Part 68: Posting Screenplays Online

Screenwriting Myth - NEVER post your screenplay online. It will be STOLEN!

There are many online sites out there that allow and encourage script placements for the purpose of marketing, sharing, giving and receiving feedback. Among the more successful sites include Ink Tip, Stage 32, and The Black List. There are literally as many posting sites as there are screenplays, and it is easy to research.

There is little security on these sites, outside of perhaps having to be a paying member to access the screenplays, but it doesn't REALLY matter. Your screenplay doesn't have to stay hidden in a wall safe or under the floorboards.

Some writers are apprehensive about posting their beloved projects for all to see, for fear of someone “stealing” the script, or the concept and making a fortune off of their hard work. This, in itself, is ridiculous, yet they’ll always claim they “know somebody who knew somebody…” The fact is that IDEAS cannot be copyrighted; federal law dictates only the expression of those ideas- whether it is a screenplay, treatment of synopsis- is copyrightable.

Therefore, if someone takes your original concept- let’s say a comedy about two men (brothers) vying for the same romantic interest - then goes out and WRITES A BETTER SCRIPT, all is fair. Posting one’s script online is perfectly safe and just one of several marketing opportunities one should take advantage of if they can afford to do so.

Have screenplays and concepts been “stolen” before? Yes, and some writers have brought lawsuits against major studios making this claim.?The writer of the screenplay that is believed to have been the “inspiration” of Matt Damon’s “Rounders”, Jeff Grosso, sued but lost. As did the writer for “Heart Copy”, who sued Focus Features for what he believed was the basis of “Broken Flowers”. Several others still have been settled out of court, and you can only imagine that some these writers managed to negotiate a payment and writing deal instead of bringing the practice of studios stealing ideas to light.

Now, this doesn't mean to be "careless" when posting your screenplay. I wouldn't simply post them in every LinkedIn group forum of which you happen to be a member. First, you MUST register the screenplay with the WGA; I think it still only costs $20 to do so. You'll receive a registration number and a certificate of registration when doing so. This is important. This act starts a paper trail that can potentially prove YOU had the idea and storyline first, should someone else want to take that screenplay and try to sell it. You'll also want to copyright the screenplay for the very same reason.

Can a screenplay be stolen from the United States, and produced in a European country without you ever knowing about it? Yes, it can- and this happens frequently. However, if you aren't aware of it happening, it didn't make enough of a splash for you to concern yourself about it.

Another reason to post screenplays online to the viewing public is to market YOURSELF as a writer and a brand. While a particular script may not work for me, the writing style may catch my eye. Perhaps there is that one project that needs a certain writer’s flair that only you can provide. It’s just another avenue of opportunity.

An A-list television personality and producer once found one of my screenplays on MovieBytes.com in a section that highlighted multi-award-winning screenplays. This person contacted me, and we worked together for about a year, making several hundred thousand dollars in the process. I wrote several features, reality shows and even one game show concept. One of those features was produced and is currently showing on the Tubi channel, after a long run on Amazon Prime.

?The numbers of producers and industry pros who read these and get access to these scripts is more then you could possibly meet in a lifetime of meetings. Why not take advantage of it??So many writers have been discovered, and so many deals have been initiated through these sites, that it is foolish not to do so. It may be cost-prohibitive for some; I get that. But, like everything else in life, you have to make some worthy investment of time and/or money if your wish to make it at some level.

?To paraphrase a certain “Evil Agent of Bad Advice” who claimed to “not know a single insider who looked at these sites”, I suggest this: Get yourself and your rolodex of insider contacts up off your arrogant butts and start stepping out some more, because they are missing the boat on many great scripts.

?Don’t you miss it, too!

WRITER'S BIOS:?Geno Scala spent 22-plus years in the Hollywood community and was the?Executive Director?for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards, as well as?The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.?

Currently, he and his team are adapting several books into screenplays, including the fascinating autobiography?"Call Me Zena",?by?Sally Barnard?who, after a brief illness, developed high-level artistic skills overnight.?He is also developing biopic projects of rock pioneer?Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk?singer?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor hundreds of new writers and self-published authors.

Geno has several screenplays produced and currently on Amazon Prime;?"Assassin 33 A.D.", "Black Easter"?and?"The Tombs". Most recently, he was the?Executive Script Consultant?of a?major motion picture?scheduled to begin filming in Australia, Spring of 2022.