I have commented before that truly bad writers should be discouraged. I still believe that someone needs to have a word with them so they don’t keep wasting cash on “professional help”.
Stevan Šerban recent posted a “don’t give up” thread which I also believe in. I think it comes down to having a real understanding of your potential success. Saying I am going to make it in Hollywood is a stretch, unless you know you have the skills and a concrete game place. It is more important to have small achievable goals that build momentum and more importantly skill.
What would anyone here have as an achievable goal? What will that lead to as a next step?
For me:
Finish the first Feature Production I wrote (starts shooting Dec14). Use that as a calling card to other producers. While helping the production of my other script to get funding (isn’t that a strange story - perhaps another post for another day).
Infamousness can sometimes lead into fame...check out biopic on this guy...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521126/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
I understand he's now being casted into new Suicide Squad film...
As for the success …well It would depend on each man's measure of it...however, we all do know what real success is, right? :)
Kiril Maksimoski I would say “no”. Success is incredibly subjective.
I don’t think there is one “real success”. But a lot of people are selling a secret to get it apparently.
I had a friend that wanted to reach base camp for Everest. She did it. She reached her goal - success. She never climbed to the summit. She is not a failure.
If we say Hollywood is success. We can never say Kurosawa was a successful filmmaker because all his films were made in Japan.
I personally never intend to work in Hollywood. I look at what it makes and find no freedom in it.
Hi Craig...first, Good luck on your upcoming shoot...and congratulations. Your advice is golden. Even though I started pursuing screenwriting on Jan 2017, spent thousands of dollars on educational and service oriented Sorcerers, I still consider myself a "Newbie." I learned the hard way to set small goals, and boy was I taken advantage of by a down-stream industry that takes advantage, and thrives on "rejection." Matter of fact I, and many are still recipients of such awards, and wish we would get a grade of "Better fix yourself or get out," vs the norm of "Gimmie gimmie gimme your money!"
Today, I've achieved a "meeting request" that never came to fuition (been 3 months and crickets.) Also, I've getting "considers" vs "pass," coupled with "OMG, I Love it!" I think that's at least two hurdles I've crossed, and am hopeful.
Thank you for this post...and having the guts for saying it. Best to you Sir.
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To me success is subjective. A newbie like myself - a Pass on a screenplay, but decent scores and constructive feedback - I feel is a success.
First, congratulations on your first feature in production. Also, I agree with the idea of being realistic in your goals when planning any creative or professional endeavor. Still, I have a hard time categorizing someone as a "bad writer". They are out there, of course. But coming from the perspective of an English teacher with 20+ years experience, I always try to err on the side of positivity and being constructive. "Success", in my opinion, needs to be two-fold: personal growth and quantifiable. For personal growth, a person can always get better at their craft. If you think you've arrived, you haven't. No matter the money or the awards, you can STILL get better. For quantifiable, are you getting eyes on your work? The selling and the production, even the winning awards is so subjective. So many variables a person can't control play into those achievements that they are not a reliable metric. But are you confident and productive enough to put your work out there for others to see, even scrutinize? To me, that's the rubric I use to measure success in a creative endeavor.
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I've already attained personal success so I need not fret over that. But I've learned that we all need to raise the bar by setting lofty goals; achievement is possible via quantifiable steps. My personal goal is winning an Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category before I die. Is that realistic? based on my knowledge/experience - it's possible, but unlikely. What's the point of dien' if you don't die tryin'?
I never think about success.
surprisingly, we see many bad scripts made into the movie and good one continue to wait for years. We don't have answer to it. All we can do is postmortem after movie is made.
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I've done well on the contest circuit, so I've had many people ask me to read their screenplays. I've read scripts that were total garbage and writers with the attitude of how DARE you not love my crap and try to damage my ego by make suggestions on how to fix it. But I've also read "gold" that just needed to be mined properly.
Before I read anyone's work (for free) I WARN them (several times) that I will give a "brutally honest" review. If they have a kernel of talent, I tell them. If they aren't a writer, I let them know that they shouldn't be wasting their time or money, whether it be writing ability or attitude. I believe a combo of each can determine if can succeed or not. And just because you can succeed doesn't mean you will succeed.
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Vivek Vijay Natu. That is not hard to answer. It’s a who you know. Great screenplays are used to meet people who can help you launch your career so people will hire you to write bad ones.
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Vivek Vijay Natu I believe ever film is made by a team that thinks they are making amazing art.
They raise finance, get a crew, rehearsal and everyone is through the roof with joy.
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So many folk speak of “Hollywood” as the Holy Grail of acceptance for their craft but I know writers who have written drama for twenty five years (paid) and never been USA.
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Debbie Croysdale exactly. I would swear on a stack of bibles about this next statement.
I was talking to a producer. I said where are we locating this film. They answered. “Europe. US films need things like happy endings. We see all the disaster that leads to”.
Perhaps the Hollywood model is why people ask “why are so many bad films made?”
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"It isn't what you know, it's who you know." I don't subscribe completely to this quote, but thats the whole reason we're here on this platform. We all have a skill at different levels, but it isn't the sole basis of our success. There's so many other factors, but the most important is being in the right place at the right time and saying the right thing.
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Debbie Croysdale Well, yes, there are people working in Dubai, India, all over Europe, Canada and the list goes on. Those territories may not produce the next worldwide cineplex blockbuster, but they still support working communities of film&TV professionals.
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Success is whatever you say it is :) Set a goal, achieve it, success!
When I start a project, I always define what my goals are with it, overall and the steps along the way. Otherwise you can't package, market and target what you are doing properly.
I also count partial successes, because those can be important on the next project.