Screenwriting : New Screenwriter's by Elisha Woods

dont wait for Hollywood! make your own movies. sell the car, house, jewelry. James Wan, Justin Lin, Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, JJ Abrams, Wes Anderson... the list is long... none were trust fund babies.

You are missing that someone writes those remakes.

Nobody is going to give anyone a break. A screenwriter has to pay their dues like those screenwriters that came before them unless of course they just happen to get lucky which doesn't happen very often.

Hi Elisha, can you please offer some solutions for how Hollywood execs can filter through tens of thousands of scripts and identify the most viable scripts by genre every year? Speaking as an LA-based producer, I would love to find market-viable new talent as doing so would help my own career as well as the careers of new writers. However, I don't have the time or resources to read over 7000 scripts a year like the Nicholl Fellowship readers read in order to identity the top 10 scripts. If you have a solution and resources, I would love for you to help us out and to help the cream of the crop distinguish themselves among the new writer pack. Thank you. (I do volunteer for the CineStory Foundation so I read about 5-15 fellowship contenders every year, and I do not get paid for my time.)

Elisha - Unfortunately Hollywood is not in the business of giving people opportunities, they're in the business of business. If you have a new original script, there are ways for your work to be made but it must reassure the producers in some way - for example, if it is based on a successful novel, if you have a name actor attached to it or if you have proven the appeal in some other way. Two examples are Whiplash - the movie was first produced as a short film that got a lot of acclaim at festivals. This encouraged people to finance the feature length version, along with the fact that it had a modest budget. Second, Money and Violence is a no-budget (or even below that!) web series that was put up on youtube. It was able to get many millions of views, and this 'proved concept' to Jay-Z's Tidal who financed the second season.

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Its-rare-but-it-happens-Stu...

I don't mind remakes in fact I like them however, there is a great deal of new brilliant and excellent screenwriter's. Stage32.com is great platform that gives screenwriters an opportunity to shop our material. I am working hard all the time to get my stories on to the big screen. I will not stop until I achieve my goal as am I am sure that many of you have the same drive and determination that I do. Good things will happen with hard work but it also takes luck and finding knowingfinding a production company that believes in your script, having the financial capability producing your own movie or knowing someone .

Elisha, the issue is that every screenwriter thinks their projects are worthy to be noticed - if not more worthy than the Hollywood remakes and sequels. The reality is... 90% of them are wrong. Another 8% don't know what to do with their great project once it's written or they jump at the first offer of a dollar and a dream, and so the project dies. The other 2% are the ones that get noticed, bought and developed. and 1% get made. Hollywood IS looking - Constantly!! But it finds mostly crap, so why not go back to the well they know produces money?

I understand what what's you are saying Danny. There are a plethora of screenwriters that belive that they have a fantastic script. However, there are great scripts written by unknown writer's. Hollywood needs to dig deep because I have read a lot of amazing scripts that should be made.

Hi Elisha, would you please give us some methodology of how to "dig deep" and who will step in to fund the digging process? I'm 100% serious. I've posted before asking for solutions of how to improve the filtering system. Thank you. If you have solutions, I am all ears.

The film business is, and pretty much always has been, not about original screenplays. Mostly adaptations and sequels and remakes. That's what a screenwriter does - write spec screenplays in order to land assignments where they write a sequel or a remake or adapt Tetris or something into a film. Those great scripts that are out there by new writers? That's how someone gets hired to write the remake of something.

What's up, Elisha? Regina isn't going to let you off the hook easily...lol. I'm with the first comment. The truth is, in Hollywood, nobody gives it to you. You have to take it. If your script is good enough for Hollywood, get it made yourself if it can be done for a low budget. Submit it to film festivals. If the writing was good, hopefully the production complimented the writing enough and the film gets accepted in one of the A-List film festivals. More often than not, agents, producers and financiers are at these film festivals and they will take notice of you. Just knowing your film was accepted is enough for them. They don't even have to see it. Their thinking is it has to demonstrate some competence in filmmaking craft to be at the Sundance's of the world. And on to the next project for you. Don't make the mistake of waiting for anything. Believe me. Before you know it, 10 years would pass and you haven't had anything produced.

Let Hollywood make their remakes. By faith any all things are possible.

Hey Clayton, I appreciate your comment. My second boss in Hollywood said, "A bad producer brings up problems. A good producer brings up solutions." Her statement kind of blew my mind and re-framed public discourse for me. I strive to offer a solution - if only a partial solution - when I bring up a problem. I don't always succeed, but I try. And I ask for help from others who might have solutions. So I'm all ears if someone can mitigate the filtering challenges that Hollywood faces. Please offer constructive, pragmatic solutions!

Also, Elisha, I know you say you have read a lot of amazing scripts. But by what standard? Have you read thousands of scripts? have you worked in the film biz for some time? "Amazing" is subjective. There are thousands of scripts that SOMEONE might say are amazing - but I've seen people on this site call utter pieces of garbage "great". So you have to measure it the way Hollywood does - is it castable? is it commercial? can it sell overseas? is there a clear demographic? is there an original hook and voice? etc...

Hi Regina. I know how bad it has gotten for Hollywood. It has gotten so bad, Hollywood, which includes talent reps, turn to film festivals to filter out talent. And now that has even gone on overload. In the past 8 years I have seen submissions for Sundance go from 3000 to 8000, maybe even more. We have to admit, there is a 1000% increase in the type of people interested in making movies today. It is the new music industry, the new rap game. Most of them don't realize motion picture storytelling may just not be for them, like the 1000's auditioning for American Idol (R.I.P.) that cannot sing if their lives depended on it. Back in the 70's, 80's, even 90's, if you're a born film storyteller, your work would have to break through barriers, almost like the creation of life, before the public can see it. Now, with technology and YouTube, everyone think they can do this, allowing the industry to be flooded with a lot of work to review. That's why, I'm practical in my belief that whatever you can do for yourself with your limited resources is what you need to focus on, not Hollywood. Get your films made with your limited resources, get them seen and get them distributed. One good thing we have today, that wasn't around when I made my first feature film, are the many platforms designed for feature film consumption. Producers can make their money back and see a profit if they keep budgets low. It is also an arena where Hollywood goes to discover talent. So, it is really about working within this new regime. However, there is something to be said about reps being hellbent on discovering new talent only through the numbers i.e. Facebook "Likes", Twitter followers, YouTube subscribers. They are looking for talent who already has a following. Is it producers making reps feel compelled to limit their search only to talent with huge followings?

Screenwriting is a tournament career and there are going to be some great screenplays that will never get made and some real bad ones that will get made. Most scripts get made because someone knew someone in the business so instead of just trying to sell your specs use them to make contacts in the business that can help you launch your career.

This thread has so much wisdom on it about life and screenwriting, it could almost be an "Ask The Experts" roundtable article. Every aspiring screenwriter should read this thread before they start reading Save the cat...

Hi Clayton B, belated thanks for taking the time to give such a thoughtful reply.

I agree with you, Elisha, Hollywood is far too reliant on remakes and sequels these days. You could argue that they're just giving the public what it wants, but up until the 90's the majority of popular movies were original, or at least based on a book that hadn't already been adapted to the screen. Unfortunately, producers are far more risk-averse now. Couple that with many people being unable to judge the quality of an original screenplay and you can see why producers are looking for known properties or scripts with name talent already attached. It seems that if you're an up and coming screenwriter with no industry contacts your best shot is either get the film produced yourself or find some other way to market it, such as writing it as a novel first or basing your script on a familiar story that's in the public domain, like Snow White and the Huntsman. Anyway, good luck!

Hi Patricia, thank you for taking the time to reply with some creative problem-solving. From where I sit, I think a lot of producers would fear being perceived as haughty if they were to institute a new policy that includes a form. While forms/applications are 100% accepted filtering devices for education-oriented institutions like the Sundance Lab, fellowship providers, internship recruitment, etc., they are not the norm for producers/studios/agencies - as it's obvious I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. The form is not a solution I would feel comfortable advocating because of the optics problem. For example, there was a production company that put out a form to weed out people applying for an assistant job, and that company got a weird reputation, like "Who the hell are they for thinking they can make people jump through that hoop? Who do they think they are?" I'm not saying it couldn't work, I'm saying it would likely create an optics problem that I can't advocate for at this time. But you're not alone. My friend who went to Penn, Harvard, and Columbia U said that Sundance's applications are tougher than getting into an Ivy League school, so it's clear that some orgs do use forms. Just my 2 cents. Thank you.

Hi Patricia, in this case, I meant what I wrote - haughtiness. I'm only one person though. In my experience, it's not impossible to state "clear-cut information on exactly what an executive is looking for." If you go to an art gallery, a clothing shop, a restaurant, etc., you can't state exactly what you're looking for. You have a target area in mind, but you can't set boundaries for art/creation, and you would be stupid to rule out serendipitous matches. If I go to a restaurant with fish in mind, I might end up ordering chicken, and I'd be stupid to rule out chicken without first looking at the menu. Just my 2 cents, and I respect others' POVs.

For example, when you pitch execs on S32, the execs' target genres are listed, but no one is saying, "I absolutely will not consider a pitch in a different genre." You can't rule out other material that might sound exciting to you, by stating ONLY "clear-cut info on exactly what an exec is looking for." It's impossible imho.

Better example - Jason Blum is one of the most clearly branded producers in town for his low budget horror. But guess what, he also produced WHIPLASH and THE NORMAL HEART. It's impossible to offer "clear-cut info" on exactly what stories you're looking for because there are almost always exceptions to every rule. Respectfully. I'm trying to give some insight into the producers' POV.

So u want Writers to fill out a questionaire before submitting? How About the Producers/Prod companies fill out a questionaire about their finances and mission statements before Writers submit? Lol. i can tell u about slush funds in Hollywood, secret deals in bathrooms (but no one will believe me because I am a nobody). There are Unions in place like the WGA and PGA and there are federal state laws about employer/employees. Hollywood and the top players, the real gatekeepers, know exactly what they re doing. There is a reason why Mr Spielberg owns a $200mil yacht. Dont u think he knows $200mil could finance 100 $2mil movies for his company?

Quite honestly, I don't really see a real solution. I think producers should develop the skill of recognizing raw talent. These days they have limited their searches to top tier film festivals and maybe film school, which has been overlooked as of late and rightfully so. Most film students don't have "it". But imagine if this, looking only to top tier film festivals for talent, was the practice in the late 60's, when there wasn't a Sundance or hardly any credible film schools. Spielberg might not have been discovered. Steve McQueen is the best director to be discovered in the last 10 years. You know why? Because he is from Europe where the government support films of all kinds, giving someone like McQueen the chance to shine. That doesn't exist here in America. I think there is something to be said about what a producer wants vs. a producer recognizing pure talent and working with that talent, even if the talent isn't making work the producer is looking for. The question is, would a producer be able to recognize a talented director by seeing his/her work? Would that producer know what to look for in the director's work? Can this producer see the talent, not the talent's number of followers? I think it is a mistake to judge talent by the number of "Likes", "Followers", or "Subscribers" he/she has. It's all smoke and mirrors. It is just a way for producers to team up with people who already has a builtin audience. Doesn't mean the filmmaker is talented, and usually, their skill level is exposed when it is time to make the feature film. Also, no disrespect to any of the producers here, it is also a lazy approach to developing productions.

Clayton. Producers are talent scouts. They rely on agents to bring them what they are looking for.

Hi Dan and Clayton, I respectfully disagree with that part of Dan's point asserting that producers chiefly rely on agents to bring them material in their wheelhouse. Producers must be both proactive and reactive. They must seek out their own material and be open to material that's coming into them. For example, today I took the proactive step of searching through book reviews for new material to adapt, and I am right now currently in the reactive posture of writing up notes on a script that came into me. If you're a gross points producer like Jerry Bruckheimer, agents will send you the best material they have in your wheelhouse. If you're not Jerry Bruckheimer, you must proactively search out new material because you're the main one looking out for your career. At most production companies, a chief duty of the junior execs is to proactively "bring in" new material, which might include anything from reading contest-winning scripts to going to Comic Con to scouting stand-up comedy clubs to going to pitchfests to looking at bestseller lists of self-published books, etc. You cannot sit back and wait for agents to come to you, because most producers are not Jerry Bruckheimer and cannot trust that an agent is thinking of you FIRST. That said, Bruckheimer has his execs actively hounding for new stuff too!

Even the biggest name producers in LA call up agents asking, "Why didn't you cover me on X? Why did Scott Rudin see it, and not me? Why did JJ Abrams get it, and not me?" No producer gets every piece of great material. And what if you're Brian Grazer, repped by CAA, and WME has a great new spec that they are sending to their own clients? You have to be proactive, pick up the phone, seek out, beg, etc. There's far too much competition to sit back and hope that the agent will think of you. And not every piece of material is repped. Many books do not have book-to-film/TV agents repping them. You have to seek them out. The cool part is that you, as a producer, have some control of your own destiny. It's up to you to acquire great new projects, not up to an agent with 30 of his own clients and 50 non-client relationships to service. It would be far worse if your own fate were not at all in your own hands.

Regina you are very unusual because most successful production companies won't even read a screenplay unless it is submitted through a WGA Agent or a Manager they know.They rely on agents to bring them the best of the best. They don't have time to read through all the bad ones hoping to find that needle in a hay stack.

Oh!! Dan, we've both made assumptions. I didn't realize you were talking about scripts in particular in your post. I do not and cannot accept unsolicited scripts for fear of "you stole my idea" lawsuits. I do actively seek out IP, e.g. books, articles, life rights, stage plays, memes, blogs, etc. When you said, "[Producers] rely on agents to bring them what they are looking for," I thought you were talking about "all" material, not specifically scripts. Completely agree with you that producers typically cannot accept unsolicited scripts, but we do actively seek out IP. I hope we haven't confused any readers!

Regina. I guess we did make assumptions. That happens sometimes and I too hope we haven't confused any readers.

there is a movie/TV profit$$ for 'memes' ?

Hi Dan, in the case of mine, if the network does a press release, or if it leaks to Deadline, I will let you know, because I can't post in a public forum yet. But yes, I'm not the only one out there with a project based on or inspired by a meme. For example, the Grumpy Cat meme became a movie on Lifetime.

To that point, producers are always looking for IP that can sell to a known buyer. People ask why producers pass. We have to pass if we can't see a path toward a sale. If we can see a path toward a sale, it's in our best interest to put in effort (we do so on spec, just like you writers write on spec) to see if we can sell the project. I talk about what producers look for in my S32 Next Level Class if anyone is interested in more detail. Please free to speak to Beth Fox Heisinger about my class as she took it. Thank you.

Regina- thats awesome! memes! Is it the "crying Jordan" ? :))) JK. keep rocking!!! psst, can I get a T-shirt when u go public? Size Medium please :)

Just to dispel any rumors, it's not "crying Jordan." But that's funny. If I'm allowed to post about it in public later on, I will!

Jordan's lawyers & Nike would sue :)

"Clayton. Producers are talent scouts. They rely on agents to bring them what they are looking for." -- Dan I know how it works. But the catch-22 thing is making agents the problem not the solution. Agents are not backing talent they think they cannot sell to producers who don't seem to know what they want, going back to my previous comment. If a producer came ready with work to an agent and said, find me talent with a, b and c, an unknown who doesn't have to have a Twitter or YouTube following, then I'm sure the agent will jump at it. Agents are about getting paid. If producers are not "showing them money" for raw, off the street talent, don't expect agents to look for such talent. Producers rely on agents and agents rely on film festivals/script competitions and they're all equally overwhelmed with submissions.

Clayton. You misunderstood what I meant to say. Some if not most producers only accept material from agents or managers they know. They know agents are in high demand and will only represent the best screenwriters out there. So that solves their problem. However, it is difficult for a screenwriter to get an agent so this is a catch-22 for the screenwriter trying to break in.

Dan G. That is different from what you wrote. And as Regina has shown, producers are not solely relying on agents. But there is something to be said about the agents and the catch-22. Still, that shouldn't stop producers from thinking outside the box. And that was my point.

I'm not going to go to go back and read what I wrote but your point is well taken and some producers do think outside the box. However we aren't going to change any of those producers that don't think outside the box. I think if a screenwriter wants to break in they are the ones that need to think outside the box.

I agree, Dan. That is why my comment you responded to before started with "Quite honestly, I don't really see a real solution." It's not going to change. It would be nice if producers collectively started taking chances on raw talent habitually, but that isn't going to happen. So, it is up to the talent to think outside the box. I know I am, and I hope you are too.

Yes Clayton I am thinking outside the box. When I was writing screenplays I attached well-known directors to them to make them more marketable. Currently I am producing four movies. I also have two more in development that were written by fairly green screenwriters.