Hello screenwriters,
I secured the rights to an award-winning, young adult, novel, “Shadow In Hawthorn Bay.” Its setting is the early 1800’s Scotland and Upper Canada. I have since written many drafts of the feature screenplay (with the assist of an accomplished Stage32 script editor) to get it into decent shape and become a finalist in a competition – it's in consideration for others. The genres it touches on are historical fiction, romance, supernatural, mystery.
The feedback I get from my pitch submissions is always that it is a great project and that period is difficult to get produced.
If you have written or had produced a period film, I would love chat further. I’m even open to do a script exchange if that could lead to brainstorming how to crack open the marketplace or find a champion. Period does get made to great recent success, think Wuthering Heights, The Wonder, Emily, Outlander, Poldark, Sanditon, Bridgerton, The Great, etc. Would love to explore next steps.
Thank you,
Steven
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I love period flicks. I've written one period script myself but it doesn't get a lot of attention, I think in part because it's a horror/thriller and it'd be expensive to make in comparison to many horror stories. I don't quite understand why certain periods are always being covered and others almost never. WWII ended 79 years ago, and we're still being treated to period films from that era on a regular basis. We've had other wars that are largely, or completely ignored by cinema. Has there been a Korean war story since 1962's Manchurian Candidate? Has there ever been a War of 1812 Hollywood film?
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Hi Steven - I’ve been hanging around for decades, never having blazing success, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Big budget period productions have become scarce because of the bottom line. There’s huge numbers of properties and costumes with thoughts to detail and administration.
Unless you are very connected, it might be a better choice to write the next horror or drippy romance until you become connected and folks will be willing to put money
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Hi Eric, There have been at least four Korean war films since the year 2000, but of course are from Asian filmmakers. And only a War of 1812 documentary since then the same year. It's a shame. Thanks for your comment.
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Hello Anne, I hear you loud and clear. Yet, they do get made and maybe I have to rethink as a series. I'm not interested in joining the horror crowd and feel it is a bit over saturated with attempts. Drippy romance would be fun. I'd have to give it some thought and watch a boatload of Hallmark movies to get the format down. I will say, 'Shadow' is very much a romantic film.
I am in the process of writing a dystopian science fiction screenplay. I believe market wise it would receive more looks. But who knows?????
Thank you for your thoughts, Anne!
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I recently rewrote a civil war biopic that was shot in September. It was my first period piece and I learned a lot. Perhaps the most important lesson was that history is very much in the eye of the individual. I had so many experts giving me conflicting information, and those experts were museum curators, book writers, and reenactors.
It's an amazing experience on set too. It's the closest you can get to time travel.
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Fantastic CJ Walley. Wasn't “History is Written by Victors.” attributed to Winston Churchill? I have shared a similar experience. Thankfully, its an adaptation of a historian''s popular novel and I have had the support of her estate. Plus, the council of an Algonquin indigenous leader.
Let us know when/where we can see your film.