Writing Producers


Below are examples of query letters I've written to producers with success - that is, they requested a script. One was written to for the first time; another had read past scripts of mine and had requested to be informed of my new work. (I've changed their names.)

The one-sheet mentioned below is a single sheet, like a flier, that pitches the script. I like using them, although some writers don't.

I became aware of one-sheets when producers would say, "Send me a one-sheet on it." Now I use them regularly, sending them with a small cover letter.

Now this is all well and good. But what happens when you are starting out and don't have much in the way of credentials?

In this case, you might want to put the pitch in the letter to grab a producer's attention. For example:

    Dear Ms. Smith:

    Greg Apple has never gotten over his high school sweetheart, who 
    is now the wife of a famous conservative senator.  When he sees her 
    at his high school reunion, he falls in love with her all over again.
    To make the temptation greater, he learns she is unhappy and that 
    she gave birth to his son after graduation.  

    And now the teenager wants to meet his birth parents.

    But all is not as it seems, and "the senator's wife" uses Greg for 
    her own purposes as she seductively leads him into a world of political 
    blackmail, corruption and betrayal.

    THE SENATOR'S WIFE is a suspense thriller about a kind small-town man 
    who gets sucked into the ugliness of Washington politics - but still 
    manages to come out with his values intact.

    It's a political BODY HEAT with more brains.

    May I send you the script?

    I studied screenwriting at the University of Montana and have 
    participated in a number of script workshops.

You would want, of course, to beef up your credentials as best you honestly can. Keep the letter under a page at all costs.


MODULE 11: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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