Friday, January 29, 2010

How Do I Get to Be a Script Reader?

I live in Toronto and was wondering if you knew how I could go about getting a job as a script reader? What companies would be looking for a script reader? Would CTV and Alliance Atlantis be looking for script readers, or do they go to different production companies to buy their "original programming"?
I've never heard of a Canadian company hiring script readers. Has anyone heard of such a thing?
Do I have to be in the same country as the production company to script read; could I apply to Warner Brothers of Dreamworks? What should I write in my Cover Letter and to whom in a particular company should I address it to?
Wow, I think that's going to be a long shot. I imagine you need some sort of "in" at a company to get a script reading job. I got my first script reading job from a friend from Yale. So long distance is going to be hard, I would think.

Anyone got any ideas?

6 comments:

Emily Blake said...

Yeah tough luck on that one. There's already a billion people already here who are trying to get those jobs. I don't see any reason why a company would hire someone who has to get a visa to come here.

Lisa Hunter said...

Companies need to know you and trust your taste before they let you become a script reader. An internship is the usual way in, if you don't already have a connection. Make yourself invaluable, then ask if you can read some scripts/pitches. Then give great, incisive notes.

Angelle Haney Gullett said...

I applied for an internship (unpaid) that was posted, and I know some of my fellow reader-interns live far away from the heart of Hollywood.

Entertainmentcareers.net has an internships section, and that's where I found mine.

Carmarn said...

While I personally have never GOTTEN one of these jobs in Toronto , I know that literary agents specializing in scripts are sometimes hiring assistants that specialize in reading/coverage.

I've never seen a position with a production company though.

If you check the usual suspects of Canadian arts job site and/or Agency sites there are usually ways to contact or submit resumes.

Unknown said...
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Josh Woolf said...

It's really difficult to get a reader job even if you live in LA and have connections. Good luck.