I noticed a lot of people making the same fatal mistake I was making when it comes to screenplay writing. And that is how to get your screenplay in the hands of industry professionals. I'll admit that I am "green" in this industry, but am learning like a sponge how this industry works. It's not much different than other businesses. For starters, like any business, there is always going to be established people in the business who feel threatened by new coming people. And they will try and stomp you out before you get a chance to take their place. Don't worry, if its meant to be, it will be. Que Sera, Sera! Secondly, remember the old saying, "Work smarter, not harder". Have you ever thought about the back door option to getting into the industry, so you don't ever have to worry about established people attempting to stomp you out before you even get a chance to get in? Professional script analysis services! These are people who you hire to review your script and offer one of two options, "pass" or "recommend" When a script analyst reviews your script, and they give you a "pass" that means that your screenplay still needs some work and they are going to pass on recommending your screenplay to a pool of Producers, Directors, and other industry professionals they are in contact with.. The good analysts are very talented at softening the blow of a pass rating, with detailed comments on how to make your script better. And if you get a "recommend" rating, that means they are going to recommend your screenplay to their pool of Producers, Directors, and other industry professionals they are in contact with. The experienced analysts are the ones who ask for your permission first! Why do they want your permission? Maybe you want to register it with the Writer's Guild, or the Copyright Office to protect it better. Believe me, there are thieves in this business who are looking for screenplays that aren't protected. So protect your screenplay first. Do your homework on analysts! Just like any other scams or cons, there are scam artists and con artists in this industry as well. Some of the cons you can see are the people who will take your money and never give you a report. That's an obvious one. But the more subtle con artists are the ones who "dangle the carrot in front of the mule". Simply put, they bump your screenplay analysis report by one notch every time you submit, giving you a "pass" rating until eventually they ran out of options in bumping your screenplay up. They can make a lot of money on any "green" writer who doesn't know any better. You think you're getting better and better each time you submit, but in reality, they are only skimming through your script picking out key points in your screenplay and making comments that seem convincing. How to do your homework on analysts! First, like any professional you hire, ask for references. Would you hire a contractor to build your house, give him thousands of your hard earned dollars without asking for references? Neither would I! You don't have to worry about the price of a good analyst. They are competitive and stay in the price range of $90 for a full report of your screenplay. Anyone else charging more, be weary! Anyone charging significantly less, run away! Another important aspect to doing your homework on analysts is ask for the contacts of the Producers, Directors, and other industry professionals. You won't get their immediate contact, but you will get a representing agent or manager who takes their calls. And you can ask that agent or manager if they would recommend the analyst. Now if the analyst refuses to give you the names of the producers, directors, and other industry professionals, run away fast! These are the scam artists. They will try and make every convincing excuse not to give you these contacts, because either a) they don';t have any, b) they're producers, directors, and other industry "professionals" aren't good enough to have agents and/or managers to take their calls, or c) they were caught with the pants down. These scam artists will try every trick in the book to get you to trust them. Don't fall for it, they're only scamming you more. A rule of thumb I use when I call their scam, is that the scammers will 99% of the time use "justified responses". The longer the justified response, the more they're trying to scam you. I got an email back from one analyst, when I called their bluff, that was 3 pages of email justifying why they couldn't give up their producers, directors, and other "professionals" contacts because they were justifying how I wouldn't want my personal information given out. Blah blah blah blah. If they had "real" connection, their connections would've had agents and/or managers to take their calls and give me a good or bad recommendation on the analyst. So anyway, I hope this is helpful and wish all of you fellow screenwriters the best of luck. Sorry for the novel version of this advice. Sometimes I get carried away. :)
Screenwriting : Advice On Getting Your Screenplay Bought or Funded by Ryan C. Bogdewic
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Excellent advice.
Thank you Ryan for your tips. It is a shame how much you have to look behind your every move with this but like you said Que Sera Sera. Show me the back door.....lol
Thanks so much for this info.
You're very welcome. I'm glad this helped. :)
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That's some great advice. Thank you.
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Thanks Ryan - you knew my question before I asked it !!!!!
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I had the same idea, but upon further investigation, I discovered that only about 1% of the scripts that are covered gets a 'recommend'. And don't forget that what one person fancies another won't. You could get 2 script coverages from 2 different companies (or even 2 people in the same company) and get widely varied responses. My thought is to go ahead and get a script coverage for your own sake. They do provide valuable information about your script - as far as structure, tone, voice, subtext, ond, etc that will help you polish it up. My advice is to get the screenplay the best it can be and do your research on the people who make the type of movie you want to make and target them. Good luck with your project!
Hey guys, thought I would add my two cents. That's what advice is worth these days since things change so fast. From my experience the best way to get your script in the hands of a studio exec is to have an agent. An entertainment lawyer can accomplish this task also. If you don't have an agent, there are ways to get your material to a producer but it is much more tricky. I have been involved with www.sherwoodoakscollege.com for several years, and through them, I have been in almost every studio in town and spoken with more producers than I would have ever dreamed of without an agent. If you do not have contacts in the industry, and you do not know where to go with your screenplay, I would advise you to check them out. They can help you get an agent. They can get you in doors you would never get in alone. I'm not promoting them, just giving them a reference. It's tried and true. Check them out. It's worth 5 minutes. I promise. Here's something you may all find very useful for upcoming WGA and non-WGA writing gigs, as well as a free teleconference on January 19, 2013. http://www.networkisa.org/#/gary-shusett-teleconference/4572337812
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Ok, have to pipe in here. I've been a reader/story analyst for nearly 20 years. I prefer using a three tier 'judgement' - Pass, Recommend and Consider. Yes, Stacey, few scripts are perfect enough to earn a 'recommend', but I think it's higher than 1%. I use 'consider' for those scripts that need a little work or a lot of work but have a wonderful core/soul/heart. Then there's 'consider with reservations' for those which need a lot of work and may not be suitable for the producer/company I'm reading for. I would NEVER submit a script a writer gave me to anyone without their permission. My price for coverage is 75 and for notes runs from 125-150 for those interested. The problem with most analysts/readers is ego. I think the best readers are those who are not writers but those who are in 'development'. Unfortunately, too many companies these days don't want to pay for coverage and use interns who obviously don't have the experience to do a worthwhile job.
Well, all I can say is looking at the horrid films coming out of L.A. most of the time, readers and analysts are approving a lot of crap.
Don't blame us readers. Movies like 'Grownups', all of the Medea movies, the Twilight movies etc would never pass my desk with anything but a huge pass but some producers aren't worried about quality - they're just chasing the mighty buck. I read and recommended 'Life of Pi' and that got made - so Hollywood is making some good movies
Well, thanks for Pi.
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Beautifully said. And truth be told, and I don't care if I get scolded for this, I think having the relative connection, or scoring some coke for a producer, or providing some "personal" service can skip a lot of other stuff. Why? Because the other stuff of layer after layer of fairly know nothing pseudo-creative types, was only created to cover the executives' butts. That's all CYA stuff. Used to be a producer got a script, believed in it and fought for it and made it. For half a century it's all CYA. So buying some good blow or giving some can be just as useful in getting a property in someone's hands. Let's not forget how Spielberg really got stared - or how Alien was read - or how a guy like Gene Roddenberry broke into TV. None of it was through conventional means. Hollywood is anything BUT conventional. Studios make what, a couple of hundred films a year? That many are submitted in a day. Deals are made and lost on people's golf scores, headaches, law suits, etc. It was Louis B. Mayer, I think, who said, "Behind the tinsel in Hollywood is more tinsel." So when I look at making flicks I don't think of Hollywood. I think of smaller routes where a living can be made doing what I love to do. Just wait until you have the unions tell you what you can and can't make with your God given talents. Ahem, maybe I'll take up drinking. Wait - I'm a writer. Redundant statement.
I saw a guy once trying to get people to hire him to ghostwrite their comic book scripts. He was going to charge several hundred dollars but promising them he could make a difference. I wrote him a private message and asked him what the writer who had paid him for whatever script was going to do, when even if they did manage to bring down any sort of success with whatever he wrote for them when their publisher asked for more work. They were either going to have to learn how to write on his level anyway OR go back to him, and possibly be forced to continually coming back possibly paying even more. Then I took a five page sample of his finished comic book work and edited the dialogue and captions. Page had so much red it looked like someone had committed bloody murder all over it. Three months later my submission editor sent me an email with samples of the guy's work. Including the very same five pages I edited for him. For the record I did NOT hire him.
VERY INFORMATIVE Ryan! Thanks so much for the insight! It is always good to know how to protect yourself from being scammed! I appreciate your information!
Great advice, thank you!
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I think Stacy may have nailed it. Those who can "recommend"...on what basis? And to whom? What recommendations got sold and, more importantly, which scripts they felt weren't ready - got sold? Will they give you names and access to their past/current clients? Would they recommend a Terrence Malik script? A Fellini screenplay. (did he have any???). Bergman? Or are they looking specifically for a tight, 'Save-the-Cat', High-Concept, Syd Field traditional narrative? Just sayin'...
Like I said, it's all CYA for buyers. They can blame analysts, readers and consultants if the thing s a flop. No guts.
in regards to Joe's statement, when I cover a script, first and foremost I look for a story. if the story is interesting and well told, I'll give it a consider or recommend depending on how well it's told. good readers keep their personal feelings out of their work and a good piece of writing will get the same response from numerous seasoned/experienced readers. Personally, I don't care for romantic comedies but if I find one that stands above the norm, I'm going to give it a recommend/consider. As for as what gets sold/produced, that's beyond our control. Those financing movies aren't always concerned with quality with commerciality - will it make them money. It's the classic struggle between profit and art. As for blaming the readers/analyst if it's a flop - I don't think many will do this because once it's out of our hands, it's the producers or studios who 'fiddle' with the script, trying to improve it but end up ruining it. Personally, I can think of dozens of movies that I read and recommended, but when I saw the finished project, very little was recognizable to the script I originally read.
In the end all you can do is write your story and make it the best that you can. There's a long line of people starting with you when a story goes from initial idea, to fully written screenplay, to final feature film and truth is ANYONE on that list can drop the ball to one degree or other. But if the ball does get dropped, which happens sometimes, as a writer the best impulse I think is not to exclude yourself. We are all human, and when things don't turn out exactly the way we want them then a little self evaluation isn't going to hurt. Especially if you are feeling a desire to be critical of anyone else in that particular crowd.
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@Ward - thank you so very much for the link to www.sherwoodoakscollege.com! I was on a (free) teleconference call today with Gary Shusett and got the chance to pitch my screenplay. He, along with I.S.A.'s Laurie Lamson, gave me invaluable advice for re-wording and arranging it to make the best impact. I am going to sit in on tomorrow's call about how to attach an actor to your screenplay. Thank you again for this wonderful (free) resource!
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You know, I agree with the above statement. If I'm paid. The problem is, writers are turned every which way but loose based on what people tell them to do to sell something. So they do all this work for free, pretty much. And generally, the writer is worked to death on the hopes that they'll sell something. Not so with the actors or crew. I've never heard on a film project, "Well, if you give me a good performance then I'll pay you." Or, "Tell you what - you shoot this movie for me and if I like it I'll pay your directing fee." This is why the WGA insisted on guidelines as to when to pay a writer for if a pitch is favorable and someone wants it developed. It's because all this work is done for nothing most of the time. Get ripped off? Fight us, they say. I got tired of the masochism and made my own stuff because of it. Story analysts and readers - excuse me, but they're not the ones doing the work, are they. And they can't guarantee anything, can they. So people that want to make the "big time" have a choice to make tossing their scripts into the ring. When I was in L.A. I got to the point with my agent I asked, "If I make these changes you want, can you guarantee me a much greater chance in selling it?" Of course not. As I alluded to earlier on in another post, I think a writer is better off knowing someone's limo driver.
Why did Ryan break contact with you Comforter?
Regarding Dan's statement regarding attachments, the production companies that I have worked for would want to see 'letters of intent' by those attached. We never took the producer's/writer's word unless we see it on paper. also regarding Dan's statement, as a script reader/story analyst, I never promise or even hint that I can help fund their project or get it into the hands of producers. However, if I think the project is really strong and worthwhile and the kind of project the producers I freelance for are looking for, then yes, I will pass it on
I know I am jumping into this conversation kind of late in the game, but thought I would offer my two cents. I have used professional coverage services and I think they provide some definite benefits, but I would never expect to get my "big break" this way. The purpose of these services is to give ONE person's opinion (albiet, hopefully an informed and educated opinion) about your screenplay and offer suggestions for improving it. I believe that my latest screenplay has greatly improved because of suggestions from readers I have chosen to implement. I have been very satisfied with what I have recieved for my money. But then, I went into it with realistic expectations of what I was going to get out of it: constructive, objective feedback, not an offer to buy my screenplay.
I agree with Melanie. Coverage services are designed to help writers improve their craft. Claims that they will forward an 'approved' script to producers, directors etc are usually bogus.Why would they when they're often only in the business for the poor screenwriter's money?
To all who thanked me, I extend my gratitude. For the others who are touching base on subjects that I'm not educated enough to respond to, I say that I will look into these and try as best I can to address your concerns, if you want me to. I am learning too and working hard at educating myself in this industry. So if my posts are not in your league, I apologize; I'm on a different learning curve then you are. :)
Melanie is dead on! Coverage services should be that, coverage of your scripts - their value, format, story, etc. I have used a script consultant in the past, and the through valued concise notes and advice, the screenplay improved! You've got to have a thick skin if you expect to survive in this business. And listening to those in the "biz" in a forum like this who have a proven track record, is an excellent place to start!
@Ryan It is the entertainment business my friend. Some of us may be more knowledgeable than you today, we might even have already managed to pull down more success than you today in the here and now, but ALWAYS treat everyone else with as much respect as you can and they deserve cause NONE of us knows what tomorrows brings.
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@DAN. Thank you sir. I do my best at treating others the way they deserve to be treated. I may not be perfect, but I am working everyday at improving what I can in that day. The past is dead, the future is not written, so embrace the now for it is a gift; which is why it is called "the present". Sometimes people are put into our lives for a split second to show us something, while others are lifetime friendships. No matter who it is, it is my effort to treat each and every single person with the respect they deserve. :)
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Thanks for the novel version! I wouldn't have it any other way! I totally agree with everything you said! It applies to all business dealings! You get references and if the person doesn't want to give them out then throw up the peace sign and walk away!
Yes dear Ryan, That's a reason I established my own even nonprofit production company. This industry is unreliable.When I sent my screenplay for copyright sooner I see a commersial TV advert base on some dialogues, images or points in my writing. It is worse than any other industry.
I learned what I could do in the trenches. For every success there were plenty of failures. For every solid alliance and loyal friendship there were plenty of treacherous betrayal. I can still say I've made effort to keep as much of my "deluded" heroic mentality as I possibly can, but if respect is not given and treachery is proven, then that is the moment I believe the best strategy is to follow the other's lead in all interaction directly or indirectly from that point on. Or perhaps more aptly put by a man who held the highest attainable office in the land firmly in his grasp for just as long as he possibly could. http://youtu.be/eKgPY1adc0A
I found this thread very interesting but in a way confusing. Since I will not be anyone's chauffeur, pusher or bed warmer, and assuming I have the story to tell, with the actors committed, where do I direct my work, trailer and the associated actors, to get the project from my development to pre-production? In this thread I am hearing "Readers with contacts" and "Agent or Lawyer, readers are ineffective." Which is the definitive vehicle?
I haven't been down that road with one of my projects yet Michael. I was able to get a commitment from a production company who was willing to sign contracts and go into pre-production committing to make my film IF I provided the cameras, agreed to give the production company a percentage of any profits and paid them the other 1/2 upon completion. Some minor positions would have been filled by volunteers. Roughly came to around $50,000 when everything was budgeted out initially. It was a low budget Horror/Thriller. Everything else would have been provided. Although at that point there were no actors or a producer attached. With me being unfamiliar with how to go about raising the necessary funds it was not something I could easily do. The Director did try to get a producer interested from what he said, but nothing every developed. In hindsight perhaps if I had taken classes on producing when I was in film school I would already have a film under belt. That's as close as I have come to taking a film project of mine to actual pre-production. I have played the game and listened to what people have told me. Done work for free for those who claimed they had the right "contacts" and could assist in carrying a project of mine from my development to pre-production. Some readers and some who were somehow connected to the people they said could do such a thing. All the while trying to cultivate my own connections which might supposedly work the way some people say being "connected" can. But in the end Michael I would have to guess that lawyers would be for legal fine tuning of the contracts once a commitment was made. I knew a guy who had been a fairly famous rugby player and model, but suffered a major heart attack nearly dying and is still in bad health. He wrote a book on his life and self published it. Two screenwriters promised him the big Hollywood production of his book if only he signed the contract and let them write the screenplay, claiming they had the right connections. Yet even though they claimed to be brilliant writers and have all the connections, they still wanted him to sign a binding contract and pay them $17,000 within 90 days or he forfeited his life story 100% to them and they were not obligated to pay him a dime. He was in my writer's group on Facebook and told me this in conversation. So I asked him if I could look over the contract, and sadly the deal they were trying to bind him to was even more atrocious if someone had picked it up and moved it into pre-production than what I have described here. So I told him if they did not have someone already ready to take his project without a script there would be no guarantees and at best all he would be signing everything over to them for was chance to accomplish his dream of having a movie made of his life. Yes true lawyers might have the right contacts, but it would be the agents whose actual profession is to get a commitment for my project to move into pre-production. Which is why I have over the last six months started sending out query letters to agents to try to get one interested in one of my projects. It is a slow process, but I do have one project for which several months earlier this process began in earnest because I armed my co-writer with the things he needed to start trying to work that angle, and right now we are in negotiations with one of the agents who answered the query letter and was interested enough to take a look at our script.
@John To tell you the truth with that low budget Horror/Thriller one day the perfect opportunity arose. If I had any sort of legitimate credit, representation, or a producer to back me up I am fairly confident I've gotten a commitment or the funds necessary to produce an actual fairly quality film believe it or not. Remember me talking earlier about learning writing by living and breathing in the trenches. Well, by shear luck I had taken on a non-paying (of course) gig of interviewing celebrities for a website. Fairly easy job for me to pull down once they saw my resume and some of my "Talent Feature" personal blog posts. Luck would have it the very first female celebrity interview was a model who is something of an internet sensation. Of course before the interview I research the person I am interviewing, but in this case it was like she walked right out of that Horror/Thriller screenplay. I could take my character points for the female lead role and she as a real person fit a majority of them, even including originally being from around Texas. I did do a very light mentioning of the script, but she was not going to take a serious look at it unless it was a serious offer and she knew it. And I knew that, so I didn't force it, perhaps one day I'll get to the point where there is a serious offer on the table and I'll say "Good story, plus a model looking to move into other creative endeavors who is perfect for the role, who is clearly a fan of those type of stories." She reads it knowing it is a serious offer, she might do it. She attaches herself to that script, yeah I could raise the pre-production 1/2 I need. Good trailer footage featuring her in the scenes I wrote? Second half be easier than the first. http://youtu.be/CjMYtGekEC0
Plugging... Looking for the right sockets.
Professional script analysis services? Save your money. If you want a script analyzed, join a writers group either on line or in person. It may take you a few tries to find the right 'readers' but when you do, it's the best way to get critiqued. It's fee, no one has taken your money and given you promises they can't keep. You say to work smarter, not harder. Sorry, but there is no magic path to get your script sold. In fact, that path is likely a smartly written script that you will have worked very hard on and worked even harder to sell. If you want to pay someone to give your screenplay a going over, great. As long as you do your homework and get a good edit for your money. But don't expect that once they've given you a green light, that the gates will fly open and there will be a bidding war for your script. Whether you've gone through a script analysis service or not, there still remains the same blocks - thousands of other writers, with thousands of other scripts, all knocking on the gate. Keep writing, keep trying. Keep working at it. No matter what, keep going! And, I'd be happy to give your script a look. I have no contacts. I, too, am on the outside looking in, but another set of eyes never hurts.
obviously, I disagree with Ian. Professional script readers/story analysts like myself will give writers an insight into their work that is valuable and helpful - analysis that is not available from 'fellow writers' either online or in person. The best readers will make no promises about getting your script sold or into the hands of producers/agents. That's not my job. If an actor was to hire a dialogue/acting coach, would they expect them to get a job? No, the same goes for readers/analysts. All I can do is help you with your craft - what you do with it is up to you.
Well then maybe my case is unique and different. I first contacted a retired Producer, who has now created a local organization to help my area's local talent (actors/writers) and he told me that he doesn't have time to read scripts. He suggested me to go to his script analyst person, who is associated with his organization, and told me that when I get a "recommend" status, then he would look at my script. But since then, I have recently (very recently) been approached by my father who told me that a big named Producer in L.A. knows my grandfather from the old days. My grandfather was this Producer's little league coach and boy scout leader in my local area. Since then, this Producer moved out to L.A. to start a film career, and my grandfather said I could use his name as a reference. Long story made short, this Producer has set me up with his personal assistant to schedule an interview with him. Having my fingers crossed and praying like crazy. lol :)
@Leonard I think you agreed with me Leonard. Or did you not read this part of my post? "If you want to pay someone to give your screenplay a going over, great. As long as you do your homework and get a good edit for your money." I'm all for someone who has sold scripts, someone with a track record, who has the credentials that proves they'll help me with my craft. I think it's up to the individual writer whether they want to spend money on that or to write and write and read script after script and research the craft and talk with other writer's who have had success to help with their craft. Individual choice. And, like you said, " All I can do is help you with your craft - what you do with it is up to you." I couldn't agree more. Cheers, Ian
@Ian, your opening statement "Professional script analysis services? Save your money" is what I was responding to. Even though, later in your post you begrudgingly (my interpretation) speak about the value of professional readers. And I will repeat my belief that the best 'readers' are those who do not consider themselves writers. So to look for a reader who has sold scripts is unfair to the craft of story analysis. Some may say those who can't, teach, but I'll counter that with 'I'm not a teacher, I can't teach someone how to write, but I can give notes on your script to make it better'. Why am I good at this? who knows how my brain works. maybe it's because my background is directing for the stage.
It was not begrudging at all. If someone wants to pay a pro to go over their work and help improve it, all the power to them. But, if they expect to have doors opened because of that... it's unreasonable expectation. We're arguing the same point. I've been a writer for 25 years. I've won awards for my writing (freelance journalism), I've won a screenwriting competition, I place in the quarters in the Nicholl, I've worked in advertising and PR. I've had a novel published. If I use your model, then I have as much to offer a screenwriter as you do. Only I do it for free with a writing group. Best of luck to everyone. Keep writing. No matter what, keep writing. Cheers, Ian
@Dan. Thanks bro. My grandfather is going to have to sit in on this conversation and interview, as I do not know this Producer at all. My grandfather knows him very well, so I'm going to let him do all the talking, and I'll just fill in the gaps.
Also, while this all goes down, I put up a fundraising campaign on indiegogo. Check it out here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/319945/x/552487
@Jacqueline Look at the difference between the 2 nuances though and how they change the story completely. One suggests that a man cannot get a hold of his tormented past (he wants out desperately to the point of selling his soul), while the other sounds like he is accepting of his tormented past (learned to deal with it and isn't desperate enough to sell his soul).
By the tail. By the head. By any one of the four paws... i think the question is how do I swing a cat without getting scratched either while doing it or when I stop, and when I do stop how do I get praised for my swinging rather that indicted for the action?
Maybe someone have said this before, but Ryan, if you really want to sell your script or get it funded, the best way to go about it is to make a good short, then approach investor and make a low budget feature. How would I know. Because I took 2 hours to right a 15 minutes short, shoot it in two days and a half on a Cannon T2i but looks as if I rented the RED (I know it sounds crazy) but after showing it to only three investors, I already have my funding to be cashed in a couple of weeks. Good Luck my man