If readers aren’t grabbed by your story in the first 15 pages, they may not keep reading. Submit the first 15 pages of your script and have a 15-minute story notes call with the executive of your choice. This call will help you create a strong opening/act one to keep readers going until FADE OUT.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
My biggest tip would be to be able to pitch the idea or hook within a couple/few sentences right away. After that, I think it is important to be able to define clear characters and their arcs, and the primary turning points of the story, such as Act I break, Act II break, main obstacles, and resolution.
I am interested in primarily features and feature adaptation from books. I am interested in many genres, but particularly those that make an audience feel something, give them a really surprising gut punch, or cover an interesting part of history. I enjoy comedy, drama, dramedy, romance, historical, true stories, and elevated genre pictures that are about character and theme over spectacle. My primary concern in non-comedy genres is a good solid emotional hook (I wouldn't say I am a YA person per se, but was drawn in by the emotional hook of "I volunteer as tribute" in HUNGER GAMES, for example).
I am not interested in movies that are more of programmers. Many romcoms and action movies tend to fall into this category. I am not opposed to those genres at all, but look for original ways into them.
Jim Miller has been a producer and studio executive for the last 20 years, having co-produced and/or overseen quality, successful movies in all genres, from JUNO to THE HUNGER GAMES.
Jim started his producing and executive career at Mandate Pictures in 2002, where he co-produced and oversaw movies such as JUNO, STRANGER THAN FICTION, HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM, and a number of genre films for Sam Raimi's and Rob Tapert's Ghosthouse Pictures.
After a year at Temple Hill Entertainment, Jim joined Lionsgate in 2008. At Lionsgate, Jim helped find and was in charge of overseeing each installment of the HUNGER GAMES franchise. He also oversaw movies such as BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR, ANTEBELLUM, RUN, CHAOS WALKNG, UNCLE DREW, CHILD 44, POWER RANGERS, DIRTY GRANDPA, and WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, and developed and put together CODA with Sian Heder at Lionsgate before a regime change caused the movie to be put in turnaround.
Jim left Lionsgate in mid 2021 to start his own production company, as part of which he Executive Produced the HUNGER GAMES prequel, THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES. He took a brief 18 month break to run David Talbert's (JINGLE JANGLE) production company at Netflix, before returning to build his own slate in January of 2024.
After registering, you will receive instructions on how to submit your material in your order confirmation email. After submitting your material, please allow 3-4 weeks to receive proposed times for scheduling your call with the exec.
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Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration for a refund or Roadmap gift card if you have not yet submitted your material for review. However, once your material has been received by Roadmap, your registration cannot be canceled. Having revised material or a desire to retroactively apply a discount or gift card code are not grounds for cancellation, refunds, or gift card credit. Once your material has been submitted, the only acceptable grounds for cancellation and a refund or gift card credit is an unforeseen, ongoing emergency on the part of either the writer or the exec resulting in more than 6 weeks without any scheduling update from the exec via direct contact or Roadmap, or a sudden change in the exec's ongoing availability. In the instance of an irreconcilable scheduling issue, the writer may still receive a written feedback report from the exec. In this case, the writer is not entitled to a refund or gift card credit as the exec has read the submitted material and provided written feedback in lieu of the call.