Straight answers, including the awkward ones.

No. Submission services exist to get writers read, and there are plenty of them. Gatehouse exists to keep your studio clear of claims. Every part of it — the project list, the writer-approved summary, the locked script, the record — was designed around the claims studios fear.

No. You don’t have to read anything, reply to anyone or make an offer.

One line per project — “Time-travel wild western comedy set in Nashville” is enough. You never send scripts, decks or treatments. If you’d rather not write anything down, one of our staff will call once a month and keep the list for you.

Nobody. It’s kept in your own private space, separate from every other studio, and used only for the comparison. Everyone at Gatehouse works under NDA.

It’s held back. Your team sees nothing — not even the summary — and nobody is told why, not even the writer. It’s noted in your private record with the date.

When you add the project to your list, we compare it with the summaries you’ve already received. If one is close, your lawyers hear privately whether anyone on your team read it — before work begins. If nobody did, that’s on the record. If someone did, you can keep them off the project, document how the idea came about, or talk to the writer.

It could, but it would only hurt itself. A project that isn’t on the list has no dated proof behind it, and the record shows which summaries were read before a project appeared. The list protects you only if it’s honest.

They can ask the record. A named reviewer, under NDA, checks who read what and when, and gives both sides a plain answer — without revealing anything about your plans. Most honest misunderstandings end there.

Yes. On request, a named Gatehouse reviewer compares the summary with your list by hand, under NDA. The review is recorded. The script stays locked unless the writer unlocks it.

We’re working with a small number of studios to shape the service, and pricing will come out of that. We don’t take a cut if you buy a script — we don’t earn more by pushing scripts at you.

No. The studio pays for the service.

No. It writes a summary for you to approve and checks it isn’t too close to something the studio is already making. It doesn’t score, rank or reject you. People at the studio decide what to read.

Ask the record. A neutral reviewer will tell you whether anyone at the studio read your summary or unlocked your script, and when the studio’s project began. You get facts, not a guess.

It keeps things fair and stops any one studio being flooded. New drafts of the same script don’t count.