Hire Me to Write a Movie Based on Your Ideas,
Convert Your Existing Book Into a Movie or TV Series,
or
Bulletproof Your Existing Screenplay or Teleplay
I want everybody to tell me the truth
even if it costs them their jobs.
—Samuel Goldwyn
Last updated September 2024
In any given year, there are roughly 35,000 screenplays
registered with the Writers Guild of America. Only around 1,000 are purchased;
and of those, just 400 for Hollywood-level money. And only about 250
are then turned into movies.
Those numbers paint a grim picture—until you realize that
over 90 percent of screenplays are so fundamentally
flawed that they can be rejected within 10 minutes of a reader flipping
through their pages.
The real competition for the 1,000 sales a year is
among 3,500 screenwriters who "get" what's needed—i.e.,
have a screenplay with a strong high concept, rock-solid structure, a compelling
main character with a memorable arc, a clear target audience, and so on.
And beyond those fundamentals, the winners will be the writers
who have a fresh , smart approach that makes them stand out from
the crowd. This extra quality cuts the real competition to under 2,000—at
which point the chances of a sale are around 1 in 2.
I can help your movie rise to this top 5 percent
of the screenplay market.
My name is Hy Bender, and I write movie scripts and TV series pitches for hire. If you're at the idea stage, I can write your movie from scratch based on the ideas and information you provide. Or if you have an existing book, I can turn your manuscript into a screenplay or a detailed pitch for a TV series. (To learn about my book expertise, please visit BookProposal.net.)
Alternatively, if you have an existing screenplay or teleplay, you can hire me as a world-class story analyst to bulletproof your script.
I've dramatically improved the screenplays or TV pitches of hundreds of writers, ranging
from total beginners to screenwriters who've had Hollywood features produced.
Alternatively, if you have a book that you want to convert into a screenplay or TV series pitch, I'm one of the few script writers for hire who's also a top expert on books.
My credentials include:
Decades of providing analysis
and advice on hundreds of screenplays and teleplays for writers, directors, and
film/TV production companies.
Hosting and producing the podcast Movie and TV Deep Dive, which features exceptionally sharp observations and insights on
popular recent movies and TV shows playing on streamers.
Topics covered to date include The Bear (FX/Hulu), Baby Reindeer (Netflix), House of the Dragon (HBO MAX), and Jim Henson:
Idea Man (Disney+).
Founding NYScreenwriters.com,
which for eight years was one of the most respected screenwriting workshops in the country.
Writing The Sandman Companion, a nationally
bestselling story analysis and interview book with legendary fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. In 2022 The Sandman became the #1 TV series on the #1 streamer, Netflix.
Writing theatre reviews
for The New York Times; and articles
about film, TV, and other media for such diverse national publications
as American Film, Advertising
Age, PC Magazine, Yahoo! Internet Life, Spy,
and Mad Magazine.
Previously writing thousands of comedy, theatre, and TV show
reviews for my NYC arts Web sites HyReviews.com and BestNewYorkComedy.com; and currently running a comedy account on X/Twitter at @hybender (75,000 followers).
Writing five books
in the popular Dummies series, and a book in the Complete
Idiot's Guide series, which demonstrate my ability to explain even
dry, complex concepts in an accessible and entertaining manner that anyone can
understand. I employ these same skills to ensure the key messages of a move or TV series come through as powerfully as possible to its target audiences.
Five of Hy's 20+ books
I'm delighted to be of help regardless of your experience
level. Please just know that I'll treat you like a professional—that
is, I'll be bluntly honest, and cut to the chase by focusing on your story's problems. If you have a thin skin, I'm not the writer or analyst for you.
But if you want thoughtful and impactful movie or TV writing, and/or extraordinarily on-target feedback
about your story, I'd love to be of service.
Here's what some of my clients have said
about my services:
Hy's work is insightful, on point, and most
important—helpful. If you're looking for an honest
take on your story, analyzing every aspect from theme to tone to character
to plot, I can't recommend anyone more. A 30-minute conversation with
Hy cleared up issues I couldn't crack in three weeks of rewrites. I will
never send out another script without first getting a lookover
from Hy.
—Andrew Lobel, a Hollywood writer represented
by William Morris Endeavor who worked on upcoming big-budget
feature film Artemis for 20th Century Fox, and co-wrote sword & sorcery epic Conan
the Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones.
Among your most critical resources as a screenwriter
are people you trust to read your script and then give you honest and
insightful feedback. That's what's so great about Hy; he's extremely honest
and very knowledgeable about screenplays. Hy really knows what he's talking
about, and he's one of the few people I listen to regarding my work. Hy
is a great resource.
—Brendan Beseth, whose writing credits include
the feature film Lucky Town
starring Kirsten Dunst and James Caan.
Hy
helped me develop my first screenplay from its initial draft to its final
(and very different) version, many rewrites later. It was a lot of work;
but I was thrilled to then land a manager on the strength of that single
movie script. I've since written a second screenplay, and am now developing
a third—and
still regularly turn to Hy for his feedback.
—Mariah Wilson, whose second screenplay was optioned;
who's written & directed the documentaries Revealing
Hate and Volunteer;
and who's written for the TV shows Twist of Fate, Off
the Hook, and Backyard Oil.
The worst thing a screenwriter can do is
send a script into the marketplace before the pages are ready. Hy's analysis
of my screenplay didn't pull any punches. His comments were sometimes
humbling, but were also extremely understandable and easy to apply. After
integrating Hy's notes, my screenplay is 100% stronger, particularly in
theme and execution of my premise. I feel my script will now stand up
to even the most discerning studio reader.
—Allan Fair, who's contributed to HBO's Entourage; has had sitcom pilots under consideration
at CBS, ABC and NBC; has won Scriptapalooza
and TV Writer scriptwriting contests;
and is prominently featured on the ScreenStyle DVD How to Pitch
Your Movie Idea.
Hy, when I sent my sitcom pilot to be critiqued
I was thinking you'd find a few more jokes to squeeze out of it. Boy,
were my expectations exceeded! Sure
my script has more jokes, but your forcing me to think more about the
characters and theme makes the script funnier on a holistic level. Even
the premise is funnier! I
can't thank you enough.
—Allan Fair (see above)
Note:
Before you send your script to anyone,
I recommend registering it with the US Copyright Office
at copyright.gov/registration.
It's a quick process, and
the $45 fee is worth it for peace of mind alone. While you can register a script with the Writers Guild of America East
(WGAEeast.org, for $25) or the Writers Guild of America West
(WGARegistry.org, for $20), it's actually the US Copyright Office that provides you with the most complete legal protection.
If you're interested in hiring me for script writing or analysis, please
email your name and phone number to hy@hyreviews.com.
Alternatively, if you'd like help developing
a book (for example, to lay a strong marketing and legal foundation for your movie), please visit my ghostwriting site at BookProposal.net.
Whatever your writing needs, I'd love to hear from you, learn about your ideas, answer any questions you might have, and chat about how I might be of help in turning your vision into a movie, TV series, and/or book.
