When you submit your script to an agent or production company, you've got one shot. It's got to be perfect.
All writers, even the very best, can get blind to the faults in their own scripts after rewriting them over and over again. Sometimes it takes a very trained and talented outside eye to bring a fresh perspective.
Most script consultants aren't writers themselves, so of course they can't give you creative solutions to your script's problems. (If they could, they'd be writers themselves.) Honestly, the last thing you need is someone who can't write telling you how to do it. For instance, how can they help you with the subtleties of your dialogue?
Expect a lot more from David. He won't just spot the weaknesses in your script that can destroy a sale -- he'll roll up his sleeves and give you ideas on how to fix them. You may find yourself following his ideas one moment, and in a great brainstorming session with him the next as his ideas spark new ideas that you come up with.
David works as a consultant for screenwriters at all stages in the development of their screenplays. There are over thirty critical aspects to a screenplay: dialogue, twists, suspense, structure, and characterizations are a few of these. David will zero in on those areas in your script which are problematic and then brainstorm solutions with you to help repair and improve your script.
You're encouraged to tape record David's consultation with you. You can tape your session over the phone if you live outside of Los Angeles. (If you don't know how to tape over the phone, David can direct you to an inexpensive and easy-to-use device you can get from Radio Shack).
Taping David's verbal notes and ideas offers two distinct advantages over a traditional, written critique:
1) Quite a bit more material can be covered this way. What can be discussed in an hour and a half would take many hours to write up. Thus, clients get much more help for their money. By taping the session you can also review it as often as you like.
2) The brainstorming process allows David to work directly with you to creatively solve your script's problems. Written notes don't permit this collaborative process, with its excellent results, to occur.
David's initial fee to read a script, analyze it, prepare notes, and then spend 2 hours $800. This entire process takes David about 6 hours to complete, from reading your script to preparing his notes through to his consultation with you.
David realizes that $800 is a serious sum for a lot of writers. But everyone who utilizes him always says they've gotten more than their money's worth.
You can count on the feedback and concrete suggestions that you will receive being extraordinarily useful in helping you realize your script's fullest artistic and commercial possibilities.
If you choose to utilize David's services on subsequent drafts of the same script, his fee drops to $700. By the way, if you can't afford David, call him at (310) 394-0361, and he'll recommend another consultant who's quite good and who charges $600.
"I MET DAVID FREEMAN when I took his workshop. Although I've never had a screenplay sold or optioned, Mr. Freeman read one of my scripts. He carefully guided me through three rewrites, and then showed the final draft to several agents. I ended up having a choice of agencies to represent the screenplay (one of them was Creative Artists). The script sold for $200,000 against $400,000 when the film gets made. I feel very lucky to have come across David."
Andrew Harrison
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"WHEN I FIRST BROUGHT MY STORY TO DAVID, it was only a pitch. He advised me through several drafts until the screenplay was complete. Then David got involved in selling the script, and he succeeded in getting it put into development at a major studio. David probably has a better understanding of storytelling, with all of its components, than anyone I've run into in this town. Any screenwriter would benefit from working with him."
William Selby
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"I ENGAGED DAVID'S CONSULTING SERVICES WHEN I was working on a challenging and complex script for an independent film. David's input was specific and incredibly valuable. He didn't impose his viewpoint; instead, he honored what I wanted to do with the script. His suggestions covered a wide gamut, from ways to increase the characters' motivations, to ideas for keeping the relationships between the characters more unpredictable. He offered suggestions for tying various plot-lines together, as well as specific ways to convey the lead character's hard-won emotional growth. I left the consultation overflowing with ideas and with a crystallized vision of how to take the script to the next level."
Jan Oxenberg Co-Producer: CHICAGO HOPE; Currently writing a feature for Robert Greenwald Productions based on James Ellroy's memoir: MY DARK PLACES; Theatrical Feature: THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT; Executive Story Editor: NOTHING SACRED; Story Editor: RELATIVITY.
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"I BROUGHT DAVID a thriller script which, after placing well in a prominent screenwriting competition, had been damned with faint praise: "This is really good. You could probably get it made in Europe." Obviously, I needed an education on writing in Hollywood. David meticulously worked with me through several drafts, detailing problems with the plot, characters, and structure, and he provided specific solutions--as well as encouragement. To top things off, he was also willing to go out on a limb and show the completed script around, and then get it optioned by one of Hollywood's leading television production companies. He combined creative abilities and a practical knowledge of the industry to help me turn a project with a lot of potential into a marketable script."
Dan Davis