Francis Ford Coppola sets up screenwriters' site

Francis Ford Coppola wants to make aspiring screenwriters an offer they can’t refuse. The Godfather director’s production company, American Zoetrope, has set up Zoetrope Screenplays, a site that lets writers upload their original scripts for evaluation by other would-be screenwriters. After signing up, each writer must read and critique four screenplays before posting his or her own work. Zoetrope staffers read and consider the most highly praised works for a possible option. ”We hope to discover talent,” says Coppola, who reads some of the posts. ”If we’re able to get a screenplay that’s attractive and we could put it together with actors and a director, that would be a major victory.” Coppola also plans to create sites for aspiring composers and graphic artists, so that ”all phases of creative work can be accepted from the public at large.” Not a bad idea: They probably can’t do any worse than Jack.