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Talentville Bar & Grill : Screenwriting and the Internet
Writing for Hallmark

Billie Harris
Posted March 31, 2023 3:17 PM
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I've considered some of my romcoms as potentials for Hallmark, however, after reading up on their criteria, it's obvious I need to make some changes before I query companies that produce for that channel.  We can often  find scripts available to read of movies that have been made but up until today, I've never found one for Hallmark.   I'm posting a production draft of one in the event any of you are interested in writing for Hallmark, too. However, when I do a critique of a screenplay here on Talentville, I often point out the passive verbs, the "we see," the lengthy action lines and dialogue.  This script is riddled with them.  


The Hallmark movie, "Rome in Love," has a pretty good rating on imdb and I think it can be  watched online  if anyone is interested. 


https://www.topherpayne.com/_files/ugd/91bb14_4c2fafc87d62459fbb0da6593a8d3f65.pdf


Billie Harris
Posted April 1, 2023 11:56 AM
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How much does Hallmark pay for a screenplay?  Here's what I found on the internet when I Googled that question.  (Note:  Neither accept unsolicited materials.)


"Hallmark pays around $50,000 to $60,000 per script (plus residuals) on movies generally budgeted around $2 million to $2.5 million.   Dec 6, 2019"

If you're interested in writing for Hallmark.  Following are some sites that talk about Hallmark and screenplays.  I would suspect they'd probably apply to Great American Family as well.


How to Sell a Screenplay to Hallmark:


https://www.socreate.it/en/blogs/screenwriting/how-to-sell-a-screenplay-to-hallmark


Script Guidelines for Your Hallmark Christmas Movie:


https://thebolditalic.com/script-guidelines-for-your-hallmark-channel-christmas-movie-9eeabbb037e2


TV Format Fundamentals:  Hallmark Christmas Movies


https://www.wgfoundation.org/blog/2022/12/6/hallmark-christmas-movies


Writing the Perfect Hallmark Holiday Romantic Comedy


https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/writing-the-perfect-hallmark-holiday-romantic-comedy-movi


How to Craft Stories - The Hallmark Movie Way


https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/writing-the-perfect-hallmark-holiday-romantic-comedy-movi


Writing for Hallmark & Lifetime


https://read.pubwriter.com/hallmark


 


GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY, basically pretty much the same as Hallmark.  Here's information from their website:




How do I submit a movie, script, or show idea for consideration?





Great American Media is currently not accepting unsolicited pitches, scripts, or programming ideas of any kind.  Please check back in the future when we expect to have a system for submissions in place.



 


 


 


Billie Harris
Posted April 11, 2023 4:06 PM
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I don't know if this subject is interesting any of you, but just in case it is, here's a little more info.


At the request of a company in Canada, and from a logline they gave me, I wrote a Hallmark-type romcom for them. (In fact, I've written two for them.)  They liked it.  Frankly, I did, too, though it might have a few more laughs in it than most Hallmark movies.  It's been lingering for a year, year and a half.  Yesterday, after asking the status, I heard back.  She said two companies were interested but without a presale to Hallmark or Lifetime or Great American Family, it would be challenging because the market is flooded.  Note her words:  "...without a presale, THE MARKET IS FLOODED."  In other words, it appears that it's dead in the water. 


I don't want to discourage any of you who are thinking of writing (or have written) a script for Hallmark, but just to let you know what I was told.