Screenwriting

Given your status and the nature of your projects- I would suggest aiming for their television writers program https://sites.disney.com/ctdi/writingprogram/

but may I also suggest trying your hand at something original that does not require Disney. They are not in a good place creatively right now and will be VERY particular in selecting what to produce until they get back on track.

Well, maybe something to raise awareness to the community. There are troubles in California, and worst child marriages. That needs to be stopped.

Plus, I want to develop a new independent film studio like Disneynature, called Disney Blockbuster specializing in action films and shows that display the moral message of social issues and proceeds going to help victims of violent crimes and other victims including child trafficking. I fear in the child marriages child trafficking is involved.

Better off starting from scratch with your own characters under your own creative control. I would never recommend working for or selling content to Disney. If your ideas and character development are solid and you gain audience traction, you will be glad you stayed away from their death touch. Consider the audience steamrolling by Disney: ineffective marketing, unrelatable characters, and financial losses. Disney's painful missed opportunities and inability to derive profit from their amalgamation of franchises is second only to Eddie Murphy's legendary line (WHOOSH) (sideglance) "Did that hit my..." https://youtu.be/g4QEptY3-KM?si=TCxJeFuxD-l-nMNr&t=57

Well, I also know how to extend their outreach.

So Dan Guardino the current feature script is like my first in that I get the weird ScriptSpeak now. I have been rewriting it as I am still writing it (cough action lines), and it is already light years away from the others, style-wise. I have exited Plato's Cave and see the sunlight. I have drunk from the flowing fountains of Mount Scriptus! It's great, but the conciseness is not fully engrained in my brain yet, i.e. I still catch myself occasionally typing out temporal qualifiers or adverbs, etc. Not muscle memory yet, but to be expected. Pish posh.

I found rushing any rewrite is a bad idea. I've done it too many times and crashed and burned as a result. Only when I'm happy that all 8 sequences are lifting above their weight, then I dive into the rewrite. Patience is key (for me anyway), rather than setting a timer and rushing headlong into an invariable car wreck. It's a case of hurry up and wait :)

Marina Albert I think if it were harder for me to write, come up with new plot ideas, etc. I would already be scrambling back to the vault to revise... One thing I forget, too, is I wrote the first three REALLY quickly, and might have actually burned myself out on them as a result. I finished the last of the three (fifty+ pages written in two days), and submitted it to a competition ONE MINUTE before the deadline, and then kind of looked at all three of them like, "Begone from me ye daft scallywags!" So I will let my little ideation reprobates rest for a while longer methinks...

I'm definitely with the charge of The Light Brigade and writing forward. Like you Mike Childress, this morning I had cause to revisit an early draft of a script it took six years to wrangle into shape, and I felt positively embarrassed. I've learned so much since then and now feel I know more about what I'm doing, so, it's onwards for me. And like Lot's Wife, perhaps it's dangerous to look back!

Ingrid Wren Six years...oh boy! I have to remind myself I have been writing in this format for all of...six MONTHS... The band Boston also warned "Don't look back", and Wolfe wrote, "You can't go home again", but as we know people shun advice all the time!

Hi Bill Albert - you'll get heaps of great advice here. IMO, your portfolio will shine when your scripts are market ready with a catchy pitch deck for each one; so I've been advised. Write on and good luck :-)

Hey Bill Albert. Personally, I would never do a portfolio submission to anyone other than an actual rep who has read and loved 1 strong spec script and said, "What else are you working on? What else do you have?" That's when I'll show the next project or two. But that's just me, and my POV also comes from not being impressed by a significant percentage of the S32 "execs" individuals who are more than willing to look at your material -- for a payment -- and pontificate their various opinions.

I know a truly gifted writer that I respect a great deal. He pretty much knew better than to put his hard earned $ toward a S32 Career Call, but he was curious, so he did it anyhow. He threw the proverbial caution to the wind! IIRC, he went with a former Netflix exec. And, he informed me that it was absolutely dreadful, with the exec mostly talking about himself, and things along the lines of "just how tough the business is right now." Oops, time's up. Nice chatting with you. Good luck now.

Could a Career Call work out better for you than it did for my buddy...? Sure. It's possible. But please do your due diligence. Google the execs you are considering. Really search and see what they've actually done. Or who they actually rep. Some Stage 32 exec bios can be clever works of creative fiction. Written to impress and "buzzy," with liberal amounts of "stretchiness" utilized in order to encompass projects which the "exec" actually had zero affiliation with. At all. It's just pan sizzle. I've seen it over and over again. Just because you might have been a Coffee Boy/Production Assistant at an esteemed prod. co, it does not mean that you had one iota to do with that film production(s). Smokey mirrors.

It would be refreshing to see a S32 bio which read something like this....

"J Mac has never produced shit, but they'd really love to one day. They're only 22, narrowly graduated from NYU, and their ADHD fits right in with most of Hollywood. J Mac's been reading mainly awful scripts, till the eyes bleed, for their A-list talent manager dickhead boss for like 4 months. They're hungry as hell to find a few good projects, so they can impress the boss, score some serious points, and get the fuck off this dude's desk and become a manager themself. J Mac's only looking for commercial specs they can sell. (No fucking DRAMAS! And 100 pages or less!) J Mac is strikingly one-dimensional and uber transactional in nature, Honestly, J Mac can barely take care of themself at this point in the young life and career, so if you need any hand holding or actual development work, J Mac ain't gonna be a good fit 4U. However, they may need a free ride to Coachella, so J Mac might be down for a little "ride 'n pitch," if that's your sort of thing!

Remember to put your best foot forward. Volume is not always your ally and it's sometimes better to have 3-5 fully fleshed out strong scripts rather than 8-10, where half are not as strong and fleshed out

Thank you. Out of the 40 short films I've done I gave links to the top 5 I felt showed how my work translates into screen. I also listed the three feature scripts that I think could get their attention. Just have to wait it out now.

Bill Albert Yea i agree with everyone here !! just don't think about it to much and just put your best shit on there ... never did one for film industry but i have for the fashion industry!

and i just put my best work and people were like dayum you made these shoes ??? they wouldn't no unless i put it in there and showed what i can do

Cecile George wow that was a good catch ,. forgot about casablanca

So many known unknowns as to why scripts and films make it to the silver screen. Not much consolation though, not even the slightest learning curve to the thousands stranded with their hands begging past the gates... only the hands.

Charles V Abela Not just to the silver screen now, but to the silver screen's cousin in the basement, streaming platforms! "Straight to DVD" became "Straight to Mike's TV". I get that everyone has preferences re: everything, including film, but some of the stuff I see on streaming platforms wooooo. "Somebody's cousin wrote/produced that one..."

Leading with your protagonist is usually best. The story is most likely framed from their perspective so let's get to it up top

thank you Pat Alexander In the intended script, there are two badasses. One is worse than the other. I believe, there is a bad nasty vein in many of us if not most, so people, that being the audience, wait to have somebody to love and somebody to hate in a movie. Often, hatred prevails over love. Therefore, I think that for certain genres, the number of people who want to see the bad guy hammered top the list. So, I would like to present and describe the baddest(?) guy first, to be the first off the starting blocks - in the most despicable manner so as to generate immediate dislike and the feeling “can’t wait to see this character blown apart” (not literally, I am against violence, but often it’s the thing that sells)… anyway, then the readers or the audience, would continue reading the script till justice in their eyes, is served. Hardly articulate but ...

Chase Cysco Great advice, Chase. But then again, I REALLY enjoy my breaks away. As a former teacher (now retired), summers off were that career's gems. As a professional part-time actor, once I finished another stage play, always looked forward to a nice break. The same is now true with my screenwriting. Nothing on the horizon. No worries.

Asmaa Jamil Enjoying my time away. I've never subscribed to writing EVERY day. God, what a waste of time. It's just not in my DNA.

Amanda Toney Thanks, Amanda, for the kind words. Just really enjoying my time away from "The 32." This new little guy is a lot of fun. My priority right now is spending quality time with him and not staring at a computer screen. Tick-Tock. Tick Tock. Life is short. Go with what brings you Happiness! : )

Bill Brock - I like this.

Heck yeah, that's so fun! Maybe you can teach Paul about your love of screenwriting and he can become the first dog screenwriter along the way!

Nice! Jeari Czapla Knock em dead! Interesting Logline too btw

One question on your logline, Jeari Czapla - when does the story take place? Is it present day or period? You're getting awesome advice here on how to navigate this forward. I love seeing the community rally to support each other!

Sam Sokolow ,..

ThanQ and I Agree with you regarding this Community and how they are all so supportive,..

Great Question,..

My Script is about a Famous Poem written in 1594 and was corrupted in 1796. The main story occurs between 1954 - 1970 and demonstrates how the poem was use but Royalties were not paid to the owner.

it equally has the first Tape Deposition in American history as well as start of what is now called, Entertainment Law.

The story line is chronological by date.

I'm not sure if that's a bad thing,.. I do believe the history is important as the poem has now become a Punch Line,..

Roses Are Red,..

You have a captivating premise for your story. I hope all goes well for you. :)

Marcel Nault Jr. ,.. ThanQ my Friend for your Kindness,.. I Appreciate your thoughts,.. it's taken me four months to Script it out and 27 years of Life experience to realize the Script is quite intriguing,..

have a Wonderful Healthy Day,..