You’ve got the idea, you’ve worked tirelessly on the script and now you’re ready to send it out. You know that the next step is finding a producer, but how can you get your script in front of them when they say they don’t accept unsolicited scripts?

The reason behind ‘no unsolicited scripts’

Legally, a producer or production company shouldn’t take on any unsolicited material as it can leave them open to unwanted lawsuits

If they’re currently developing a comedy drama about pirates and they happen to get an unsolicited script about pirates, then the writer who submitted that script could potentially go after the producer for ‘stealing the idea’

This is why in big companies, unsolicited material is never opened, or at best is sent to the legal department

Why smaller producers don’t want unsolicited scripts

Honestly? It’s time-consuming and not very productive

Read more: The best advice I’ve ever been given about pitching, financing and selling your films

Smaller and short film producers know that they’re going to be working on a film for 2-3 years (yes, even for short films)

So we know from experience that the most important thing is the quality of the relationship we have with the writer and director

When someone goes straight into pitching it usually demonstrates that they don’t understand or realise the importance of having a great working relationship. For producers, that’s often our indicator for why we likely won’t take on the project

So what can you do?

If solicited material was the only way to get a film made, then 90% of films would cease to exist

It’s perfectly possible, you just have to take a different approach

Read more: 3 Step-By-Step Plans to Make Your Film in 2024

Let’s go through two examples

Filmmaker A has spent weeks crafting the latest version of the script and is finally happy to start sharing it

She begins researching producers and production companies she thinks would be interested in it and that she would like to work with

After hours of agonising over the perfect email, she finally begins contacting the producers and companies on her list with her perfectly drafted email and the script attached

Within hours, she begins receiving replies explaining that they don’t take unsolicited material or aren’t looking for projects right now

Her script remains unread, and her project is in the same place she was when she started… except now there are 12 producers and companies who don’t want to hear from her

Filmmaker B has a variety of ideas on her slate, and is ready to start discussing them with producers to start making them

She researches producers and companies whose work she enjoys and begins to engage with them on social media

Then she begins reaching out to producers to discuss their work and arrange a Zoom call or coffee meeting

She doesn’t mention any of her projects, until the producer asks “So what are you working on?” Then she picks a couple of projects from her slate that she believes this particular producer will be most interested in

“Well it’s funny that you mention [topic they’ve been talking about], because I’ve recently been developing a project about [topic related in some way to what they’ve mentioned]” The producer seems interested, and asks to see the treatment or a pitch deck before reading the script

Filmmaker B has meetings with several producers that all go roughly the same. She now has several producers showing interest in her projects and asking for the scripts

Read more: 6 steps to get producers asking for your script

Producers don’t need more scripts

Here’s the thing. Producers always have enough scripts. They always have a backlog of ideas and projects, they’re not looking for any more. But they’re always open to chatting

Producers understand – often better than anyone else – that this is a business of relationships. We rarely so no to a call, a meeting, or any other kind of networking because we know how important it is

By going in cold with a pitch, you’re likely to get a ‘no thanks’ almost immediately, because the producer isn’t looking for more projects to raise

Increase your chances of them saying yes

It’s a personal relationship. When you focus on connecting with them on a personal level, starting a conversation and nurturing that relationship, they’re always going to end up asking you what you’re working on

And as you’ve spent the time getting to know them, you can best gauge what kind of projects and stories they’re most interested in

That’s where you get the opportunity to pick a couple of ideas you’ve been working on that will appeal to that person the most

Of course, this isn’t foolproof (mostly because nothing is). But it’s 100x more effective than Filmmaker A’s approach

Read more: 6 Steps to Rebuild Your Network

So before you go all in on agonising over the perfect pitch email to send to producers you’ve never spoken with before, take a step back and spend a couple of weeks focussing on building relationships with producers first

Not only is it much more relaxed and enjoyable for you, you’re also going to get far better results, like this:

Get The Magnetic Post Formula that my student used to get a producer onboard in 48 hours!

Happy networking!