Services
I work with writers to improve their scripts, and I work with filmmakers to interpret what their movies can be as products in the marketplace, identify goals for themselves, and map out strategies to reach them.
My services include:
DISCLAIMER:
I am not an attorney and any advice I offer should not be construed as a substitute for receiving appropriate and/or project-specific legal counsel.
To contact me and see if we might be a match to work together, please click on my CONTACT page to send me an email. There is no fee to set up an initial greeting/consultation.
Testimonials
Script Analysis: $425
I read the script, note first impressions. Read the script again and review it more deeply for Character, Plot, Structure, Dialog and Voice/Premise/ Theme. I present my observations, concerns, and questions in a document, which I provide to the writer. I also discuss the script and my notes with the writer in person or over the phone. This discussion usually lasts at least two hours, and I can record it and share the recording with the writer, as well.
My focus is on the integrity of the story, its theme(s), the characters, and their journeys. I see every script as a three-dimensional puzzle. How well does the script hold together, structurally and plot-wise? Do characters have arcs with integrity? Are they distinctive? Does the script hold to its thematic spine, or is it slack, flabby, or confused in places? Does its pacing suffer? Is every scene essential to advancing plot, theme, or character? Are the stakes high enough to keep the reader’s/audience’s interest?
Simply, I like helping writers survey the forest after they’ve spent so much time deep in the trees.
Follow-up reading of revisions and/or consultation(s) on that script are billed at $55/hour.
Script Rewrite Coaching: $2,100
I will review, comment upon, and guide up to three successive drafts over a six-month time frame. Upon reading the initial draft, I will provide an analysis of the script’s strengths and weaknesses and discuss these in-depth with the writer. The writer and I will then discuss his/her goals for the script, and what inspired its creation. From these discussions, I will identify, with the writer, the “nucleus” of the story – why do we care about this story? What’s its theme? What is the writer trying to say via this story and these characters?
I will next perform a breakdown of all the scenes in the current version and identify which are essential, which are necessary but unfocused, and which are flab that don’t advance the plot, theme, or character development per our “nucleus.” I’ll discuss these with the writer and advise/determine priorities for the next rewrite and a target deadline. Next up, rinse and repeat!
Marketing Analysis: $1,500
If you’ve spent two years writing something close to your heart, it can be challenge to describe it in a two-sentence “elevator speech” off the top of your head, much less assess it as a product. I read the script and identify comparable titles, potential distributors (buyers, channels, and territories), and speak to any other relevant trends in the marketplace that may affect the end-game of your project.
I research and list comparable titles, when they were made, what their budgets were, who made them, who was cast in them, and who bought/sold them, etc. To the extent that public figures are available for them, I also figure out how much money they took in. This info will help you/us to figure out the optimal production budget range (and subsequent budget for marketing and distribution). I look at whether the genre and scope of your project will lend itself to any foreign co-productions, and whom potential partners might be. I survey current market conditions, plus who’s got what in the pipeline for the next 12-18 months, so that I can suggest possible distribution strategies for the film. For instance, it may stand its best chances as a made-for-cable movie, VOD premiere, or something else other than a theatrical release and/or film festival/acquisition hopeful. And, finally, I discuss target audience demographics with the filmmaker(s) and frame a profile of the ideal viewer for their movie, and how to reach them.
Business Plan Development: $55 hourly or flat rate from $6,000 – $10,000 negotiated with the filmmaker(s)
I write business plans for independent films, and I advise filmmakers on plans they’ve written, themselves.
The areas I focus on are audience demographics, marketing, comparable titles, product positioning strategies and branding (of the filmmakers, as well as the film, itself), distribution channels, state of the industry, ROI projections, types of investment offerings (and investors sought), and cash flow analysis and investor exit strategies. I am not a lawyer, nor do I break down budgets; thus, I don’t provide legal advice/paperwork, nor devise Top Sheet/budgets.
I work with clients to determine what their intentions are as a project’s producer. What does the client want for the project, and him/herself as its producer? What does that translate to in the marketplace? How will the producer(s) reach their ideal consumers? What I do is map out that vision in the business plan.
Testimonials
hey rock star,
thank you SO much. you put organization in my head and a new fire under my butt! you’re so awesome, i can’t stand it.
p.s. it’s always good to have people who aren’t afraid to call you out on stuff. seriously. it’s nice to get a kick in the butt and a push to go further. 
I was at a critical stage in creating a business plan for my first feature. Lorie gets straight to the point and was able to quickly help me dial in what needed to be done for me to complete a comprehensive plan for successfully securing funding and be taken seriously by my peers.
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