MEET THE TEAM

About Script Reader Pro (and you).

Hi, my name’s Al Bloom (on the left, not the baby) and I’m the founder of Script Reader Pro. Welcome aboard! We’re so glad you found us.

Everything we do and create is based on helping screenwriters live the life they want and need to live—the creative life.

Not all screenwriters are going to achieve this and break into the industry. But here’s why my team and I believe in YOU:

1. You’re a creative. You want to express yourself. You might even be a rebel who doesn’t quite fit in the regular routine. You’re not happy with “the norm” and you want something different out of life.

2. You’re in it for the love. You’re not in it to get rich, hang out with stars and “make it big.” You’re in it because you love writing and your dream is to be able to make a living as a writer. The joy of seeing your imagination realized on the big screen and be loved by others (while getting paid for it) is your ultimate goal.

3. You will feel unfulfilled if it doesn’t happen. You know becoming a writer is your calling and you know if you don’t achieve it you’ll look back aged 80 and feel you haven’t lived the life you wanted. The world needs to hear your stories so don’t be afraid to take the leap and pursue your dream.

We believe you deserve the best.

This means giving you access to a team of pro screenwriters who can simplify and take the myth out of how to break in.

1. We can help because we’re professionals who know what it’s like to be on the outside looking in. In order to realize your dream of doing what you love—write (and get paid for it)—getting help from people who’ve already achieved this goal can be invaluable.

As pro screenwriters, we understand what you’re going through because we’ve been through it too. After much blood, sweat and tears we’ve achieved some level of success in this crazy business and now we’re here to take the trial and error out of the process so you can do the same.

2. We understand how important getting your stories out is to you and have designed our products and services to help make it as easy as possible. Writing’s never “easy” but it’s made harder by all the contradictory and confusing advice that’s out there.

We don’t believe in the advice to “just write, write, write.” Or “let the story breathe.” We believe in practical advice over waffle. We believe in hands-on exercises over theory. We believe in taking the myth out of becoming a pro screenwriter.

3. Ready to get to work? If you think making it as a screenwriter is all about natural talent, or being privileged enough to live in LA or mix in the “right circles,” it’s time for a rethink.

Becoming a pro screenwriter is as much (if not more) about hard work and strategy as it is about talent. No matter who you are or where you come from. Rather than just blindly writing every day as suggested by practically every screenwriting blog on the planet, it’s about changing your state of mind.

It’s about changing how you write and what you write. It’s about coming up with a routine and an action plan to get you where you need to be. And we can help you do all of this and more.

Choose from a range of script coverage services or a twelve-week mentorship to get a pro’s opinion on your script.

Meet the team.

Peter Briggs. [3-5 week turnaround]

Pro experience: Peter’s perhaps best known for co-writing Hellboy, with Guillermo Del Toro. In 26 years, he’s been employed by 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Sony/Columbia, Miramax, and many more, writing on such projects as Alien vs. Predator, Judge Dredd and War Of The Worlds.

Backstory: When I was a kid I didn’t want to make movies, because in those pre-internet days I didn’t even know that was a possibility. I grew up a wide-eyed British Marvel comics-reader on a blue-collar Northern housing estate, any given Harryhausen movie on TV—my month’s highlight. I was obsessed with Doctor Who, Star Trek, and the British Gerry Anderson shows.

When Star Wars came along, it rocked my world. Its attendant flood of behind-the-scenes literature made me realize people made this stuff for a living, and I started to devour everything I could about every facet of filmmaking. My parents had neither money or connections but, as a teen, I still had the best film school there was: old movies on the BBC.

I left home, armed with stubbornness and determination. Began as a runner at a commercials company in London, segueing to becoming an assistant cameraman. In the evenings, with a manual typewriter, a photocopy of Kasdan’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark screenplay, and William Goldman’s Adventures In The Screen Trade for reference and inspiration, I started writing screenplays for myself.

After six years, on a “What If?” whim, I submitted my resulting pile of dead tree to some talent agencies. Within weeks, William Morris and ICM both offered to represent me. A year later, I made my first screenplay sale overnight to 20th Century Fox. That was the last time I assisted as a cameraman.

I disdain the idea you ought to spreadsheet a movie into being solely by the numbers: creativity and common sense can triumph over stale script guru snake-oil. You don’t have to be a USC alumni to be a success in the movie business. If you’ve talent and determination, having someone who’s already fought in the Hollywood trenches to help whip your opus into shape is worth its weight in gold. So. Let’s get started, shall we…?

Main-genre specialties: Drama, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi
Sub-genre specialties: All

Most important fact of all: Peter has an aversion to glowing rocks, and likes pink very much, Lois.

Dash Finley.

Pro experience: Dash Finley is a screenwriter and film journalist based in Los Angeles. Having worked as a development assistant to a number of high-powered executives and creatives, he has written many screenplays, working under filmmakers such as Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), Stanley Weiser (Wall Street) and Bruno Barreto (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands). Dash has also been hired for feature work by Norris Chumley (a former producer for Oprah) and Jason Kliot (the producer of Coffee and Cigarettes).

Backstory: For better or for worse, I put my passion for writing before everything. I get far less than the recommended amount of sleep and far (far) more than the recommended amount of caffeine, all in the name of writing for a living.

I want to inspire other writers not to give up on their own ambitions in the face of tough odds. It’s not easy to feel passionate to the very core of your being about a project, only to face persistent ambivalence and rejection from the industry gatekeepers.

That’s why I hope to guide writers to craft a version of their script that is true to their own unique vision, while also factoring in the practical, commercial considerations of the modern-day film business. There’s no reason why an individualistic passion project can’t also be a project that sells—and, ideally, I’d like to show up-and-coming scribes how they can accomplish both.

When I was growing up, my father exposed me at a young age to the classic works of the horror genre. While my buddies were all getting into Star Wars, I was more interested in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This skewed education definitely informs my taste in current TV, and movies, as favorites of recent years have included The Babadook, Castle Rock, The Conjuring, and Hannibal.

That said, I’m also a dutiful student of cinema history, and I pride myself on being able to appreciate films of any genre or time period based on their self-contained merits. The defining elements of a great heightened sci-fi film are not the same as those of a coming-of-age dramedy, and vice versa.

As such, when I provide script coverage, my goal is always to push the script at hand to become the best version of what it’s trying to be, rather than molding it into some imagined version of what it ought to be.  In closing, it is my humble wish to see other writers who live and breathe for their work realize those ineffable dreams of theirs, and I will do my very best to help make that a reality.

Main-genre specialties: Thriller, Horror, Drama
Sub-genre specialties: Sci-Fi, Western, War, Historical, Family

Most important fact of all: Dash is the proud owner of two guinea pigs, Otis and Randy.

Only to crash his bike and require knee surgery.

Jenna Mattison [Rewrites only / no rushes atm]. 

Pro experience: Originally from Bombay, India, Jenna is a TV developer, screenwriter and novelist. On the TV side she’s currently serving as Ep/Writer developing a James Patterson international bestseller into a series. She’s signed onto Mike Mignola’s (creator of Hellboy) anthology series as CoEp/Writer. She also developed and wrote the pilot Skam for Team Downey (Robert Downey Jr’s company) along with several other pilots for Lionsgate TV, Hoodlum at ABC Studios etc.

On the feature side she was commissioned in 2021 to write the script for NY Times bestselling author Sophié Kinsella’s (Confessions Of A Shopaholic) latest film adaptation and hired to adapt a second Kinsella bestseller in 2022. The Sound, an elevated psychological thriller film, which she wrote, directed and produced, was released through MGM’s Orion & Samuel Goldwyn theatrically. Her previous indie films are available though: Sony, Samuel Goldwyn, Netflix, Amazon, Lionsgate, etc. She was honored with the Academy Of Motion Pictures inducting two of her produced feature scripts into their Core Collection Library.

Backstory: One of the best sayings to describe how I approach my work with writers is “If you’ve been lucky enough to reach a level of success in this business, you have an obligation to send the elevator back down.”

When I arrived in Los Angeles I didn’t know a single soul. I had no idea how I was going to achieve my dream of being in the entertainment business but boy did I have big dreams. My journey hasn’t been linear. It’s been a series of missed opportunities followed by amazing strokes of luck followed by sheer force of will. Sometimes all of those things in the same day.

It’s important to me to share my positive experiences and also my mistakes with a new crop of writers because I wish I had that same opportunity when I was new in the business. But services like Script Reader Pro weren’t available then. It was expensive film school or bust. So I learned by trial & error… heavy on the error.

I would like to save the writers I work with from that same heartache. So that they can make their opportunities count. So that when they get a shot at the big break they are prepared and have the confidence that honing your craft brings.

I’ve done every aspect of film production on a creative level: writing, directing, producing, working with editors and music supervisors and even making distribution deals with major studios so I’m able to arm these writers with an arsenal of information so that they are prepared for whatever this business throws at them. And it can throw a lot at you.

The key to success in this business is knowledge. And I love sharing that knowledge with people who want to succeed. I’ve been very fortunate in this business, but the journey would’ve been infinitely easier and faster if I’d had an experienced guide.

Main-genre specialties: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Sub-genre specialties: Romance, Fantasy, Dramedy, Historical, Religion

Most important fact of all: Jenna moved to Chicago at the age of seven and currently lives in the hills of Los Angeles where she’s been known to rescue baby squirrels.

Scott Parisien.

Pro experience: Scott comes from a place of experience when it comes to different facets of the system. From navigating the world of screenwriting contests to help launch his career, to navigating the hard choices of representation, the struggles of independent film, and building long-term relationships, Scott has gained priceless experience that he loves to share. He has optioned almost every one of his spec screenplays, has been hired for many projects from independent to studio-level producers, and has hit that coveted position of having a screenplay actually produced.

Scott’s script Incision, is currently in development with a director and a well-known star attached. He also has a second horror spec with director attachments and producing partners in development, as well as a pilot, historical drama feature, and a fantasy adventure feature with producers attached. His first produced feature, Foxter & Max, premiered in September 2019 to high audience reviews and a #2 standing in the territory’s box office for its opening weekend.

Backstory: My biggest passion is helping and mentoring new writers. Coming from a small town in Canada with nothing to do but go to the theater, made me fall in love with the magic of the movies, and especially these days, that wonderful medium of television.

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be the one who created those worlds out of nothing. But because of where I lived, there were little to no resources, and access to Hollywood was almost impossible. I know what it’s like to have to get to that wall, find a way to climb it, and fight to get over it and stay on the other side.

I read all the books, studied all the screenplays, watched all the courses, attended all the pitch seminars and conferences… but I always found it lacking that personal connection. The one thing I always wished I had access to, was a mentor. Someone who’s been there, a fellow creative, someone with the same type of soul as mine who longed to tell stories in only the way movies and TV can.

There is also something magical about helping another writer get to that epiphany-type of moment where they finally get it. Where it clicks. Where their excitement just can’t be contained. Being a part of that is something very special, and truly important to me.

Some writers are great at writing, but not great teachers. Not everybody can explain the deeper workings of what makes a screenplay effective. But some people can, and from the feedback and relationships that I have grown through mentoring tells me that I can consistently help writers cross that plane.

I love being a champion to writers, especially those who match my passion for this magical beast we call a screenplay. It’s what feeds my soul.

Main-genre specialties: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Thriller
Sub-genre specialties: Dramedy, Romance, Western, Family, Religion

Most important fact of all: Scott’s first foray into screenwriting came in the seventh grade when he crafted a horribly inappropriate Police Academy screenplay for an English class assignment.

Cody Smart.

Pro experience: Cody Smart is a writer, script doctor and development exec at Sony. She has sold several scripts, done ghostwriting, and written multiple scripts-for-hire, including book-to-script adaptations.

She is also proud to be a UCLA Extension instructor for the prestigious Writers’ Program, where she teaches Script Doctoring, Get Your Script Contest Ready, Advanced Show Bible and Pitch Deck Workshop, and Marketing Your Script. She’s also a regular contributor for Script University, where she’s taught multiple webinars, such as Writing Memorable Characters, and Sell Your TV Pilot.

Backstory: Many years ago, I moved from Santiago, Chile to L.A. to pursue my passion—screenwriting. I studied a lot (I’m a study nerd), and have degrees in Linguistics & Literature, Screenwriting, Development, and Producing, all of which have given me a well-rounded education in multiple aspects of filmmaking, which I apply to my writing.

I always thought I would just write scripts. But while in grad school, I started working at Sony Pictures and discovered a whole new area of screenwriting I knew little about, and that became incredibly interesting to me: development. I realized I have a passion and the skills to truly help writers develop their stories, and elevate them to the best possible level—while remaining true to the essence of the story that the writer wants to tell.

I worked my way up from reader, to story analyst, to script consultant, and then script doctor, and I honestly enjoy helping writers take their work to the next level and be part of the evolution of their stories. It’s that same passion that also drove me to want to teach screenwriting, and share my knowledge and the skills I’ve learned working in the industry with new and aspiring writers.

I also have a knack for structure, both for features and TV, and love helping writers restructure their work in order to make those turning points all about character development, and thus, stronger. Because, at the end of the day, I believe stories are all about watching interesting, unique characters change and evolve during the course of the story. And I approach this by giving writers actionable, tangible suggestions. I believe it’s not just about pointing out what’s not working in a story—it’s all about making suggestions that can be applied to the script in order to elevate it, always while staying true to the writer’s vision.

Main-genre specialties: Dramedy, Comedy, Drama
Sub-genre specialties: Coming-of-age, Family, Faith, Romance, and all things TV (especially structure!)

Most important fact of all: Cody spends too much time trying to explain to her adorable daughter why she doesn’t consider orange a color. (If you’re a true fan of Legally Blonde, you’ll get it!)

Tennyson E. Stead.

Pro experience: While best known as the writer behind the tentpole dark future gladiator film, Atlas Uprising, now in development at Emagine Content, Tennyson has also ghostwritten many prestige dramas and was on the development team for the animated family release, Igor. 

As of the writing of this bio, his most recent sale was of a scalding industry satire called Making the GAMP to director Michael Wohl. Out of the more than thirty screenplays he’s written, he’s sold or optioned ten.

Backstory: Growing up in the New England stage community, I studied writing, directing, dramaturgy and design before giving up the theaters of Western Massachusetts for the challenges of Los Angeles.

Over the intervening years, I’ve witnessed the financial and ethical abuses of Hollywood up close and personal, and I’ve had the honor of working side by side with personal heroes like David Lynch, Laura Dern, and a disproportionate number of Star Trek cast members.

While many of my pet projects are united by an interest in science-fiction, fantasy, and other forms of worldbuilding, challenging and empowering actors to grow as performers is my real passion as a screenwriter.

Giving a director and a cast the tools and support to do their very best work is a screenplay’s only measure of excellence.

My uncompromising eye for structure and specificity is what inspires producers, actors, and directors to keep relying on me. No matter what genre you might be working in, you can count on me for that as well.

In 2013, I was struck in the head with a sword during a stunt sequence on a colleague’s web series. Fighting my way back from traumatic brain injury, a host of quite literally crippling symptoms, and the anonymity of disability has only renewed my faith in the fundamentals of our craft and the necessity of a strong showbusiness community.

Most of our decisions are made by habit, and building strong habits can make our path to success nigh unassailable.

Main-genre specialties: Drama, Comedy, Action/Adventure
Sub-genre specialties: Sci-Fi, Dramedy, Family, Sports, Martial Arts

Most important fact of all: I may have stolen a cryogenic chamber once.

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