By Brianne Hogan.

She might never have watched Charlie Chaplin’s classic City Lights (she’s more of a Buster Keaton fan), but make no mistake, script reader Katherine Tomlinson is a diehard movie fan.

An army brat who “grew up all over the place,” Tomlinson was introduced to movies through her cinephile father.  “My father loved, loved, loved movies and used to go every day when he was in law school to relieve the stress,” she reveals. “When my brother and I were little, he took us to the movies nearly every weekend.”

Tomlinson would eventually graduate two years early from Duke University with a degree in English (“I’d never actually been in one school longer than two years and four years felt like forever”) and worked as a freelance journalist before delving into script reading for clients such as ICM, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr.

Creative Screenwriting chatted with Tomlinson about her script reading process, what it really takes to be a screenwriter, and the biggest hurdle a screenwriter can face.

How did you find your way to being a script reader? What was your first gig?

I was freelancing as a journalist and my roommate was doing coverage for The Donners’ Company. He convinced me I could do coverage too and introduced me to Rick Solomon, who was then Lauren Shuler Donner’s development guy. My very first reading job for them was synopsizing Neal Stephenson’s book Zodiac. It took me days to write that first coverage. I had performance anxiety.

I loved the book and still think it would make a great movie. I’ve since seen scripts based on the book but no one has really cracked it yet.

Who are you currently working for now? What kind of scripts do you generally receive? big budget/action/comedy?

I don’t talk about my clients because of confidentiality, but they include a mix of screenwriters and directors (an Oscar winner, an Emmy winner, several Oscar and Emmy nominees), production companies, and distribution companies. I work a lot with European companies, which is really interesting because every country seems to have a genre they favor. French companies, for instance, love material that is dark, weird and strange, which is not surprising since France is where they invented the word “noir.”

Because I work for so many different companies that all have different needs, I get a lot of different kinds of material. I consult with overseas clients during the four major film markets – Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, and American Film Market (AFM) – and for those I get tons of genre scripts. A lot of horror, a lot of action. If Jason Statham’s got a new movie out, I’m going to read it for a film market.

I also get a lot of scripts that are basically Oscar-bait: small movies with great casts and stories that are compelling but not necessarily commercial. I read The King’s Speech and the hairs on the back of my neck went up. I knew it was a tremendous script that was going to be critically appreciated. It was a lovely surprise that it made more than $400 million (on a $15 million budget).

What’s your process like when you read a script?

There’s no mystique to my process. These days, I mostly get the scripts via email. If I only have one to read, I’ll read it off the screen; if I have multiple scripts, I’ll print them out. When I was first starting out, I would take notes but I usually find I don’t have to do that now.

In terms of how I evaluate, it’s a little more complicated. Sometimes you’ll hear someone say that a movie is “not my cup of tea.” When you read for a living, even if you don’t like tea at all, you have to be objective. You have to look at stories on their own merits in the context of the audience they’re intended for. Am I going to pay money to see a teen sex comedy? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t “get” why they’re remaking the Lemon Popsicle franchise.

I love action movies, always have. I used to work for Joel Silver, so it’s in my show business blood. I really enjoy action scripts and can usually tell when one’s going to work and one isn’t. I was a huge fan of a script called Inescapable, which was a politically charged Taken kind of movie. It was made with Alexander Siddig and streaming on Netflix now. I don’t know if it ever had a release.

Just about the only time I can’t be objective is when I’m reading a torture porn script. I think that sub-genre is heinous. I used to read for New Regency, and one of my former colleagues, who is now a screenwriter, refused to read serial killer scripts. We all have to sleep at night, you know?

What do you like most about your job?

I get paid to read. Best. Job. Ever.

I don’t just read scripts; I read novels and non-fiction too. I love Stephen King, and haven’t had to pay for one of his books in years.

It’s also really exciting when you read a script that is so entertaining, you’re ready to go see the movie right then. I felt that way about Galaxy Quest, laughing out loud alone in my office. I cannot wait to see Lore, which is an urban fantasy adventure with legendary creatures and Dwayne Johnson. I haven’t seen Pawn Sacrifice yet, but I really enjoyed that script too. I’m a sucker for character-driven movies set against political backdrops.

If you can mention…what’s been one of your favorite projects that you personally recommended, and why? What was it that you really connected to?

Lars and the Real Girl. I still remember the cover letter that came with the script. It mentioned the sex doll and my first thought was, “Kill me now.” I can’t tell you how much I did not want to read that script. And it was one of the most beautiful scripts I’ve ever read. I gave the script a recommend, ticking off “excellent” for characters and dialogue. I thought the movie was lovely. But that cover letter turned me off and if I could have turned the job over to someone else, I would have.

I liked that the script was about real people and not a screenwriter’s idea of what real people are like. That sounds snarky, I know, but I can’t tell you how many scripts I’ve read where a writer has written a small town character as if Mayberry was a real place. Lars had a real sense of place. I loved the relationships among the characters. There was genuine care there, and sweetness. It also had hope. There aren’t enough movies out there with a hopeful outlook.

What’s the number one thing that you are looking for when you sit down to read a script?

I’m looking for the blueprint of a movie that will work for my client. For example, for the film markets, I read a lot of animation scripts, some of them completely charming. But I don’t work for anyone who makes animated movies, so my recommend is kind of wasted.

What would you like to see more of?

Better characters in general; better female characters in specific. I enjoyed The Martian a lot, but Jessica Chastain’s character was all about her love for disco music and even then, we knew more about her than we did about the title character. He’s a botanist and… did we mention he is a botanist? Who hates disco music?

Name a mistake that you run into time and again from writers? Something that you wish they would just “get” once and for all?

It’s a little thing, really, but writers need to be careful that they’re not giving a reader more information than they’re giving the audience. Writers often include backstory that never comes out in action or dialogue. They’ll often include information that speaks to a character’s state of mind; information that not even Meryl Streep could interpret in a visual way.

What makes a good screenplay?

A good story that’s worked out in an entertaining way.

Could that answer possibly be vaguer? You’ll read books that stress format and give formulas for where precisely the beats should come. Format matters, but I’ve read great screenplays that weren’t formatted to standard. Formulas can only take you so far, and that’s true whether you’re an admirer of Save the Cat or The Writer’s Journey.

What’s your story? Is it something that can work within a three-act (or a four-act) structure? Not all stories make good scripts but if you think you have a script in your story, then go for it.

You wrote a book called Avoiding Pasadena: A Screenwriter’s Road Map to Selling a Script. Please enlighten with some context. Why should we avoid Pasadena? And also: where should a screenwriter start on the road map? What’s the biggest hurdle a screenwriter will encounter on her journey?

Thanks for the plug! The book will be out later this fall. When I first started reading, in the ‘90s, hipster executives would sometimes say, “That’s a Pasadena for me” when they meant they were passing on something. (Yes, it was just as obnoxious as it sounds.) No one says that any more, but I liked the phrase as a title because it shows just what a “game” selling a script can be.

One of the dirty little secrets of reading for a living is that you hardly ever raise eyebrows by passing on a script – even a script that becomes a hit – but if you champion a script, you paint a target on your back. I loved the script for Nightcrawler, for instance. I thought it was one of the smartest and most kinetic scripts I’d read in a long time. I gave it a recommend and the exec’s assistant, who is European and has more indie tastes, emailed me a note saying she was surprised I liked it so much. So probably the first thing a writer needs to know before starting out on the journey is that it’s all a matter of opinion. And there’s not a lot you can do about that.

A writer should start by actually writing a script. We all know people who have had a work in progress for five years. Get it on paper and then give it to someone who’ll give you honest feedback. When you’re happy with it, start marketing it. Enter screenplay contests. Win or place in one like the Nicholl Fellowship, and you’ll get noticed.

Go to networking events and pitch fests if you’re an extrovert, join virtual groups if you’re not. Find someone with access. This is L.A. You’ll know someone who knows someone. And meanwhile, write another script. Answer CraigsList ads. Some are scams but most are not, and even those that just promise IMDb credit can give you a leg up.

The biggest hurdle is the gatekeepers. And I’m not talking about the readers and the executives. You’d be surprised how many writers have to practically arm wrestle their reps to get them to actually do their jobs of representing them. I know people who have had the choice between going with a big agency and a smaller agency, and signing with the big guys only to find themselves ignored because they’re small fish in a big pond. Be the big fish.

I know two people who are represented by a manager I consider a psycho. If that manager doesn’t personally like a script, or see an opportunity to get a producer credit on it, that script doesn’t go out. And I’ve seen the notes these writers get from that manager. They’re vicious. Abusive. Bullying. And yet, the writers put up with it because they think they need a manager and the process of finding new representation is just so soul-sucking. If someone in that situation were to ask my advice, I’d say get a lawyer to submit your stuff and keep writing.

If you could give one piece of advice to a screenwriter who hasn’t sold her first screenplay yet, what would it be?

Besides have an outside interest? Because if all you care about in life is movies, movies, movies, it will drive you crazy.

I’d say, “Write another script.” Executives like to know that a writer isn’t a one-trick pony. Sometimes if they’re looking to fill an open writing assignment, they’ll want to see more than one script. Also, if you have more than one piece of material available, it makes you look dedicated. You’re in it to win it and not because you are trying on the career before going on to something else. Also, having scripts in different genres, at the beginning of your career, can make you more employable. Just as actors get typecast, writers do too and it’s easier for their reps to sell them if they specialize in one genre. (That’s a generalization, but you don’t see that many action writers turning around and selling a straight drama.) But in the beginning, before you’re established, having a variety of material is good.

And what would you tell to the screenwriter who has plans to write one, but hasn’t yet put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard)? What does he need to know?

You want the politic answer or the honest answer?

The politic answer is—keep watching movies, prime the pump with outlining, read a few books on the best way to reader-proof your work. Mindi White’s Getting Past Me is a great place to start. Take a few more classes.

The honest answer is – if you are thinking about writing a script but haven’t started it yet, don’t bother. Because you’re already behind the curve. There are people in Hollywood who eat, live, breathe, and dream movies 24/7. They’ve been making movies with their grandfather’s camcorder and their iPhones since they were 11 and posting them on Youtube. They’re the ones submitting to Project Greenlight and posting their scripts on sites like Blacklist or Amazon Studio. They’re scraping the money together to go to film festivals and sleeping in their cars so they have a chance to hand someone a script. They’re already all over GoFundMe and Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

While you’re thinking about maybe one day writing a script when you get around to it after binge-watching (for the third time) every season of Breaking Bad, they’ve read a used copy of Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices and they’re doing it. They’re putting their hearts and souls into the work and they’re putting their talent on the line.

If you’re not writing that script it’s because writing that script isn’t that important to you.

What are some of the best written TV series/movies out there right now, or ones you’ve watched recently? And what makes them so great?

Speaking of Breaking Bad, the pilot for that show was one of the best I’ve ever seen. There’s a reason why that show became such a hit. I am in awe of what the writers are doing on Game of Thrones. I loved the first season of True Detective because it was just so completely and utterly out there with dialogue. I’m also enjoying Poldark. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of my guilty pleasures. I won’t argue it’s great television but I find it supremely entertaining.

I liked The Martian, as I said, and last summer, I loved Mad Max: Fury Road. I’m really looking forward to Concussion. I read every draft of that script and for me, it has it all—it’s about something important and it has great characters.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m writing fiction for Nikki Finke’s Hollywood Dementia site. A movie I wrote, One Under the Sun, is scheduled to begin filming in November with Bollywood actress Pooja Batra in the lead. I’m excited about that. I’m also excited that my first novel, Proximity, is coming out in December. It’s based on NoHo Noir, the serial fiction I wrote for AOL.