The measurement
The Armageddon Score™
Fifteen categories. Each scored 1–15. 225 points possible. The number is useless on its own — what matters is the reasoning attached to every category.
Want the whole method? Read how a screenplay is scored.
Don Chuy on the floor · tap him for a tip
What the score is not
It is not a prediction that a film will get made or make money. It is not a judgment of your worth as a screenwriter. It is a development measurement designed to be improved, draft after draft.
Concept & Premise
The strength, clarity, and potential of the central story idea.
Scored 1–10
Protagonist Development
The strength and effectiveness of your main character.
Scored 1–10
Character Support System
Supporting characters, relationships, and opposition.
Scored 1–10
Story Structure
The architecture holding your screenplay together.
Scored 1–10
Conflict & Stakes
Dramatic pressure and what is truly at risk.
Scored 1–10
Dialogue
Character voice, subtext, and effectiveness on the page.
Scored 1–10
Pacing
Momentum, rhythm, and audience engagement.
Scored 1–10
Emotional Impact
How deeply the audience connects to the story.
Scored 1–10
Theme & Meaning
The deeper purpose beneath the plot.
Scored 1–10
Originality & Creative Identity
Uniqueness and the fingerprint only you can leave.
Scored 1–10
Visual Storytelling
How cinematically the story communicates on screen.
Scored 1–10
Scene Effectiveness
Whether each individual scene earns its place.
Scored 1–10
Marketability & Audience Connection
Audience accessibility and professional potential.
Scored 1–10
Professional Readiness
Whether the draft demonstrates industry-level preparation.
Scored 1–10
Overall Story Survival
The screenplay judged as one complete experience.
Scored 1–10
Reading your total
Seven tiers, from the ground floor to the creme de la creme. Every tier comes with the same thing: the reasoning behind it, and the next move.
Scriptageddon Elite
Creme de la Creme
The rarest air on the site. Professional-grade on every axis — voice, structure, character, and market instinct all firing at once. Elite scripts earn spotlight placement, priority visibility, and Scriptageddon Elite perks.
Send it out
Industry Ready
A script a reader would pass upward without hesitation. Minor polish only — you are competing at the professional level right now.
What high performers here typically do
- Polish for voice, not structure — at this level the differentiator is a style only you could have written.
- Audit the first ten pages line by line; professional readers decide there, and top performers make page one unmistakable.
- Remove every remaining directorial instruction and camera call so the prose reads lean and confident.
- Build a submission package: logline, one-page synopsis, comparable titles, and a two-line personal pitch.
- Get two trusted reads targeting emotional impact and pacing, then make only the changes both readers flag.
Contest competitive
Survival Ready
Strong, confident work that holds up under scrutiny. One targeted pass on the weakest two categories moves you into the top tier.
What high performers here typically do
- Run a two-category surgical pass — screenwriters at this level improve fastest by fixing their two lowest scores, not everything.
- Make every supporting character argue a different position on the theme, so opposition is philosophical, not just physical.
- Sharpen the climax so it resolves the internal need and the external goal in the same sequence.
- Tighten to a clean page count for the genre (comedy 95–105, drama 100–115) with no scene over three pages.
- Test the logline on a stranger: strong performers can pitch the hook, the hero, and the cost in one sentence.
Close
Strong Draft
Real craft is on the page. Something specific — usually structure, stakes, or a soft second act — is capping the ceiling.
What high performers here typically do
- Open on a scene that states the tone and the problem at once, instead of warming up for ten pages.
- Give the protagonist an active want by page 12 that they pursue with decisions, not reactions.
- Cut or combine any scene that only delivers information — high performers here average 2–3 pages per scene.
- Escalate stakes at least three times so the midpoint costs the hero something they cannot get back.
- Rewrite dialogue for subtext: characters should want something in every exchange, not explain the plot.
Rewrite territory
Promising Rough
The bones of a good movie are visible, but the execution is uneven. A focused rewrite here creates a big jump.
Build the frame
Developing
The story exists; the storytelling does not yet serve it. Concentrate on the fundamentals before line-level polish.
Ground floor
Early Stage
Foundational work is needed — and every produced screenwriter has a draft that scored here. This is a starting point, not a verdict.
Creme de la Creme
205–225
The rarest air on the site. Professional-grade on every axis — voice, structure, character, and market instinct all firing at once. The top tier on the Armageddon Score.
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