So, my pilot has recently made it to the Semifinals of the Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship. I don't know if this is momentum or what it is, but at what point does shit get real? Meaning, how can I leverage this interest and maybe proof of concept into furthering this dream of being a professional screenwriter?
Screenwriting : When does poop get real? by Keith Hannigan
Other topics in Screenwriting:
Check out Trending Discussions
Register / Log In
2 people like this
Congratulations on your placement. I certainly think that is a step in the right direction. What does "the poop get real" mean to you? Poop gets real for different people at different times. I have a friend that has never placed in a contest had a producer make and sell his feature, I have two friends that made it on to the blacklist and 1 still hasn't had a script sold. Do you only have this one script? Are you networking on your own?Don't rest, keep plugging keep placing, keep winning. I for one have only placed in a small contest, I remember trying to leverage it but for every me there were thousands that did place and hundreds that have won. I have had a producer develop a script with me, sold a short script to a production company. I'm relentlessly pursing the craft, and I don't think I will ever stop until long after the poop gets real. :) Congrats again!
2 people like this
real when you put "writer" as your job occupation on your income tax forms year after year.
1 person likes this
Professional screenwriters write. And then they write more. And then they network, which is to say, find film sets and work on them (paid, unpaid, PA, intern, any way you can). Work hard, be professional, give more than take. The networking will eventually get your stuff read by people working in the biz - and then, if it's good enough, it'll move forward.
1 person likes this
It gets real when you take meetings and make some money.
Everyone’s path to real poop is different. There is no way of knowing. There will be a point when you become someone’s “go to person”. I think that would be the definition of real poo.
1 person likes this
Hollywood fairytale is based on "that one chance" but it's actually not that easy. Yes, you need a breakthrough to build momentum, but on from there is constant building, hustling, development and success and most people judge poorly thinking it it not up to them, but you leave it to situation, you'll fade away pretty easily. This is why a bunch of Oscar winners, noms and whole lot of other praise gainers are since nowhere to be seen...
2 people like this
For me it's never been about money. I think making it about money dumbs the calling down.
The moment I felt shit was real for the first time, really felt it, was a moment when I was walking across our set in Ventura and the honey wagons had arrived. One the costumers was busy setting up a rail to hang clothes and it all hit me at once. We were making a bonafide movie.
Even though we'd bought craft supplies, moved props, taken a whole crew on a yacht to Catalina, shifted gear through a hotel, and shot scenes in boats, penthouses, and underground car-lots over the previous week or so, there was just something about seeing what looked like a classic film set that caused me to become present and reflect on the previous seven years of struggle up to that point.
It's when other people get up in the morning and brew their coffee, get on the subway, climb into their cars, etc and make their way in, determined to turn you words into a reality, that it really comes together. That's when you can't go back. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. Everyone's invested.
Writing in a vacuum has never felt real to me. Even having a movie made (my second feature) without me present on set didn't feel real. Hell, feeling the wheels of the A380 touchdown at LAX or seeing the Hollywood sign in person didn't feel real. There's something about unpacking the grip truck, unlocking the bangers, and hugging your team in the morning that makes everything else insignificant. It's community and you're all trying to make this collaborative piece of art.
I just don't care what some judge, agent, rep, producer, executive, actor, assistant, director, guru, consultant, etc thinks. Their opinion is just some abstract concept that exists in their head and it mostly inconsequential to me - providing I don't place my entire future in their hands. Sure, it's nice to be compensated financially for the sake of putting food on the table but, if I won the lotto tomorrow, I'd be back in the dirt the next day shifting apple boxes and stingers. That's real.
Take the win and move on without getting sucked into the pseudo-reality so many are trapped in.