If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is an idea worth?


 
How high can you count?
 
There is no commodity more valuable than a truly inspired idea.  
 
Every magnificent feat of human invention, from the light bulb, to the theory of relativity to the Golden Gate Bridge to Star Wars began as an idea in somebody's mind.
 
Without the initial idea - the initial spark of creation - nothing else can happen.
 
But having a truly inspired idea and knowing what to do with it are not the same thing.
 
I assume you think you have a great idea, or you wouldn't be reading this.
 
Well, I know what to do with it.
 
My name is Rob Thomas, and I've been lucky enough to work full time in Hollywood as a screenwriter and script doctor for almost fifteen years.  I make about $30,000 per week doing rewrites, I've worked for every major studio in Hollywood (and many smaller ones) and movies I've worked on have grossed almost $3 billion worldwide.

Writing is my passion.  And I truly, truly love what I do.
 
But writing is also hard.  
 
There is nothing more daunting than staring at that blank page, trying to figure out what to say.  Trying to find a way to turn that brilliant idea that's burning in your mind into a story.
 
And not just a story.  You're trying to write a story that someone else will want to buy.  A story that someone else will want to spend tens of millions of dollars to turn it into a movie, so that hopefully viewers the world over will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to go see that movie.
 
It had better be a good story, huh :-)
 
But wait, you say, if that is the case, then why do so many awful movies get made?
 
Well, the unfortunate answer to that question is that the Hollywood system is, first and foremost, a business.  A business run by Harvard MBA's, financed by banks and 
 
 
 
 
 
But as I looked through the various "script advisors" and "screenplay doctors" and "writing gurus" on the Internet I was stunned at the prices they charge -
 
 
$500 for coverage
 
What is coverage, anyway?
 
Basically "coverage" is a fancy studio word for a synopsis of a screenplay and a recommendation as to the quality of that screenplay.  It is used primarily as a tool for busy executives and producers to prescreen scripts without actually having to read them.
 
I am not here to give you coverage.
 
If you have already written your screenplay, congratulations.  That is a very admirable accomplishment.  And if you would like coverage or opinions on that script, there are many services who will happily supply you with that (for a hefty fee, of course :-)
 
I am here for those of you who have not yet gotten to that point.  You have an idea, you think it would make a good movie, but how do you know?  And what do you do next?
 
I'm here to help you figure out what to do next.
 
See, the problem is, it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to write a screenplay.  And all the coverage in the world isn't going to help you if the core idea of your script isn't solid. 
 
Or isn't marketable.  
 
Or has already been done.  
 
And while you might think your sister's best friend's mother's boyfriend has impeccable taste in films, if he is not an actual writer or producer or executive or at least someone who in some way works professionally in the film industry, the chances are he is not as likely to know what sells in Hollywood as someone who is.
 
I'm talking about the old adage of "measure twice, cut once."  
 
What I am offering is my opinion and expertise on 
 
 

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