Jenna Milly Presents The 3 Cs of Screenwriting

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Jenna Milly Presents the 3 Cs of Screenwriting Webinar Conflict Concept and CharacterAnother screenwriting webinar? You bet. Conflict. Concept. Character. The 3 Cs. Without these three elements, you have less chance of someone in Hollywood taking you seriously. Let’s face it… Hollywood is all about the money right now and I don’t think we’re going to be seeing that change anytime soon. Creative executives and producers are hunkering down NOW more than ever before when it comes time to make a film because films need to make a profit.

Jenna’s upcoming Webinar on May 16, 2012 is going to be discussing exactly this.

  • Learn how to put the right ingredients in your script: Concept, Conflict, and Character
  • Learn to put the pitch in the treatment
  • Learn the secrets to develop a concept that has STICKING POWER and will pass studio executives’ litmus test

I’ve been talking to Jenna about her upcoming webinar and based on what she’s telling me, it promises to be a damn good one and definitely one worth attending if you’re serious about being in this business as a screenwriter.

Jenna promises to explain how the 3 Cs need to work together… Not only when it comes to proper execution of a screenplay but in cranking out a screenplay that Hollywood is actually going to sit down and read.

Jenna says, “…doesn’t mean you have to sell your artistic soul to write something you wouldn’t normally write, but it does mean we can all be a little smarter about our choices if we know where the buyers are coming from.”

How true. Now more than ever.

Join Jenna for her live webinar…

Session Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Session Time: 1:00 p.m. Pacific / 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Session Duration: 90 minutes

Subtext in Your Screenplay Part 2 Dialogue

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emotionsIn Part 1, I pointed out that you really need to give your actors something to work with when it comes to the dialogue you’re giving your characters…

That “something to work with” is subtext.

Subtext will help a reader, a producer, a director, and an actor distinguish WHO your characters are. There’s an old trick that’s been around a long time that explains how to check your character’s dialogue to see if it’s any good… To see if we can actually TELL who’s speaking. Just cover up the character cue (character’s name) in your screenplay and see if you can tell who’s actually speaking the dialogue.

There’s MERIT in that trick…

Unfortunately, a lot of screenwriters trying to break in simply don’t get it. They think that the actor should take care of all that INTERPRETATION and make each character distinguishable.

I’ve even received emails complaining that a lot of movies today have characters that sound a lot alike, “So why can’t I”?

You can.

Go ahead.

Everybody else is doing it so why not you?

But for those of us that do NOT want to venture down that path… Just HOW do you do that? I’m sure there are a lot of different ways to go about it but if you’re struggling for a technique you can get your mind around, let me go back to giving each of your main characters a theme… Hell, I try to give every character his or her own theme but I highly recommend it with your main characters.

Now understand… I am NOT talking about the theme of your story. Although your characters could certainly have their own themes that coincide with the theme of your story. What I am talking about is taking each one of your characters and giving them their own theme. Before you start shaking your head, just sit there for a minute and think about people you know. Family. Friends. Associates. Take one of them and boil their ESSENCE down to a theme and guess what?

It doesn’t have to be correct.

But it can be a lot of fun when it comes to exploring your story and the characters that hold it up.

In the last spec script I wrote, one of my main characters is a woman. A mother who’s children were killed and she is hell-bent on revenge hence, ANGER is her theme — see the chart below on basic emotions.

It is her theme — her anger and wanting REVENGE (vengefulness) — that drives her through the entire story. Every decision she makes is based on getting her just a little closer to succeeding with her revenge. Likewise, it’s this same theme of anger that drives her dialogue. She will let nothing stand in her way and she’s not afraid to reveal that with every word she speaks.

Take a look at the Primary emotion of ANGER in the chart. ANGER is where my female character began. ANGER was her theme. Anger made her the character she is in my screenplay. To the right of that primary emotion are both the Secondary and Tertiary emotions IN LINE with the primary emotion of ANGER. Damn near every scene this female character is in is driven IN SOME WAY by her primary emotion of ANGER or her theme.

Can a character’s theme change in the midst of your story? Of course. Change the theme or the emotion and just make sure that your character’s dialogue reflects that change.

Aside from the subtext however, giving your characters a theme — once you get a little practice — should enable those of us that end up reading your screenplay, the ability to read your screenplay faster and actually SEE the characters more clearly in our mind’s eye.

List of Basic Emotions by Parrot

When your character speaks from his or her theme, subtext is easy — rather, it’s not as difficult as it might be without those same characters having their own theme that drives them through the story.

Your inclination as you work these emotions into your character will very likely be to write ON THE NOSE DIALOGUE and that’s okay. As I said in Part 1, you should look at on the nose dialogue as a placeholder in your first draft… During rewrite(s), take that on the nose dialogue and stand it on its ear but do so based on your character’s theme.

Another trick to giving your character their very own theme is to boil down their theme to a list of words that further identify their emotional state that you can use to help you write their dialogue. If I take the word, ANGER — and run it through my favorite online thesaurus, I get the following synonyms:

a transient madness, acedia, affront, aggravate, angriness, annoy, annoyance, antagonism, ardency, ardor, arouse, asperity, avarice, avaritia, bad humor, bad temper, bile, biliousness, blow up, boil, boil over, bridle, bridle up, bristle, bristle up, burn, causticity, chafe, choler, corrosiveness, dander, deadly sin, discontent, displease, displeasure, dudgeon, dutch, eagerness, enrage, enragement, envy, exasperate, exasperation, excite, excitement, fervency, fervidity, fervidness, fervor, flare up, flip out, fret, fury, gall, get mad, get sore, gluttony, grapes of wrath, greed, gula, heat, hit the ceiling, huff, ill humor, ill nature, ill temper, incense, incite, indignation, inflame, infuriate, infuriation, invidia, ira, irateness, ire, irk, irritability, irritate, irritation, kindle, love, lust, luxuria, mad, madden, make angry, make mad, make sore, monkey, nettle, offend, outrage, pet, pique, pride, provoke, rage, rant, rave, reach boiling point, resentment, rile, saeva indignatio, see red, seethe, sexual desire, sloth, soreness, sourness, spleen, steam up, stew, storm, superbia, temper, tick off, umbrage, vex, vexation, vials of wrath, wrath, wrathfulness

Will I use all these… Nope. But I do like to boil that list down to some tasty words that I know my character is FEELING:

a transient madness, affront, aggravate, angriness, annoy, annoyance, antagonism, bad temper, blow up, boil over, discontent, enragement, exasperate, exasperation, excite, excitement, flare up, flip out, get mad, ill temper, infuriate, irateness, irritability, irritation, offend, outrage, pride, provoke, rage, rant, boiling point, resentment, seethe, storm, temper, wrath

I only point this out to show you what I go through to learn about my characters. Of course, they have a backstory. Of course I know where they came from and what they’ve been through prior to their being in my story. I have to know all that in order to be able to have them grow organically on the page.

Sometimes… Depending on the kind of scene you’re writing for your character, you may even want to boil that particular scene down to just ONE WORD in order to get yourself into the right frame of mind to write that character’s dialogue. You can easily pick from the emotion chart above, from the list of synonyms, or dig deeper and find just the right word that describes your character based on the scene you’re writing for them.

It is your character’s theme… The list of emotions and synonyms for those emotions that will guide you through the writing of their dialogue.

I’ve got to apologize… I thought this part would have some examples of both on the nose dialogue and turning it into subtext but I ran a little too long on this post but stay tuned if this is getting interesting to you. Examples coming up.

Unk

Subtext in Your Screenplay Part 1 Dialogue

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subtext in dialogueI know… There’s probably quite a few posts and articles already out there when it comes to subtext in your screenplay. I’m hoping that I’m able to possibly throw a bit of a different spin on things…

Subtext is the deeper meaning in your dialogue, action, characters, scene, and plot.

Another piece of the puzzle so to speak. A piece of the puzzle that compliments what you already know and maybe… Just maybe gives you a little clearer picture of how subtext works and how you can start using it right away.

Since this is Part 1, let’s start with subtext in dialogue. Why? Well, since my brother died, I’ve done a lot less blogging and a lot more reading and among that reading, a lot of scripts from people trying to break in and here’s what I’m seeing…

A WAR between two old friends…

ON-THE-NOSE DIALOGUE vs. SUBTEXT IN DIALOGUE

There’s really no reason that these two old buddies of ours need to be at war with each other. In fact, from what I see, it’s almost as if many of us simply FORGET about subtext and it is in fact this missing subtext that is often the difference between a good and a bad screenplay. I’ve actually seen a lot of well written screenplays written by people trying to break in. By well written, I mean the screenplay LOOKS GOOD. It’s well formatted. It’s mostly active voice. It’s got a solid structure that works for the story. In short, it’s well written TECHNICALLY SPEAKING but it just lacks a certain OOMPH.

Often, that certain lacking oomph is subtext.

I’m a huge believer in getting that first draft out of your system. Do whatever it takes to purge it. If that means writing on the nose dialogue — SO BE IT. Let your on the nose dialogue be a PLACEHOLDER for your subtext as you make successive passes for subtext on that first draft.

Anything can be fixed if you fuck with it long enough.

Subtext in dialogue is the kind of dialogue that hooks US as we watch the movie. Good subtext often means so many different things to so many different people and in a strange way, is a lot like HIGH CONCEPT i.e., it has MASS APPEAL.

We ALL get it but we all get it for different reasons.

Here’s an explanation of how subtext can work — from the film, DONNIE BRASCO:

Don’t get me wrong… On the nose dialogue has its place in your screenplay but on the nose dialogue simply doesn’t mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people like good subtext does. Additionally, on the nose dialogue doesn’t give your eventual actors a lot to work with when it comes to them interpreting the subtext of your character. I mean, you are writing a screenplay, right? I would imagine your hope is to eventually sell said screenplay and get it made, right?

Do you really want somebody like me coming in and rewriting your dialogue so that it has the layers of subtext not only we, the audience are looking for but also the people who buy and greenlight the eventual film are looking for too?

Of course you don’t.

Chances are that your spec won’t even get to that point anyway because of what it’s MISSING.

A hell of a lot of wannabe screenwriters just plain forget that what they’re writing isn’t a novel with a different format. You’re HOPEFULLY writing a future collaboration of all kinds of people with lots of different talents that will make your written word even better.

But you gotta give them something to work with.

This is why actors ARE actors. It’s their job to take your words and fill in even more subtext than you’ve already given them… To interpret your dialogue so they SEE the character you’ve created for them to play on the big screen — but in order to do that, you’ve got to give them something to work with. On the nose dialogue simply doesn’t give them much to work with as does a character rich in subtext in both dialogue and action.

Give your character’s dialogue subtext — and the eventual actor will be much more apt to interpret what’s beneath the surface of the dialogue through body posture, gestures, rhythm, stress, and intonation. It’s through the actor’s interpretation of the subtext you’ve given your character to speak that allows what you’ve written to eventually SPEAK to your audience.

I’m sure we’ve all heard and read that one of the main reasons people attend movies is to live vicariously through the characters… Especially the Protagonist. On the nose dialogue simply does not SHARE the secrets that your characters need to have in order to be compelling. By giving your characters subtext in dialogue, you allow the reader and eventual audience to SHARE those secrets thereby increasing the vicarious living we want to live when we watch a film or movie.

This is why it helps to not only have a theme for your story but consider giving each and every one of your main characters their very own theme APART from the story’s theme. This will not only help create subtext in dialogue but helps create a natural, organic structure for your story. Once you’ve given them their own theme, help them convey their very own theme through their subtext in the dialogue you write for them. Through your character’s theme and subtext, you can also disguise your character’s exposition instead of being so blatant about it like in most of the screenplays I read… Even from Professionals.

Remember… Most people we know don’t just come right out and say what they mean.

People lie. People are vague. People beat around the bush. People try to protect themselves. People try not to disgrace themselves. People try not to humiliate themselves. People try not to let the person they are speaking to know what they’re thinking. People try not to let on that they know as much as they know.

The list goes on and on and on…

Does your character’s dialogue do this?

Examples of on the nose dialogue and subtext in dialogue in Part 2.

Unk

Meet Some of Your Competition Malkovich’s Mail

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So yeah… I was on Twitter today and read a message that sent me to YouTube and kept me there watching Parts 1 through 5 of Malkovich’s Mail.

My thanks to @shericandler via @FilmmakerMag of Filmmaker for putting this out there today. Be sure to check out her site at SheriCandler.com

For those of you who read the last couple of posts about The Odds of Selling a Spec Screenplay, I urge you to watch all of these videos. It’s a true eye opener and explains one hell of a lot about the SYSTEM that is in place that YOU will have to NAVIGATE through and those competing against you.

And for those of you who thought my numbers were too high… Remember, this is ONE fucking production company we’re talking about. I imagine they receive all the queries, pitches, and letters because of their prodco being listed in a few places online as well as in books.

If you ask ME, my numbers were too low.

Unk

Increasing Your Odds of Selling a Spec Screenplay Part 2

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Increasing Your Odds of Selling a Spec Screenplay Part 2Is it just screenwriting blogs that are a little weird to operate or is it all blogs? I only ask because the last post didn’t generate a lot of comments but it sure generated a lot of email. A lot of you told me that no matter what, you’re going to keep writing screenplays.

Good!

The flip side however, was that a lot of people said thanks for setting them straight… They are probably going to toss in the towel.

Even better!

And no… I’m not joking here. I’m serious when I say I want people to stop writing screenplays unless they are 100% DRIVEN to write screenplays. I figure if I can help keep a few extra shitty screenplays from circulating out there, that might just help one really decent screenplay get read. I will now officially pat myself on my back.

Ah… Felt good.

So what else can you do to increase the odds of selling your spec screenplay?

We’ve already discussed writing what Hollywood is looking for… And before you go thinking you have a better shot having your spec made into an Independent film, think again. With the economy the way it is right now and lots of experts saying we AREN’T DONE YET with our financial meltdown, Independent filmmakers are also trying to fit into the current theatrical distribution model.

Same only different.

Maybe a little more different than the studios but… Not a whole hell of a lot.

Then we discussed what not to do with your spec if you want people to actually read it and move it up the food chain.

Today let’s talk about WHO you are trying to  send it to… Most screenwriters don’t do their homework when it comes to marketing that spec they finally completed. They just randomly send it out there to any contact they can find contact information for.

Not good.

Why? Well first off, if your spec isn’t really as good as you think it is, you could be shooting yourself in the foot. Just about everybody keeps their own database of writers who’s screenplays the production company, the agency, and the management firm will no longer read.

You really want to be entered into that database? Shoot from the hip then. Send your spec to anyone who you can send it to.

On the other hand, if you want to increase your odds of an Agency, Management firm, or production company reading your spec…

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

That means find out who’s handled your genre of screenplay before… Yes, there are some agents who only want to read family films… I know because I’ve met them. Same with managers…

Why send your prospective R rated spec to someone who only likes family films? Trust me when I tell you that the odds are not with you when you do that. Always find out something about who you’re sending your spec to. See if they have handled screenplays and or movies similar to yours or within your genre. You will get a lot more mileage with your queries and marketing simply by exercising this one simple tip…

Guaranteed.

Not only that but you also INCREASE your opportunities of having a producer call on you in the future when they have a project they want to move forward on but have no screenwriter. If they liked the spec you sent them previously but passed on it, chances are they will want to read more from you later on. If so, that is a CONTACT that you will put away for the future. However, if that same producer has a project they want to develop but no script, they may very well call on you for a meeting to see what you might bring to the table for that project.

Turn an unsolicited script into a solicited script…

Huh?

A lot of screenwriters will read some Agency’s, Management firm’s, or Production Company’s submission policy and understand it to mean that since they say they do not accept unsolicited screenplays, they can’t submit their screenplay to them and so they move on. What 99% of these submission policies actually mean is that they do not want you sending them your screenplay right off the bat.

You don’t attach your screenplay to the first email you’re sending to some contact you’ve found… That is a HUGE NO-NO. On the other hand, you can query them about your spec screenplay and if they like your query ENOUGH, they will turn around and tell you to send it to them and when they do that, your spec screenplay is now a SOLICITED spec screenplay.

Make sense?

Understand and KNOW up front that policies are POLICIES… But any policy goes right out the fucking window if you have the next greatest spec screenplay… Just don’t send it to anyone until you query them FIRST. This is probably a good time to expand on that a little as I have done before… Your query needs to be outstanding. It needs to KNOCK THEIR SOCKS OFF and make them want you to send them your screenplay. In other words, you’ve got to work just as hard on your query as you do on your spec. The good news is that it won’t take nearly as long to create, tweak, and polish.

Now the bad news… Do you know that most newbie spec screenplays DO NOT LIVE UP TO THE QUERY? Uh huh… Make damn sure that your spec DELIVERS on what your query PROMISES. This is very often how GREAT IDEAS are lost and made into movies WITHOUT your screenplay.

Get on the PHONE!

I know, I know… A lot of people become writers because they THINK they can simply WRITE and that’s all they ever have to do.

Nope.

You’d be surprised at how easy it really is to get a production company to read your spec script IF you just get on the phone and talk to their gatekeeper first. The good news here is that NOT EVERYONE IS DOING THIS! I can shout out about this every day several times a day for the next twenty years and probably count on both hands how many of you will actually pick up the fucking phone… LOL.

Take advantage of the fact that most writers are not extroverts! Uh huh. Pick up the phone and make at least one call a day, Monday through Friday and talk to a gatekeeper about your spec screenplay… Just make sure that your spec lives up to your pitch. The more often you call of course, the EASIER IT GETS. Relish in the FACT that YOUR COMPETITION IS NOT DOING THIS! This is the fast track to creating a lot more networking contacts than sending query letters and emails.

To a lesser degree of success (in my opinion), you can pick up the phone when it comes to agents and managers too… I probably wouldn’t even bother with the large agencies because they are pretty hardcore when it comes to reading unsolicited screenplays and very rarely will your telephone call, query letter, or query email cause them to ask you to send in your spec… That’s just their policy. Sure, every once in a while, someone gets lucky but by and large, you’ll have much better luck with smaller boutique agencies when you call.

I can’t tell you how many gatekeepers I’ve known over the years that are now in charge of departments or have become producers in their own right… Just make sure you’ve practiced pitching your script before you call. Get it down so it sounds awesome and anyone would be an idiot to pass on reading it but at the same time, make sure your spec delivers what you’ve promised in that telephone call.

We done yet?

Nope. More odds increasing factors to come…

Unk

Increasing Your Odds of Selling a Spec Screenplay Part 1

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Increasing Your Odds of Selling a Spec ScreenplaySo the odds of selling a spec aren’t nearly as bad as a lot of you thought it might be… On the other hand, there seemed to be more than a handful of you out there who are already second-guessing whether you should be writing specs or something else.

Good. That was my goal.

So for those of you that have dug your heels in a little deeper and decided to KEEP GOING, I figured it would only be fair to discuss how to increase your odds of selling a spec.

Increase the odds?

Yup.

Is it really possible to increase the odds?

Sure it is.

First on the list shouldn’t really surprise those of you who are serious about being a screenwriter but I’m afraid we have a few stragglers of non-believers that we need to kick off the boat.

Rewrite your spec. Yeah, that’s right. You need to rewrite it. Oh, you say you’ve already rewritten it?

Rewrite it again.

And again.

And again.

Huh?

You read that right… On top of that, once you start putting that little bugger out on the market and it doesn’t pick up any interest and a year or so goes by…

REWRITE IT AGAIN.

Damn. Really? Uh huh.

Now in the midst of all this rewriting… Probably quite a few more rewrites than I’ve even mentioned here, you should consider learning more about this craft that you’ve decided to eventually become a part of.

In other words… Increase your knowledge of the craft. Learn as much about storytelling and screenwriting as you can and NEVER STOP LEARNING. The more you learn, the better your rewrites and new specs should be. The better your specs are, the better your chances are of SOMEONE actually reading it, liking it, and moving it up the food chain.

At this point, I should PROBABLY ask you a question about the spec you’re rewriting…

IS IT A MOVIE?

Ouch. That hurt didn’t it?

Well guess what? Most wannabe screenwriters out there writing specs have no idea that their spec hasn’t got a prayer in getting read let alone getting sold.

Why?

BECAUSE IT ISN’T A MOVIE.

This is where I should probably explain the fabulous world of spec screenwriting just a little more… Spec screenplays are different from screenplays written on assignment. On top of that, if you are an unknown screenwriter, then the numbers (NOT ME) say that you can’t get away with the same shit A-LIST screenwriters can get away with with their specs.

Why? Because they’ve already broken in.

You have not.

Plain and simple. They can get away with shit you can’t get away with because they have a track record.

You do not.

You can sit there ALL YOU WANT and tell me about this screenplay or that movie that did NOT follow the typical rules of writing a spec screenplay but the fact of the matter is that most of those screenplays and movies that you’re thinking of throwing in my face were written and made by people with a track record and people with a track record are already GIVEN a respectable level of trust when it comes to BREAKING THE RULES.

How do you know if your spec is a movie?

Geez… If you can’t figure this one out, maybe you shouldn’t be writing specs.

But for those of you who KNOW HOW TO WRITE but INSIST on writing what you want, let me help you try and figure it out… You’ve got to write what Hollywood is buying.

Ouch.

You don’t know what Hollywood is buying?

Why not?

All you gotta do is look what’s playing in theaters right now and what’s been playing in theaters over the past few years to get an idea of what’s selling. In addition to that, there’s plenty of places online that talk about specs that have sold recently.

But it all comes down to the dreaded HIGH CONCEPT.

And guess what? In MY estimation, it’s even WORSE than it was several years ago. In other words, we are in a situation where an outsider who’s written a spec screenplay needs to knock it out of the park with his or her screenplay, title, logline, and synopsis.

The very best situation you can be in TODAY would be that your title sells your spec without any elaboration. In other words, when you tell someone in the business what your title is, the title should already GET THEM THINKING AND FILLING IN THE BLANKS without you having to even go into the rest of your pitch.

Hard? You bet it is.

Extremely difficult but as I said… That’s the best situation you could be in. If you can’t be in that situation — and a lot of us cannot — then your logline better do what your title cannot do. That’s right… Your logline needs to be that raw piece of meat that you show to your hungry dog. Your dog sees that piece of meat and knows exactly what he or she is getting which is why they are jumping around all excited.

You’re about to give them a treat!

Selling a spec AIN’T much different.

So before I end Part 1, let’s go over what a movie is NOT if you’re a wannabe trying to sell a spec…

Your spec is not a movie if…

  • Is not high concept
  • It is a period piece
  • It is science fiction
  • It is a drama
  • It is a musical
  • It is a sequel
  • It is a remake
  • It is a reboot
  • It does not adhere (more or less) to typical Hollywood structure
  • It is animation
  • It contains too much description
  • It contains stage direction or camera moves
  • It contains too much exposition
  • It has too high of a page count
  • It has too low of a page count
  • It contains too much dialogue
  • All the dialogue sounds the same

To me, selling a spec script is a lot like playing Blackjack… Millions of people go to the casinos and play the game and can win in the short term because anything can AND DOES happen in the short term. We just have to accept that fact.

PEOPLE GET LUCKY.

But then there are those who learn the game… They learn how to count cards. They are now playing the game with a strategy and it is that strategy that SLOWLY turns the advantage over to their side.

I can’t even begin to explain to you how many WELL WRITTEN screenplays there are out there floating around that have absolutely ZERO chance in ever getting sold.

Why?

Because they are not a movie.

Are they good writing samples? Yes and NO. Yes because it shows that the writer has a grasp of screenwriting and storytelling but NO when it comes to IDEAS and CONCEPTS.

This is yet another reason why most screenplays that win screenplay competitions never sell. This is yet another reason why many of those screenwriters who won or became finalists in a screenwriting competition are still trying to sell a screenplay.

When it comes to Agents and Managers, they are interested in what they can SELL. When it comes to Producers, they are interested in what they can make at the box office. And even an agent or manager who can’t sell your spec but it got them excited enough to sign you, TRUST ME when I tell you that NOW is NOT the time to ignore what is more important…

WHAT ISN’T a movie.

Unk

The Odds of Selling a Spec Screenplay

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Game Over?It’s recently occurred to me as I field daily emails from people writing spec screenplays that many of them have absolutely no idea about the quest that lays before them. Which makes me wonder if they would stay on the quest IF they actually knew how fuckin’ ROCKY the road really is.

I am no mathematician but let’s see if I can make a little sense out of what WE all have to work with…

It’s been said and said and said some more that thousands of people register their spec screenplay with the WGAw and WGAe every year.

But how many thousands?

Well, if you surf the web long enough, you’re probably going to find pretty much the same information I’ve found… i.e., that the number seems to start at around 30,000 and rise all the way up to 50,000. Meaning that somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 screenplays are registered with the WGA West or WGA East each year.

But let’s not stop there…

Then of course you have writers that only copyright their screenplays… On top of that, there are a myriad of other registration services proliferating the Internet like MyFreeCopyright.com that should probably be taken into consideration when it comes to the math.

Let’s keep going…

Yes, there are still thousands of newbie screenwriters out there that do not register and or protect their screenplays at all… They just write the thing and it’s off to the market.

So… After having talked to several people in the business who I trust when it comes to the numbers, it seems that the actual numbers of people out there writing screenplays on speculation every year ends up being right around 100,000 give or take. But let’s not gouge the numbers to make it completely unrealistic… Let’s just use the figure of 50,000 screenplays written on spec that are marketed to all kinds of studios, production companies, agencies, and management firms.

I trust that number a lot since I happen to know and have had conversations with producers who have told me that they receive an easy 10,000 screenplays a year… I’m sure that there is crossover but 50,000 spec screenplays tossed into the fray feels like a respectable number.

Now what?

Well NOW we should probably consider how long the average spec screenplay remains in circulation… From my own experience, I can tell you that I’ve had people in the business contact me as long as 6 years after I pushed a screenplay out into the market. Again, a few of the more experienced people IN THE KNOW have actually cited a figure of 8 to 10 years but again, let’s not unnecessarily gouge the numbers… Most of us can probably agree that a spec screenplay can easily float around for an easy 5 years.

Math time…

50,000 spec screenplays written every year multiplied by 5 years in circulation = 250,000 spec screenplays.

Now what?

Well, thank God there are screenwriters out there like Scott Myers who keep track of the amount of spec screenplays sold… According to Scott’s latest count, there have been 48 spec sales so far this year. The bad news is that this number is UP 60% from last year. Probably due to the economy but let’s keep spinning that positive spin on things and assume that ON AVERAGE, right around 50 specs are snatched up every year. Could be a little less — could be a little more because I know for a fact that not every spec sold gets publicity.

A little more math…

50 spec screenplays sold every year out of 250,000 spec screenplays circulating around Hollywood and various other filmmaking venues = 1 spec screenplay sold for every 5000 spec screenplays put into circulation.

Hmmm. Does that translate into 5000 to 1 odds? Let’s put that into perspective…

  • Odds of getting a hole in one: 5,000 to 1
  • Odds of winning an Academy Award: 11,500 to 1
  • Odds of being murdered: 18,000 to 1
  • Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 20 to 1
  • Odds of fatally slipping in bath or shower: 2,232 to 1
  • Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 7,000 to 1
  • Odds of dying on a bicycle: 4472 to 1
  • Odds of dying in a car accident: 18,585 to 1
  • Odds of winning the California lottery: 13,000,000 to 1
  • Odds of being killed in any sort of non-transportation accident: 69 to 1

So it’s easier to die slipping in your bath or shower than it is selling a spec screenplay… Makes sense since most of us take a bath or shower every day but you might want to consider spending more time in your car driving around writing your spec screenplay so that you can actually finish it up before dying.

Whew… And stay the fuck off those bicycles if you want to sell a spec script.

There’s definitely some good news and some bad news here… The good news is that since my ex-wife was possessed by Satan, my odds are getting better every day.

Unk

You Want to Become a Screenwriter? Seriously?

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What is a screenplay?It’s no secret that there are a lot of us that want to write screenplays and it’s even less of a secret that a lot of us are already writing screenplays. In fact, whether you live in Los Angeles or Fargo, chances are you know someone BESIDES YOURSELF that wants to take a shot at writing a screenplay.

I used to love that. Yeah, I just fucking loved hearing people talking about writing that blockbuster screenplay of theirs. That STORY inside of them that was just ITCHING to be turned into 110 pages of hard copy screenplay.

It got me excited.

Why?

Because I want to write screenplays too! And even though I never really came across anyone I’ve ever wanted to collaborate with, I always loved having someone to talk screenwriting with…

At least that’s what I thought at the time.

I don’t think that anymore.

In fact, the older I get, the more I WINCE at the ideas for screenplays tossed my way. That’s why I’m writing this post today. Things are different today. Things are going to get even more different TOMORROW.

And because of these changes coming at us like a fucking heart attack, I just want to ask you a question.

Do you really want to become a Screenwriter? Seriously?

I’m really asking YOU to ASK YOURSELF this question and IF the ANSWER is indeed YES, then keep reading… PLEASE.

Do you really know what a screenplay is? If not, let’s consider what it is…

  • A screenplay is an entertaining story blueprint for a film conceived and designed to give whomever reads it a vicariously emotional experience.

Okay… That’s what I think a screenplay is… You may think differently. If so… then keep reading.

  • A screenplay is a sales brochure for a movie conceived and designed to capture the interest of investors, producers, directors,  and actors.

Don’t like that one either? How about this…

  • A screenplay is a written conception of a movie that excites people who read it enough to want to make it.

I could keep going but why? It all says the same thing, right? You get the idea… Cool.

Let’s get back to why you want to be a screenwriter…

I get it. You want to be rich and famous like Quentin Tarantino or Joe Ezterhas? Really? So you’re 100% WILLING to learn the craft of screenwriting and write a screenplay just so you can become rich and famous? You’re going to buckle down and learn structure and theme? You’re going to learn how to create and develop a character? Learn how to reveal backstory? Character arcs?

OR

Are you just gonna sit the fuck down and bang out that pretty little blockbuster because you saw SUCH and SUCH movie and anyone can write SHIT like that, right? Hell, you might as well toss your hat into the ring because you’ve got just as much chance as making it as anyone else, right?

OR

You already know how to write, RIGHT? Everyone loves your poems. Mom and Dad brag to your uncles and aunts how you won that online poem contest that nobody’s ever heard of so of course, you must have a few Oscar winning screenplays in you… RIGHT?

OR

You already write novels and or short stories… Cool. You’re ALREADY A REAL WRITER and screenwriting isn’t really real writing, RIGHT? You’re getting closer but do you know how many authors have tried to learn how to write screenplays and just never get it? They just can’t seem to REEL IT THE FUCK IN and so their drafts end up making really outstanding paperweights.

OR

Let me guess… You’re an artist. Or is that ARTISTE? Well if you’re a makeup artist, you have a hell of a lot better chance at succeeding in the movies. Even the term ARTIST seems to have a negative connotation in Hollywood. Call someone in Hollywood an Artist and you might as well be saying that person is hard to work with or is not capable of compromise and if we know anything about Hollywood and making films ESPECIALLY FOR THE SPEC SCREENWRITER that’s never sold a spec before it’s the fact that compromise needs to be your middle name.

OR

You’re an extremely VISUAL THINKER. Yeah, that’s right. Mom and Dad told you that from a very young age, you always thought in colors and shapes so SHIT, a screenplay should be a piece of fuckin’ cake, RIGHT?

OR

You can’t stand the movies in theaters these days and you KNOW you can write something better than that schlock, RIGHT? Or better yet, you know that you can, SINGLE-HANDED change what’s playing in the theaters for the better, RIGHT?

Okay… Maybe I went a little overboard with some of this because GOD knows I’d love to fucking change what Hollywood is doing to fuck up the movie business but since I keep breathing air, I’m also able to give myself reality checks here and there and let’s face facts… You can’t do it all by yourself.

The bottom line is this…

You better LOVE movies — even the shit that’s out there playing right now. You don’t have to love a particular movie but you need to LOVE the idea of that movie and the PROMISE of what the movie was trying to BE.

You better LOVE WRITING A SCREENPLAY.

You better LOVE how writing a screenplay is harder than writing a novel.

You better LOVE how you can’t just go off on a tangent about this character or that character.

You better LOVE how you have to write in proper screenplay format.

You better LOVE how much less FREEDOM you have writing a screenplay that just about any other fucking kind of writing there is.

Got it?

Still here?

Outstanding.

Get to work.

Unk

Guest Post From a Former Executive Vice-President of a Major Studio

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This pitch is killing me...I love this post but it made me sad.

If you would allow me, I’d like to share one insider recollection of how the studio system USED TO WORK before the economic crash. I’d also like to impart vibes because that system is being forced to change even if that is hard to see.

I do because I still live the life.

I quit my post before the financial crisis and I had been an Executive Vice-President at a major studio. My job was Studio Acquisitions & Production. To those who don’t know the industry well, clarification of title is important. If your local Safeway issued titles like studios do, you’d have an Executive Vice-President of Fresh Produce, a Vice-President of Fish, and surely a Deputy Director of Frozen Foods. In Hollywood, titles are born to feed egos or impress outsiders.

Are you impressed yet?

I’m not trying to diminish my role (I have produced 14 films) but your site is the only one I know that tells it like it is. As you said, it is insulting how many remakes are in process, and that is the last refuge for impoverished creativity. That’s not a question. That’s a fact.

I think what you have missed (I still love you) is that the majority of films are all remakes or derivatives, and are bought and produced with REMAKE in mind. Why? Because the studios, with few exceptions, are terrified by original concept. That is, if a theme or story does not have a proven track record for audience share, and it bombs, who will be blamed? And not just fired, but fired and living with the baggage that results from financial failure.

The studios, and the agencies, have become more about avoiding potential failure than risking any original concept. (Important: read that line again.)

Because of this, films are almost always pitched (and bought) on previous box office CONTEXT that is meant to make studio executives like me feel comfortable in rolling dice. I know because I chaired Tuesday Pitch Meetings for years, only I am not one of those timid souls who is afraid to embrace new ideas and new writers. I would fight for writers (and producers) but my boss was always worried that I would contract into a film that would end his career.

Important to note: I am NOT a writer but I am trying here to make my point from the heart.

I remember my last pitch meetings before I said that’s enough. My boss made certain that most of my meetings were filled with top agents and managers, and this became so tiring that I wanted to scream because I was hearing the same stuff over and over and over, week after week, month after month…

It went like this. Some famous agent (CAA ICM UTA) would be talking directly to me and pitching and I’m not hearing a word because there was nothing new and nothing original. My mind would freeze. The agent would say this film is LIKE… only I’m thinking I want away from you people… I want to see my mother again before she dies… I want to wear flats or go barefoot… this bra is killing me! I want to ride through the desert in a fast car with a dangerous boy I know. I want to make love under the stars and laugh at life and talk about a time when…

But then the famous agent would say, well okay, what do you think?

I had a wonderful assistant who would often see my expression and answer for me (in the nicest way) and then the next pitch would roll in. It varied, but mostly began with, thank you for seeing us. Today, as we proceed, we’d like you think along the lines of ALIEN MEETS THE MATRIX, and this is a very exciting story about…

The desert! I’m thinking about the desert. I’m thinking how quiet the desert can be. I’m trying not to yawn. This will be over soon. Somebody answers for me.

A new pitch comes in.

CAR WASH CRUSADER! (I can’t wait for that.) But think more BATMAN than SPIDERMAN with a touch of the old KNIGHT RIDER series, we brought DVDs for those who can’t remember. Now this about a clean kid who first appears to be like your average high school freshman, and everyone thinks he must work at the Car Wash because his parents are poor, only what we don’t know is that…

I have a daughter. I don’t like the boy she is seeing. I don’t wish to be a restrictive parent but I wonder if I should…

And a new pitch comes in.

Thank you for seeing us, have a love story for the ages! (Oh for joy.) We would only ask that you keep an open mind and consider elements of the Net and a young girl who has lost her mother or father. That girl refuses to accept this death, so her life is on hold. Still grieving and unable to sleep, she turns to her laptop. What is she doing there? What is she doing? (We heard you the first time.) She’s looking for her dead parent, driven by such intense sorrow that she becomes a constant voice attracting attention because she is so unique. The result of this pursuit becomes real love, to those who can remember, let us think SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE meets…

That’s it! I come awake. To those who can remember?

Do your homework! Two of us in this room helped produce SLEEPLESS in draft form long before it was cast! I remember feeling dizzy. I walked out and said “we have a film in trouble and I have to go” …words to that effect. But even then somebody handed me BOUND COPIES of some proposal which I dropped in the trash by the door. There was some commotion.

How rude. (Yes, I am such a witch!)

That was one of my last assigned PITCH MEETINGS before the big financial burn and studios and distributors and careers got wasted. I know I’m rambling but your post moved me and I think my point is (and I do have one) that this meltdown was all for the better. Why?

Think GODFATHER MEETS GODZILLA!

Something like this should happen about every 10 years or so, it gets rid of the bad blood.

To that end I can relate to any discouragement but there is a small creative revolution being born that has been given hope by new investors and new distribution. Like a seed it is just beginning to take root, and as a person who loves real film and real writers and original stories (we are not alone) I am encouraged. Just my thoughts for the day.

Okay, so I’m pretty sure you know who I am but I can blow your cover too!

Hugs!

P.S. Where are your older posts and how can I send those around if they’re missing?

I Can’t Fucking Wait…

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You’ve gotta love Hollywood. So creative. So inventive. So out of the box. Yeah… Makes you feel good about writing creative, inventive, out of the box spec scripts.

Right?

I mean hey… Just look at what we have to look forward to coming up on the horizon…

These are just what I could find in less than ten minutes searching the web. I’m confident that IF I kept looking, I would find scores of other remakes and reboots sitting in the virtual hopper. In fact, there’s plenty of these that I’ve just heard about through the grapevine and that list is extensive.

As a screenwriter, how does that make you feel?

As an audience member or “potential” audience member, how does that make you feel?

I only ask because I’m very much interested in your TAKE. With one hell of a lot of Indie films i.e., films NOT MADE by Hollywood studios — sitting on shelves because there is still not much out there in the way of real distribution, it’s got to make you wonder what’s happened to this industry that we obviously love so much that we try to break into it with our screenplays.

I’ve had a lot of email over the last six months asking me why I don’t post that much anymore… It’s because Hollywood has made me sad and I don’t really have that much good to say about this industry these days and I really don’t want anyone to interpret what I may post to mean that they should give up their hopes and dreams.

Because that’s not what I’m sayin’…

At all.

It’s just good to know what you’re up against. It’s good to know what the current state of the ART is so to speak. I mean hey… Let’s say you do manage to break in to the business… Do you want to write all this remake and reboot material?

If you do, more power to you. Unfortunately for me, my MIND’s NOT RIGHT for this model and I haven’t even mentioned sequels or prequels.

But I get it.

After being in this business MORE or LESS — for awhile — I get it.

Money. That’s right… MONEY. That’s what it’s ALL about these days. Sure, there are a handful of people still trying to make an original film that speaks to an audience… THANK GOD. But by and large, it’s all about the money.

Rather than take a chance on new material, it’s simply easier to update some old film and guess what? It doesn’t even have to be a classic anymore!

Hollywood has decided to say, “FUCK YOU” to us old timers who used to live at the theater from Friday to Sunday. We’re the same ones who bought hundreds of VHS tapes of our favorite films and then eventually upgraded to DVD. Hell, I even bought a few re-released films on DVD just because of the additional extras the previous DVD didn’t have.

Instead, they embrace the 14 to 27 year olds who apparently make up the majority of movie ticket buyers these days. Are you writing for that demographic?

Just asking.

What I find interesting here is that they don’t even make that much original material for this demographic… Rather, they figure, “Hey, it worked before, it will work again as long as we update it to work for the current audience.”

How true.

How terrible.

No wonder my Dish Network tuner sits on TCM most of the time but hell… Most of those movies weren’t even made for my demographic… In fact, they came way before my time but they still work for me today so I watch them when the opportunity presents itself.

Sure… I’ve done pretty much the same as a lot of people my age have done… Watch what I want to watch at home. But I gotta tell ya… I miss seeing good movies up on the big screen. I really do. There’s just something about seeing certain kinds of scenes played out on forty-five plus feet of movie screen.

But I miss going to the theater.

Just not enough to go back. I don’t miss the cell phones. I don’t miss the scene by scene narration of an audience member to someone on their cell phone. I don’t miss audience members talking all the way through a film. And from what I recall when I was at the movies last… To see INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS — the younger demographic really doesn’t give a shit about those same things that seem to just annoy the shit out of me.

Good for them.

I’ll stay home.

Hollywood can keep making films for THEM. They don’t need me to write them. I’ll keep writing what I like. What makes me still love movies. What makes me still want to go to the theater.

I wonder IF THEY KNOW that there are MILLIONS of US sitting out there that want to go to the movies again?

Sure they do.

They just don’t give a shit.

Unk

It’s All About the Concept?

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concept modeling handgun

Concept Model by Colin Ashcroft

You know… Hollywood kills me. Hollywood executives kill me even more. Apparently, they’ve forgotten what storytelling and screenwriting is all about.

Yeah I know… We already knew that.

But exactly one minute ago, the same sack of rotten potatoes was thrown at me again…

I just read the following article over at the New York Times — Enough With the Elevator Pitch. What’s the Concept? Maybe you can read it over and tell me that I’m wrong.

But I doubt it.

The article is about “Concept Modeling” as discussed with Winston J. Perez of ConceptModeling.com and I will be the very first to say that I take my fucking hat off to Mr. Perez… He’s found a niche, he’s supplying the resolution, and he’s getting paid. You gotta love FREE ENTERPRISE.

I just took at look at the “Is Bond Still Bond” case study which attempts to point out what happened to Quantum of Solace. Before I go any further, let’s point out that according to Box Office Mojo, Quantum of Solace did $586,090,727.00 in worldwide box office receipts… Anyway, according to the case study, the site points out the following:

“So what does it mean for a film to be off concept?”

“It means an underlying concept is missing that makes his character work.”

Okay… So far so good. The site goes on to point out that the REASON the James Bond character didn’t fly in Quantum of Solace is because Bond Movies must have gadgets:

To be ON concept, Bond movies must have gadgets. Unlike every other 007 movie, there were no gadgets in the Quantum of Solace. It is one reason his character didn’t fly.

I should point out that this is a direct quote from the case study web page… Now I am sure there was a hell of a lot more to the Quantum of Solace case study that isn’t on the web site that Mr. Perez came up with but I’m going to assume that Bond’s lack of gadgets in QOS was the most important reason his character didn’t fly… At least according to the case study.

Unfortunately, I haven’t even seen QOS but I’m going to have to default back to the fucking box office receipts… $586,090,727.00 in worldwide box office. Based on the $200 million production budget, I’d have to say that QOS was a box office success. I’m also sure that much of the box office was laid down by 007 fans who definitely would have liked to have seen more gadgets but let’s face facts… Bond’s lack of gadgets didn’t hurt the film.

Let’s take this a little further and compare QOS to Casino Royale back in 2006 — pre-economic meltdown.

According to Box Office Mojo, Casino Royale did $594,239,066.00 in worldwide box office. That’s $8,148,339.00 less than QOS. It also cost less to make with a production budget of $150 million vs. $200 million but that production cost is the fault of the studio and I know these are not exact numbers because if you know anything about studios, you know they fudge the numbers big time but let’s go with what we have access to… Based on box office alone, Casino Royale made $58,148,339.00 MORE than QOS but I still have to say that based on what I am reading, QOS was still a box office success.

What I find interesting about this entire “concept modeling” perspective however, is that this wouldn’t even be a problem if Hollywood didn’t have so many screenwriters putting their mark on on the script. When you look at that aspect of the business, it completely makes sense that the studios call in Mr. Perez but let’s be honest… They could just as easily call in a screenwriter who knows his or her collective SHIT to do exactly the same thing.

Herein lies the motherfucking RUB.

Studios don’t like screenwriters PLAIN and FUCKING SIMPLE. If they did, they’d have one or two screenwriters write the fucking script and then MAYBE have a couple of other experts with a track record take a look at it just to make sure their investment is covered… Instead, they call in a CONCEPT MODELING EXPERT!

Of course I understand the the QOS case study was a simple exercise and that Mr. Perez was not called in to consult but according to the article, he was called in to consult on the following films…

  • Catch Me If You Can
  • I Robot
  • National Treasure
  • National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Wow. I like this… I like this a lot. Instead of becoming a screenwriting consultant, one can become a concept modeling consultant. Something tells me that a concept modeling consultant might even make more money.

And don’t get me wrong… I find no fault with Mr. Perez… He found a niche requiring expertise from the studios — even though THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EXPERTS — and he FILLED it.

Congrats.

I guess screenwriters don’t know what the fuck concept or theme is… I guess they can’t tell if it’s missing from a screenplay or not.

But what if we can?

Unk

Screenwriting Structure is all Around Me

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Comedy and TragedySo I got to my local coffee shop today as usual but for some reason, the place was packed. Standing room only except for the outside tables and chairs.

Got my Americano and Pepsi and headed outdoors and to be honest… I really don’t do that ENOUGH and after today, I really need to do it more often.

Why?

Screenwriting structure was all around me… I’m sitting there sipping my coffee and a guy in a white pickup truck motors past looking at the gigantic vacant lot next to the coffee shop. He slowly rolls down his window and shakes his head — pulls the truck over to the shoulder.

He exits the truck and ventures onto the lot and starts picking up trash… At first I thought he was going after aluminum cans because I see that a lot these days but nope… Trash.

So far we have the introduction of the Protagonist, his Ordinary World, and the Inciting Incident…

So this guy keeps picking up trash but at some point, he’s carrying so much trash that he can no longer pick up anymore trash. He must make a decision and you can clearly see him weighing his call to action dilemma. I was even wondering myself what he would do. I thought why not amble on over the to truck — drop the trash into the bed — continue picking up trash.

Nope.

Instead, he decides to drop all the trash on the ground — runs about three-hundred feet away to a flying “paper or plastic” plastic bag — snatches it in mid-air — runs back to the trash on the ground that has now started to blow all over the place and piece by piece, manages to pick each of the items back up — stuffing them into his bag.

His surge into the New World… LOL.

Not the way I would have done it… Now he’s randomly running around this vacant lot, searching and finding even more trash. After about five or six minutes, unbeknownst to our Protagonist, his plastic bag splits and the trash inside begins to tumble out — falling back to the ground as he searches for even more garbage to pick up.

I’m thinkin’ this guy’s fatal flaw is that he doesn’t really pay too much attention to detail since he’s not seen that his plastic bag is almost empty but with a thrust of a piece of cardboard, cardboard and hand emerge through the bottom of the plastic bag, revealing to our Protagonist that the bag is not only destroyed but empty as well.

He spins around to see all kinds of trash littered around the vacant lot… Some of it blowing around — some of it caught on shrubbery, blowing in the wind.

Our Mid Point. The Central Question is now clear… Will our Protagonist achieve his goal of cleaning up the vacant lot? Has he learned anything? What will he do next?

I switched to my Pepsi in anticipation of how he would now combat these seemingly insurmountable obstacles that lay before him and I’ll be damn if he didn’t stand there for just under a minute — lift the brim of his ball cap up, pushing the cap back on his head, rest both hands on his hips while he pondered what to do next.

Hope versus Fear = Tension = Uncertainty! Will he wake up and smell the coffee now?

Huh?

I can clearly see the following as plain as day on his face…

  • Doubt
  • Lack of Confidence
  • Inadequacy
  • Lack of Faith

Aha! He runs to his truck, pulls what appears to be canvas duffle bag with a zipper on top through the window. He drops the bag onto the hood of his truck, unzips it — snatches out what appears to be clothes and even a pair of sneakers and tosses them into the cab.

No more doubt… No more lack of confidence. No more inadequacy. No more lack of faith.

He crosses to the farthest section of the lot and in a very organized fashion seems to break the lot down into long columns — walking down each column, picking up trash and stuffing it into the bag.

A couple of times, he starts to chase after a piece of trash that gets away from him but STOPS — knowing that if he continues surveying his columns, he will eventually get to all the trash… And sure enough, he does exactly that.

A smile on his face now, he struts back to his truck, dumps the trash from the bag into the bed — tosses the bag back into the cab — spins around and heads toward the coffee shop and enters.

He emerges two minutes later with a cup’a Joe to go and as he makes his way back toward his truck, a gust of wind blows at least a quarter of that trash in the bed of his truck up into the air.

Walking away from me now, I can see him observe the flying trash…

Will he go ahead and pick it up once more?

Nope. He didn’t even seem to think twice about it. Apparently, he’d had enough and got into his truck — sped away.

I guess this was a tragedy.

Unk

Current State of Screenwriting

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So you’re still writing?

Me too but it’s a lot harder out there these days… I personally lean more toward independent film and in case you aren’t aware, Independent film has all but disappeared unless some studio decides to take an interest in an indie production.

For just about two years now I’ve been ranting about distribution… Many people IN THE BIZ didn’t believe me way back when I was really ranting about it but look where we are now… Most of the mid-size distributors that were available prior to the economy meltdown are gone. True, we have some UP and COMERS trying to fill those slots but so far, I haven’t seen any of these startups being able to perform a theatrical wide release.

On top of that, we’ve got all these other models of distribution everyone is trying out… Eventful immediately comes to mind and apparently, it worked very well for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY but so far, that’s about it success-wise. And of course, everyone is playing their cards close to their chest and watching the hell out of everyone else to see what they do and more importantly, see if what they do WORKS.

But back to screenwriting…

If you don’t think that the current state of the economy isn’t influencing the current state of screenwriting, think again. Everyone seems to be LOOKING for the proverbial needle in the haystack that is going to knock the current ticket-buying demographic out of their socks and that current ticket-buying demographic sure as hell ain’t people in my age group.

I know I know… I’ve read it all before… Don’t write what the market is looking for because who knows what the market will want by the time you’re ready to kick your script out into the market.

Just write a kick-ass screenplay.

Hmmm. So how’s that workin’ for ya?

It’s true… I think a kick-ass screenplay is definitely going to get you noticed but at the same time, based on everything I’ve experienced over the last two years, I don’t think a kick-ass screenplay is going to sell unless it FITS in with the current movie ticket-buying demographic. Don’t believe it? Just check out 2010′s Box Office and see what movies did well and see if you can find any patterns.

If you get absolutely NOTHING from the MPAA’s stats above, get this:

Young people aged 12-24 represent the highest proportions of moviegoers and tickets relative to their population. They also attend the movies eight or more times a year, more than double the national average. In total, people aged 24 and under bought about 47% of tickets.

Sure, the stats go on to say that more women buy tickets than men but Hollywood hasn’t quite embraced that fact… Bottom line? 12 to 24 year olds is WHO Hollywood is making movies for with the occasional end of the year movie that the older generation might leave the house to see during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.

This is another reason why 4 Quadrant movies have become so popular… They are SUPPOSED to appeal to the largest demographic of movie goers there is i.e., it’s just another example of the studios decreasing their overall risk.

All I’m saying TODAY is that if you haven’t been writing for this demographic, expect success to take a little longer than normal ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL.

I won’t sit here and tell you to start writing to this demographic… That’s for you to decide.

Unk

Back in the Saddle

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So every few days, I get an email from somebody asking me what happened to the site which, in and of itself is quite interesting because since there was no site until just a day ago, that means, these people had to have gotten my email address from somewhere. Sure, I recognized a few names from prior correspondence but there has also been quite a few I haven’t recognized.

So what happened to the old site?

Something pretty stupid actually…

The domain expired.

Huh?

Oh yeah… But it gets better… UnknownScreenwriter.com was one of about 6 domains I had registered on the very same day back in October 2005. All these domains were on AUTOMATIC RENEWAL from my PayPal account. So far so good.

So come October 2010, I wasn’t worried about the domain since I knew it was on automatic renewal… And, even if it had NOT been on automatic renewal, here’s the deal… Your registrar is supposed to give you a 30 day grace period to allow you to renew… Maybe with a late fee but you are supposed to get a grace period.

I just happened NOT to be home on the date of expiration… But when I got home, the emails already started coming in asking about the site. I did some checking to see that the domain was now “parked” — so I logged into my registration account and saw that ALL the domains had in fact been renewed EXCEPT for UnknownScreenwriter.com.

Hmmm.

So further checking revealed that the domain had been swooped up by a domain broker. Huh? These are guys that buy and sell domains on speculation. What I did not know was how he managed to snag my domain instead of it getting renewed. All the other domains in that same account were renewed so why not UnknownScreenwriter.com?

I emailed the registrar to no avail… I’ve been using them for YEARS and have always gotten a timely response until now.

I also opened up correspondence between the domain broker and myself… They want $2900.00 for the domain and while I can easily pay to get it back…

Fuck’em.

Now don’t get me wrong… I accept much of the blame here and I even offered to give them a nice tidy profit for the domain to pay for all their trouble [sic] but they are sticking to their $2900.00 price.

Fuck’em.

So here I am… Back in the saddle with a new domain. Should be fun. I’ll try to make it fun anyway.

Unk