Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies are now using artificial intelligence to read movie scripts.
In Hollywood there is an influx of movie scripts in studios and talent agencies. Consequently, busy Hollywood executive sand producers are unable to read everything. Traditionally, Hollywood executives would hire “readers” or story analysts to review the movie scripts and write a report.
The “reader’s report” or “Coverage” includes a log line and synopsis. Most importantly, the readers write comments where, generally, the reader opines on the material’s strengths and weaknesses, the overall effectiveness of the narrative and its viability as a film or TV project. The reader gives the script a grade of RECOMMEND, CONSIDER or PASS.
The typical CBS Story Analyst salary is $72,046. Story Analyst salaries at CBS can range from $69,223-$74,869.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, talent agencies are using computer software to analyze screenplays in order to determine the number of minority characters, amount of screen time, and to tell if a script is Oscar worthy.
Talent agents have to read thousands upon thousands of movie scripts for their potential clients. But, a new program is doing all the work for talent agencies and Hollywood by feeding the script into a program called Script Hop. “ScriptHop can read a script and do a complete character breakdown in four seconds, versus the roughly four man hours required of a reader.”
“ScriptHop can read a script and do a complete character breakdown in four seconds, versus the roughly four man hours required of a reader.”
This is how it works:
Say a manager needs to find a project for a 29-year-old male client who is 5 feet tall, ScriptHop will spit out the options quickly. “If you’re an agent looking for roles for minority clients, it’s hugely helpful,” says Foster. There’s also an emotional response dynamic (i.e., Oscar bait) that charts a character’s cathartic peaks and valleys as well as screen time and shooting days. So Meryl Streep instantly can find the best way to spend a one month window between studio gigs.
The scary side of this new software is that it’s going to take away jobs and opportunities from men and women interested in the film industry.
