Commissioning Bodies

Corporations - Large organisations usually comprised of multiple smaller and larger companies that  can usually offer large amounts of support and money for screenwriters, and are usually scouting for newer talent while also working with seasoned veterans of the screenwriting world. Corporations can offer a wide range of opportunities for screenwriters new and old, however they  usually assume full if not most of the control over a production or idea. These include big studios like WarnerMedia and Disney, who put out many films each year on high budgets and a very money-oriented, safe and often formulaic approach to the films they produce.

independent production companies - Independent production companies are usually smaller, and can sometimes be comprised of less than 5 people. They will usually work with relatively lesser known writers to keep costs down, but still have enough there to make a modestly good looking film with little outside financial help. They can also develop scripts for larger corporations in order to earn a bit more money from the finished productions revenue stream. An example of an independent production company is A24, a New York based company formed in 2012 which has gained a lot of recognition throughout the last few years for their films, including Robert Egger's The Lighthouse (2019), James Franco's The Disaster Artist (2017) and the documentary Supersonic (2016), detailing the rise of British rock group Oasis, directed by Mat Whitecross.

independent producers/self-producing - Independent directors and producers usually write their own movies and self produce their work as well. The benefit of this is mostly full control over the production and its budget, although the issues with it involve finding the funding, especially if they aren't as well known in the industry, so newer producers might have to work with smaller budgets for their first few features. A good example of a self-producer is Kevin Smith, who started his career with his 1994 film Clerks on a budget of $27,575, and now has an entire universe of characters and films of his own and also a few studio films he has directed for.

competitions - Competitions are running all the time in the TV and film industry and are run by all sorts of companies and individuals, for a variety of genres and lengths. A lot of film festivals such as Sundance will run competitions to find new talents and ideas, and many competitions are international and can cater to writers all over the world.


Organisations - Organisations exist to provide help, advice and teaching to aid screenwriters in subjects ranging from script development to improving on scripts and optioning scripts. Organisations don't usually finance screenplays however do run competitions to find new talent, both nationally and internationally, and can lead to a lot of recognition in the industry while giving the writer practice and a challenge. Some well known organisations are ScreenSkills and the BBC Writer's Room, the latter of which holds many competitions all year round.

Script optioning - A screenplay option is when a studio or production company buys exclusive rights to hold onto a script for a specified timeframe, removing it from the market while the buyer tries to acquire the necessary requirements to get it made into an actual production. This could be to get funding, a working script or finding the right people to make the production. Screenplay options these days don't get near what they used to, where before an option could make up to $25,000 for a big property or between $2,500 and $10,000 for a smaller screenplay, now you'd be lucky to make $1,000, let alone $2,500. Options usually last for between 6-18 months, and depending on the contract the writer may be required to do rewrites or the buyer themselves will add to the script, however after the contract expires any changes not made by the writer will be voided as the property is returned to them.