“Greenwriter is reinventing the way production companies and agencies receive scripts from screenwriters,” Riser says. Instead of printing out copy after copy and mailing scripts to different locations, only to have them scanned and logged inside each production house, Greenwriter provides an online database of screenplays. The scripts will then be available to any, and all, of the industry players interested in downloading them.

The system is set up so users can browse by logline, summary, and full script, respectively. Security for the writer is provided by Greenwriter’s airtight database system. Writers upload their scripts for free and producers pay a small fee to access any script they want. 

In addition, production companies can also create private holding areas to load in-house scripts, minimizing their own costs of printing and postage. These areas are accessible to only those given access, which works in a similar way to Facebook or MySpace. If you’re not invited, you can’t see the project. This system works well for the buyer, but also the seller. After potential agents, actors, or production companies download a script, the writer receives notification of that download. While identity of the downloader is kept private, the writer can view statistics on how often the file is accessed. This feature helps writers with several scripts uploaded to the site see what’s getting traction. 

Besides the praise he has received from fellow screenwriters, Riser has also received positive response from environmental activists. “Within the first two weeks, we were contacted by the Discovery Channel, USA Today, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Media Association,” Riser says. Much like other industries struggling to find a better, more environmentally safe way of exchanging documents, Hollywood, until now, has been behind the times. Most large-scale agencies and studios still prefer to receive hard copies. However, integrating Greenwriter's environment-sparing and cost-cutting service, a studio sends a message to clients and possible investors about the company’s commitment to the bottom line -- a valuable trait when allotting millions of dollars to get a movie made.

Riser doesn’t want to change the way Hollywood reviews scripts, he wants to make it easier on the industry and the trees. “Greenwriter has the opportunity for success because we’re all becoming responsible for the environment now. Every production company in America has to understand the value of that,” Riser says. For an industry that prides itself on being cutting edge, it may find that a new digital image works well with the changing environmental times. 

 

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Jenna Milly, after a decade of writing news for CNN and The Los Angeles Times, decided r-e-e-l life was more interesting. She has been writing screenplays for six years and recently directed her first short film, A Peacock-Feathered Blue. She teaches dramatic writing at Emory University and runs her own script-consulting service.