Story Analysis for Film and Television

I help professional story-writers navigate the creative landscape of their work from ideation to production: to make the most powerful and exciting stories they can — stories that will fire the imagination of the people who can bring them to life on the screen.

Writing for film and television takes more than good ideas and an address in Gotham. My clients rely on my professional insight and experience to move their projects in a direction studios will find attractive. I’ve vetted over 400 productions, both movies and miniseries; and consulted with novelists as well. Working on the inside, you see what the producers are looking for, what the competition is bringing, and what really turns them on and boosts your chance of getting a greenlight.

Here are just a few of the major projects I have helped bring to fruition (click poster to see trailer):

Get Ready to Pitch

As a reader for major production companies, I know what they’re looking for: what excites them, and what the deal-breakers are. I also know what the rare diamonds are that producers are always hoping to find (for example, do you know how tough it is to find a writer who can write dialogue that makes each character pop off the page as a unique, indelible individual?).

I have critiqued over 400 properties to help them make it on screen on many of the major networks. I know a good roller-coaster when I see one: that’s what you get when your structure is so good it puts the audience through a terrific ride — but they never see the frame. (Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder said that only one screenwriter in 200 has a natural feel for movie structure: yes, it’s a beast.)

If you drag yourself through the dreaded elevator pitch like a gutshot bear, don’t worry too much: producers are used to hearing through the static of “WriterFear” and getting the gist of the great idea. (I knew one screenwriter who was brought in regularly to pitch a studio I was working for, because he was so damned entertaining: but they didn’t buy his ideas any more readily than the good stories of those who were a bit more diffident and self-conscious.)

The following is a selection of networks who have bought pitches from my clients:

I’ve worked with (and spent a bundle on) ‘script doctors’ who have not helped me to realize what I was trying to do. Gail seems able to see and articulate what’s working in a script and what needs to be improved to make it marketable. She’s a sensitive and decent person who knows how to make suggestions that are constructive, not destructive.

Anne Fournoy

Writer/Director, Sundance, NY Film Festival, Guggenheim Fellowship winner

Reach Out

As a writer it pays to get an experienced read on your work before pitching executives. Please supply an email address where I can contact you, or use the optional message box.

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Gail Cooper

Script Doctoring Services

Gail Cooper

Script Doctoring Services

Gail Cooper

Script Doctoring Services

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Gail Cooper
Gail Cooper
Cell Phone

(917) 270-9577

Office Phone

(212) 343-2484

Mailing Address

281 Mott Street, 4R
New York, N.Y. 10012

Cell Phone

(917) 270-9577

Office Phone

(212) 343-2484

Mailing Address

281 Mott Street, 4R
New York, N.Y. 10012

Copyright 2018, Gail Cooper | Website by Mark Bello