Producing : Screenwriter looking to help you develop an idea for a comedy feature by Brandi Hoffman

Sounds like a fun idea Brandi! Have you posted this in the jobs board? You may get more traction there. Good luck!

Hi Cherelynn! I haven't posted it there because I'm still working out my process so I'm offering this for free.

I've written a rom-com feature set in Vegas! Check out "Stand Tall!" -- I think you'll love it!

Hi Vincent! I'm looking to create something from scratch.

Brandi - How about this for an idea? A busy professional person hires someone to manage their online dating accounts.

Richard - that sounds like an awesome idea! Do you want to get together on zoom and we can develop it further?

This sounds interesting and it makes me curious, could I ask what's the benefit of working on other people's ideas versus working on your own in a group session? Does this help build your reputation and resume too?

Hi Tony! Most screenwriters here on S32 have written at least one screenplay and are trying to sell it, but only a few dozen screenplays are sold each year, if that. I'd like to write for a producer who has an idea for something that s/he could sell, but isn't a very good writer. They already know things like how much money they can raise for it, or they have a relationship with a well known actor and want a part for him/her, or they know what kind of resources are available to them. I've written several screenplays of my own, but it's not likely I'll sell them without a track record and/ or strong industry relationships.

Writing for someone else is a different skill set than writing for yourself. When you're writing a spec, you don't worry about who the main actor is going to be, and how many characters you have and whether or not you've set it on a South Pacific lighthouse. In my opinion, if a producer gets a screenplay that conforms to what s/he needs, the feature is a lot more likely to get made.

That's just my opinion, of course. Your experience might be different.

Brandi Hoffman makes a lot of sense to me and I think that's quite strategic as well. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my former boss a couple of years ago and the analogy he used was "riding the train until you find your stop." Basically, you work efficiently until you're ready to make the moves you need to make from the resources you acquired along the way. It was quite insightful and I think it's awesome what you're doing. I'm not a screenwriter myself, but my experience lies in visual designs. So whenever there is an opportunity to collaborate, I would be happy to help out.

i have lots of ideas. but im not gonna say them on here. what if somebody steals my awesome idea!?

Hello Miss Brandi, I am a novelist but found that I like creating stories in any fashion. I have written a trucking comedy and would love to have any sort of collaboration and get to know people in the industry. I will be making my mark as a storyteller and one day a producer and possibly a director. I have no desire to be in front of the camera though, but if that's what is needed to turn out a great story I'll of course do my best. Here is my humble list of loglines. If you find one that interests you I'd be happy to get you any material that I have. Harris and Lloyd is a full feature screenplay and The Hit is a novel in its editing stages. I fully intend to pull this into a screenplay as well. https://www.stage32.com/profile/742707/scripts_screenplays All the best on future projects. I look forward to a chance of working with you. Alex R Price

I think comedy is all in the writing. You can have a great concept but it's it not funny than the concept doesn't matter. If you can write funny concept doesn't matter. Hard to "teach someone" how to be a funny writer. You have it or you don't. It's almost a gift to write comedy. Like being a gifted athlete. Funny is money and there aren't many funny movies unless they are concept driven and often not very funny. They reply not the concept. This about it. How many GREAT LOL funny R rated or PG-13 movies (not including animation) that is super funny or successful like Hang Over? Not many. That's because they are hard to write. Smaller non concept comedies work but aren't board. Anyway. Had to sell someone on how to be a funny writer. Just my two cents but best of luck to anyone seeking an endeavor or fresh opportunity to expand their writing chops. :)

Hi Ilan! I tend to do concept based comedy. And I definitely think someone can learn to be funnier. I'm a lot funnier now that I have a few scripts under my belt. And I would disagree with you - there are a LOT of super funny movies. LOTS!! One of the great things about comedy is that there are so many sub genres to work with. Action, family, rom coms, stoner, teenage, coming of age, etc. Not all of them will resonate with everybody, but most people will like at least a couple.

Fair enough Brandi. I hear you. What are your top ten favorite comedies in past 5 years.

These are the ones I really loved

1. Free Guy (Action comedy)

3. The Hustle (Heist Comedy)

4. Crazy Rich Asians (Romantic comedy)

5. The Spy who Dumped me (Action comedy)

6. Encanto (Family/ animated)

It's kind of difficult to figure out what came out versus what I saw this year. Stupid COVID.

Encanto is animated. I only think hustle and crazy riches Asian were any good. But that’s just me. Anything with Ryan is a success but the movie costs north of 100 mm and without him it never gets made.

Okay. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make? These movies all resonated with me. I'm sure my list of favorite comedies would be quite different from yours. I wasn't a huge fan of Hangover, but I adored Bridesmaids.