Screenwriting : Charm - A secret ingredient? by Naithan Hilaire

And when the other side asks for an execution? You gonna charm them away?

Guys let's make one thing straight...nothing saves u if ure talentless...even family ties and corruption can't help...it's like an God's 11th command...

I like the idea of charm as a verb

Beautiful thoughts here. You are blessed with your grandparents. Would be a nice idea to write on KINGDOM OF CHARM.

Yes and no and more... so many of my hero-filmmakers are straight up asshats.

And for American film history, there is a longer list of asshat Execs-Gatekeepers. One local big shot producer, known racist & asshat, keeps on working with A-List crowd.

So, yes, being charming is good, so is table manners, so is above-average talent, booze, bullying, so is being at right place, right time... GL!

Kiril Maksimoski

Hi Kiril,

I probably should have clarified that our talents, services, and products must be of the highest quality first and foremost. Still, the link I added explains this, plus I see this being drummed into everyone on Stage32 and didn't feel the need to echo the point.

I genuinely like to treat everyone as though they at least have a basic understanding of their craft and the industry they propose to navigate. However, if anyone does believe that good looks or charm is enough to succeed in this cut-throat world known as the entertainment business. Then it's the job of the experienced professionals to re-educate and help guide such individuals.

The message behind my post can be found in the following real-life scenario.

Two writers, both at the top of their game, present the same producer with their scripts. One writer is challenging to work with, the other not so much. Who's project is getting the green light?

I apologise if I failed to articulate my point effectively; however, I believe the attached link may bring clarity to where I failed.

Thank you for your comment nonetheless.

Cherelynn Baker you picked that up. I love that. Thank you for commenting.

Evelyn Von Warnitz hmmm. Why not?

Dan MaxXx Facts. When alcohol (and for some people, narcotics) get involved, anything can happen. Lol. Usually, the next day, everyone comes to their senses, though. I actually heard of one story where an actor got an ExecD drunk and convinced him to sign a contract; contracting the actor's services for a cameo role on a sitcom. The following day the actor tried to walk into the studio but was turned away because the contract wasn't deemed authentic; it wasn't on headed letter paper. Lol. To this day, the actor wonders if his craftiness could have served him if he had used headed letter paper.

I've had the pleasure of knowing and working with Naithan and IMHO, he possesses an abundance of talent and charm. He also has a wonderfully upbeat personality.

Great article! Thanks, Naithan.

Dan MaxXx

Nothing personal, but it almost seems as though you condone the behaviour of these top execs.

For me, I don't care if I'm standing in front of the top director in the world. We're all humans. Equal at that. No money, nor fame will convince me to break my principles. If our energies don't align. I don't sign. It's that simple.

I believe the entertainment space is flooded with egomaniacs ONLY because too many desperate people with low self-esteem and little values allow them to get away with murder. People with no self-respect only invite disrespect, which has a knock-on effect on all of us. The worst part is the aspiring next generation who shadow these egomaniacal clowns, wrongfully learning how to treat people in the industry. I hate it!

Roughly two years ago, I walked away from a ghost-writing deal that could pay for my family of 6 and me to relocate and live a comfortable life. Why did I walk? Because the exec insisted on calling me his Caribbean Boy. I know people are being called and treated much worse, taking deals much less than what I was offered, but the value and principles my grandparents instilled in me meant I could confidently walk away.

People seem to forget that we're all humans. Each and every one of us, regardless of sex, how we identify, race, religion, or age, are created the same. Equal. And that's why my grandparents conditioned me to respect all men and women, be they CEOs, celebrities or homeless people. And to unapologetically demand exactly the same in return.

Tangent over, lol.

Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

Thank you buddy. Likewise. And I look forward to continuing our friendship and partnership.

Now, how much do I owe you for this comment, and can you add it to my tab? Lol.

Gary Keyes - Thank you!

Naithan:

Don't worry, I work cheap.

My Man! (Denzel Washington voice).

Hey Uncle Phil - remember that I've read some of your work; don't sell yourself short.

Doug Nelson - I couldn't agree more.

Dan Guardino

Our whole life is "sales". Every relationship formed required us to sell ourselves. Be it presenting ourselves to a life partner, employer, or -in your case- a producer/director seeking your services. The whole premise of pitching your idea to execs relates to sales. Most people speak and act in ways they believe are conducive to their desired outcomes. Those unable to persuade or compellingly convince people GENERALLY lack the understanding of the correlation between sales & negation and building relationships.

I have worked in many sectors, including the entertainment space, and the success principles are the same throughout. Work smart, produce whatever you have to the highest quality, ensure your energy uplifts everyone around you and Network, Network, Network!

What is networking? The action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

I have a phrase of Napoleon Hill's painted on my office wall, that reads:

"No mind is complete by itself. It needs contact and association with other minds to grow and expand." The proper use of a mastermind group is the cornerstone to all great achievement, and it is one of the steps that people most often overlook. On our own, we can only ever have a limited amount of experience, a mastermind group allows us to draw freely from the experience, training, skills, and knowledge of others who align with our definite major purpose."

If we cannot get along with people because we cannot sell ourselves in the best light, we have no hope of seeing success. Their are so many people on Stage32 who do not use the platform to network and collaborate. Why? The founders of Stage32 have done all the hard work for you by bringing every industry professional you need to your fingertips. What more can one ask for. So many good writers fail because they can't sell themselves in a way that makes others want to build a meaningful relationship/partnership with them. therefor their success is left down to luck and chance. A comment a hear being thrown around on every post. He/she was lucky. Well, I realised a long time ago that the harder you network, the luckier you get.

People need to start networking and selling themselves to collaborate with other writers, producers, directors, and engineers etc. 'Cause believe me, opportunities do arise from it, and at worst, you make new friends and have fun during the crafting process.

Naithan and Doug: Thank you.

Dan Guardino - I meant agree/disagree with my statement. However, you're absolutely correct, the guy who wrote the article knows nothing about screenwriting and your opinion is totally valid.

Other than having a great script. Do you have any helpful advice for writers trying to break into the mainstream?

Naithan Hilaire I have to disagree with “everything in life is sales”. You as an individual have a value to people that meet you. My wife saw something in me that I didn’t. I wasn’t chasing her. We just grew together. One day we realised we consumed each other’s thoughts. No selling involved.

Presenting value and selling are different. Selling is an active function to present value that may not be easily visible or identifiable. If I am dying of thirst I don’t care if it is tap water or mineral water. But in a cafe, when the value of water is arbitrary, the waiter may have to sell me on the $10 bottle of water.

You should put forward and easy to understand product (yourself). So selling is virtually unneeded.

I am far from mainstream. But I do have advice.

Be consistent. Make sure you use your “brand” name where ever you want to be seen. I am Craig D Griffiths everywhere. Whenever you see that name I am building a writing brand.

Be professional and not a dick. I don’t live by this, but I try. There are a few things people can say that has me bring out the knives. But even this I am not ashamed of publicly.

Never put out anything that isn’t the very best you can do. People aren’t interested in your Draft, they want your movie. I have a script called Unfare. I am going to send it to some forum people that said would like to read it. But only when it is as perfect as I can make it.

To think of things as “sales” removes real human connection in the transactions. It reduces it to a function. I actually got an email from a producer in Canada this morning. It started with “Hi Craig, how is your wife, I was thinking of you…” It was just a friendly reach out. No business. I came to this persons thoughts and they reached out. This speaks volumes about how nice they are. But I would to think it is because they didn’t feel “Sold To”.

Some really interesting perspectives in here. Just to chip in from my own experience, I think there's a shift happening in indie cinema where the behaviours and attitudes of the old guard are (thankfully) dying out. Like you Naithan, I refuse to work with anyone who doesn't treat me well (sorry to hear about the racism you've encountered; for me the issue is usually sexism, but sometimes there's general nastiness/inconsiderateness). With the younger directors I work with there's been a real shift to liking each other, being friends, and encouraging each other in the work. That doesn't mean there's no criticism, but it comes from a place of friendship and respect. Whilst you'll never be best friends with everyone you work with, I'm finding more and more of my work relationships are becoming lasting friendships because the people I work with are just great, which is very encouraging for the future of cinema (at least on the in indie side of things- Hollywood is another ball game entirely and I generally refuse to work with anyone in that world having had some bad experiences).

As for the whole talent vs. charm thing- sure, you need talent, but without being likeable you won't get anywhere. Since I've learnt how to talk to people properly in a professional context (and have self confidence which has been a big journey), the amount of work I've got has gone through the roof. Nothing has fundamentally changed in my talent- I can just show now that I'm easy and good to work with, which draws people. It's not a selling yourself thing, it's being honest with who you are and not putting on some professional act. You can be "charming" and still be yourself. People respond to that and it creates a healthy way to work and develop professional relationships.

Another word that has context here is, "courtesy." Simple common courtesy is greatly missing from this biz. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Period. :)

Craig D Griffiths

I've had the privilege of speaking with you on a handful of posts. You've always come across genuine and I certainly value your opinion. I 100% agree that there is a distinct difference between presenting and sales, and the two are distinctly different in how we interact with others.

HOWEVER!

How you and your wife met is what I describe as old-school love. The kind I witnessed with my grandparents. The only kind I ever wish to have. But unfortunately for most, seldom will "love" be established, THIS way, in these times.

Today's world has rapidly moved on from real courtship. The vast majority of people today use dating apps and social media to find a "soulmate" basing their decisions on photoshopped images and a glamorised biography about the person. After significant effort to find someone "compatible," the dreaded dating process begins, which could better be described as a tick-list interview process; where the women present themselves as trophies, and the men propose a fantasy lifestyle most could never afford. The whole procedure reeks of sales and negotiation to me and is probably why more than 51% of relationships/marriages never last.

FOR THE RECORD. I KNOW THIS IS NOT ALL WOMEN/MEN OR EVEN THE MAJORITY, BUT THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF THEM OUT THERE.

ALSO FOR THE RECORD. LOL. I MET MY SPOUSE THE OLDSCHOOL WAY, VERY SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN EXPEREINCE IN FACT.

These days, even friendships seem to be based around what one can do for the other, instead of shared interests and good company. This is why my friends and colleagues are generally ten, twenty years older than me. People in and around your generation are cut from a VERY different cloth. You had the privilege of learning about life through experience - live and direct - and learned human interaction authentically. This new generation barely interact with humans because their reality is based around avatars. Unless they have some digital intervention to channel their communications through, they become socially awkward introverts with identity crisis issues.

The point I was originally trying to make in the post was we all have needed to sell ourselves or our services or products at some point in life. Some people have done it for love, others for a new job during an interview, some to pitch their services to prospective clients/customers, etc.

If my tangent wasn't clear. Lol. I see and understand your POV and agree with you for the most part, but life is subjective like anything else.

Sound advise, by the way.

Dan Guardino I couldn't agree more. Phil can vouch for me when I say, "this is EXACTLY what I focus on", after building a great script. Don't get me wrong. It's excellent attaching actors and good screenwriters, but nothing carries weight like the name of a good director.

Joanna Karselis

Firstly, I am sorry to hear you had a similar experience. It could have knocked you're confidence, but you're still striving, which is amazing.

I could not agree more. In fact, today, I had a meeting with a known studio and production company and the director echoed the same point. He is 38, but the things he shared regarding the behaviour of his predecessor (mentor at the time) were jaw-dropping.

Now that he's a highly-respected director, he is using his platform and making decisions to help transform the blemishes in entertainment culture. He's SUPER adamant not to work with egos. He agrees that many newer, younger directors are doing the same. He just hopes they can stay in the real world long enough - opposed to the virtual world - to see the shift happen. He believes the reason he was selected for a collaboration to cover the commonwealth games has a lot to do with his character. He knows he is talented but who isn't these days. As Head Director on several hit TV shows, he is seeing the shift happen. So it looks promising.

John Ellis

Please shout that aloud to the people in the back that didn't hear you. LOL!

Good old, basic life skills that parents are failing to teach.

Naithan Hilaire old fashion way indeed… nope hold on, I am 58… good call. LOL

Naithan is a PLEASURE to collaborate with!

Jon Shallit - Likewise