Shore Scripts had the opportunity to sit down with Red Wagon Entertainment's Director of Development, Tess McGuinness.
McGuinness, also an award-winning playwright, has worked within production for the last several years, with experience at SNL, Janet Yang, and MIRMADE Productions. With her detailed knowledge of the industry and first-hand experience working within Hollywood, McGuinness offers insights into the screenwriting world as well as the production side of script development.
Here are the takeaways from the conversation and answers to some big questions Shore Scripts screenwriters brought to the call:
What Exactly IS Development?
There’s often a lot of questions and confusion about the term “development”, and Tess admitted that it’s a bit of a nebulous term. But she still took the time to help define it!
She explained that development is the earlier stage of the filmmaking process, from finding a piece of material like a script or book for adaptation, to figuring out the different attachments including getting a director on board or a writer to adapt or a piece of talent, to giving notes to the original writer and helping them further the story, to helping the project navigate working with a studio, and finding financing, and more. “Really, anything that can happen from the beginning to the start of production is development.”
Red Flags and Green Flags in Scripts
In the conversation of red flags in scripts compared to green flags, McGuinness prefaced her insight with this: “If you can kind of sum it up in one to two sentences really clearly, that is always really important.” She goes on to explain that if it’s difficult to explain your script concept concisely, that may be a red flag.
These short elevator pitches are key. She shares that one of the best structures is to utilize scripts that inspired your own. “Every good movie is sort of borrowing a template from another movie,” McGuinness explains. Use this to your advantage! Being able to present your script as “This movie meets that movie, and this is my logline” is an elevator pitch structure that McGuinness praises.
Other green flags in scripts are those that feature freshness in ideas, scripts that feel quick to read because they really pull you along the character’s journey, and scripts that clearly display the writer’s voice.
She reminds writers that they need to be able to answer the questions: What is the narrative engine? In other words, what is the driving force of the story? What's the protagonist's objective?
McGuinness even addressed the “first ten pages” rule. While she states that it is case by case, McGuinness heavily encourages writers not to worry about making the first ten pages too “hooky” and instead focus on crafting character and tone with strong writing. These, as she shares, will always prove powerful.
How To Help Your Reps Work For You (& What To Do If You’re Flying Solo)
Festival runs, coverage notes, and rewrite after rewrite after rewrite, screenwriters who work through their script and polish it completely are often left with the question of what to do next.
For those with representation, Tess encourages writers to collaborate with their managers or agents to figure out next steps. She highly encourages writers with representation to always be asking questions:
- “What is working for other writers?”
- “What’s the marketplace like right now?”
- “What are people looking for?”
Above all else, McGuinness tells writers to trust their “intuition with whom to trust”. While gaining representation is often the first big step to getting your script out there, knowing when to reevaluate a rep is just as important as knowing when to sign with one.
McGuinness shares that good reps are additive to your writing career, but how do you identify these reps? Her thoughts - Managers who are always meeting people and asking questions, agents who keep an ear on what’s going on in the industry, and someone who pushes you creatively but understands your vision, as McGuinness shares, these are the qualities in representation that writers should be seeking out.
However, representation is not the “end all, be all”, McGuinness adds. In the case of no representation, she encourages writers to invest in the industry’s prestigious programs and labs, utilize their networks, and do what they can to get experience in the industry.
Market Wants and the Reality of Trends
When the conversation turned to current trends in the marketplace and questions about what companies are looking for, McGuinness smiles, “It’s funny!” She goes on to share, “As soon as you hear a genre is dead, it's always gonna have a second life.”
As of July 2025, McGuinness says that romcoms are a hot commodity. With media like THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY and ONE DAY having their moment, she notes that romances, especially female-forward stories, are currently in high demand.
McGuinness finishes with a note on the ebbs and flows of trends, promising that “everything has its time.” Refreshes of genres happen all the time. Niche content will always find its audience.
Final Thoughts
Tess McGuinness ushered out the conversation with hopeful, impactful advice: “Don’t chase - write the stories you feel passionate about.” Through it all, as you continue your journey as a writer, hold onto the voice that makes your stories your own.
If you’re interested in having Tess read your script, you’re in luck! Tess McGuinness is one of the judges for Shore Script’s 2025 Feature Contest! Submit your script before the deadline, September 25th 2025, to have the chance to have your feature script read by Tess!
