Put your best script forward

With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes over, an event originally planned for earlier this year can now take place.

That’s right. It’s time for the triumphant return of The Maximum Z Winter ’23 Script Showcase!

Got a feature or short screenplay, or a TV script you want the rest of the world to know about? This is your chance to do exactly that – for the incredibly reasonable price of ABSOLUTELY FREE.

On Friday, December 22nd, a list of scripts easily available and shareable with pretty much anybody will be posted here, and yours could be part of it. I’ll also post a link to it on a few other platforms, thereby enabling as much access to it as possible. You are also more than welcome to do the same so you can proudly proclaim “Hey! Check it out! My script’s in here!”. What better way to toot your own horn?

And since it’ll be a wide assortment of scripts, chances are some of the listings could make you think “Hey, I’d like to read that!” Each listing already includes the writer’s email, so it’s a piece of cake to contact them directly and say “Hey, can I read this?”

What a bargain, huh?

Submissions accepted between now and Thursday, Dec 21st.

Here’s how it works:

Email the following info here with the subject line “Maximum Z Winter ’23 Script Showcase”

-Film or TV?

-Title

-Author(s)

-Genre(s)

-Logline

-Awards (if applicable) – limit of 5

-your email

That’s all. Pretty simple, right?

However, there are two very important details to keep in mind:

-ONLY ONE SCRIPT PER PERSON

and

-DO NOT SEND THE SCRIPT!!

Previously-listed scripts are okay, but new scripts are encouraged.

Also highly encouraged – PROOFREAD YOUR EMAIL BEFORE SENDING!! Is all the info correct? No typos? I’ve received more than a few over the years that could have used a good edit. How it’s written in your email is how it’ll be written in the post.

The inbox is open with a deadline of Thursday, December 21st, so don’t delay and send today!

Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got.

I did the math so you don’t have to

It’s September 1st! New month, new season (kinda-sorta), school’s back in session, all that rot.

It also means there are 4 months, or 122 days if you want to be super-specific about it, left in 2023 for you to GET SOMETHING WRITTEN.

Totally not impossible.

Even if you average a page a day, that’s a completed draft of a feature (or a pilot), plus some extra time for notes, editing, and polishing.

Dive back into that script you finished earlier this year, last year, or whenever, and attack it with your red pen to edit the bejeezus out of it.

It doesn’t matter what you write, just as long as you plant that ass in a chair and DO. THE. WORK.

That script ain’t gonna write itself, y’know.

Why all the encouragement?

I find a certain appeal to closing out the calendar year having accomplished something writing-wise. You can simultaneously proclaim “Look at what I did!” while also be ready to work on it from the get-go on January 1st.

You’ve got 122 days and counting, so quit your procrastinating, hemming and hawing, and get to it.

And…begin.

No words

’nuff said.

#paythewriters

#wgastrong

#sagaftrastrong

A small ramification of the writers strike

I was afraid of this.

The intent was to post the Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase in 2 weeks, with an abundance of film and TV scripts for the enjoyment of all.

More than a few scripts have been sent in, but there has also been a significant number of writers contacting me saying “Normally, I’d do this in a second, but because of the writers’ strike…”

And you can probably fill in the rest.

Much as I would love to proceed with the Showcase, the last thing I want to do is make anybody feel uncomfortable about it or feel like they’re putting their potential future involvement with the WGA at risk. Myself included.

So even though it breaks my heart to do so, the Summer Showcase is on hold until further notice.

I won’t cancel it outright since there’s no idea when the strike could end.

If it does end in the near future, then I’ll weigh the options of opening it up again. If it runs longer than anticipated, the Showcase will most likely return later this year with the Autumn/Winter edition; looking at December 1st.

If you’ve already sent in your script, let me know if you want it kept on file for next time, or plan to resubmit it (or another script) at the appropriate time.

Like many other pre-WGA writers, I’m hoping to eventually be part of the organization, so I stand in solidarity with what they’re trying to accomplish. If that means not being able to do the Showcase, it’s a small price to pay.

(Illustration by James Yang)

For all the writers of screen & TV out there

Hard to believe it’s that time of year already, but if you’ve got a screenplay or TV script you want to share with the rest of the screenwriting community, and the online world in general, your chance to put it front and center is once again at hand.

The Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase will post on Friday, June 2nd, so you have between now and Thursday, June 1st to send it in. Details listed below.

This bi-annual event has been going on for a few years now. It’s just my little way of giving a helping hand to any writer via a little publicity boost for their script, absolutely free of charge.

Once the post is up, I’ll post a link to it on my various social media platforms, and highly encourage you to do the same if you want to get more eyes on your listing.

And if you see a script you’d like to read, the contact info is right there for you to get in touch with the writer to ask. I’m fairly certain they’d be more than happy to send it your way.

Here’s how it all works:

Email the following info here with the subject line “Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase’:

-Film or TV?

-Title

-Author(s)

-Genre(s)

-Logline

-Awards (if applicable) – 5 at the most

-your email

And that’s it.

Two VERY important details to keep in mind:

-DO NOT SEND THE SCRIPT!!

Just the info above. Nothing else.

-and-

-Only one script per person.

New scripts are highly encouraged, but past submissions are also welcome.

Again – send it in between now and Thursday, June 1st.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – proofread the email before sending!. There’ve been more than a few typos over the years, so make sure everything reads the way it’s supposed to.

Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got, so don’t delay and send it today!