Send Your Script to the Top Production Companies Looking For Scripts [Download List Below]
There are a ton of TV and film producers looking for scripts. The problem is getting your (exceptional) script to them.
Ever had a conversation similar to this?:
It breaks down the very best TV and film producers looking for scripts into the genres they produce, contact details, submission policy, internship opportunities, etc.
But hold on…
Before leaping behind your laptop to blast your script off to all 100, there are a few rules and best practices to consider. These rules/best practices are just the same as submitting your script anywhere else, like to a screenwriting contest or manager.
i.e. If you don’t follow them, you’re setting yourself up to fail before you’ve even begun.
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up:
- What exactly is a TV / film production company?
- The #1 key to getting your script read at a production company
- How to prepare your query to a production company
- The submission process from beginning to end
- And much, much more
Read to learn how to submit a script to a production company. Then, download the list below and get to work.
How to submit to production companies looking for scripts.
Step #1: Get a handle on what a production company actually does.
Before submitting your script to a production company, it’s probably best to be sure just what exactly goes on in one?
Production companies make movies and TV shows. They’re involved in every stage of its creation from script to screen.
For example:
- Financing (securing funds via loans, investors, grants, etc.)
- Development (working with writers, directors, producers to hone scripts)
- Casting (working with talent agencies to hire actors, extras, voiceover artists)
- Shooting (scheduling/budgeting, hiring crew, scouting locations, set design)
- Post-production (editing, sound design, SFX, music)
- Marketing (pitching to distributors and studios, market research)
Who works at a film production company?
Screenwriters! That’s why you’re here, right?
But also other people, obviously. Like producers, development executives, directors, cinematographers, editors, production designers, costume designers, and so on.
Out of all of these people, the ones who might be interested in looking at projects are:
- Lower-level/newly-promoted executives
- Creative executives
- Assistants/Interns
- Story editors/Coordinators
- Managers of development
These guys are your golden ticket to getting your script into the hands of higher-up producers, development execs, actors, directors, etc.
But we’ll get to all that good stuff later.
What’s the difference between a production company and a studio?
While there can be a great deal of overlap between the two, in general a film production company produces films, while a studio finances and/or distributes them.
Studios are usually larger, less genre-specific and creatively loose than their production company counterparts.
Their job is primarily to take the movies made by production companies and try to get as many people as possible to see them.
This often means the two will be in long-term relationships with each other, sharing resources, talent and even work from the same lot.
How to submit a screenplay to a production company. Step #2: Write exceptional scripts.
This is actually the hardest part of submitting your script to a production company— learning how to write a screenplay that a producer or exec will love.
Don’t let anyone at a production company read your logline or open your script and see the same old stuff they’ve read a million times before.
Be extraordinary and it will get read.
Never send out a screenplay before it’s ready.
How do you know your script’s ready to submit to a production company?
Have you…
- Written (at least) three exceptional scripts? All written using professional screenwriting software, properly formatted without a single typo in any of ‘em? One great script isn’t enough. If a producer asks you “What else you got?” You don’t want to be that screenwriter who replies “Um, this is all I got…”
- Received glowing feedback on all three scripts? And we’re talking “Recommend” level feedback here. Have industry friends read them and loved them? Have you purchased script coverage and blown away the reader? Or place highly in an important screenwriting contest?
If you answer “no” to any of these, your script might not be ready.
Get it ready, and then come back to this post.
Still uncertain? Jump on a 30-min call with one of our professional screenwriters for less than 100 bucks. They’ll tell you it’s strengths and how to fix any weaknesses it might have here.
How to submit a script to a production company. Step #3. Prepare your query.
Don’t just fire off your script to production companies. Send a query instead.
What’s a query?
A short n’ sweet intro of who you are and what your amazing script’s all about. This can be done verbally or in writing.
So, first you’ll need to get together a plan:
- What are you going to send? (your query)
- How are you going to deliver it? (verbally or written)
- When are you going to deliver it? (what time of day, specific days, months in the year).
What should you submit to a production company?
A written query is often called a “query letter”—even if you don’t actually write a letter and put it in the mail.
Whether you send by mail or email, it should introduce yourself via a cover letter and a logline.
There is some debate about this, but personally we think a cover letter and a logline is enough. Most production companies won’t want to read a synopsis, no matter how short it is. (But you should definitely have one ready in case the exec or producer loves the logline and wants more information.)
- Cover letter. Learn how to introduce yourself by reading examples of query letters here. Then write one that’ll make assistants snap awake at their desks. This is also a good place to list if your script has won any major contests or been optioned in the past. You can find examples of query letters here.
- Logline. Included in the query should be a logline, perfectly summing up your story in one or two sentences. We can’t stress enough how important an exciting, original concept is. It needs to make people sit up and take notice. Only then will they want to read the actual script. Learn how to write a perfect logline here.
(If you need help with your query letter, we have a Query Letter Polish service you can purchase here for $49.)
How to send your script to production companies. Step #4. Target who to query.
In the eBook, we list the top 100 production companies looking for scripts who you could potentially query.
Resist the temptation to submit your script to all 100 production companies in our list. Instead, narrow the field down to those that produce similar films to your own script.
If you have a contained thriller, for example, there’s probably not much point in querying production companies that focus on dramas.
To make this easier, we’ve listed each production company’s favored genres in the guide.
It is also easy to find a list of producers or the production companies behind similar projects to yours on sites like IMDb Pro. Our post, Screenwriting Jobs is a great resource for similar sites where you can look up contact info.
Get assistants’ names.
First, rather than submitting directly to producers or development execs, you’ll want to target people below them on the ladder.
This means finding out the names of assistants and junior executives.
Go to the company’s website and their names might be listed somewhere. If not, IMDb Pro is again a good option here to get their names and contact details.
(We haven’t included these details in our Top 100 Production Companies Looking For Scripts eBook as they’re apt to change fairly regularly.)
When you submit your query, make sure you get their name exactly right.
Is it Kaitlyn or Kaitlin? John or Jon? And whatever you do don’t put the wrong name because you’ve forgotten to change it from another letter/email.
Make each query as personal as possible. Even going so far as to mention something you know they’ll like, or about their hometown, because you’ve stalked them on X or LinkedIn…
“I see you’re from West Virginia? Me too!”
But obviously don’t go overboard. We don’t want to get creepy here.
How to query production companies looking for scripts. Step #5. Decide how to deliver.
There are essentially three ways to contact a film production company:
- Send an email
- Send a letter
- Call
Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of each.
Query email.
Your chances of success with this method begin with the subject line.
If your subject line is too generic, confusing, grammatically incorrect, or weird in any way at all, your email might not even get read.
You’d be surprised how many assistants have to read subject lines like, “Script submission,” or, “Plz I wil send my script to you?”
Instead, give the person a reason to want to open your email and read it.
As any good marketer will tell you: spark their interest. Be creative, witty, and interesting.
Better yet, if you have any kind of preexisting connection at all—mention it. Like, “Following up from our Sundance meeting…” Or “Paul said I should reach out…”
Query letter. (Yup, snail mail. With stamps and everything.)
While mailing dozens of production companies query letters might be more expensive and time consuming, it also potentially has a higher success rate than email.
This is because no one does it anymore.
There’s zero novelty in receiving yet another email titled “Action script for your consideration.” If it even gets through the spam filter, that is.
Anyone can copy and paste a query letter into fifty emails and fire them off in minutes.
Not every writer takes the time and effort to send a real letter.
And if it’s well-written letter and has something about it that makes it stand out from the crowd, it might even have a better chance of being read. (Go full old-school if you go this route by hand-writing the name and address on the envelope.)
Just something to consider, but we get that it’s not possible for everyone. Especially if you don’t live in the US. In fact it could work against you, if you live in, say, Slovenia, and they’re left thinking, “How on earth will this person get over here for a meeting?
Verbal pitch.
Perhaps an even better method than sending a letter or an email is to pick up the phone and call.
This can help establish a much more personal connection with an assistant, which is exactly what you’re looking for.
It basically means calling the assistant and cold pitching them your story in an attempt to get them to read your script.
But…only use this method if you’re great on the phone.
If you know how to sell your story and leave a good impression, go for it.
Some writers swear by this method and say that if they had to rely on letters and email, they’d have never sold a thing.
Not all writers are blessed with these kind of communication skills, though. So, if you fall in the latter camp, stick to snail mail or email.
How to submit to film producers looking for scripts. Step #6. Send and track.
Whatever method you choose, list all of the production companies and the names and contact details of all the assistants you want to approach on a spreadsheet.
Use it to track who you’ve contacted, on what date, what the outcome was, and what you’re going to do next.
Keeping on top of things like this is super important as you don’t want to run the risk of submitting to the same production company twice.
Be mindful of the production company’s submission policy.
Be sure to find out the exact details of the TV or film production company’s submission policy.
Some might actually prefer you send a script right off the bat, rather than a synopsis. Some might accept hard copies, while others won’t. Some might be fine if you don’t have an agent, while others will insist on it.
We’ve added a column for production companies that accept unsolicited scripts in the guide.
(Note: You don’t have to take this as gospel. Many writers have had their scripts read by ignoring a production company’s “no unsolicited material” warning and querying them anyway.)
Timing isn’t everything (but it could be a factor).
Is there a “best time” to submit a query to a production company?
Kinda. There are no hard and fast rules here, but you might want to avoid submitting on a Monday when everyone’s overloaded from the weekend pile-up.
We’d avoid that weekend vibe Friday’s have too. And weekends themselves, obviously. Oh, and the weeks leading up to, and after, major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas aren’t a good time to submit to production companies either.
So that leaves…midweek!
How to submit to production companies looking for scripts. Step #7. Wait. Follow-up.
Once you’d dropped your query letter in the mail, or hit “send” on your query email, forget about it.
Just get to work on your next script.
Seriously. Don’t even think about following up until at least a month has passed.
If you start bugging them a couple of days later wondering what’s going on, you’re going to blow your chances.
If a month sails by without a peep, however, drop them a friendly email asking if they’ve had a chance to look at your query.
“Why won’t anyone read my script?”
Don’t get offended if people don’t appear to be interested.
Silence and rejection are by far the two most popular responses to any submission to a production company.
Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? But it needn’t be. It’s just is all part of the process and completely normal.
So don’t sweat it. And definitely don’t just quit. Instead, take stock of why you might be getting rejected.
They’ll be three reasons why you don’t hear back from a production company:
- They didn’t receive it in the first place
- They received it but didn’t read it
- They read it but didn’t like it
If you don’t hear anything back, it could any one of these three options. Maybe your email or letter got lost? Or your subject line didn’t grab them? Or your logline/concept isn’t original enough?
In reality, the last option is the number one reason why writers keep getting rejected—their work is simply not good enough.
It’s super important it is to get a second pair of eyes on your query letter/email, logline, and script(s) before sending them anywhere.
There are plenty of excellent script consultancies and analysts out there. If you want help from us, we have a team of pro screenwriters who can provide:
(Note: Loglines are by far the most important aspect to peaking someone’s initial interest in a query. Your movie or TV show idea needs to sound original and exciting enough to make them want to read the full script. Anything that sounds generic, confusing, or unoriginal will get passed on.)
What happens if you get interest from more than one production company?
Let’s say a producer or exec requests a copy of your script. Then a month later another producer asks for a copy of the same script. What do you do?
You could let the first producer know that the second producer has also requested a copy and ask if this is okay. But this isn’t really necessary as every producer knows that many people might be reading your script.
Unless, one of the producers has read your script and shown genuine interest. Then, you could let the interested producer know that you’re passing it on to a second producer.
Hollywood’s a small town, so it’s just good etiquette to let everyone know what’s going on.
How to submit a script to a production company. Step #8: Find producers in other areas.
Once you’ve submitted your script to some companies in our Top 100 Production Companies eBook, explore other avenues:
- Get a job at a production company. If you’re young enough and live in Hollywood, getting any kind of job at a production company is a good idea. It can be an excellent way to make connections and get your script into the right hands.
- Sign up to pitch websites. Sites like the Black List, Ink Tip and Script Revolution are perused by producers. You’ll need to pay to sign up and host your script, usually for a monthly fee. Here you can find our list of the best screenwriting pitch sites.
- Submit to screenwriting contests. There are also many contests judged by industry executives or that offer to make introductions to producers if they place highly. We’ve listed the best screenwriting contests you should consider entering.
- Reply to ads. Young and hungry producers are looking for great scripts, and they’re posting ads in places like Screenwriting Staffing, Craig’s List and Stage 32. Check out the best screenwriting job sites where people are looking for scripts.
- Use social media. Sites like Twitter and Reddit have active writer communities that are a great place to meet other writers who can read your material and hype you up to their followers. And you can sometimes find film producers looking for scripts on there too.
- Go to film festivals. These places are great for meeting producers. Just make sure you have your elevator pitch ready.
Download our free production companies list PDF.
Get started by downloading our FREE eBook: Top 100 Production Companies Looking For Scripts below.
It does list some production companies that accept unsolicited scripts but the vast majority don’t.
So if you don’t have representation, you need to make a calculated gamble on whether your query is strong enough to attract their attention anyway.
How to submit a script to a production company: Conclusion.
Hopefully this post has cleared some of the confusion surrounding how to submit your script to a production company.
The first (and hardest) part is writing a knockout script. Make that three knockout scripts.
Only then should you start seeking out execs and producers. As well as trying to get a manager and submitting to screenwriting contests.
Above all, don’t take rejection personally. Make a plan, stick to the plan, trust the plan. Good luck!
Frequently asked questions on production companies looking for scripts.
Q. Can you give me the names of production companies that accept unsolicited scripts?
A. We list which production companies are looking for unsolicited scripts and which aren’t in the eBook, which you can download here. To be honest, there aren’t many companies accepting unsolicited scripts. For legal reasons as much as any else, the vast majority of producers say that they don’t consider material from unrepped writers. Whether this is always 100 percent true or not is another matter 😉
Q. How many film production companies are there?
A. Around 6000 in US alone. Our free eBook lists the top 100 production companies looking for scripts. Start there, and then broaden your search using the resources at the end of the book.
Q. What are the major film production companies?
A. The “Big 5” are Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros.
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We’d love to hear your experiences in querying television or film producers looking for scripts. What kind of query did you send? How did you get on? And of course, let us know in the comments if you have any questions at all on how to submit a script to a production company.
Enjoyed this post? Read more on how to send your script to production companies, managers, agents and more…
How to Get a Screenwriting Agent and Manager In 10 Steps
How to Sell a Screenplay: 6 Proven Strategies to Make a First Sale
100 Top Screenwriting Managers to Contact (w/ PDF Download)
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