Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. is an valiantly innovative independent production company with a deeply committed foresight to the future of both the film and television industry. In doing so, we believe that the most essential element will be an extraordinary screenplay. We are striving to bring the "writer's vision" back to the big and small screen. We will be producing at least 5 to 10 feature films in the next 2 to 5 years. We see absolutely no reason why a screenplay written by a talented yet undiscovered writer should not be one of these projects... So, by all means, send us your screenplay and let us evaluate your work. As always, there are some submission guidelines as to how you should proceed to submit your screenplay. Here they are...

The Submission Process–– Guidelines And Tips

For all submissions, start off with a one page query letter. Send it along to us via e-mail or postal mail. The content of your query letter should be succinct and interesting enough to entice us to ask to see more of the project. 

For legal purposes, all script submissions MUST include a dated and signed Submission Release Form or they will be discarded immediately. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
(be sure to check out the additional link further down this page)

Single-space your query letters.

Please do not proceed to tell us what you, your friends and every last one of your relatives think about your project.  

If our interest is piqued, we will request the completed synopsis and screenplay. Do not send the screenplay to us unless we specifically ask you to do so.

We are searching for polished, well-structured, well-written and professional-looking screenplays that are essentially ready for production. If your screenplay does not meet these standards, do not send us a query for that screenplay. 

All screenplays must be in English. 

Provide a working title for your screenplay. 

All screenplays must be in industry standard format. 
(if you have to ask us what industry format is... we suggest that you purchase a working copy of either Final Draft or Scriptware)

Page length varies according to the format you are submitting. Screenplays that are too long or too short may be considered unprofessional. This is especially true for television because shows need to squeeze into time slots.

All screenplays (full length feature film) must be between 80 to 130 pages in length. 

1 hour television spec scripts need to be 55 to 65 pages in length. No less. No more. A common rule of thumb says 1 script page equals approximately 1 minute on the television screen. On some shows, 1 script page equals less than 1 minute. Script timing is a very accurate science. Please do not apply your own theories to the process.

Do not send us computer disks. One hard copy of your screenplay will suffice.

Do not cheat on your margins. Stay within 1 to 1.25 inches on all sides. If you cheat, we will notice.

Font Style and Size–– the industry standard is Courier 11 to 12 point, but similar fonts are acceptable. If your font is too big or too small, your screenplay will have the appearance of being too short or too long, even if it falls within page limits. Whatever font you use, make it is one that facilitates a fast read.

Proofread your screenplay thoroughly before submitting it to us.  Avoid senseless mistakes that might pull your reader's attention from the story, such as typos, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Use spell check. 

Double-check your pages. Be certain that all of your pages are there and are in order. Photocopy machines and human error will hurt your chances of being considered, especially if part of your screenplay is missing.

Response Time–– usually 6 to 12 weeks (if we do not contact you, chances are, we aren't interested). Please do not call us, asking if we've had a chance to review your work.

All screenplays must be an original work. 

Copyright your script with the U.S. Copyright Office before sending it to us or anyone else. We do not need the copyright registration number, just be sure that you have mailed in your copyright application to the U.S. Copyright Office before contacting us with your screenplay. Registration with The Writers Guild of America is also strongly suggested. 

All screenplays must be firmly bound with a cover page that states the title of work and the author(s) name, address and contact information. Card stock covers are preferred. 

Send us a COPY of your screenplay, as your materials will not be returned to you, regardless of enclosures. 

Nite Owl Productions, Ltd.
Screenplay Submissions
126 Hall Road, Aliquippa, PA 15001, USA

Click Here To Print The Submission Release Form
This form must be submitted to us with all screenplay submissions

Legal Disclaimers

Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. Submission Disclosure and Agreement

In submitting your material (your "Work") for consideration by Nite Owl Productions, Ltd., you acknowledge and agree to the following:

1. Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. selects material, in it sole discretion, for production from a large pool of submitted material, and is in no way obligated to produce or consider your Work. Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. will not produce or option your Work without a signed Production and Optioning Agreement between you and Nite Owl Productions, Ltd.

2. You represent and warrant (a) that your Work does not infringe upon any third party's copyright or other property or publicity right; (b) that your Work is original to, and was created and/or written solely by you; and (c) that your Work is not libelous or unlawful.

3. You acknowledge that other persons, including without limitation Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. personnel, may have independently originated and submitted to Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. and others material that may be similar or substantially identical to the material you are submitting to Nite Owl Productions, Ltd., and may in the future originate and submit such material, or make it public. You agree that you have no right, title, and/or interest in such independently originated material. You further agree that you will not provide to Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. any materials you deem to be "confidential" or "trade secret" materials.

4. You hereby agree to indemnify and hold Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. (and its agents) harmless from any and all claims, demands, costs, and liabilities that may arise in connection with a breach or repudiation by you of this Submission Disclosure and Agreement.

If you have any questions about this agreement or the submissions process, please Contact Us. 

Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. does not make any promises or claims to produce your screenplay. By sending us your screenplay you agree to the terms above and give Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. the choice to produce or reject your screenplay. If your screenplay is selected, we will contact you with details as to how we plan to proceed. Nite Owl Productions, Ltd. reserves the right to determine if you are qualified to actually participate in the production of your screenplay, and makes no promises or claims to have you direct, produce, or in any other way be involved in the production of your screenplay. Ownership of any intellectual copyright is automatically retained by it's creator, unless a prior agreement has been reached. However to claim copyright of one's own work does not guarantee that the rights have been protected. Should a disagreement ensue over the ownership of work, evidence is the most important thing, and the more evidence the better. Many creators are under the impression that sending the work to oneself via a sealed recorded delivery will be enough to prove that the work is original and the addressee is the owner. However this method does not, generally, stand up to scrutiny in court. It is one simple method, perhaps as part of an overall quantity of evidence, but weak on it's own.

The most constructive method for ensuring that the creator retains their copyright ownership and can prove that ownership is via the Writer's Guild of America. The WGA allows members and non-members to deposit manuscripts for safe keeping until, if necessary, they are needed as evidence in a plagiarism case. The WGA charges a small figure of $10 for members and $20 for non-members and allows international authors to utilize their services. The service will insure ownership for a minimum of five years and the method for submitting work to the WGA is simple. They only accept work sent in person or via mail and the package must contain an unbound, loose-leaf copy of the material on standard, 8 1/2" x 11" paper. A cover sheet with the title of the material and all of the writers' full legal names along with social security numbers (or foreign equivalent), return address and phone numbers of authors. Finally, most obviously, the registration fee must also be included.

A case may arise purely by coincidence, not every film maker or writer is out to steal other people's work and recreate it deliberately. Although this may happen most cases of suspected plagiarism happen by coincidence. If a script reader happens to read a piece of work and then years later comes up with an idea, without realizing the idea has stemmed from someone else's work, the incident could be considered non-intentional. Of course it has been known that two different people who live on opposite sides of the planet can have the same idea at the same time. This does not mean that one writer has stolen the other's work but as a writer one needs the protection of securing their own copyright as a means of defending against legal actions brought about by another author.





Some Useful Links––

The Writer's Guild of America
http://www.writersguild.org/

US Copyright Office
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/

Copyright Clearance Center
http://www.copyright.com/