Screenwriting : Historical/biographical scripts (late 19th.C) by York Davis

Definitely shoot Joey an email at the Stage 32 Happy Writers. We have production companies in the UK that we deal with - Joey@stage32.com

Thanks RB... will do!

My pleasure, York. Wishing you the best!

it depends on the subject matter and characters involved. you'd have an easier sale with something based on a well-known historic event or personage than with someone of interesting place or period, but relatively unknown.

Thanks for your comment Stephen. At least one of my screenplays: "I Love You Oscar Wilde" has a famous antagonist. The other: "Cakewalk" deals with integration of African Americans onto all-white American vaudeville stages. One out of two? On RB's advice, I've asked Happy Writers Joey's help in finding Br. producers.

Thanks Alle, sage advice. I guess I just need to get established... sure is fun learning the ropes!

Alle, if I sent you the first 10 pages of "I Love You, Oscar Wilde" would you have the time and interest to read it and let me know comments and if you think it's boring?

just fyi, a friend of mine recently got major representation off an Oscar Wilde script -- proving that your instincts are good. have you ever heard how buyers like material with a built-in audience, as is the case with an adaptation of a hit novel, comic book, play, etc.? i think the same principal applies with historical subjects: the more widely-known history, the better. this isn't to say a lesser-known subject is impossible to sell -- your vaudeville idea sounds intriguing -- but it's more difficult, especially for a new writer.

Thanks for your encouragement Stephen. I now have 3 plays and 2 screenplays under my belt and I've heard it can take up to ten years. I'll just keep writing and see. Maybe something in the biblical genre next... still in the semi-historical, costume sphere lol!. I heard biblical is resurging?

Thanks to you Joey, I'm pitching to Jim Young tomorrow and will also be on-line at the webinar, to see what he has to say.

The BBC are always looking for period dramas and are open to an approach. You can find how to submit something on their website, but if you run into trouble let me now and I'll lend a hand.

Isn't the BBC's interest limited to British writers?

Thanks for the offer Tom. BBC Writers' Room now has specific windows of time when they will accept writers’ work in specified genres. On Sept. 29, they closed windows for radio and stage. I receive their newsletter and maybe I'll just have to wait for the feature film window to open. I'd appreciate your opinion Tom. May I send you my longline and 1 page synopsis for: "I Love You, Oscar Wilde"?

Sure, send them as PDF to tom.rooney@btinternet.com and I'll have a look. I like to help people where I can but pull no punches because I believe that not being honest with someone is not helping them. Sometimes I feel really bad and regret I was so direct with people's work, but I always believe that such comments do help them get better. So apologies in advance. Send the screenplay too if you want a free review.

Don't think the BBC is limited to UK writers, what would be the point of being a world-wide organisation? You are probably mistaking the fact that only people living near the BBC (and there are numerous branches) will be taken on as full time staff - which makes sense. No sense travelling from India every day to get to work in i.e. London. Another thing is that if you send something to the London office and they like it, they will invite you in for a chat. So I suppose it makes sense to send it somewhere local to where you live. However, I am sure they will have sorted this problem years ago - after all, this is the age of technology.

Tom, do you know the BBC submission process and/or a development exec? I have a period drama pilot that I've taken to HBO, Showtime and Starz, all of whom loved the pitch and script but were fully booked with period pieces on their development slates. (The good news is that all have invited me back to pitch new projects :))

Stephen, All I know is go to the BBC website and look how to submit. Work on the principle that just like you and I when we go looking for a new book, we look at the 1st-page, and within 2-seconds we flip the pages to page-20-something and 2-seconds later we flip to page-50-something and when we flip to the back-page maybe 5-seconds have passed and we have made a decision. People who read scripts at the BBC or anywhere else, may not always be full-time readers. I have seen it where a group of people sit for a 20-minute coffee break, flip through 5 scripts each and discard those deemed unsuitable. They do this every day such is the number of submissions and the shortage of time. And I agree with it because the writer has to get his craft right. Get your craft right and you will get noticed. And no, I am not a development exec or in anyway connected. Just a bit experienced that's all.