Well, that was a lot of scripts. Four months of non-stop, at-capacity reading of spec pilots and features, and we can finally see the end of the tunnel. We still have a handful of scripts submitted at the wire to get through, but for the most part we are mostly through with the Get Repped Now reading. There may be one or two more stragglers coming in at the end. But for now, here are the Coverage Ink/Get Repped Now considers for 2019/2020.
SICK CITY by Greg Goodness
POUND FOR POUND by Dennis Bailey
NOWHERE MEN by Sean Farley
OLYMPIA, WA by Aidan West
MERCHANDISE by Jovan Luna
PENTHOUSE B by Casey Schroen
ZERO by Jono Howard
HELLDORADO by Billie Bates
DARRYN THE BOLD AND THE SWORD OF BOLDNESS by Justin Best
ONE TOUGH MOTHER by James Lakas
THE EMPTY QUARTER by Tom Groneberg
Fi$H by Ian Hamill
These are some pretty great writers and some interesting pieces of material. We don’t know how our managers will respond, but we will do everything in our power to give them a shot. So let’s all pull for these guys as they attack the well-fortified battlements of Hollywood.
Now let’s talk about the near-misses, of which there were quite a few — “consider with reservations” for script. We totally get how frustrating it is to be so close and not make the cut. We did in fact double-check every “consider with reservations” with a senior reader just to avoid screw-ups, but we probably still made a few. Absolutely, there were several that may only be a draft away. Unfortunately, we cannot award considers for potential — we have to go with what’s on the page.
But here’s the good news — in the big picture, our little promotion here doesn’t mean squat. What matters is that you have the goods, and you have the notes. There are plenty of ways to get that material out there once it’s ready to rock. Get Repped Now doesn’t matter. It’s you and your talent and perseverance that matter. Many of the big contests have their deadlines around May. We hope that our notes help get all of you — passes, consider with reservations, whatever — over the finish line.
True story. Coverage Ink recently produced the animated horror film “To Your Last Death.” That script took 27 drafts over a 2-year period of time. Around draft 14, I was ready to throw in the towel. Act III just wasn’t working, and I was stuck on things going a certain way. But we just couldn’t make it make sense. It was only when my partner Tanya Klein suggested cutting the whole thing and restarting with a whole new idea. Once she did that, the entire thing began to come together. It still took another 15 drafts, and we did not get a consider until the very last draft. Which is what we shot. That’s right. 26 passes from our own team. One consider.
That film has now won 13 awards to date, and today the film just scored a 9/10 from FilmThreat. So I guess it was worth the elbow grease.
To quote a certain starship captain, “Never give up. Never surrender.”
Now, you CONSIDERS, here’s what happens next. We will go out to the industry with everyone’s scripts in early February. That gives everyone time to do a polish (please avail yourself of that precious opportunity.) We will then fan the flames and do whatever we can to get you guys in the door. So hunker down and tighten up those scripts and get ’em back to us by the end of January, please.
Let’s rock this.
Jim Cirile
Coverage Ink
