Screenwriting : The most extreme thing you've done hoping to break into the industry. by Naithan Hilaire

Oh, man, legally or illegally.... when I was younger with more hair and less bills, I met a dude my age who was a Yakuza gangster. He had a girlfriend who wanted to be an actress and she read and loved my script- an erotic Detective story! I met dude in a basement sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo; dude's arms and neck were covered with tats, wore a $50K AP watch. And he had 4 gangsters/homies joining us...dude was throwing big numbers. Cash payments. No contracts to sign. Everything shady...and I was still okay with it at that time of my life.... anyways, cash never came.

I would suggest to new writers to get a job and learn how to make movies for a living. There must be something else than rock star writer & director jobs; different mindset when you're in this game

For real, put bread on table.

Dan MaxXx Lol! This is a story in itself. Surely you wrote a script about the experience. What did you call it?

5 Gangsters and an Actress. Lol.

Logline: Drowning in debt, a rookie screenwriter encounters a spoiled actress -the daughter of the notorious Yakuza leader, Shinobu Tsukasa- who desires his script but refuses to pay for it.

I'm clean ... my friend was writing a script for a "made man" (aka: mafia), they had a disagreement, and the man said he would kill my friend. My friend calmly said, "I've honored and will continue to honor our agreement. If you can't honor the agreement because you lack honor then will void the agreement." The man had to keep his honor and said he misunderstood what my friend had written. How's that for a good story like Dan's and knowing what makes people tick?

Music is worse. So many active criminals posing as legit Music Producers money-laundering records.

Lindbergh Hollingsworth great story. I hope you're not expecting a title and logline for that also. LOL

Dan MaxXx 100% worse.

A younger me with a nothing-to-lose attitude once visited the offices of a major channel . After determining which building housed the executive suits, I walked up to the front door, found the combination lock slightly ajar, walked in and informed the lobby girl that I had a delivery to make to the top exec. She pointed me up up some expensive stairs. I climbed up and found a big office there empty, placed a sample script on the desk and left.

Months passed. Then one day my phone rang. It was the major exec I'd been trying to reach. He said "I'm sitting out here by my pool reading your script. You're obviously a very good writer, something I'm not very good at. Would you like to talk?" A few years, many projects, and thousands of dollars later, I was still on call with this guy as a dependable , go-to writer.

Erik - Thank you so much for sharing this story. This is both amazing and inspiring.

Erm...where's your office again? Lol.

Beyond the obvious. Do you have any suggestions on what writers can do to break into the industry?

I used to write on legal pads and give my scripts to a decent typist. Eventually I found an excellent typist who just happened to work for CAA. She loved my writing. I got three options through her many contacts and an introduction to a producer. Although nothing came of the options, as a newbie they were a major boost to my confidence.

Thank you for sharing. I don't recall seeing any of your scripts on Stage 32. Are you working on anything that you're prepared to let me read?

Not unless you're someone with an impressive track record of success. I'm long past the point of begging for other's opinions. Sorry.

Erik- Sorry for any offence caused. It's my habit to ask writers if I can read their script. I don't do this to necessarily share my opinion. I genuinely enjoy reading scripts to improve my writing abilities, style and explore other genres. I consistently read scripts from more accomplished writers like yourself, which is the likely cause of my rapid improvement as a writer.

As for my success, I have only just started to make a name for myself. I have a handful of projects in pre-production and scripts currently being considered by Netflix UK and 50Cent (Starz). I also have recognised B-List talent attached to several of my projects which is usually a good sign.

I do not see myself as accomplished like yourself, and that's why I always look to the wise to impart the knowledge necessary for success.

Again, sorry for any offence caused. This was'nt my intention.

Nothing and thank God I think I never will...maybe the main reason I'm out of it, but Dan and Lindbergh are right...even in this forsaken place and alike, movies are often related to underground financing, be it crime organizations, shady politicians or businessmen you don't wanna know how came to money...

When I was still in college and didn't know any better, I was offered a service to pay a fee to have my script sent off to hundreds of industry emails. I think it was $50 but might have been $100. Ultimately I paid it, because compared to the cost of a contest entry, that's not even that bad.

One of the big problems that I now know is that the script, which was my first, was definitely not ready to be sending to people. If I could go back and prevent myself from sending it out, that's the reason I would.

To the guy's credit, he did not con me. He really did get my script sent out to countless industry emails. How he had all those emails, I don't know. I actually did get a number of read requests, none of which went anywhere, and a green agent offered to sign me. I ultimately didn't let them sign me, but I let them option that script for a year with no fee to me. Ultimately nothing happened with it and the option period ended. No surprise there.

What was interesting was that these email were legit and many of them private. One guy replied to the email asking how I got his email and got angry when I told him how I had obtained it. He threatened to report me to Google for spam and very well may have went out of his way to blacklist my name. For all I know, he's the reason I'm not as far along in my career as I'd like to be now. It's probably not that, but who really knows?

Terrence - The naivety of us when we first start out, eh.

Are you saying that you feel like you've been blocked from the entire industry? I'm intrigued because I haven't heard of this before. I've heard of actors/directors being cancelled but never writers.

And before I forget...

That black book of email contacts that you had...you still got 'em? If so, what's the damage? Lol.

Thanks for the mention, Naithan Hilaire. I appreciate that.

I make script posters, treatments, and pitch decks to pitch my feature and TV projects. It's not the craziest thing you can do to squeeze your foot in the door, but making these things have helped when pitching. I also look for ways to stand out from other writers.

I would suggest to writers: "Make sure you learn the screenwriting craft well before pitching so you can have a great script to pitch." This will help get your scripts sold and produced. Also read scripts. This will help you write better scripts.

Move to LA from DC

Maurice - I do the same. People now pay me to create front covers and decks on their behalf. I read their script and then put together a mood board and everything. Happy to exchange some work with you. May even get new ideas from each other.

Great advice. The story is the most crucial part, along with the logline. However, I continually hear that unless you're already established or have a strong network, a front cover is an effective way to draw eyes to your scripts. So long as it's done correctly. As you said earlier, it's a way to separate yourself from the masses. I also think social media has played a role in this shift. More and more producers/directors are victims of social media's instant gratification and feedback, which is why front covers/decks are becoming more popular.

A couple years ago, someone said to me, "You can have the best-undiscovered script in the world. But suppose you're unable to capture and stimulate the mind of the producer/director in your opening sentence. In that case, they won't engage further. Just like a movie requires an opening image. Your introduction needs one also, or your script will remain precisely that, undiscovered."

This blew my mind because it made sense. It was further cemented when Shane Stanley interviewed and confirmed he wants to see nothing more than a front cover and two-pager. I assume this must be the case for many industry professionals, especially in Hollywood.

Tangent over, lol.

Kay - I am moving to Florida with the entire family. Initially, I was gonna move to Nevada to be closer to LA, but we have so much family in Florida that it makes better sense to settle there. I know I'm still 40hrs away drive from LA, but it's a lot closer than the UK, lol.

Naithan Hilaire What I was saying was that I could have been black listed from that occurrence and I wouldn't even know it since I was so green that I didn't really have an in anyway. It was more a joke since there's no way to prove it one way or another. My lack of fame could just be a lack of talent. But it's easier to blame a naïve decision from my youth lol.

As for that email list, the guy sent the emails out for me, so I never formally saw the list. But he used an email I created especially for the script. If I had thought about it at the time, I probably could have compiled a list of industry emails. It's been so long since I looked at that account that Google probably burned it at some point. I should try to see if it can be recovered just for the laugh.

Naithan Hilaire Florida is a great place for filmmaking. It’s less expensive and the weather is more predictable. You should be able to build up a community of supporters there.

Terrence - Phew. My initial thoughts were that you were joking, but as the detail of the story progressed, I second-guessed myself.

Just a suggestion, but one of the main advantages of collaborating is that you cover each other's shortfalls. We have some excellent writers in my team but are terrible at pitching. Others have great concepts/ideas but understand how to bring that alive on paper. So by collaborating and having a formal agreement in place that protects all parties involved, the chances of your work being produced/bought/optioned are significantly increased. See it as a business. No one man is expected to be the master of all skillsets. Hence the need for employees, management, systems, etc.

Again, no approach is full proof, but I have personally found this helpful. I had initially received a lot of stick in my early screenwriting days labelled a talentless writer who depends on collaborations. However, theirs something about producing receipts for scripts sold that can put all noise to rest.

Just a suggestion, but if I were you. I'd collaborate with someone who covers any shortfall in your own skillset and actively work on that area of development until you're competent enough to go solo. It's an ideal opportunity to learn directly from peers on live projects. As long as they can see the value you add to them, you will have the added benefit of tapping into their network.

If you can find the details for that email address- you're laughing.

Collette - This is my intention. God willing, I will have my scripts with Netflix and 50Cent (Starz) greenlit. Otherwise, I will NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. Just as I always have.

Thank you for your insight. Truly appreciated. Any introductions are also welcome, lol.

Looking forward to exchanging work with you, Naithan Hilaire.

"You can have the best-undiscovered script in the world. But suppose you're unable to capture and stimulate the mind of the producer/director in your opening sentence. In that case, they won't engage further. Just like a movie requires an opening image. Your introduction needs one also, or your script will remain precisely that, undiscovered." That's true. And the best script in the world is useless if it's locked away and never pitched.

Kevin Hart’s production company was recently looking for new material. I think it was announced in Variety. I’ll look for it and send the details to you Naithan Hilaire.

Here are the details about Kevin Hart. https://deadline.com/2022/02/kevin-hart-launches-hartbeat-independent-12...

Colette - Thank you for digging this up for me. I truly appreciate it.

Maurice - Likewise. DM me your email address, and I'll send you something I'm currently working on. I hope to have the script ready and sent in the next two weeks as it was requested by Jason Kolinsky-Save the cat.