I’ve got another article in Creative Screenwriting:
When Variety reported on July 22 that Piedmont Media Research had developed a system for predicting a movie’s box office take before the film was even made, the firm started fielding calls from some unexpected customers: screenwriters.
Within weeks, Piedmont had heard from more than 50 scribes hoping to use the company’s patent-pending “consumer engagement”-based model to pitch ideas to studios. No longer would writers have to resort to “hit #1 meets hit #2” comparisons to hype the marketability of their concepts. Now they could use hard numbers, backed up by audience research.