hello all please don't get me wrong. i wrote a script and submitted it to several very talented people for a critique and received priceless advise. nearly all of them were very accomplished and very helpful. many won screenwriting contests, had short stories made, have super credentials, etc. i bless the few who were helpful and questioned the ones i viewed as incompentents. then how come i never see their names on the screenwriting credits for truly great movies? or did i miss them? is it because they have "made it" there is no longer a financial need for them to give advice? or is it enough for most to have i guess what could be considered a "moderate" success movie made... kinda like the ones that go straight to dvd? i wish my script could get even that far and would be extremely happy for any kind of recognition... whether winning a contest, attracting an agent, etc. does one have to be a well-known screenwriter already credited with mega-hits or an established studio writer to REALLY make an impact? if so, are all these script contests, consultants, services, webinairs, networking, etc. a waste of time, money and emotion mandatory in order to attain a real success? i would imagine what one's interpretation of success would be. or does it take saving n. cage's life in a restaurant while he was choking on a piece of meat in order to have him feel grateful enough to take a look at your script, fall in love with it and demand from "his people" that the movie be made with him as the leading star? i recently entered a pitch fest and almost immediately upon signing up received an email from the same group sponsoring the pitch fest offering to help polish or write the pitch ( with prices from $50-$150). when i got the feedback it almost seemed the few lines the professionals offered were about another script... including the advice that my trailer needed to be shorter. my trailer? on a written pitch with no mention of a trailer? (as is turns out, i do have several trailers, 30 seconds each, but neither was mentioned in my pitch). or is it all about knowing somebody who knows somebody... and a huge supply a luck? is this the real way to go to get your script made into a movie. or can you claw your way up going thru the offerings, resources, advice and talents of the dozens of super websitesand people here such as this? i am reminded of one info-mercial. the maker GUARANTEED that one needed no talent, no money, no experience, etc. in order to make A FORTUNE!!! and all you had to do was send in a measly $10 or something like that and ANYONE who did so would certainly make their fortune right away! there was a shot during the infomercial of a roomful of people sending off hundreds of mailers to people who bit. these mail-room people looked unhappy and i doubt they got paid much to mail off the information guaranteed to make you a millionaire. my first thought was that if ANYONE could do this with practically NO money to invest, they why were THEY not taking their employer's offer and making millions instead of a dead-end job sending off mailers? (i am not comparing that sham kind of operation to legitimate script services or whatever, please do not mis-understand me... i only wonder about the extent, if any, that a fruitless spinning of wheels may occur in the script business). for myself, i used the services of several great script consultants (and a few who were jokes in my opinion) but i did get some really great advice. i wrote a script, re-wrote it at least a dozen times, developed a website for it, made a few cheapie trailers, designed a fictional "movie lobby" poster, put the script up on amazon/b & n as an e-book and even constructed a few of the working prop machines that could be used in the movie. http://www.thelastfriendsofwilliecoyote.com/ so what am i getting wrong or right here? i am not defensive and can take any heat that may come my way. i am even willing to accept that i am so off-base here i might as well be on the moon. personally, i wrote my script mostly for my own pleasure (a name in the title was fudged a little to avoid any possible trademark issues). are we to hope for the best some kind of moderate success, or are we just spinning our wheels? again, i would be delighted with any kind of contest win or such so i am not taking that victory away from those that have. no sour grapes here. best of luck to you all stephen thor p.s. excuse all lower-caps... i do that when writing casually..
Screenwriting : If the people you paid to give a critique on your screenplay were so good they why have i not ever seen their movie? by Stephen Thor
If the people you paid to give a critique on your screenplay were so good they why have i not ever seen their movie?
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Well their is a old saying of "Those who can't do, Teach." You haven't heard of their movie because... One: We're Screenwriter's we prove our credibility and reliability by how many scripts we have written and completed and have hopefully sold. Selling gives us more credibility, but it depends on what type of job going after. 2: They might have just sold the script and the studio just never did anything with it or they are still trying to make it. 3: They need money and unless they are working with people to make their screenplays happen on the indie circuit you'll most likely never see them. A good example is this, I'm a Screenwriter and I'm very good at all facets of Screenplay writing. I focus on quality and I can show Short Scripts I have written that reflect that. I have also written a feature film of 99 pages. Now I can prove through my Scripts that I have the skills to be paid to act as a Script Consultant or to be hired as a Writer (Which is what I'm trying to do now, because for me this a Career) but you've never seen any of my screenplays and I don't have credits because none of my work has made it out of post. However, that is not my fault as a Screenwriter. I hope this post helps. If the information you get benefits you than it's not a waste, but you should always be wary. I always make sure my stuff is legally protected, unless it's going to people I trust.
thanks steven you have some solid information which makes a lot of sense to me. my impression here is that you and others here simply have a love of writing scripts and consulting or writing scripts for others are your main focus... plus it does not hurt to get paid for it either. seems to me a pretty good way to spend some time and make a few bucks. regarding my script, i am constantly making what i consider corrections or improvements (in my mind anyways) and i get a lot of satisfaction out of it, whether it goes anywheres or not almost besides the point. regarding the stuff being protected i understand (my script is registered with both the wga and library of congress) but i'm not concerned about it. i just wish after seeing batman 4 or spiderman 6 or whatever they are up to by now plus the dozens of other classic animated shows i think that people would be at least that interested in seeing the first live-action roadrunner movie ever (space jam does not count). if someone can make a better script about it and sell it to warner bros. more power to them. personally, i just don't have the guts to hand my script over to a w.b. executive while he or she is taking a pee in the bathroom or trapping them in an elevator for the infamous 30 second pitch before i get tossed out on the pavement, rolling around on the ground with my script having been torn up and blowing around the parking lot! hmmm... an agent... maybe that's the ticket but from what i understand no agent worth his/her salt will even look at your work unless you have won contests, wrote multiple scripts, etc. i was so happy when i first got my script reviewed by a service! i went around to all my friends and told them that my script passed! like passing a test or similar. then i found out what pass really meant... ok, i'm kidding there but it was confirmation that it was due for another rewrite anyways... and another rewrite... and another. thanks again for your info, it is greatly appreciated... p.s. how about an out and out shameless bribe to an executive/agent? well, i guess that would be considered unethical but it seems the government seems to work pretty well using that procedure. (just kidding... sorta) stephen thor
Ask Dean Smith or Roy Williams if people should heed their coaching. After all, they never won any national championships as players. Roy Williams never even played on a Division-I college team! Yet, his teams (players) have won 2 national championships and he remains one of the best coaches in college basketball. You don't have to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay in order to know how to structure a good script or understand the film-making industry. If a director has never won an Oscar for Best Actor should he give advice to an actor about how to play the character or scene? Of course! One does not beget the other. One thing I would give special credence to, is if the person offering critique was ever a reader for a major studio. THAT is the person to whom I would listen.