We're all on a rollercoaster lately. For Hollywood, the optimism of late 2024 feels like it's dwindled back to a place of uncertainty. However, I favor the positive mindset: The creatives we love are still here and still believe in creating next-level film and television. People will be trying new ideas and new business models. Necessity is the mother of invention and something will end up clicking to move things forward again.
This is EXACTLY what ScriptHop and the Gauntlet are about. We see an opening to create a new pipeline of creativity that will feed what rises from all the upheaval. If there's one thing we know, the demand for NEW original content will be high — especially as execs are learning that they can no longer bank on existing IP.
So, with that, let's get on to some updates.
Speaking of upheaval, there have been some big happenings lately in the script competition arena.
The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting will no longer be accepting direct public submissions. Unless you happen to be part of an affiliated school or lab, all entries must now go through the Black List. This has caused a big uproar in the writing community, as you can imagine.
This lands on top of the announcement at the end of February that ScreenCraft had closed up shop. They were a popular source of competitions, mentorships, and education for screenwriters. This is all fallout from a major consolidation that took place a little while ago that put Industry Arts, Final Draft, Backstage, Coverfly, and a bunch of other affiliated services all under one roof. Rumor has it that Coverfly could be next.
While I'm not the biggest fan of competitions, it's disheartening to see pathways of opportunity for writers becoming even less appealing or closing down altogether. It's also not great seeing such consolidation where you know profit incentive drives decision-making. We need to see more viable routes of success become available to writers.
Anyway... on to our stuff.
My last update announced that we would start accepting re-entries: scripts undertaking second or even third runs through the Gauntlet. You can now find this feature by going into the platform and clicking on one of your previous Gauntlet entries. There, you'll see an option to re-enter. Depending on how the original script performed, we offer discounts up to $200 off for every re-entry; the biggest discounts go to scripts that struggled the most. You can also choose whether you prefer new readers or the same readers who read the script's previous run. The system will then do its best to accommodate that request. There may be instances where a reader is not available or, if a script is coming in for a third time, the number of new readers interested in your genre may be too limited.
Now that we've had a decent number of resubmissions, the EXCITING part is seeing just how much better the scripts are performing on their second Gauntlet runs. We figured they would improve to some degree, but you're never really sure until you see the results. What happened pretty much blew us away. 9 out of 10 scripts saw notable improvement on their second runs with scores increasing, on average, by 41%! The Gauntlet even helped one writer so much, their script went from not passing Level 1 to becoming our highest-scoring script to date!
The team continues to study the results, but we think it comes down to the overlap of opinion. When you have a majority of 7 (or more) gatekeepers in the industry calling out a weakness in your script, it really sinks in. The Gauntlet's interactive report certainly helps navigate the feedback so you can drill in on what is critical, but it truly comes down to the QUALITY of opinion and where there is agreement. With our analysts being seasoned readers for major companies like Netflix, Amazon, UTA, HBO, and more, it's like having your own team of experts.
Needless to say, we're very happy to see this. The Gauntlet isn't just a way to find out if your script is ready for Hollywood, but to HELP MAKE IT READY.
We're a little behind on this. The team has been working closely with the writers who beat the Gauntlet to further develop their scripts — to make them undeniable. The process has been immensely rewarding but taking a bit of time. The levels these scripts have climbed to and the new friends we've made along the way have been well worth it, though.
Our goal is the first announcement, which should be before summer. Details are still under wraps, but it will be a themed, curated collection for the first announcement. The plan is then to be unexpected and random as we announce further collections. Rather than being like the Annual Black List where everyone waits a whole year to read a very large number of scripts, we want to call out a special few, timed just right.
Thanks to everyone for your support.
If you have a script that's been sitting on the shelf, and you feel it never got the shot it deserved, now is a great time to enter it into the Gauntlet. If you have a script and feel stuck, see above on how the Gauntlet can help. Whatever you choose, we aim to help you on your writing journey.
Best,
Brian Austin
ScriptHop CEO
Gauntlet
Packet
Library