There is no one way to break into Hollywood, especially as a writer. Maybe you have family connections, found a network of fellow creatives at film school, or won the lottery with a major contest placement. But for many unrepped screen scribes, the first place to start is with a little thing called the cold query.
What is a cold query?
A cold query is an unsolicited email (snail mail back in the day) to a manager, agent, or producer about your finished screenplay. You are asking these people to read your script, not sending the script itself.
There are a few reasons why the query doesn’t come with the work attached. First, the majority of agencies and production companies do not accept unsolicited material. A rep or producer is opening themselves up to possible legal headaches in the future if they read a script they didn’t explicitly ask for (usually with the assist of a lawyer-approved release form). Attaching a script to your query letter will get it sent to the trash sight unseen.
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Also, production companies and agencies receive hundreds of scripts a day from all across town. They simply don’t have time to read everything, nor do they want to. As harsh as it sounds, the last thing they want is a script in their inbox from someone they’ve never heard of.
Think of query letters as the drinks before the first date—it’s all part of the game.
How to write a great cold query
Research, research, research: Your best chance at getting the rare “Sure, send it over” response is to be as targeted as possible. If you wrote a rom-com, there’s little sense in querying a producer who specializes in horror or a manager with clients who mostly write crime thrillers. Make a massive list of recent projects that feel similar to your script. If you’re querying producers, note who got it made; if you want to get repped, mark down who manages the writers. The best place to track down contact information is through IMDbPro.
Find the balance between casual and formal: You don’t need to be super formal, but you also don’t want to write as if you’ve known these people for years. Do not open the email with “Yo, yo! Buddy, do I have a script for you!” This rep or producer is not your buddy (at least, not yet).
But it also shouldn’t feel like you blasted the same exact message to a hundred people. Avoid generic greetings like “To whom it may concern” and include a brief, personal touch. For example: “I see that your client [NAME] is a staff writer on ‘Stranger Things.’ My supernatural pilot is a great sample for that show, or anything similar.”
Nail the logline: Condensing your entire screenplay into one or two sentences can be extremely difficult. (We’ve got you covered on how to write a killer one here.) Still, we can’t stress enough that a great logline is the core of a query letter. You can’t send one until you have this perfected. Remember when we mentioned how busy reps and producers are? If they open your email at all, many are going straight for the logline. So, it needs to be instantly catchy, exciting, and memorable. Consider these three loglines. What about them makes you want to know more?
- After a simple jewelry heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant. (“Reservoir Dogs”)
- A 17-year-old high school student is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, a maverick scientist. (“Back to the Future”)
- An insurance salesman begins to suspect that his whole life is actually some sort of reality TV show. (“The Truman Show”)
Mention accolades: Briefly list anything that gives your script legitimacy. This includes finalist placement or wins at notable contests—e.g., the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, Austin Film Festival’s Script Competition, or the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards—or an option agreement with a producer this rep would recognize. Be very selective about this to avoid looking amateurish. Unfortunately, a Hollywood player probably isn’t going to care if your screenplay was a quarterfinalist in a monthly online film festival.
Include comps: A standard part of any quick pitch is “This movie is X meets Y.” Bonus points if X and Y aren’t exactly the same—the reader might just want to see how the heck you pulled that off. For example: Did you write a sci-fi heist film? That’s “Star Wars” meets “Ocean’s Eleven.”
Just remember to choose films or TV shows that are critically and/or financially successful. You don’t want anyone, especially producers, to immediately associate your work with something that bombed at the box office.
Keep it short and sweet: All the major information of your query letter should ideally be scannable in 30 seconds or less. You can certainly throw in a sentence or two about yourself, especially if your personal background informs the script. (“This action-thriller is based on my experiences as a Navy SEAL.”) But don’t give them your life story. Get to the logline as quickly as possible.
At the end, thank them for their consideration, proofread (several times), and hit send.
Query one script at a time: Whatever you do, do not pitch multiple projects. You only have one shot to impress. Focus on what you think is your best work. Once you (hopefully) get to a general meeting, then you can mention anything else you’ve completed.
Rinse and repeat: Move on to the next query…and the next…and the next. The honest truth is that it’s highly unlikely to hear back from a cold query—what’s known as a silent pass. That’s just the business. But you are being proactive, and playing the numbers game can produce a win every now and then, even if it’s just getting your work out there!
Query letter template
Here’s an example of a cold query letter using Christiane Gudegast’s 2018 film “Den of Thieves.”
Hi [First name],
My script “Den of Thieves” is a gritty, action-packed crime-thriller in the same vein as [producer’s recent project]. Here’s the logline:
An elite unit of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew clash as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.
It’s “Heat” meets “The Town.” Can I send you a copy?
Thank you so much for your time. Enjoy the rest of your week!
All the best,
[Your Name]
