So I got suckered into coming into the development office for the company I read scripts for. I'm doing it in hopes of landing a paid position on their up and coming new film that is being shot in New York. Although I feel like this is a ploy to make me into a slave and not for me to get to know the key players. I was curious about the script they were producing and the producer gave it to me to read. It was bad. Really bad. I put a smile on my face and asked her how she found this script and why this one. What she told me was like a punch in the stomach. She said that a friend of hers wrote it and she wanted to make the movie for her because she begged her to. Really? I have read at least 20 other scripts that were submitted to this company that were ready to go and super good. I guess we should all be so lucky. This film might make it to a few festivals and go straight to DVD if it is lucky. Other scripts that I have read will just have to sit and wait until someone begs to have them made. My point is, make friends with producers if you want your script to be made. You never know.
Screenwriting : The Producer is my BFF by Kristen Tinsley
Other topics in Screenwriting:
Check out Trending Discussions
Register / Log In
1 person likes this
So it is your experience that this producer will have a long and prosperous career, despite that she is so willing and eager to produce bad films? If I brought in lousy players to record my music, or let my unmusical neighbor orchestrate my melodies for the next score I put my name on, I sure as heck wouldn't last long in the business. Just curious what your thoughts are.
That is the point, Paul. How could she last long in this business if she keeps doing stuff like that. They use the interns to give notes on the script and make it better so the final draft is worth shooting. We don't get credit if we add anything that they actually use. The non screenwriter gets the credit and that producer gets another notch in her belt-for free!
That is the point, Paul. How could she last long in this business if she keeps doing stuff like that. They use the interns to give notes on the script and make it better so the final draft is worth shooting. We don't get credit if we add anything that they actually use. The non screenwriter gets the credit and that producer gets another notch in her belt-for free!
I posed the question because in my opinion it is important whether or not this way of doing business is self-sustaining. The idealist in me wants to understand why the people with the talent aren't the ones calling the shots. For example, does Kristen hold back on demanding credit because there are so many other talented writers waiting in line behind her to do the same work without the credit -- just for the paycheck? Can Kristen openly pronounce the script "crap", and tell the producer for her own sake that she would prefer that they all work on more mature and well-crafted material? I understand it is important to accept that these things do happen all the time. But conceding to what the status quo is should only be the first step towards fixing it, IMO. So I'm just wondering where the disconnect is, and if there is a way to fix it. I don't know nearly as much as either of you folks about the business; I'm just asking questions to get a better handle on it.
No, your thoughts sound reasonable and accurate, Dan, when I compare them to other readings and input I've encountered over the years. But then, directly to the point, can a script consultant "supply notes" to the degree that it is likely to actually save a bad film? That's hard to imagine; and if not, then that's what made me wonder how this producer could put her name on stuff like that and stay employed (if it happens with any regularity). Yes, I think you are right about the many similarities with the music business. David Foster tells the story of when he produced one of his first albums, and he was presenting it to Quincy Jones, explaining as he went down the song list which ones were really good, and sort of apologizing for others ... when Quincy stopped him, and said "Are you an idiot?" ... "Seriously, are you some kind of idiot? Who's name is down here, as producer? David, if it is not absolutely your best work, man, you don't put your name on it." That's a close paraphrase, but the point is, if David Foster can't put his name on less than great material that he's produced, how can this lady, and still keep her job? That's kind of where I'm coming from. Thanks, Dan, for the reply!
I have been making similar points here, on twitter, on Facebook, IMDb, Sunset Bl, Starbucks, etc. Any place someone might listen and get a dialog rolling. 1st off is the whole unpaid intern deal....It's slave labor and the jobs are very inclusive of many responsibilities that people used to get paid a fair amount of money for. I have to pay rent, pay for health insurance and occasionally eat and I would die for some of the jobs that are now unpaid intern jobs. I just need to get paid for it....Anyway, as a screenwriter I have made the witty (but true) comment that considering the job description of the average Hollywood intern includes pre-reading scripts, It's no wonder there are so few good movies but we have a plethora of vampire flix.
I have covered scripts for companies large and small. Every so often I have been given a script and told with a "nudgenudge, winkwink" that it's from a "friend" of the producer. I know that means I better mark it "consider" and write good things about it. I know of five, maybe six that I would have passed on that went into production. It happens.
I can see this panning and such devoted friendship as it may be turning into bitter and sustained enmity, possibly lasting generations and becoming a Montague vs Capulet feud. A real friend would take the scriptwriter aside and say it's crap. Okay, maybe in not so blunt a fashion - but then she'd offer suggestions as to how it could be made better. Constructive criticism from a friend is, after all, a useful schoolbook and, when that friend actually knows what she's talking about, then that sort of education people would kill for.
@Dan, I appreciate your insights. Not what I would have expected. Thanks.
Good read and good luck looks like someone has friends in all the right places.
@Rik I feel your pain. This happens so often. I just had to give notes on another script that was poorly written and not professionally formatted. They even told us that they know it needs work. HA! If this was a script that I picked to cover, it would have been passed on very quickly. But I am supposed to see the potential in the work and give suggestions on how to fix the flaws. My internship coordinator knows that the scripts are crap and I haven't met the person who has his balls in a vice grip yet. At this point in my career, my name is not going on the script. My reputation is not on the line so I don't give a hoot. I am not getting paid to do notes or coverage. If I was, I'd be working for a company that put out movies that people will actually go see. I'm sad that other scripts are being passed on when they are good enough to go into production.
It's sad that screenwriters are so desperate for work that they will work for free just to not get credit because another writer contributed more than they did. The way people are taken advantage of in this business is disgusting. I know that is the way it is, but at some point it has to stop. Working an un-paid internship will get you nowhere in this world. You will bounce from one place to the next and never find a job.
I would not have anyone work for free on anything I do. I might have them work for free initially, but always pay out with the proceeds of the production, based on the work they do. This is often far more lucrative, but essentially it means we have many tens of publicists instead of just one, and everyone's the richer for it.
That is what they think. I fell for it to, although I have been taking my time adapting the book into a screenplay. But I'm not going to rely on this screenplay to help me. My own scripts are better. I'm just hoping that the lawyer involved will be useful one day.