Does Your Script Suck? Let Shane Black Decide
Leave it to Shane Black to turn the lonely act of screenwriting into a contact sport. The Lethal Weapon and Iron Man scribe has launched The Gauntlet, a competition that puts aspiring writers through a rigorous series of critiques and rewrites — sort of American Gladiators for the Final Draft set. “It’s a competition,” he says,…
Leave it to Shane Black to turn the lonely act of screenwriting into a contact sport. The Lethal Weapon and Iron Man scribe has launched The Gauntlet, a competition that puts aspiring writers through a rigorous series of critiques and rewrites — sort of American Gladiators for the Final Draft set.
“It’s a competition,” he says, “but I like to think of it as more friendly than that. It’s about a community of writers.” Developed with the script-consultancy ScriptHop, the contest puts entrants’ work through a detailed review by readers and advisers drawn from Black’s own circle of industry veterans —including longtime friends like The Woman King scribe Dana Stevens and Meet the Parents’ Jim Herzfeld.
“They’re people I’ve known for 40 years,” he adds, “people I trust to really roll up their sleeves and give usable notes. If it’s not good, you’ll be told in diplomatic terms exactly why — by people who know.”
Nine scripts made it through the inaugural Gauntlet — the first hurdle was the $380 entry fee — which aims to connect its winners with agents, managers and even studios. A “golden ticket” it’s not — though, yes, there is an actual silver-tinted, ticket-shaped metal card sent to Hollywood insiders, complete with a QR code linking to those nine scripts.
As for Black, who has spent decades toggling between writing (The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Last Boy Scout) and directing (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys), he insists he’s not trading filmmaking for mentorship — just rooting for a return to strong, original storytelling. “There’s a lot of success right now for movies that aren’t based on IP,” he says. “The idea is to make your script too good to ignore.”
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Also in Rambling Reporter: Why Hollywood is Flocking to “The Hamptons of Europe.” Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender — they’ve all scooped up property in Portugal, land of cinematic sunsets, low property taxes, and no Trump.
Plus: Piano Prodigy Lang Lang Gets a Biopic — With Fight Scenes!
This story appeared in the Oct. 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
