The Odds for Screenwriters

Producers and studios receive countless pitches each year.  If a producer likes a pitch, he or she will then try to get a network or studio executive involved, who will then try to get the studio to buy the idea.  Producers are constantly pitching ideas in the hopes that one of them will stick, and this means they have to consider a lot of material.

Orly Adelson producer Jonathan Eskenas puts it this way:  “Quick estimation would be [that I read] at least 500 scripts a year (about 10 a week).  That’s just scripts. In terms of total projects that are brought to us in a year – scripts, books, articles, life stories, ideas, etc. – probably closer to 1,500.  But, we are very selective in what we chose to work on and pitch.  Odds are that you’ll fail more than you succeed.  The best producer in the world won’t sell most of the things they pitch.  It’s like a baseball player.  If a batter gets a hit 3 out of every ten times at bat, he’s a Hall of Famer.  I’d take those odds here too.”