Lee Gabel's Lounge Discussions

@Leah and Alle - Yes, what does one do who has written over seven scripts. I never start my query as "I'm a new writer". Maybe it all boils down to networking, who you know in the business. Guess that is why I am here! Anyone interested in a contained action/thriller or a big budget YA Sci-Fi romp through the galaxy? :)

It's required.

Great comment Alle! Yes! Do a table read, where you hire some actors (many of them will do it for lunch and gas money) to get together and just sit around a table and read it aloud. I would also film it on a video recorder that is set up on a tripod. Just let the camera (iphone) roll and let the actors do their stuff. I guarantee that you will find things that you will want to improve. : )

No one will ever read my first screenplay. I consider it a right of passage. Start another one.

Hi Cleveland, My best advice to get read, assuming you have no industry contacts, is to 1) enter top screenwriting competitions - like the Nicholl Fellowship or Austin and 2) query managers, not agents. Managers have fewer clients and are more inclined to read queries and submissions than agents. If you win or place highly (finalist, maybe semi-finalist) in a top screenplay competition like the Nicholl, you WILL get contacted by reps. If you enter your script in a few competitions and do not win or place highly, then you might consider getting your script read and evaluated by an industry associate or, if you don't have that, a good paid reader or service, as your screenplay might simply not be ready to be submitted professionally yet. Querying does absolutely work though, assuming your query and more specifically your logline are strong. If you are querying managers and getting no responses, your query is either too long, poorly written or your logline isn't interesting enough to attract any attention. I know some managers like to skip straight to the logline and if it interests them, then they might read the query. If you include all kinds of personal details and a long sales pitch, they will probably just hit delete. I can't emphasize this enough. Keep your query short and sweet. It's probably not worth querying major producers, prodcos or studios as almost none of them will accept unsolicited material - for legal reasons and because they simply are not set-up to review the literally thousands of screenplays they'd get if they did accept submissions. Get a manager and THEY will send out your script and get you read. My advice comes from my own experiences securing representation and from interviewing lots of agents and managers for my website/podcast. Good luck!

Do whatever helps you tell your story in the best way possible. Sometimes research, whether that's from books or live experiences, is necessary for accurate depiction.

Thanks all....

Is that really about the task...and why is screenwriting, different, to writing. the core is the same. Something is not borrowed but felt. In fact. where do things begin.With you? Or are you a reitteraator or a revsionist, a person found in the safe ground or, someone elses thinking. Personally I would rather be poor. [I have been rich. And its almost a joke to say...but i would rather be poor.] Better to die being who you know you are, [maybe you cant take it any other way? So its easy.

All writing these days is borrowed. You may not remember, but you will have seen or read it elsewhere and been influenced.

Cherie getting influenced on a sub conscious level is logical and natural . You cant just shut your mind window because of the fear of getting it corrupted or influenced . But reading or researching on someone else s matter is consciously copying .

Siempre habran quienes no tienen ningun sentido de la etica

There will always be those who have no sense of ethics

Y, al final, ellos sabrán a lo que se merecen.

Ken, USCO costs $35 and offers far more protection. http://www.copyright.gov/eco/index.html http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

I'm new to Stage 32, but I just posted a TV sitcom pilot and a Bible Story Epic that a director asked me to write to be shot in the vein of "300" called Samson & Delilah to my wall. Is there another specific place we should post? Both the director and myself believe this feature script is special and needs the backing of others with means beyond our own to do justice to the battle sequences, etc. And, I must confess my heart's desire for Paula Patton to bring Delilah to life in this story. Thank you for your time.