Act Four Screenplays

As you probably know, there are other consultants out there, with varying levels of experience and rates.

So why choose me?

Firstly, I want you to know that this has been my PRIMARY FOCUS for years. Other consultants may throw up a quickie website to get the occasional freelance job.  I've dedicated my career to better writing.

Read a glowing review of my services in  SCRIPT MAGAZINE.

I was employed as a Senior Story Analyst for Miramax Films, a major motion picture studio, for over five years on screenplays and novels. I worked for executives who developed and/or produced the films Chicago, Gangs of New York, Chocolat, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Spy Kids, The Faculty, and Scream 2 & 3. I guarantee my insight and advice are up to current Hollywood standards. My consulting work and this website are not affiliated with Miramax Films; I mention them so you know that I have worked in the film industry. I have also worked as a Reader for Fox 2000 (a division of Twentieth Century Fox), New Line Cinema and Clinica Estetico (director Jonathan Demme's former production company), among others.

There are a lot of Readers in the film industry but not all are called on to review the "A" material. On the job, I was personally requested by certain executives for their HIGH-PRIORITY reads because they held my opinion in high regard. I was the primary Reader on the first two volumes of the children’s fantasy book series "Artemis Fowl" that was purchased in a multi-million dollar deal and was green-lit as a film. I was the primary Reader on the novel "The Dark Fields" by Alan Glynn which became a screenplay with Shia Labeouf attached. I have been given material written by or attached to Johnny Depp, John Grisham, Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Lopez, Elmore Leonard and Pierce Brosnan, to name a few.

Working for various employers, I have written professional story coverage on material that sold in major deals and/or became produced films, such as...

I have consulted on projects attached in various capacities to the likes of Sam Raimi, David Mamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis, Johnny Depp, Ted Demme, Nick Nolte, Jackie Chan, Icon Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Wes Craven, Spike Lee, producer Christine Vachon, Jonathan Demme, and all the major agencies including CAA, Endeavor, ICM, and WMA.

I enjoyed the opportunity to read hot new books by best-selling authors like Pat Conroy, John Grisham, Olivia Goldsmith, James Lee Burke, Neil Gaiman, Alex Garland, and Elmore Leonard, before they were published — to discover new literary talent from the submission pile — and to rediscover classic authors like John LeCarre, Mario Puzo, Isaac Asimov and John Hersey. As a book reader, I covered books that ended up selling to major studios in big deals, like “Cold Mountain,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Ender’s Game,” “The Fountain Society,” “American Gods” and “The Dirty Girls Social Club,” to name a few.

I have written professional story coverage on novels by authors including Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen, T.C. Boyle, James M. Cain, Orson Scott Card, Caleb Carr, Raymond Chandler, Wes Craven, Nelson George, Jon Katz, John Katzenbach, Thomas Kelly, Douglas Kennedy, Jack London, Robert Ludlum, Terry McMillan, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Orhan Pamuk, George Pelicanos, Susan R. Sloan, Zadie Smith and Steve Tesich.

I live in Los Angeles and I communicate with many friends and contacts in the industry. I read produced scripts to keep up on the work of the top pros. I am active online, running my own screenwriters' network and monitoring the daily trade papers, script and book sales, and box-office reports.

I teach classes in screenwriting and screenplay analysis at the college level and I know how to assess the ability of a student and work one-on-one with them to achieve the desired results.

I write essays on my passion: dramatic storytelling. Four of my articles, “Voice,” “Story Maps,” “The Central Dramatic Question” and "M. Night Shyamalan: Method to the Madness" were published in Script Magazine. You can read them on my Tips page.

My rates are very reasonable for the amount of work and insight I provide. I often do more than the quoted range of notes as I want a client to get as much feedback as possible.

I have not worked in television, only film. My advice on screenplays is NOT coming from a television MOW perspective, it is coming from my immersion in the craft and business of feature film screenwriting.

I stick to my bread and butter: story notes. I don’t offer extraneous services like editing room consults and query letter mailings. My mantra is:

Craft = Business

Focus on your craft, first and foremost, and the commercial success will follow.

I promise you that if your script is ready to submit, as is, I will return it to you free of charge with one referral to a contact in the industry.

I promise you I will give you all the notes I feel are necessary to take your script to the next level of quality. I’m excited to work with you!

-Daniel Calvisi


In Hollywood, nothing will ever be stronger than a great story.

Trends come and go, stars rise and fall, studios succeed and fold, but

a great story will always be king.