How to Write a "Stunt Spec" Script That Opens Doors And Furthers Your Career
Hosted by Jeff Portnoy
$49
On Demand Webinar - Available for immediate viewing and unlimited access.
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Hosted by Jeff Portnoy
$49
On Demand Webinar - Available for immediate viewing and unlimited access.
Webinar hosted by: Jeff Portnoy
Manager at Bellevue Productions
Jeff Portnoy is a literary manager at Bellevue Productions in Los Angeles, representing writers and filmmakers working in both the Feature and Episodic spaces. Before joining Bellevue 8 years ago, Jeff worked at Creative Artists Agency as a story analyst, The Gotham Group as an executive assistant, and Resolution talent agency as the Head of their Story Department and agent trainee. Jeff has a Bachelor of Fine Artist degree in Film and Video Production from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA and attended UCLA Extension’s Writing for Film and Television program. A former aspiring writer himself, Jeff has extensive experience with – and a genuine love for – developing screen and teleplays with writers and then helping those writers package and/or sell their materials, find writing jobs and secure agency representation. Along with his colleague John Zaozirny, Jeff was featured in Variety magazine’s “New Leaders: Agents and Managers” edition in 2018. Full Bio »
Webinar Summary
Learn how to write a "stunt spec" script - a noisy script that may not sell but that will open doors in the industry and further your career - from top literary manager Jeff Portnoy of Bellevue Productions whose clients have written hit feature films such as COBWEB, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022), SUMMER OF 84, and wrote on series such as TRUE DETECTIVE, ASH VS EVIL DEAD, and more!
PLUS! You'll receive two stunt spec scripts from Jeff's own clients that have advanced their careers!
So you’re a writer who wants to stand out from the pack and get noticed? That can be hard when there are tens of thousands of writers around the world aggressively trying to get a comparatively small group of people in the industry to read their scripts and engage with them in a meaningful way.
While the prevailing wisdom tends to be “write something you can sell,” there is another school of thought that can be just as, if not more, fruitful - writing a script that is difficult or impossible to sell but the is so bold that it serves as a sample that will get you attention and meetings. A "stunt spec" script is a speculative screenplay written with the expressed purpose of attracting attention from representatives and producers, and generating general meetings and paid writing assignments.
Sometimes writing a script that is hard, or in some cases even impossible, to sell is actually the fastest way to get paid to write something else. Stunt spec scripts tend to be flashy, loud and audacious in concept, theme or action. These kinds of scripts might not fit into a neat commercial category that is easy to market or sell by financiers, studios and streamers but it just so happens that industry executives absolutely LOVE to read these kinds of scripts as samples even if the companies they work for or have deals with might feel they are too risky to actually make. But they get you noticed and that's what counts.
In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you will learn the fundamentals of a stunt spec script and how to best write one that will get you noticed by key players in the industry and get you meetings that you may otherwise have never gotten. Teaching you everything you need to know about stunt spec scripts is literary manager Jeff Portnoy of Bellevue Productions. Jeff's clients have written such hit films and series as COBWEB (2023) produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, TRUE DETECTIVE, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022, Netflix), SUMMER OF 84, ASH VS EVIL DEAD, and more! Jeff has successfully developed many stunt spec scripts with his clients that have landed on numerous industry “lists” such as The Black List and The Blood List and have placed in or won major screenwriting competitions. These scripts have helped his clients find agency representation, build a fanbase of producers and studio/streamer executives and led to paid writing gigs.
If you are looking to further your screenwriting career and become an established voice in Hollywood, this webinar is a must!
PLUS! Jeff will provide you with two stunt spec scripts that have opened doors for his clients and that you can use as references while writing your own! Downloads include:
-
BARRON: A TALE OF LOVE, LOSS & LEGACY by Nicolas Curcio (featured on The Black List)
- HAPPY LITTLE TREES by Shawn Dwyer
PRAISE FOR JEFF'S STAGE 32 TEACHING:
"A wealth of information. Gave me a lot of things to think about - especially with the tips on reading the room. Your description of how to pitch myself and my story were game-changers. Off to practice now."- Sonia H.
"What fabulous advice, Jeff, thank you!" - Greg M.
"Yep, now I know why I haven't been securing a second meeting. I have seen the light and the err of my ways."- Veronica G
"The dress code discussion was very helpful, I never knew what I should wear and now I do!"- John S.
What You'll Learn
- What Makes a Successful Stunt Spec Script?
- A novel/loud/bold/unique concept/premise alone will not make your spec a success
- A successful stunt spec must perform on ALL other levels, i.e. it must succeed within its genre and it must also be as “grounded” as possible, “elevated” and have “heart"
- Understanding What Makes an Unsuccessful Stunt Spec Script
- How to avoid common pitfalls in stunt spec scripts
- Understanding the Psychology of Why Stunt Specs Work
- Why most studio/streamer executives and producers enjoy reading dedicated stunt specs more than they enjoy reading the more produceable projects that they are inundated with and which their companies produce and/or finance
- The differences between the lens that a Producer looks through when reading/considering a screenplay and the lends that a financier looks through when they are reading/considering a screenplay
- Jeff will walk you though his subjectivity theory and how it pertains to the evaluation of screenplays and packages within the film and TV industry
- What Should You Expect from a Stunt Spec Script Once It’s Completed
- What the specific goals are and how to gauge success
- How to parlay the success of a stunt spec into paid writing assignments
- Can a dedicated stunt spec script also sell and be produced?
- The answer is yes, in some instances and no, in others
- Jeff will explain why most do not get produced and why a few have actually resulted in the writers being paid and the film being produced
- Q&A with Jeff Portnoy
About Your Instructor
Jeff Portnoy
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