I was on my way from lunch to meeting at Paramount when my agent at the time called to inquire if I’d be interested in meeting a particular movie star to discuss a picture he had in mind. My agent said it was a passion project for the actor, but with solid commercial prospects in [...]

I can’t say this any simpler. This is about the worst script note I ever received. Was it an unfortunate situation to be in? Hardly. It came from the mouth of a movie studio president. I was behind the doors of his Citizen-Kane-sized office, comfortably parked on his couch, at the end of a legal [...]

I’m a lying liar. I admit the lie and that I’ve been lying the lie for some years now. I feel the need to confess. So here goes nothin’. But first, a little history. It was my one and only honeymoon. Hawaii (cliché alert). My spanking new wife and I were in a popular little [...]

Gary Ross, writer-director of films such as Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, invited me to join in a round-table luncheon with Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey. The congressman had shown interest in meeting with movie-making word-merchants to discuss a subject plaguing that particular news quarter: Violence in Movies. The tragic events of Columbine were still in the rearview [...]

Justin D.M. Palmer & Nathan Adloff’s first feature film, Nate & Margaret, was recently acquired for worldwide distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures, after garnering interest from several indie distribution companies — a rare feat for any film prior to a single film festival screening! We asked the duo to tell us about their process …

Paul Chitlik, professional screenwriter and author on the subject, fields a question about writing effective description in your screenplay.

Pee-wee Herman has been popping up on talk shows and at surprise live appearances lately to promote his new HBO special, The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway. Seeing Pee-wee is always a treat, but it was equally delightful to catch up with Paul Reubens, the man behind the iconic character, at a SXSW panel in Austin.

There’s often a difference between what aspirants, even talented aspirants, WANT to be true… and what IS true. And when I smell bullshit, I call bullshit. And I am calling MAJOR BULLSHIT.

The “Meet the Reader” column ran in Script from 2001 to 2006, at which point it was pulled from the print edition so that it could be moved to this website. Although this took a bit longer to accomplish than originally expected, we’re here now and so I’ll carry on as I did before.