www.simplyscripts.com — Extensive database of scripts and transcripts of feature films, both produced and un–produced, available to view and print. Collates its library from a number of online databases so covers scripts from classics like Chinatown to the latest releases such as Minority Report. Clearly states if it is a shooting script or transcript and occasionally holds early drafts of new classics such as Three Kings and American Beauty. There are sections specifically for TV and radio scripts and a good links section.
www.script–o–rama.com — If you want to know more about writing screenplays you can download your favourites here. This is a real film fan site and does much of the trawling for you for the latest and most authentic scripts for films from Hollywood to cult classics.
www.iscriptdb.com — Large movie script database. The site also contains a database of screenwriters and interviews with screenwriters. Prides itself on being the first to have many scripts online and has a section dedicated to screenwriters reviewing the latest scripts doing the rounds of Hollywood.
www.zoetrope.com — The Virtual Studio section of this website is a submission destination and collaboration tool for filmmakers – a community where artists can submit and workshop original work and where producers can make movies using built–in production tools. Membership is free but you have to sign up before gaining access to the virtual development section and area dedicated to new screenwriters.
www.triggerstreet.com — New site and offshoot of Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti’s Triggerstreet production company. If scripts get into the site’s top 10 they automatically enter into a 90–day first–look agreement with Triggerstreet. Good source of reviewing unproduced scripts
www.writingtreatments.com — Articles, samples, advice on writing treatments.
Below are the addresses for a selection of script sale sites. Essentially these are platforms for new writers to present their scripts to industry executives.
www.bfi.org.uk — An enormous site that contains information about British Film Institute services and through its Film Links Gateway provides useful lists of organisations, libraries, script sites and competitions.
www.writersguild.org.uk — The Writers Guild of Great Britain – the main guild for established writers whose website includes interviews and advice.
www.scriptfactory.co.uk — The Script Factory’s own site includes information about what we do, with details of training, events and development services, plus event transcripts, FAQs and other useful resources.
www.industrialscripts.co.uk — Courses, resources and networking site of this London based company.
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk — The UK Film Council was the Government–backed strategic agency for film in the UK. It was closed in April 2011 but still retains a useful website with links to other UK organisations.
www.launchingfilms.com — The web site for the FDA, and the Guide Book to download includes an essential monthly guide to theatrical releases as well as Home Entertainment.
www.screendaily.com — Online version of the trade magazine.
www.imdb.com — Essential search engine for credit info.
www.boxofficemojo.com — Stats heaven giving: opening weekends, number of screens, production budget, marketing budget, distributor, domestic (US), international and worldwide totals… all this AND an overseas breakdown. Could it get any better? Great tool for getting the populist view on what people are watching and where.
www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom — Mini–site from the BBC focusing on writing for the screen. Useful for tracking what competitions and funding are available to new writers as well as words of wisdom and encouragement from writers working for the screen today.
www.shootingpeople.org — Shooting People’s daily Filmmakers and Screenwriters Network and weekly Script Pitch list. You can join these email networks to get news, views and information about screenwriting and filmmaking, and have the opportunity to ask questions and pitch projects.
www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork — An off–shoot from the BBC main site focusing on new filmmaking. Focus is on shorts but gives a good overview of schemes, screenings and events happening in the UK.
There is a series of handbooks published annually that provides a year–on–year analysis of the film industry in the UK exposing broad trends in the growth and make–up of the market.
British Video Association Yearbook — obviously now including BluRay. The handbook itself is extraordinarily expensive, though invaluable, giving the year–on–year performance of each of the entertainment windows (theatrical, ppv, video buy, video rental, BluRay and satellite broadcast) as well as a breakdown of trends in terms of audience make–up, genre, age, etc. The BVA website at www.bva.org.uk also contains some really useful material (stats, opinion, etc) to help towards understating this market.
The Film Distributors’ Association — The trade body for distributors has an excellent website at www.launchingfilms.com which is an essential resource from the perspective of exhibitors and distributors alike. Available on request is an annual report, plus yearbook and various essays/statistical analysis. Excellent!
Screen Digest — www.screendigest.com — an international website that collates media reports. Used mainly by the media industry, most of the reports are for sale. However, it does have a database of free articles and research from different territories. Useful in terms of giving insight into what the hot topics of the day are and also for looking at future threats and opportunities facing the film industry.
CAVIAR Report (Cinema and Video Audience Research) — This annual report is funded by exhibitors to provide a comprehensive demographic breakdown of the cinema–going audience and trends in cinema viewing to potential advertisers. In terms of giving audience analysis it is the bible but it is very much a service which the industry pays for and access comes at a premium. That said, sample PDFs giving recent top–line information on audience trends is available on the business site connected to Pearl & Dean: http://business.pearlanddean.com
UK Film Council — UKFC has until this coming year produced an annual statistical yearbook — in 2010 this was published as a fully digital and searchable website for the first time. It offers the most comprehensive and accessible picture of film anywhere in the UK, and it can be found at http://tinyurl.com/www-Stat-Yearbook-2010. Obviously, with the demise of the UKFC, this may not be replaced in future years — but we presume that some sort of stats will be available from the new–look BFI.
Cinema Exhibitors’ Association — www.cinemauk.org.uk — includes an annual report that gives overall figures for number of screens, admissions, gross box–office takings, revenue per admission and revenue per screen.
The main source of immediate and accessible box–office performance figures is always going to be the topline given in Screen International. These figures consist of a series of top 15/10/5 charts for the last weekend and can give a good indication of how a film currently showing is performing on the circuit. Always beware, though, of taking exhibition performance as indicative of how a title will eventually fare. Many that are slow performers at the box office or quick to drop out of the charts can more than make up in the home entertainment window and there are many sleeper titles such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding that can loiter below the radar of the top 10 for weeks accumulating a good box–office return before exploding on to the chart.
Week: The number of weeks a film has been on release.
Three/Four/etc day gross: The weekend takings for a particular territory.
Screens: The number of screens the title is showing on.
Screen Average: The average amount taken per screen. This is a good indicator of how well a title is filling theatres. By averaging out the takings per screen this also evens out the playing field between small and large films by looking at performance rather than just the gross figures.
Seven–day % change: This indicates the rate at which a film’s audience is dropping off. As soon as a film opens there is a natural drop off as it saturates its market and uses up its ‘must–see’ potential. Percentage change is also a good indicator of what type of word of mouth a film is getting. A film that is getting good word of mouth will tend to have a smaller % change and, in some cases, a small film with low P&A but good word of mouth can actually see its % change go up.
Total Gross: This is the total amount that the title has taken in that territory since its release.
There are numerous sites which give accurate box–office info though most have a North American bias. If reading statistics in chart form gives you a headache, it’s definitely worth subscribing to Charles Gant’s excellent box–office blog in the Guardian, giving a weekly analysis of the weekend’s UK box–office results in a beautiful prose roundup: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/series/at–the–british–box–office
Otherwise some of the better stats sites include:
Screen International — www.screendaily.com/box–office
EDI
The Hollywood Reporter — www.hollywoodreporter.com
Box Office Report — www.boxoffice.com
Box Office Guru — www.boxofficeguru.com
Internet Movie Database — www.imdb.com
Box Office Mojo — www.boxofficemojo.com
Variety — www.variety.com/Home
www.launchingfilms.com/release-schedule — FDA website gives a month–by–month breakdown for the next six months of scheduled theatrical releases in the UK collating release and box–office information.
Screen International — www.screendaily.com — Production Focus provides post–production listings from which to predict upcoming UK films.
www.imdbpro.com — A pay–to–subscribe section of the well–known website. It has all the depth of the traditional site but is more industry focused giving extensive coverage of: films currently shooting, release schedules, box–office analysis on films past and present, business news, and a festival news and calendar section.
Subscription is currently £40 a month but there is a free two–week trial if you would like to explore.
www.screendaily.com — A yearly calendar of festivals is available online and a yearly festival diary is given away with Screen International in January which is always worth keeping hold of.
www.filmfestivals.com — Handy if overly complicated site detailing what’s what in the world of film festivals.
www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com — The site of the London Screenwriters Festival held annually in October.