The Business of Screenwriting

Here’s some of my personal advice, from what I’ve seen, read and experienced.  And of course, you can choose to take it with a grain of salt because if I REALLY knew what I was talking about, I’d be making six figures a spec in La-La Land, wouldn’t I?!

So with that in mind, here’s some key things that I like to mention to my clients and students...

Firstly, I believe that CRAFT = BUSINE$$.  In other words, you have to have it on the page before anyone is going to take you seriously.  Of course, that’s not ALL you need to sustain a career; if you are an asocial arrogant a-hole to boot...you probably are not going to get far.  This is a social business and you must be able to be positive, friendly and articulate “in the room.”  But before you get in the room, no matter who you know or what parties you attend, at the very least, you need something unique and polished on the page.

GETTING “THE READ” -- It’s all about getting your script read by people in the industry.  Once you’ve registered and copyrighted it, don’t worry too much about it getting stolen -- show it to anyone and everyone.  You never know who knows who and where or who your script will be passed on to.

YOU’RE NOT THE DIRECTOR, YOU’RE THE WRITER -- You’re not going to direct it, unless you can raise the money for the budget and you want to spend the next three years on this project alone.  If not, and unless you’re an experienced feature film director, they’re not going to let you direct it, so don’t ask, don’t attach yourself as director, and take out those camera cues on the page.

MANAGERS VS. AGENTS -- It’s been said that Managers want to develop a screenwriter’s career over the next 5 years, while Agents are only looking for the big sale NOW.  But from what I’ve seen...they’re BOTH looking for the big sale now.  (Wouldn't you be?)  If they don’t think your spec is commercial, they won’t bother with you.  Don’t worry now about choosing between a Manager or an Agent or using both.  Just get your script to as many Agents and Managers as you can and be persistent with them as they are notoriously bad at turning around material (agencies usually don’t employ Readers).  On that note...

WRITE A COMMERCIAL SPEC IN A LOW TO MEDIUM BUDGET -- it’s okay to write a screenplay for purely personal reasons, as long as you don’t expect to sell it.  This is an audience medium, and a commercial business, so you should have something that FITS into the commercial marketplace and it shouldn’t be too HUGE because they only let writers with commercial track records work on the really expensive films.  If you can’t pinpoint the GENRE and TARGET AUDIENCE of your screenplay, how do you expect the cold Reader to do so?  The fact is...those are the first two things a Reader will be looking to determine...so make them clear as early as possible in your script.

SUBMITTING WITHOUT REPRESENTATION -- it’s done all the time, it can be done, don’t let a company’s “no unsolicited submissions” rule stop you.  Interest from a production company may be just the hook to get an agent.  Every production company or studio has a waiver form (Submission Release Form) that you can sign and they will accept your script for review if they think it has merit for any reason.  If they ask you to sign the form, sign it.  If later you find out they’ve stolen your script, then you have proof of registration, copyright and a paper trail proving you submitted to them, right?  And if you really can’t or don’t want to get in the door without a rep, pay a lawyer (any lawyer) a small fee to mail in your script with a cover letter (that you write) printed on their stationery.

But they’re not going to steal your screenplay.  Don’t worry about it.  Protect your screenplay, then forget about it and show it to anyone and everyone with any connection to the industry.  Register online in a few minutes at...

http://www.wga.org/

THE INTERNET -- What is it?  Just kidding.  We know what it is: an amazing tool to boost your screenwriting career, right?  Yes, it can be, but the internet is not the end-all be-all.  Please remember that every hour you spend on your screenwriter’s blog site, contributing to online screenwriter’s forums, or editing that super-cool digital video trailer you’ve made up to promote your screenplay...is an hour that you’re NOT writing or editing your script and I believe your craft will probably suffer for it.  I say this because I know firsthand that websites and emails take up a LOT of time, and busy development people do not have time to go to a writer’s website anyway; also, please know that Hollywood is still ruled by the nascent piece of technology known as the telephone, and nothing matters if it’s not on the page.  With that in mind...get offline and keep writing! 

THE MIGHTY LOGLINE -- The best strategy: Work for months on your logline BEFORE you write a single page of the screenplay.  It’s that important. 

Use that dynamic logline to hook producers and reps on the phone -- they will request your script and break all rules to read it if the logline is THAT good. 

See my Logline article for tips.

ATTACHING TALENT -- If you have an opportunity to get a script to talent, an established actor or director, go for it, but don’t waste your time trying to get them officially “attached” to the project.  This applies even if you are related by blood to said talent!  If they are established, the chances of them clearing their schedule for a project without a guaranteed paycheck are extremely slim.

KEEP UP ON WHAT’S HOT -- Educate yourself about the industry and keep up on what’s hot, ESPECIALLY IN THE GENRE OF YOUR SCREENPLAY.  Be able to “talk shop” about what’s current in movie theaters, on TV, and in the development world (keeping in mind that what’s in theaters was hot in development one to two years ago).  And be able to make comparisons between your script and successful films (not bombs; don’t compare your script to a bomb).  Here’s a few links to help you out (just don’t spend too much time online!)...

Box-office charts:
http://boxofficemojo.com/

Script Sales:
http://www.scriptsales.com/DDScriptSales.htm

Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/

Download produced screenplays:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/

READ BLOGS BY PRO WRITERS -- Here’s some personal blogs by top Hollywood screenwriters...lots of helpful information and also very entertaining to read...

John August (Big Fish, Go, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), very informative essays and lots of Q&A...
http://johnaugust.com/

Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), very funny articles about life in Hollywood...
http://hucksblog.blogspot.com/

Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3) and Ted Elliot (Pirates of the Carribbean, Shrek)...
http://artfulwriter.com/about.html

NETWORKING -- can’t be stressed enough.  Nowadays a lot of it happens online, but face time is crucial.  It’s still always stronger to spend two hours with someone in person at a coffee shop than 100 hours trading emails.  But you may use a website to meet people with whom you will later have coffee, so towards that end I can suggest a fantastic site for networking with other screenwriters, the TWB site...

http://thewritersbuilding.org/

There are a number of “peer review” and “writers community” sites out there, feel free to take a look around and see where you fit in best. 

GET IT OUT THE DOOR -- submitting your script is a challenging and exhausting process, but you must do it.  Again and again, learning from each submission.  Firstly, you want to make up a *targeted submission list* made up of production companies that produce your genre of film at your budget range.  How to find these companies?  The best source for production companies with “studio deals” (the big money) is the Hollywood Creative Directory “Producers” Guide, available online at...

http://hcdonline.org/

The HCD guides are also available in print at bookstores.  They aren’t cheap, but if you’re looking for a geurilla way to use their lists, a little bird told me you could take a notepad and pen with you into one of those Schmarnes & Hoble bookstores and copy down the info.  I do not know the little bird’s name, but he had an Armani suit and ate Studio Heads for breakfast. 

And if you’re targeting lower-budget producers, heck if you’re just looking to get your script out there to as many production companies as possible, (which is your goal, right?  Have you been listening?!) then you can also use the Ink Tip site, which has a very strong track record of success...

http://inktip.com/

ESTABLISHED PROPERTIES -- it’s a really smart move to connect your spec script to some kind of pre-existing property.  If you adapt a book that’s in the “public domain,” then it’s free.  Or you can purchase the rights to a piece of material -- a book, comic book, newspaper article, or true life story.  This site will help to look up those properties...

The WATCH list: a database of copyright contacts for writers, artists, and prominent figures in other creative fields... http://tyler.hrc.utexas.edu/

WRITE THE NEXT ONE -- serious writers keep writing.  Great writers have many great ideas for screenplays, not just one.  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; each script is another rung on the ladder to success and another opportunity to learn.

I hope that helps -- any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

I wish you good luck!

-Daniel Calvisi
www.actfourscreenplays.com
copyright (c) Daniel Calvisi 2005-2006

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