5 extra learn the script. At this level, you’ve got gotten suggestions from 17 readers.
Late Breaking Inciting Incidents
‘The Condo’
Credit score: United Artists
That have was frankly fairly spectacular. The script I submitted was one I workshopped in a writers group for greater than a 12 months. Jason had learn it and mentioned, “This appears able to go.” I had gotten it to a spot the place I used to be very comfy sharing it publicly.
And but it received rejected spherical one, as a result of the inciting incident was too late. I knew it was late, however I had satisfied myself that it labored, I had a stable subplot and momentum, and it will play. The inciting incident of The Condo is on web page 27, in spite of everything. I train a category in narrative construction! This was high-quality, I believed.
However I used to be rejected spherical one since we didn’t kick off the story of their web page depend; they solely learn the primary 20 pages. And you already know what? They’re proper. I used to be a script reader means again within the 12 months 2001 for Inventive Artists and Appian Means, and I’d’ve flagged this script for a late inciting incident. Jason and my writers group had been too good to essentially maintain me to it, and I had satisfied myself it was okay, however seven readers gave suggestions on the opening 20, and whereas all of them clearly “received” the script, it was common: the inciting incident is occurring too late. “Transfer it up,” all of them mentioned, in order for you this script to operate inside the system of getting learn in Hollywood.
Not Everybody Will Agree
You’ll be able to see all of the readers feedback unfold out collectively.
ScriptHop
Which I did, after which I went from there to Spherical 2 and on to Spherical 3, and I’ve to say, I had a really fascinating expertise all the time. On the finish of The Gauntlet, you get a replica of your script with the readers’ notes included. Typically it was simply emojis, a smiley for a humorous line, a query mark for an absence of readability.
That alone was well worth the worth of entry. I at all times say you don’t know your transfer till you’ve watched it with a crowded theater viewers and you’re feeling the power, really feel the laughs, go searching, and clock the posture. This was like that, however for a script. The readers don’t see one another’s notes and emojis, however when fun line lands and also you look as much as see 15 notes all with a laughing face, it looks like “yep, that labored.”
The entire course of was a terrific reminder that there isn’t any murals that has unanimous settlement in an viewers. Getting notes from 17 individuals actually helped the outliers stand out. There was a reader, whose identify I’ll by no means know, who had an actual deal with on the characters and wonderful notes, but in addition thought it must be non-linear.
We’ve all handled that producer or consumer who has a really huge thought in your challenge, and we be taught to disregard it. However it’s means simpler to disregard it when 16 of your readers respect your construction and the strain you’ve constructed, and only one reader is saying, “make it non-linear.” Some individuals simply have completely different opinions. But when I had submitted to an company, I’d’ve gotten that reader as the one human studying my script. It was wonderful getting the notes from so many individuals.
Getting the Scripts Out There
The notes had been total distinctive. Moments I hadn’t taken so far as I might’ve. Moments to make clear. Moments to compress. An awesome thought on tips on how to take the “all is misplaced” second just a bit bit additional to essentially make the climax land. They had been clearly written by skilled individuals with an actual dedication to story. My challenge, which I had workshopped for a 12 months with a writers group with working filmmakers and repped writers in it, is one other era higher after going by way of The Gauntlet.
Charles Haine with a T-shirt cannon stuffed with scrunchies.
Credit score: ScriptHop
After the Closing Spherical, for those who get sufficient assist, your script is distributed round to all of the readers for endorsements. In the event you get sufficient of these, you turn out to be a script they name “Gauntlet Endorsed” and promote to the trade. And so they take that promotion critically. That they had a large social gathering in the home Shane Black famously wrote into existence together with his screenplays. I purchased a T-shirt canon for it (so technically I’m in for about $800 proper now). They’re sending the scripts round. One of many founders ran literary at a significant company for a very long time and is aware of how the world works and is doing the legwork to get the primary batch of scripts on the market.
A web page from the “endorsements” view of a script
Credit score: ScriptHop
They’re doing that with an endorsements web page that’s out there to the trade, or that you would be able to share together with your contacts. This can be a web site hyperlink, but it surely’s not simply your script; it contains particular optimistic endorsements from skilled individuals about your challenge. As a result of endorsements are the engine Hollywood runs on, I took a run on the Gauntlet due to the endorsements it had. Now, hopefully, brokers, managers, producers, and executives will take an opportunity on studying your script (or getting their assistant to learn it) on those self same endorsements. So, you’ll be able to see what that appears like, right here is mine (with my script eliminated).
The Future
‘Tron’ (1982)
Credit score: Buena Vista Distribution
What’s the long run for them from right here? I don’t have any inside data, however contemplating the worth for cash, proper now feels a bit like when Uber was actually low cost and also you knew it wasn’t going to final. For what they provide (17 skilled screenwriters with actual credit gave the script deep reads!), $380 is a steal. There’s one world the place they increase their worth, and I don’t know sufficient about advertising and marketing to understand how that might do, however actually, even when they did, I feel it’s a robust worth for cash.
From there, I don’t know, I suppose there’s one other world the place they take a share possession of a challenge they develop. Or maybe they turn out to be an outsourced growth company. Studios are slimming down and outsourcing all kinds of issues. I might think about ScriptHop contracting with a studio or streamer to develop materials for them.
There may also be one other world the place the instruments turn out to be the product. I’ve been in a writers group for years and am a giant believer in them; I might think about a world the place my writers group pays to subscribe to the collaborative suggestions device. When Body.io first launched, it was exhausting to think about how huge that market was, but it surely was big, and the corporate ultimately offered for greater than a billion. The toolset they’ve launched is legitimately one thing helpful, and it could be very helpful on the tv writing stage or the schooling stage. I might see a partnership with one thing like Scriptation paying off effectively.
Conclusion
The scripts getting hand-delivered in Hollywood
Credit score: ScriptHop
Their first batch of scripts is hitting Hollywood proper now, so time will inform how these scripts will do. Will the writers get repped? Will motion pictures get made? Who is aware of. My script is within the first batch, so possibly I’ll get one other article out of writing up the way it goes in a 12 months. As of proper now, I’m cautiously optimistic. If nothing else, I had a unbelievable artistic expertise taking a challenge I used to be already very enthusiastic about and bringing it to a complete new stage.
In case you are contemplating submitting your self, I feel that for a Hollywood-ready script that you’ve already put lots of work into, this could possibly be a unbelievable subsequent step. Simply ensure you’ve received an inciting incident in these first 20 pages.
I’ve an interview arising with the founders of The Gauntlet. Be looking out for that quickly.
