Screenwriting : Script Options by Denise Treadwell

I have one friend who optioned a screenplay through InkTip, but it took years using the service and it hasn't been produced after 18 months or more. That's the only person I've heard of with any positive outcome. This isn't a lot of info, but it's what I know.

Inktip is a scam like most of those sites. They take your money and run. I discovered someone stealing scripts and charging reading fees then reported them in to Jerrol Lebaron. He banned me from the site for even mentioning that. Steer clear of these posers and pretenders. It is better to buy camera and sound gear, find like minded friends and shoot your own projects.

I am not affiliated with Inktip Denise but here's a list of produced movies which were facilitated by them: http://www.inktip.com/main_films_produced.php?cat=ep&scat=credits. Through them I found my literary manager as well as the company which is going to sponsor me for an O-1 visa in the US. In addition several short screenplays I wrote have been produced or are in pre-production due to contacts made via Inktip. Here's a list of writer endorsements: http://www.inktip.com/main_writer_endorsements.php?cat=ep&scat=credits. Obviously not everyone will find success through them, but I believe in credit where credit is due.

buy or not buy , going there , your already making open door for script to turn into moving pictures , what matters in movie production is level publicity just like in any other medium of media , i would recommend you log in your log line and synopsis as they require , who know if yours will be the next world movie .

Better than the Black List. Make sure your script is as well written as possible because while they are a legitimate venue you are competing with produced writers. I would get coverage from before submitting. There is a wide range of production companies that look for material there. Best of luck with your writing.

Excellent insight...thank you for your feedback.

Coverage by anyone besides the people or company buying or optioning your material is a huge waste of time. Producers do NOT care about anyone else's opinion or coverage. IF they are truly interested they will pay for their own people to write it for them. Inktip and Scriptpimp are scams. Big name producers do not look on either sites fro material. They are swamped hourly with scripts from everyone who EVER thought of writing. They will pay uncle harry or aunt Louise to write a script or coverage to keep the money in the family. Read Alan Trustman's book 'The Screenplay Sell' before pitching material to anyone.

Posting a logline is fine. When you post a detailed synopsis that give all plagiarists and wanna bees ideas for their own material. watch out doing that. Have them sign a non disclosure agreement before sending detailed synopses anywhere to anyone.

Credit where credit id due? ha ha. Inktip is a joke and LeBaron is a scammer. IF anyone tells you they have had success there it will be a miracle and fluke. Now when it comes to giving credit I believe credits are earned not given and anyone can post a list saying they sold this or that. Like the following list showing ALL of the scripts I am pitching or have pitched. I have written all of these screenplays, TV series and MOW’s since 1999: DARK SATIRE COMEDIES HOBO BLUES WGA#14231-00 male lead/female costar THE TROPHY: WGA* 15025 action comedy/male/female leads SCARAB MIST: WGA* 118958 A/A/small cast/formatted for male or female lead PUZZLE: WGA* 119337 crime/dramedy/female lead DOUBLE STRIKE: WGA# 14633-00 action/karate/gangsters/male or female lead TYPECAST Feature comedy PRIESTS OF RA: PAu2-874-361 Two part musical comedy with soundtrack demo SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE HEGIRA SERIES 8 Live and Animated feature film scripts HEGIRA: PAu2 - 781 - 029 Earth Based FUMAR: WGA 13187-00 FIRE PLANET: Txu-894-486 SANCTUARY: Txu-894-486 TERRON: Txu-894-486 MARS 4 WGA# 13471-00 VIR’ TUE: PAu2 - 781 – 029 FLYTE: PAu2 - 781 - 029 HEGIRA TV SERIES 16 one hour TV episodes. 1. Flyte 2. Fumar 3. Hegira 4. Outer Thelo 5. Queen of the Islands 6. Fire Planet 7. Karnak 8. Quade 9. Terron 3 10. Weather 11. Mars 4 12. Rone 13. Vir’ Tue 14. Strike Force 15. Agazzi 16. Vapor ALTERNATE SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE. PRISON PLANET: PAu2 - 781 - 029 TESLA: A CHILD OF LIGHT WGA# 1610211 sci-fi thriller DOC NITRO: WGA #1309794 action thriller FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT WGA# 1320244 Action adventure /sci-fi REMEMBER MARS PAu2-830-134 sci-fi mystery THE VRIL CONSPIRACY PAu2-830-134 sci-fi BLATTODEA WGA 1246498 action horror creature feature WIEROO PAu2 - 830 - 172 action horror adventure HORROR MAESTRO WGA R# 14277-00 Murder-horror-ghosts "SPOOK" HUNTER: WGA# 1055958 Ghosts/Small cast/house AMERICAN GHOST ASH HOUSE: WGA# 14277-00 Murder-horror-ghosts THE AGENCY: WGA# 126680 action Horror/zombies or vampires INVISIBLE MAN: WGA* 1016755 2004-2021 © Pau-898-707 ( 9-8-04- for life.) ROOM 8 WGA pending. CONDO WGA pending HAUNTED THE INVISIBLE MAN 4 part mini series DOWN ON JACK - WGA# 1246490 serial killer/action/drama/gang DRAMA REDEMPTION FLATS WGA# 1177483 (dramatic thriller) CROSSBAR: WGA# 126767 lower budget dramatic action thriller THE LAST ACT WGA # 1369125 action/drama/thriller/USA version. EXTREME TAG WGA 1381246 Action drama/mixed martial arts WHITE SPEAR WGA# 1604241 Native American-western action INSEPARABLE: WGA# 1153368 Female lead/drama RIPPLES: WGA# 13394 Medium budget drama SAVING MADISON PERIOD DRAMA THOMAS AND MINA WGA# 121497 Drama 1885-1931 Period Piece THE SECRET SHARER WGA# 14276 Dramatic Sailing adventure PEBO WGA# 1246491 dramatic thriller TEXAS FLOOD: WGA# 1170022 Family Western/drama TV scripts and MOW’s: already formatted. TYPECAST: three 30 minute episodes. RAY OF SUNSHINE: four 30 minute episodes Plastic Fantastic, Hypnotized, Birthday Bashed THE INVISIBLE MAN 3 part mini series SHORTS: Violin Lesson – a young student tortures his teacher with a bad recording of practice Hobo Blues – an out of work insomniac moonlights as a standup comic Lot 239 – in a world where everybody’s the same, one entity dares to break the mold Sonic Booms – animated animal characters escape a science lab Ghost Car – a stranded motorist takes a ride in a ghost car Ouija – An eccentric housewife buys a Ouija board to help her husband get over writer’s block. Toby the Ghost- A boy’s spirit and his evil dead stepfather haunt a toddler and single mom. Evicted Ghost – an apartment landlord suffers at the hands of a crazy dead tenant. Spirit Transfer The Mummy’s Foot

Hi Denise, I'll be submitting my first script to InkTip in about a week from now, so will let you know how it goes. As to the statement made by Mr. Howell, don't know why he's saying these things but InkTip has been going for over 10 years and if there were problems with the service as bad as he says, they wouldn't still be in business. Word would have gotten around and people wouldn't use them. They had 28 movies made last year and send out weekly e-mails with the success people are having, both writers and producers I might add. And they run a very successful pitchfest twice a year with lots of producers and companies attending. That doesn't sound like a scam site to me, does it? David

Good morning David. I am pleasantly surprised and grateful for the number of responses I rec'd regarding my inquiry about InkTip. Of the 18+ responses so far, only Mr. Howell's experience with them was unfavorable. I am somewhat of a newbee to the filmmaker's arena (I've been writing and producing stage plays since 1996) and had never heard of InkTip until I red'd an email from them a few months ago. I have one feature film that I wrote and Ade' Knight directed and produced. We are in discussion with a distributor now. However, I do have two more scripts that I'd like to have producers to review and consider. I fully realize that this industry is full of scammers and unethical dealings. That is why I sought insight and feedback via this forum. I absolutely value your response. Point well taken:) Thanks again David. I don't believe in luck so I say to you, 'may your higher power bless the works of your hand to prosper you greatly!"

Good morning Denise. Your welcome, happy to have helped and shed some positive light on what you wanted to know about InkTip. So you've already had a script made, congratulations! Hope things go well with the distributor and they sign you up. Yes, sadly there are a lot of scammers, and scam script contests out there, nature of the beast I guess. But if InkTip were a scam they would have been found out a long time ago. And they wouldn't be onto their sixth or seventh pitchfest by now if they were out to scam people. Sign up to them and start getting their weekly e-mails to see what I mean. Wow, that's a nice thing to say, thank you very much. Never heard of something like that before. In return, I'll offer you this: dream big, work hard, stay humble. I'll let you know how things go with InkTip when I post my script early next week. David

Please do keep me in your loop of success. The following is a special and spiritual message specifically and directly for YOU, David John Jones: "Whatever you do David, do not stop!...just keep getting better and the doors for you WILL open wide". Please take a peek at the trailer of our feature inspirational/drama, "Can Ya' Hear Me Now?" Thanks. And, remember your message. Write it down and keep it near your writing space...reflect on it often. Take care:) http://youtu.be/9PFVR46B0AI

Love this, David: Dream big, work hard, stay humble You've won half the battle with that mindset.

Scam is a ridiculously strong word for a company with a 10 year track record. I've never used InkTip, but I know many who have. Some have been disappointed, some swear by it. Their reputation is for attracting lower to middle tier production companies. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. But it's something worth noting when deciding whether to post a script there. If you have a 100M blockbuster script in your arsenal, that might not be the best place to post it. Most important thing to remember - before you post anything, anywhere...protect your work. Register it, at the very least, with the WGAW. Best of luck to all!

Mike...I have had no experience with the Black List's new service, but I'd love to hear why you are so down on it...Bad experience?

I've also moved this discussion over to the Screenwriting section. Think it will invite some more opinions/experiences.

In comparison for me InkTip is better than the Black List for most members of Stage32. That's all. Both services have their purposes and it is up to the writer to do hers/his due diligence.

A writer at the TSA meeting had a positive result. An unknown reader liked his stuff and passed it on to three major studios. All three requested the script - no word yet.

Appreciate the clarification, Mike.

How's this for due diligence? Obviously most of you have never dealt with a poser like LeBaron. When someone turns in a script thief the last thing you want to do is ban the person who turned them in from your site. He is an idiot and money hungry jerk. Anyone can make a list on their site and say they optioned or sold whatever. I tell him to PROVE IT. I was a member of that site along with several others for years and paid on time etc. Ten years in business? That's the biggest joke. I have been in the entertainment business 51 years, How's that for diligence? Get back to me when you have some experience. Completed novels for clients: Meant to Be - Bio of famous sports figure Persuaded - Fiction novel of racial prejudice in 1920's North Carolina My Best Friend Rob Diary - novel about a family in a cancer crisis Albany Editor for this love and romance fiction novel set in New York Chase The Sound Bio novel about growing up in 1960's China My Jennifer Family story about losing a daughter to Crohn's disease Bullied True drama novel about being bullied at school Saving Madison Fiction murder mystery Promethia’s Fire action drama Razor of Madness – The Wayne Morin Jr. story **My own books available at Amazon.com Bully Girls ‘Peace Through Understanding’ Three poetry and lyric books: Hard Road Home, Color Storm and Anonymous Me. (Sci-fi) Prison Planet, Hegira, Flyte and Fumar Tesla: A Child of Light Other books soon available: (Serial Killer Thriller) Down On Jack Soon published. True action drama): Texas Flood, Ripples, Wave, and Draggin’. Fat Girl Cookbook I have written all of these screenplays, TV series and MOW’s since 1999: DARK SATIRE COMEDIES HOBO BLUES WGA#14231-00 male lead/female costar THE TROPHY: WGA* 15025 action comedy/male/female leads SCARAB MIST: WGA* 118958 A/A/small cast/formatted for male or female lead PUZZLE: WGA* 119337 crime/dramedy/female lead DOUBLE STRIKE: WGA# 14633-00 action/karate/gangsters/male or female lead MUSICAL COMEDY PRIESTS OF RA: PAu2-874-361 Two part musical comedy with soundtrack demo SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE Adapted from my unpublished novels Prison Planet, Hegira, Flyte and Fumar HEGIRA SERIES 8 Live and Animated feature film scripts HEGIRA: PAu2 - 781 - 029 Earth Based FUMAR: WGA 13187-00 FIRE PLANET: Txu-894-486 SANCTUARY: Txu-894-486 TERRON: Txu-894-486 MARS 4 WGA# 13471-00 VIR’ TUE: PAu2 - 781 – 029 FLYTE: PAu2 - 781 - 029 HEGIRA TV SERIES 16 one hour TV episodes. 1. Flyte 2. Fumar 3. Hegira 4. Outer Thelo 5. Queen of the Islands 6. Fire Planet 7. Karnak 8. Quade 9. Terron 3 10. Weather 11. Mars 4 12. Rone 13. Vir’ Tue 14. Strike Force 15. Agazzi 16. Vapor ALTERNATE SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE. PRISON PLANET: PAu2 - 781 - 029 TESLA: A CHILD OF LIGHT WGA# 1610211 sci-fi thriller DOC NITRO: WGA #1309794 action thriller FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT WGA# 1320244 Action adventure /sci-fi REMEMBER MARS PAu2-830-134 sci-fi mystery THE VRIL CONSPIRACY PAu2-830-134 sci-fi BLATTODEA WGA 1246498 action horror creature feature WIEROO PAu2 - 830 - 172 action horror adventure HORROR MAESTRO WGA R# 14277-00 Murder-horror-ghosts "SPOOK" HUNTER: WGA# 1055958 Ghosts/Small cast/house AMERICAN GHOST ASH HOUSE: WGA# 14277-00 Murder-horror-ghosts THE AGENCY: WGA# 126680 action Horror/zombies or vampires INVISIBLE MAN: WGA* 1016755 2004-2021 © Pau-898-707 ( 9-8-04- for life.) ROOM 8 WGA pending. CONDO WGA pending HAUNTED THE INVISIBLE MAN 4 part mini series DOWN ON JACK - WGA# 1246490 serial killer/action/drama/gang DRAMA REDEMPTION FLATS WGA# 1177483 (dramatic thriller) CROSSBAR: WGA# 126767 lower budget dramatic action thriller THE LAST ACT WGA # 1369125 action/drama/thriller/USA version. EXTREME TAG WGA 1381246 Action drama/mixed martial arts WHITE SPEAR WGA# 1604241 Native American-western action INSEPARABLE: WGA# 1153368 Female lead/drama RIPPLES: WGA# 13394 Medium budget drama SAVING MADISON PERIOD DRAMA THOMAS AND MINA WGA# 121497 Drama 1885-1931 Period Piece THE SECRET SHARER WGA# 14276 Dramatic Sailing adventure PEBO WGA# 1246491 dramatic thriller TEXAS FLOOD: WGA# 1170022 Family Western/drama TV scripts and MOW’s: already formatted. TYPECAST: three 30 minute episodes. RAY OF SUNSHINE: four 30 minute episodes Plastic Fantastic, Hypnotized, Birthday Bashed THE INVISIBLE MAN 3 part mini series SHORTS: Violin Lesson – a young student tortures his teacher with a bad recording of practice Hobo Blues – an out of work insomniac moonlights as a standup comic Lot 239 – In a world where everyone acts obeys orders, one entity stands out among them. It’s the throwback from Lot 239. Sonic Booms – animated animal characters escape a science lab Ghost Car – a stranded motorist takes a ride in a ghost car Ouija – An eccentric housewife buys a Ouija board to help her husband get over writer’s block. Toby the Ghost- A boy’s spirit and his evil dead stepfather haunt a toddler and single mom. Evicted Ghost – an apartment landlord suffers at the hands of a crazy dead tenant. Spirit Transfer The Mummy’s Foot THOMAS LEE HOWELL RESUME 2013 QUALIFICATIONS: Extensive experience in Windows, PDF, and Final Draft software. Excellent Spelling and Grammar skills. High School graduate. Music, English, and Phys. Ed. Major. EMPLOYMENT: Ghostwriter-composer-actor-editor-novelist-screenwriter-director-producer. BIOGRAPHY: Founder and Manager of the Dark Star band. 3/23./1976 Composer-musician-lead vocalist-front man. President of Dark Star Productions LLC USA. Film and Music Division. Performed in America and UK. Dark Star Records (label) 3/23./1976 SCREENWRITING AND TV One hundred and eight feature screenplays. (Since 1999) Six TV pilots as 30 minute episodes. 16 One hour TV episodes – Hegira sci-fi series Four 1 hour M-O-Ws LITERARY CREDITS: 21 Completed novels MUSIC: 200 original songs with lyrics ART: 200+ mixed media paintings

Mr. Howell seems like you had a terrible experience. Here's an InkTip partial list and that does not include writers that have been paid for writing assignments and script editing jobs. http://www.inktip.com/main_films_produced.php?cat=ep&scat=credits

How does InkTip compare to SellaScript.com? SellaScript seems a little cheaper.

IMHO Not even in the same league. SellaScript is a spam-a-lot type query service that most of the industry considers a nuisance. Ask any agent, manager, production company out there.

A few years ago I put a couple of scripts on InkTip. There were numerous viewings of them by various producers/production companies I had never heard of, which is fine. However, when my subscription was expiring and I had informed InkTip that I would not be renewing, I started getting more notices from InkTip that my scripts were being viewed, and this time by major players. Suddenly, the big boys and girls were interested in my script! This was no time to let my subscription lapse! So that's my experience with InkTip.

Thanks Stewart! So they tried the old Spielberg is looking....

Exactly. Now they do have a function where you can send a query to someone who is actively searching for something like your script. It's been a while since I've done that, but I think you need a code to submit the query via InkTip if your script is not on the site.

One of the best things I like about Stage32 is that it gives us a chance to separate the wheat from the chaff. I looked over InkTip roster for the fall Summit and it has quite a lot of heavy hitter agencies like APA and Paradigm as well as Comedy Central, Lifetime Networks and a lot of Indies but I didn’t see some of the majors that were represented in years past.

The fact is that these sites have to make money some how. They are not charities. I do get a newsletter from Inktip with free leads and the code to submit if you have the script the lead is looking for, but for other leads you need to buy the subscription. So for now, I'll probably just stick to sending my scripts to Amazon Studios. They are currently deciding if they will option one of my scripts.

Hi Armando, I am not familiar with Amazon Studios...how does that work? I'll google it and check them out.

http://studios.amazon.com/

i don't know if its a scam or not , what i know it creates a platform for non produced writers to present their work to right people , so Denise please , take a gamble put your log line in there and synopsis as they require and wait for feed back , I'm very sure its not a total loss if not experiences on how to sell your script to established producers , then it will be either right networking team or business associate in your next project how ever you can also try other places like writing competition , stage always gives a hit , and most of then are here on the web , etc , go to Amazon like they have already listed for you above , other wise i wish you the best of luck . Julian .

Thank you Armando for pointing out Amazon Studios. Also try JuntoBox too, it doesn’t cost you anything and Forrest Whitaker may be writing you a check! Look at a project I have listed there and if so incline rate it and follow it and I’ll do the same for yours. http://juntoboxfilms.com/projects/power-perfected-in-weakness

I bought a horror screenplay a decade ago that I found on InkTip. Produced it on a low budget and won Best Horror-Comedy Feature at Frightfest in Atlanta. The writer, Brennan Jones wrote a number of films for York Entertainment and our film, "Metalface: Director's Cut" went on to be distributed by them. Whenever I run out of good ideas, one of the first places I turn is InkTip. It's always a crap shoot whether a good piece will stand out, but many writers have optioned and sold screenplays there and a ton of producers look for promising work there. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Juntobox looks interesting.. Another option. I think writers need all the options they can get..