Top 20 Cities in the U.S. to work as a Screenwriter outside of LA & NYC: www.screenwritingstaffing.com/post/top-20-cities-in-the-u-s-to-work-as-a...
Top 20 Cities in the U.S. to work as a Screenwriter outside of LA & NYC: www.screenwritingstaffing.com/post/top-20-cities-in-the-u-s-to-work-as-a...
This article is dated March 4th, (not sure the year). Today, August 7th, 2020, there are over 32M Americans unemployed, Disney lost $5 billion last qrtr, Talent Agencies layoffs, film festivals and trade events cancelled, Broadway plays are closed until next year, movie theaters closed.
Anybody else wanna predict the best U.S. cities to work as a screenwriter in a pandemic decade?
We've moved beyond the days of the Pony Express. Now we have the phone, internet with Skype and Zoom. I know that 'Hollywood has eve loved' but I think it matters not for writers.
I'm sorry to say Doug Nelson but it does matter. Screenwriters do not only write in a room. It's necessary to go outside, go to events, startups, festivals, meet people in cafes who also write, get involved with people who share the same dreams, be part of others lives so you can succeed together, write their stories too besides yours, go to conferences, "eat" culture, go to the theatre and listen to the audience comments, etc. Unfortunately, a writer does not "grow" just by reading books and writing stories. See how many known writers there are from those cities, and now compare them with writers from small villages outside the U.S. Look at the numbers.
I would love to say that the internet is the only tool writers need to succeed so we don't need to do anything else besides writing, but it just isn't true.
4 people like this
I grew by reading books and writing stories. I'm based in a rural village in the middle of England where there's still horses and carts on the roads. The internet helped make that happen (not the carts, the breaking in). When I was in LA, I saw a few people I already knew and, while it was nice to see them in person, I wasn't any more enabled than I would be simply emailing/Skyping them. A lot of the social culture around filmmaking is chat and procrastination.
To quote Seth Rogan, "They want to talk for five hours so they can write for ten minutes".
I think you just need to find your fit. If I was a WGA writer, obviously I'd want to be in LA as close to the studios as possible. If I was producing indie features more regularly, I'd probably be better off on the outskirts or a city more geared to that type of production. If I was reliant on art funding to make films without commercial pressure, I may be better off in London, Berlin, Dublin, Austin, or Toronto. I know people living on the East coast who prefer to be outside the scene and fly in for meetings.
This pandemic is a huge shake up too. A lot of those hopefuls scraping by for film work in the likes of LA were supporting their income with hospitality work. Chinese and Russian film companies are getting super aggressive right now because they a land grab see opportunity. It seems every other industry member wants out of Hollywood and the USA. I wouldn't want to bet a dime on what happens as I have no idea but I don't feel that writers trying to break in should feel they need to be near a hub.
The new normal is virtual. For research on cities, Frommers.com .
2 people like this
If you can write good screenplays that show you know the business and how to write for it then it doesn't matter where you live.
2 people like this
CJ Walley I had to laugh at the horses and carts. Not because it seems weird but because, I've gone to pick up my youngest at her school and have seen other kids being picked up on horseback, on 4-wheelers, on tractors and with pet goats.
Writers can write from anywhere, but it's helpful to have the ability to travel to the city if you have to. It's as simple as: Sidestepping horse poo vs. homeless man poo.
1 person likes this
LOL Cannon Rosenau! You know it's funny. I was learning all about the history of Beverly Hills last night. Barely a hundred years old and here's me living in a town referenced in the Doomsday Book.
Any given city in south-eastern Europe...especially if tied to a ruling political party...you'll basically be paid on a monthly basis without pretty much doing nothing....creative at least :)