Customer Reviews

Hollywood Screenwriter

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm sitting here thirty-six hours away from sharing my script with my screenwriting group and I don't know if I'll have a script to show them. This program started out fine at first. I, too, didn't mind having to put the CD in each time; afterall, I have to put my disk in each time I work.

First time I noticed a problem was when I tried to email my script to a friend for comments - you can't. Unless the other person has Hollywood Screenwriter, they won't be able to open it. The program doesn't even allow you to cut your text into a Word document (or any other application for that matter.) Secondly, the top and bottom margins were set at 1.5 inches so for several weeks I thought my script was much longer than it actually was. The margins are easily corrected, but still, 1 inch is proper industry format - they should know that. Third, the spacing between scene headings is incorrect. Proper industry format says three spaces, this program gives you two. I had to go in and hit a hard return at the beginning of every scene heading in a hundred page script - very annoying. Fourth, you can not incorporate a (beat) into the dialogue. As soon as you type a parantheses, the program thinks its acting instructions and formats whatever is in the () accordingly. On the online FAQ they recognize this problem and say to use [] or {} for beats!!! That's great, try to break into the business by having your script look different than other professional scripts. I don't think so. I makes me wonder what other formatting stlyle is incorrect.

Finally, and this is a doozy, at any point you can go and try to open a script you've been working on forever and find that it isn't there. The program gives an Error 32, whatever that means, and opens up what it calls your script but is actually one blank page. The company's online help has an update you can download to fix this problem and after the download, you'll supposedly be able to recover your script. Didn't work for me. I opened an older version I had and then re-did my work to the best of my memory. Now, this morning, I popped the CD in and...nothing. The program won't open at all.

When I researched the different programs to buy I did see mention of some little quirks but I figured for the price it would be a good place to start. Wrong. Unless you have no intention of sharing your script with anyone via email, etc. or don't care about proper format, or don't mind just randomly losing your whole damn script for no apparent reason, spend the extra few buck for something that works. Speaking of which - does anyone have any recommendations? I'm now in the market.

I LOVE this program. I for one, don't mind that you have to use the CD to run the program: Less space used up on my hard drive so that aspect does not bother me. I have had absolutely no problems with formatting. All my "spacing" is correct and falls under industry guidelines. I got the "proper" 1 inch space at the top and did not have any other problems with the program. This software, unlike others, will NOT write the screenplay for you. You absolutely need to know the ins and outs of screenwriting because it will not hold your hand through the process. I for one, do not want index cards popping up reminding me of what was written before. That is confusing and I am competent enough to keep up with my own work. This is a great basic program, and you can't beat the price. If you know how to write a screenplay or even if you have read a book on how to write a screenplay, this program is all you need. No frills, no chills, but it gives you the chance, properly formatted, to put your words down.

I bought this because it was the cheapest screenwriting software available... A major inconvenience with it is that you need the CD in place when you run it. Like many people, I use two PCs - a desktop and a laptop - so that makes the requirement to have the CD to hand even more inconvenient. Tip: if your PC has a removable CD drive and you start the program with it removed, the program does not ask for it and runs anyway! The program does not handle certain script features very well, e.g. transitions and complex character headings like FRED (V.O.) (CONT'D).

Sure, this program is [cheap] compared to [the expensive] Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 or Final Draft, but this program is so loaded with technical glitches and gotchas that I can't recommend it unless you're planning to write and print a single short screenplay for a school assignment or something like that. The documentation says you can export your text into other programs, but you can't! So whatever you write is locked into this limited-feature program forever, unless you want to retype it all. There are lots of other things promised by the manual or box cover but not delivered in the program. If you have any fantasies of actually writing and selling a screenplay, don't buy this product. Save your money and buy one of the industry standard programs instead.

My name is Richard McClelland and I am the manager of Write Brothers Technical Support. I would like to take the time to respond M. Sindy Felin's harsh and inaccurate review of Hollywood Screenwriter.

Also, I am rating our product at 3 stars because I do not think it would be proper for me to rate it in a way that would affect the average rating.


First time I noticed a problem was when I tried to email my script to a friend for comments - you can't. Unless the other person has Hollywood Screenwriter, they won't be able to open it. The program doesn't even allow you to cut your text into a Word document (or any other application for that matter.)

ANSWER
You can copy or paste into other programs now and you could always save as an RTF file. Which would allow you to share your script.


Secondly, the top and bottom margins were set at 1.5 inches so for several weeks I thought my script was much longer than it actually was. The margins are easily corrected, but still, 1 inch is proper industry format - they should know that.

ANSWER
This has been corrected in all of the available formats.

Third, the spacing between scene headings is incorrect. Proper industry format says three spaces, this program gives you two. I had to go in and hit a hard return at the beginning of every scene heading in a hundred page script - very annoying.

ANSWER
Actually the program has always given you several different formats of screenplay to use, including one that gives you triple spaces.

Fourth, you can not incorporate a (beat) into the dialogue. As soon as you type a parantheses, the program thinks its acting instructions and formats whatever is in the () accordingly. On the online FAQ they recognize this problem and say to use [] or {} for beats!!! That's great, try to break into the business by having your script look different than other professional scripts. I don't think so. I makes me wonder what other formatting stlyle is incorrect.

ANSWER
By Holding the Control Key while typing the Parenthesis it will place it in your dialogue.

Finally, and this is a doozy, at any point you can go and try to open a script you've been working on forever and find that it isn't there. The program gives an Error 32, whatever that means, and opens up what it calls your script but is actually one blank page. The company's online help has an update you can download to fix this problem and after the download, you'll supposedly be able to recover your script. Didn't work for me. I opened an older version I had and then re-did my work to the best of my memory. Now, this morning, I popped the CD in and...nothing. The program won't open at all.

The Error 32 is absolutely fixed in the current version that is shipping, so this should not be a problem. If it did not work for this user, than more than likely the update was not installed correctly.

Most of these Reviewer's complaints could of been resolved with call to Technical Support or by simply spending some time exploring the program.

For a quarter to a fifth of the price of the full programs, you get a fine spec script writing package. Like Movie Magic 2000, Final Draft and Scriptware, you get the TAB and ENTER system of entering Scenes and Character Names. You'll lose some of the higher end features (like card view) but for basic script input (especially for spec scripts) Hollywood Screenwriter will probably do what you need, especially if you're a beginner.

You do need to download the latest updates from Screenplay Systems, especially if you are using Windows Me, 2000 or XP (othewise you might get an "Error 32 Message"). You should also look at the new spec script formats that can be downloaded from Screenplay System's web site. They allow you to stop using Character CONT'Ds in your scripts, as this is becoing outdated.

Hollywood Screenwriter doesn't have as many export options as its bigger brother, Movie Magic 2000, but it *does* have RTF and ASCII, which means it should interact with just about any Windows word processor or Screenplay software.

For the price and features, Hollywood Screenwriter is a great program. Check Screenplay System's comparison chart for feature differences between it and Movie Magic 2000 before buying, but there's a good chance that if you are writing a spec script, Hollywood Screenwriter will do the job.

Having to put the disk in each time I want to launch is a major pain and buyers should be warned of this unusual requirement. For those who travel, it is really a nuisance.

But my biggest issue is I can't get the program to start up half the time. I am spending more time with tech support than writing. And I have little enough time for that as it is. I thought the program was going to save me time. It hasn't and, at the moment, I've lost an entire script, which I cannot access.

I entered the Project Greenlight screenwriting contest three years ago and needed a program immediately so I could retype my screenplay into the exactly perfect formatting of "standard industry format," which was a rule of the Project Greenlight Contest (a rule they never enforced). I didn't have money to buy a program at that time and discovered that Hollywood Screenwriter had a free trial period so I downloaded it.

I somehow missed the part where either the free trial did not allow saving or if it did, I didn't understand how to do it. I had no problem whatsoever using Hollywood Screenwriter, it was easy to understand right from the start. But the deadline to enter the contest at Project Greenlight was only one more day away and there I was, stuck with a screenplay that I could not save to the required .pdf format.

I got in touch with Tech Support and these guys were absolutely wonderful and supportive of me. They emailed back and forth with me for half the night, trying to figure out how to get my script to .pdf format. They finally hit on the idea of saving my script to .rtf then going to Adobe for their free conversion to .pdf. Although the Adobe conversion alters page breaks, that's not Hollywood Screenwriter's fault.

I will never forget how nice their Tech Support was and how much effort they put into helping me and I was only using the free trial version! There are many companies out there who wouldn't go to all that bother even for their paying customers.

If there is any part of this software's interface that you don't "get," or if you have any problems at all, be assured that their Tech Support will go to any lengths to help you. I wouldn't worry about the interface, though. As I stated, it is very easy to use, very quick to learn.

Not having to worry about formatting really frees up your creativity. I do recommend this product.

One must remember what this product is... This is the equivalent to the ultra low budget film (<$1M). This will get the job done -- the quality of the script remains in the writer not the format.

If you're selling your Titantic to Paramount -- don't use this software. The only reason format really matters in screenwriting is for 'selective elimination'. There are simply too many scripts to be read out there... they drastically reduce headcount on format alone.

That being said... If you are a small time filmmaker and you aren't uptight about "how things have to be" than this will work fine for you. This is also a much better option for those who have a moral compass and do not like stealing more expensive software. Just use the cheaper alternative because guess why -- it works.

I'm glad to see tech services defneding their product -- the assault is not valid.

OK, since we're corresponding here, I'll respond by saying I'm a professional filmmaker, and have actually used this software and bothered to figure out how to use it (all software involves a learning curve)

It's unfortunate that the neophyte M. Sindy Felin bashes this product. Among other baseless complaints, it's EASY to share scripts written with this product, if you save them to rich text format, which most writers DO ANYWAY because it's a common format that can be shared between different programs, including Microsoft Word.

So, M. Sindy, just click 'save as,' and then choose rich text format, which is simply a .txt document with formatting.

As for customer support, it's been great. The value of the help and support I've received far exceeds what I paid for the product in the first place.

The only reason I dock this a star is that, as noted by others, it's not convenient to insert the CD every time to boot the software, but it's really not that big a deal.

If you want a perfectly fine, basic scriptwriting software, that's intuitive and easy to use, this is it. I haven't used any of the other far-more-expensive programs, so I can't comment on the value of their bells 'n whistles.