Got an email earlier this week with the following:

“Hi Paul,

Congrats on The Unlikeliest of Heroes being featured in the Maximum Z Winter 2024 Script Showcase. I recently started testing a small service for screenwriters with a finished feature who want to skip the miserable producer-research step.

For $149 CAD, I research 100 project-specific producer and production-company targets, public contact or submission routes, fit notes, and an organized outreach tracker. You handle the querying and keep control over where the script goes.

Thought it might be useful if you are currently looking for producers for The Unlikeliest of Heroes or another feature.”

There was also a link to the website, which I absolutely refuse to post.

First and foremost, I AM the Maximum Z Script Showcase, so that’s Exhibit A in the “I didn’t do any research whatsoever about this” situation.

Second, any screenwriter who would even consider doing this is making a huge mistake. If you want to query somebody, do your homework and get their info yourself. Yes, it’s a lot of grunt work, but better to spend time on research than discovering you wasted your cash on information that might not even be accurate to begin with.

Several writers who also had their scripts on a few Showcases reached out to me to say “I got this email. What do you know about it?” Before I got the email, I didn’t know squat about it.

I really, really hate when I see this sort of thing. A more seasoned screenwriter will immediately spot this as a scam – WHICH IT IS – but the less experienced could very likely see this as a golden opportunity and fork over the bucks.

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS OR HIDDEN SECRETS. Making it in this business takes a lot of time and effort, and sometimes just being ready at the right time.

What also bothers me about this is that this person used something I created as a means of hawking their wares. My intent for the Script Showcase is for each writer to point to their listing and tell the world “Here’s something I wrote. Let me know if you’d like to read it.”

(I do plan on doing the Showcase again in a few months, but may give participants the option of having their contact info included or positioning myself as the go-between. Feel free to chime in with your opinion.)

I responded to the person who sent the email, saying that I was actually the guy behind the Showcase and to stop contacting the writers involved. They wrote back, saying they would. The credibility of that statement remains to be seen.

Those seeking to take advantage of the easily duped will always be out there, so I’ll be there as long as I can as hopefully one of many lines of defense.