Throughout 2009 I worked exclusively as a Script Reader for the Rob Gallagher Literary Agency in Hollywood.
My weekly assignment consisted of reading a new screenplay and supplying detailed ten page development notes that focused on improving the work that conventional coverage is not able to. Extensive suggestions were encouraged as the Readers chosen by the Agency were often experienced Writers and Teachers that the unsolicited could learn from. In certain cases, the Agency would pair a reader with a specific client with a view to becoming an Associate Producer on the movie.
The screenplays were an assortment of new specs; projects from existing clients that needing polishing before sending to the studios; and green-lit movies that the Agency were considering joining as additional Producers.
My development notes were highly commended and I soon found myself being asked to handle the pitches that the company openly sought. With over fifty per week my responsibility lay in selecting which ones the Agency should request the screenplays for.
During my time with the Agency in 2009 I read a great deal of scripts, and it has been stimulating to see some of them now released in Theatres and doing well.
On the flip side, reading from the slush pile was a challenging endurance. One that has certainly given me a deeper understanding and sympathy towards the day-to-day life of a Literary Agent.