Hey, everyone. My name's Kim and I'm new here (well, I joined last month but am only now feeling my way around). I've been writing for a while now. I have one imdb credit and a few ghostwriting assignments under my belt, but things have gone quite stagnant as of late, so I joined this site hoping it could breathe new life into my screenwriting career. Earlier this year, I wrote a script called WRONG (although I've since changed the title to Damaged). After receiving positive feedback from family, friends and other screenwriters, I decided to enter it into the Nicholl competition. I was pleased to make it to the quarterfinal round and used that success to garner quite a bit of reads. Everyone that's gotten back to me thus far loves the script, but is apprehensive about the subject matter. What do you do when you have a script that's well-written but can't find a producer with the cajones to produce it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
Introduce Yourself : Old dog needing a new trick by Kimberly Britt
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Congrats on your success, Kimberly! Can you shoot it yourself?
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Thank you, but I know zilch about filmmaking and I have absolutely no connections in the film world.
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Don't give up! Once you've got this (recognition via Nicholl...congrats by the way...that is huge!) get a paid coverage (stage32 has great options). Once you're sure it's the best you can get it, put it on the blacklist. If it does well, someone will pick it up, for sure! I'd think you could likely get an agency to represent you...try sending out some query letters? Also, keep writing. Once Damaged sells (it will!) you will be 'hot' and they'll snatch up anything else you have. So, keep writing! Never stop writing. btw, what's 'damaged' about? Is it sexual abuse? We've had a few lounge discussions about this topic... Anyway, be patient an take the long view. 'Damaged' will be filmed!
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It's already on Blacklist. I've had a few downloads but that's about it. I've sent query letters to just about every agent, manager and production company in the biz. Like I said, it lead to a bunch of reads and compliments on the script, but nothing further. And yes, it's about sexual abuse and the emotional ramifications; drug dependency, prostitution and nymphomania. Thank you for the reply. Any other ideas?
Hm, the only thing I can think of now is to keep an eye on Stage32's Happy Writer's pitch sessions, and pitch it to execs/companies you think fit the bill. There's also the more expensive (but everyone says it's really worth it) mentoring sessions. Again, you can choose your exec you want to talk with, you know, imdb who they are, find someone who fits the project's scope & vision. You could also email joey directly too. He ALWAYS gets back to people right away. Short of that, my advice is to be patient, take the long view, and write more material. Build your library. There's also the option of creating a version of the script that is a short, advertise it on stage32 'jobs' (unpaid, for now) and see if a crew develops around it. That would put you in the position of producer, I guess, but if you want it to happen that badly RIGHT NOW, then you should follow your instincts.
Hello Kim, It's nice meeting you. I hope to hear more about your work. I just joined not long ago also, so it looks like we're both new to Stage 32. Keep up the writing, no matter what and networking is always important. I would have to read the script to give you a fair feedback. But, it sounds like you've got decent reviews which is a good thing.
@Kimberly Britt, ".........but can't find a producer with the cajones to produce it? " What are you offering Producers you approach with the script? Maybe that's the issue.
Produce it yourself if you can! And just keep plugging away at it. That sounds lame, I know, but if you believe in the story it's really the only way. I had someone tell me once, "every good project finds a home." Don't know how true that is but when I have a script that's too controversial, too quiet, too human, too female, too whatever, those words become my mantra! Good luck to you.
Have you posted it on S-32 yet? I am interested in reading it, as I'm sure others are as well.
JD, I'm not sure what you mean by what am I offering producers. Can you elaborate on that? Terri, thanks for the encouragement but producing it myself isn't really an option for me right now. Bill, I haven't but I will if there is interest in reading it.
Welcome to Stage 32, Kimberly!
Exactly that, what are you offering other than their name on the completed piece? Are you prepared to fund this (production) yourself?
JD, usually the Producer is the person who sources funding. The writer can offer months of labor and creativity to build a story and turn it into a script. The Producer is the person who pulls all the pieces together, including a script and funding, into a project that can get completed. If the writer were supplying funding, she wouldn't need a Producer, she would be one.
By fund, may I should have said: hire/pay a Producer to do what you can't. Lets not get into the "Jack of all trades, master of none." discussion.
Trust me, if I had the money to produce it myself, I would be out looking for cast and crew instead of a producer. I look forward to one day having that luxury.
Kim, I've written about "difficult" subject matter, too. With me it's disabled anti-heroes and also gay characters. One of my disability scripts made it to the Top 50 of the Nicholl, and I even optioned it to two indie producers, whose funding unfortunately fell through. Your achievement in the Nicholl competition is HUGE. They get more than 7,000 submissions! (Think about it.) But unfortunately, bless their hearts, I think they focus more on artistic achievement than on saleability. I would recommend to you a course I'm now taking, the ProSeries at ScreenWritingU.com. It's intense. It's six months of almost daily assignments, but it walks you through how to turn what you're passionate about into something producers are actually looking for. And in the end, even if you wind up still working on your original quirky indie project, you'll have a number of amazing techniques that will help actually get it up there on the screen. Because your story is worth telling. And to more than just "readers."
Advertise in "Jobs", Mandy dot com, Backstage, etc. for a Producer. Maybe it not "lack of balls", but commercial viability of the subject matter.