Producing : Help me help you! by Kamala Lane

The main thing a indy producer wants to know is "will you take less". The producer is checking what you know so he can take you to the cleaners !!!

Oh. Good to know!

Hello Kamala. Just as a writer, WGA or not, one should know the scales with which to start at. Here is a link to the WGA rates. http://www.wgaeast.org/fileadmin/user_upload/files/ScheduleOfMinimums201... Start here, and always broker for at least WGA minimum, first. You really need a Rep to deal with Producers. A writer doesn't need ATL knowledge unless they plan on producing their own IP. But, one had better know more of the financial and business end than the creative!

Thanks for the input and link! Cheers!

I'll be checking what you know so I can take you to the cleaners. But seriously, your main concern as a writer is to write the best script you can. As a rule the more you know about the business the better. Having an idea who you think would be the ideal cast helps. Knowing something about budgets helps when you are trying to raise funds for your film. Reading books like “Mind Your Business: A Hollywood Literary Agent's Guide To Your Writing Career” and “The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script” will probably help and it’s a small investment in your writing future. Wishing much success!! BTW: The only time I would take a writer to the cleaner is to pick up her gown for Oscar night.

lol Mike. Thanks for the book suggestions.

My experience in producing my web series premiere was to gather like-minded and ambitious people who understand that it's a communal project where the project's success means their success.  Diplomacy is key.  I can honestly and humbly say that I was extremely fortunate with the whole project.  Aside from having a robust 401K, some of which I used to partly fund the project, I happened to have be friends or siblings with most of my cast & crew, all of whom are very talented.  

Check out the books, Independent Feature Film Production by Greg Goodell and Shoot To Kill by Christine Vachon. Christine's book is like my bible and is super fun to read. In my opinion, when you are first starting out, use non-union if you can. Using union workers and actors will bury you in paper work, rules and money! I'm not saying that you should have people work for free. Take the time to raise a budget and pay what you can. The quality of work will be better.

Great book suggestions, Mike! Another great book to read is, The Psychology of Script Writing. This book really puts things into perspective as far as structuring goes. It's a lot to read, but you'll get it. Another one is, You can write a movie. Google these books and you will be very happy.

Great book suggestions, Mike! Another great book to read is, The Psychology of Script Writing. This book really puts things into perspective as far as structuring goes. It's a lot to read, but you'll get it. Another one is, You can write a movie. Google these books and you will be very happy.

Another great book worthy of mention is Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434. He is Professor Emeritus of UCLA's prestigous Screenwriting 434 graduate program. Only a handful of invited undergrads get into the course. Lew's book mirrors what he teaches in that class.

I don't believe the writer should need to know about guild contracts or budget. It sure seems odd to me that a legit producer would ask. As a producer I want to read the log line. If that interests me I would ask the writer about the general budget range - low or high. If the writer didn't have a range I might ask a couple of follow up questions to see if it's something my company could afford to make. I can't imagine asking a writer if they want guild talent or union crews - that would be my call.

Rik, I am in full agreement, 100%. It seems to me that a lot of people are trying to do everything concerning film and new media. Have met a lot of newbies, (no offense!), who feel they need to not only write, but direct, and star in their own projects. In my training in the late 80's I was trained to just write, with no limits. This is true! It is not the writers responsibility to provide budgetary perameters. That is the Line Producers job. The script may change due to talent, location, etc. but that happens in development. Until then the writer should use the world as their oyster!! I admonish going OTT because it is easier to tone it down than up. In my personal experience with BTL operations, it can help me to contain certain elements that I know could cost an arm and a leg. However, I would rather write for the sake of enjoyment on the onset, and concern myself with bean counting at a much later time. I say to the writer, concern yourself with charaterization, crisp, flowing dialog, the conflict, then knock their socks off with an orgasmic ending, a climax for more tender ears. Write that calling card script that resonates with your "writing voice". That is a writers sole concern. Two thumbs up, Rik!

I said this exact thing and took so much heat for it. The people that don't want to hear this are low budget film people that do it all and have to write within limits.

Mark, don't worry about the heat! Keep expounding truth!! Some day some will be able to comprehend what you are saying!

@Mark. I wish I had you with me when I first had to deal with the lawyer and the author that hired me to adapt a book into a screenplay. Before they hired me to do that, they wanted me to do a script about a boxer who is still alive. The author knew this boxer and owned his life rights story. Pretty much the boxer was homeless on the street and would sign away anything just to make some money off his story. I went with my gut because I knew a thing or two about life rights and writing about public people. In the writers agreement, they had put a clause in there that I was holding them not responsible for any law suits that came from the script. I had to adapt the script based on a unfinished book that the author wrote. Anybody could have came out of the wood work and took me to court if they felt that I was writing a character that was them, even if I changed the name. They also wanted me to know how much the movie would cost to produce.

Kristen very interesting. I have been producing for 30 years. For me to budget a script it has taken years of understanding lighting camera food and locations and a million other factors. For a writer to tell a producer about budget would b like me telling a girl about her period. joke you know I love you !!!

asking for a budget on a non existent script is like asking a builder to budget a house without floor plans. Kristen's experience validates a point I always stress. This is BUSINESS and when dealing with lawyers and contracts, one had better know what one is doing, and make sure one has appropriate legal counsel, IF one can. Kristen, hope the situation worked out favorable for you. A question in regards to the boxer situation? How did someone get the rights to a homeless man's life story? Wow! Incredible!.

You're too funny Mark! It does seem crazy, but even when I read scripts they ask me to estimate budget. I just pull a number out of the sky. But I guess they ask the readers because we know how many characters, locations, etc. But how do we know who is going to be cast? i don't know the salary of a big star or anything else.

@Daniel. The author literally sat there the day we were supposed to sign the above mentioned contract. The boxer walked in and he said to him, "I need the life rights to turn your story into a movie instead of a book." Like I mentioned, this man would do anything to make up for the money that he lost in his boxing days. The author promised him a percentage of the script sale to pay for the life rights. If the script doesn't sell, we all get nothing. i turned that script down because I could just see the lawsuits piling up and I would have to answer them. The lawyer was not willing to get permission from his associates, other boxers, friends, family. They just told me to change the names. I knew enough to know that this is not that simple.

Maybe this should be in a different thread but here’s my answer to most budget questions; “Somewhere between EL MARIACHI and AVATAR.”

It also depends upon how you are going about seeking investors. Many writers also produce their own projects, so in that case, you WOULD have a budget; however, if that is where you are at, you should also have an entertainment lawyer, a CPA and your LLC firmly in place. :O)

My answer to such queries, no matter how redundant and untimely they may be is, "Depends on how you package it, and where you want it to go. The sky is the limit!" Not a fan of tossing out speculative figures. Kristen, nice to hear you suffered no damages.

Yeah. I hope not. I exhausted the lawyer with fixing the contract for the book I adapted. We'll see.

Wow. So much info! I guess I'll start with those books! Thanx!