Silver Screenwriting

Posts Tagged ‘screenwriters’

- and the race is ON! Get those scripts in quick as you can, screenwriters – the Silver Screenwriting deadline is on June 1st! For those in the UK and the US, this is a long holiday weekend – just enough time to give that script one more run through and submit!

The grand prize winner will enjoy four fabulous days in Los Angeles, meet managers, get producer reads and lunch with Shane Black. Oh and get $3,000 in cash. Oh and a MacBook Air. Not a bad haul!

Use your timely wisely this weekend and qualify in time for a shot to win all the goodies listed above and MORE.

In other news, RIP Gary Coleman – “whatchu talkin’ bout Willis” goes down with the best of ‘em.

So you’ve written several scripts, gotten feedback, done your homework, paid your dues and got into three fights with somebody on a message board.  Now I’ll give you the keys to the kingdom. Drum roll, please….

In order of efficacy, here are the best methods for seeking representation:

1) Friend of a friend.
2) Be a competition winner or finalist
3) Query selectively using the HCD
4) The Schwab’s Drugstore Fantasy

FRIEND OF A FRIEND
The friend of a friend is obviously something very few people can take advantage of. But you can cultivate relationships in the business that could lead to a hand-off at some point in the future. You never know. That’s how I got my first manager. But as I look back, it was a long time coming until the stars were aligned and I just so happened to have a good script and it just so happened to be right up that manager’s alley. Luck = timing + opportunity. How can you tip the odds? Network, network, network.

COMPETITIONS
A much more realistic approach is to enter your scripts into competitions. There are many to choose from and by and large, they really are a terrific way to get noticed. I would avoid those contests that run competitions frequently and that don’t seem to have much in the way of industry credibility. In my opinion, some competitions which can really pay off for you are:

The Nicholls Fellowship
The Austin Film Festival
Final Draft Big Break
The Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition
Slamdance
The Silver Screenwriting Competition
Creative Screenwriting Expo Competition

Competition winners will have their work exposed to industry professionals. Some competitions are more illustrious than others – Nicholls comes to mind – but all of these competitions are designed to help launch writers. I urge all my clients to enter as many of these competitions as they can.

QUERYING
This is not the most effective method but hey, if you aren’t a neighbor of Jason Reitman or a friend of a friend of Josh Olsen, you gotta make like the regular people and  buy yourself the latest edition of the Hollywood Creative Directory for agents and managers (it is updated quarterly) or get an online subscription of same. As you flip through the book, have your IMDB at the ready. Read the company descriptions carefully, look up execs and their resumes.

If you are a newer writer, the smaller boutique management shingles are the best place to look. The HCD will include absolutely everybody but there are two things to be very aware of: The long shots and the shysters. A short list of the long shot agencies and management firms would include:

CAA
ICM
WME (William Morris/Endeavor)
UTA
Benderspink

We know that these agencies represent the crème de la crème in both the literary and acting realms. Not the best place for a newbie to come a’ knockin’. Which is not to say you can’t try – just be aware that it would be quite an accomplishment to even get a response to your query through these venues.  Just keeping it real, folks.

The shysters are usually the one-man outfits, usually. With addresses outside of Los Angeles or New York. Yes there are managers and agents in Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis; but that’s not where the business is. How effective and connected is a manager who can’t do lunch easily and regularly with potential buyers? As you peruse the HCD, IMDB the principal and see if anything comes up. If you do call or query, absolutely do NOT pay a fee for anything. Some of these unethical charlatans prey on new writers by charging fees to send your work out. These types of people are tempting for new writers because they will pick up the phone more or less immediately, they will talk to you and they will agree readily (most often) to read your material. That’s because they aren’t in the business of making deals – they are in the business of bilking writers. If it’s too good to be true – it probably is.

Do not pay any fees – ever. Believe more highly in your work than to be lured into the grasp of these bottom feeders.

The steps to get representation through querying are quite simple:

1) write a great script
2) then write another one
3) stick with the same genre
4) have a dossier of several great ideas in the form of loglines
5) write a brief, powerful, polite, effective query letter
6) get hold of a Hollywood Creative Directory
7) focus on 10 to 15 agents or managers that seem like a good fit
8) query
9) wait
10) wait more
11) follow up with an email or phone call if you haven’t heard back in six weeks

Pretty simple, right? It actually is. But here is what writers often do – they jump the gun. They query when they only have ONE good script. They don’t get feedback on what they think is a good script and so really have no idea where they stand. They query managers or agents all over town, indiscriminately, without doing any research. They send poorly worded queries with dull loglines and wonder what’s up with the silence.

If a manager or agent likes your query, you should hear back pretty quickly. If they like the read, you’ll hear back quite quickly. They’ll ask you what else you have. They’ll ask you about you – your writing experience, where you live, what competitions you may have placed in.

THE SCHWABS DRUGSTORE FANTASY

Legend has it that Lana Turner was discovered while sipping a soda at Schwab’s Drugstore in Hollywood. And hell, that’s not even true. It was the Top Hat café. See, you just cain’t never believe what you hear. The point being that we’ve all heard stories of an actor or writer being discovered at odd moments or locations. And yes, it can indeed happen. Which is why you should always be prepared to talk about your work. However. The instances of a writer making a profitable connection with a representative or producer while shopping for shampoo are – well – miniscule. If you are doing everything in this list to find representation and then you run into Tom Hanks while you are checking out with your Clairol Herbal Essence – terrific. But don’t count on it.

You know you do it. You compulsively tweak your script. A little here a little there, you can’t leave it alone. You go back through the pages and change dialogue. And change it back. And fix an action line. And fix it back. But then the real trouble begins. You tweak something on page thirty-two which necessitates changing something on page seventeen. And page forty-nine. Now you’re done. Time to send that script off to a competition, consultant, friend – whoever. But wait – one more tweak r-i-g-h-t here…

When does a writer know when to leave well enough alone? Make sure that every time you open your script you have an actual goal in mind. Maybe you are in the midst of adding new scenes, aka actually completing your script. Maybe you just got some notes and you’re addressing the pertinent sequences. Maybe you’re just rereading it one last time and OH LOOK there’s something to tweak.

The problem with tweaking ad infinitum is that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Yes, tweaking can improve your pages, but if you do it compulsively, sort of like chewing a fingernail, you can actually damage your script and/or just be wasting your valuable time. Because your time is very valuable, as a screenwriter. Anyone can go back through and rearrange punctuation, but what actually improved and shifted in your last session with your script?

So before you open your script for the day, ask yourself: what is the goal of this writing session? Am I tweaking here and there but ultimately getting the work done? Or am I stalled out in tweak-mode? In many ways, tweaking is the way screenwriters justify to themselves that they are working on the script so lay off! But – it’s a little lie they tell themselves because they aren’t actually being productive at all.

Getting notes for free (or cheap) from message board types can be heaven and it can be hell. Some who offer free notes really are quite good at it – and others – well, they aren’t very experienced.

Bad note givers are totally SUBJECTIVE. They give their opinion based on what they like and how they would write this story. But it’s not their story. They make overt suggestions ala what THEY would do if the story were theirs. Sometimes they’ll change or suggest dialogue to the way they would like to see it written. Cardinal no-no.

Bad note givers have an unearned sense that they KNOW what is good and what is bad. And usually this vibe comes across in the notes. Ergo, bad note givers put the writer on the defensive.

Because some free note giver on a message board offers to give you notes doesn’t mean that they’ll be bad – or good. The stumbling block is that you’ll be on the defensive very quickly because the free note giver has very little experience doing this. So the jumping off point is dysfunctional; they aren’t experienced, so they have no authority in your view, and you’ll get defensive and they might be too subjective…and the whole experience can be a mess.

Free notes are hit or miss. The problem is that if they are a miss, the writer is left with a feeling of having been judged by someone not qualified to judge them…and even if there were salient points, they will not hear those points. It’s like I said about the spoonful of sugar.

Giving good notes is like being a therapist – oh, sure, the therapist sits there in their cashmere scarf sipping tea, all curled up in their chair and they seem very ordinary – they don’t discuss your issues with you from a technical standpoint – they get you comfortable but while you’re talking, they’re running your issues through their Psychology Degree Learning Background and searching for and addressing issues that have distinct jumping off points from an academic point of view. But when they talk to you, they put it in such a way that makes you feel comfortable. Something good is happening in this interaction but it’s beneath the surface. If they asked you questions more directly, you’d shut down and now the session is useless. It’s about how to get people to open up and hear you.

Free (and bad) note givers don’t have enough experience working with writers to use this methodology. They may (or may not) have some good points to make on the script but they don’t know how to deliver that information in such a way that the writer feels empowered. And though they’d never admit it in a million years, they get ego-gratification about pointing out what’s wrong with your script because somewhere deep inside there’s a little voice saying I could do this better than you.

A professional reader doesn’t have that voice because they just don’t care enough. They don’t know you, they have nothing invested in who’s a better writer. It’s a job. On a message board, there’s sometimes a weird, gossipy thing that goes on where someone offers to give you notes, and then they can sort of say on the board, in hushed tones – Oh, I read that script – it really isn’t that great. It’s one-upmanship. Professional readers aren’t into that. They aren’t going to go to CURLYGIRL3 and say Hey, did you know that FOXYCHICK isn’t a very good writer? Did you know that? She posts so much about her accomplishments but she’s really not that great!

A lot of writers can fall into one-upmanship. It happens. A writer is getting traction on a script and suddenly everyone wants to read it. Know why this happens? Not because they are truly curious as to what makes a script gain traction but because they secretly want to say – Oh. It’s not really that great. I have NO idea why that script is at William Morris. Hmmph.

Free notes can be a nice thing to receive but please, please consider the source. And if you OFFER to give free notes, ask yourself this – what is your agenda? Can you set aside your ego and just be honest? Are you really qualified to do this? I mean, sometimes a person will say hey, I just want your knee-jerk opinion. Did you laugh? Did you like it? Well, just about anybody is qualified to do that and that’s a nice thing. But do check in with your motivation on giving or receiving free notes. If you are getting the notes, are you secretly looking for praise or respect? If you are giving them are you secretly hoping to establish that YOU are the better writer?

Seven signs that your super cool free read was a very bad idea:

1) You feel defensive and upset.

2) The notes contain snarky comments and put-downs.

3) The person who offered is a blowhard on your local message board.

4) The notes are specific, not global and the reader offered advice that you dislike.

5) The person uses the word “I” a lot. (I liked this. I didn’t like that. I would do this. I wouldn’t do that.)

6) The person actually rewrote or suggested dialogue.

7) The person made plot suggestions that do not fit and spin the script in a totally new direction.

So (non) buyer beware. Free notes are a blessing and a curse. You need to vet who’s offering. And you need to check in with yourself – can you set your ego aside? Can you take what makes sense and dump the rest? Do you respect this person? Do they know a lot about screenwriting or do they just claim to give totally honest feedback? I will be totally honest with you is often a code for: I’ll rake you over the coals to make myself feel better. Believe it. I’ve been on the receiving end of that and I do think that experience in some ways led me to my current philosophy that giving notes must be done in such a way that it is respectful and palatable. Because if I’m going to take the time to read your script I want you to get something out of it.

Screenwriters! Our scriptwriting competition is a contest like no other. In our neverending quest to make you a better writer, The Script Department and Julie Gray created the most effective  screenwriting competition for writers. Even with over $13,000 in prizes, we reward our entrants with something even more precious than silver or gold — a chance to kick-start a career. 

In this, our third year of existence, The Silver Screenwriting Competition has so far welcomed a record-breaking number of scripts and we love it! So much so that we had to extend our deadline to June 1st!

We’ve also raised the bar because this year, the top ten finalists will be judged both by Julie Gray AND by Kristen Campo, CE at Fuse Entertainment. Kristen will also be taking a meeting with the Grand Prize Winner.

See what last year’s winner, Kodjo Akeseh Tsakpo had to say about his amazing week in Los Angeles, meeting Steve Faber (WEDDING CRASHERS) Josh Zetumer (THE BOURNE IDENTITY) and Jeff Bushell (BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA) to name only a few!

Check out the grand prize for 2010!

GRAND PRIZE

• MacBook Air
• Round trip flight to Los Angeles
• Lunch with SHANE BLACK
• A one-on-one conversation via Skype with Chris Sparling, writer of red hot Sundance feature BURIED, starring Ryan Reynolds
• 3 nights accommodations
• A meeting with Kristen Campo, CE, Fuse Entertainment
• A day of meetings with 2 managers
• $3,000 in cash

Submit today for the chance to come to LA, kick-start your career by building relationships, and experience what it feels like in the day of a life of a writer in Hollywood.

For questions you may have about how to enter or more descriptions of our awesome prizes, please email us HERE. Be patient, you guys are going nuts this year!

Bet on Blood (horror) by Patrick Barb
Chimana (romantic drama) by Paiman Kalayeh
Endowment (drama) by Ian Samplin
Everlasting (drama) by Brent Spencer and Jonis Agee
Fertile Attraction (rom-com) by Mariah Wilson
Hair Today (comedy/family) by Dennis Douda
Hero Quest (action/comedy) by Joel Dorland
Horror Comic (thriller) by Stephen Hoover
Hunting Picasso (thriller) by Marlene Shikegawa
Inugami (thriller) by Rich Figel
Life Among the Ruins (heist thriller) by Anthony Fisher
Meadowlanz (drama) by Moon Molson
Mechanicsville (drama) by Jason Thornton and Chris Thornton
My Brother Mick (drama/thriller) by Kim Nunley
Offramps (comedy) by Patrick O’Riley
One Night Stand (horror) by Ian Coyne
Plus Size (comedy) by Jacob Roman
Raeford’s Grill (drama) by David Meyer
Shift (thriller) by Kodjo Akeseh Tsakpo
The Basement (drama) by Scott Shackleford
The Cool Kids (thriller) by Cliff Zimonowski
The Great American Loser (dramedy) by Jess DiGiacinto
The Happiness Experiment (dramedy) by Alex Darrow
The Warriors of Westgate (drama) by Michael Harriel
Upgrade (sci-fi) by Louis Rosenberg
Way to the Cage (drama) by Richard Michael Lucas
When in Limbo (thriller) by Adam King

A

ALASKA SAAB STORY (comedy) by Clark Harding

B

BABY GIRL (dramedy) by Jennifer Babin
BET ON BLOOD (horror) by Patrick Barb
BLUE LADY (thriller) by Ron Cecchini
BURIED ON PAGE 8 (dark comedy) by Jennifer Harrison

C

CANARIES (thriller) by Craig Cambria
CHIMANA (romantic drama) by Paiman Kalayeh
CHRISTMAS CAROLE (comedy) by Heidi Bordogna
CRACKER JACK MAN (thriller) by Rich Sheehy

D

DJINN (horror) by Matthew Altman
DRAWING MARIA (drama) by Patrick Kadas

E

EMULSION (neo-noir) by Ryan Lewis
ENDOWMENT (drama) by Ian Samplin
ERASURE (thriller) by Michael Grebb
EVERLASTING (drama) by Brent Spencer

F

FERTILE ATTRACTION (rom-com) by Mariah Wilson
FIGURE 8 (thriller) by Bruce Glassman

G

H

HAIR TODAY (comedy/family) by Dennis Douda
HALFLAND (fantasy) by E. Arriaga
HEMLINES (comedy) by Rachel Parker
HERO QUEST (action comedy) by Joel Dorland
HOLMES (drama) by George Nicholis
HORROR COMIC (thiller) by Stephen Hoover
HUNTING PICASSO (Thriller) by Marlene Shikegawa

I

INUGAMI (thriller) by Rich Figel
IT’S A BIG TOP WORLD (comedy) by William Bienes

J

JACK THE RIPPER’S SISTER (thriller) by Robin Perry JASON (family) by James Khanlarian
JONESING (comedy) by Chris Hansen JUAREZ (action) by Scott Keiner

K

KITTY LOVE (dark comedy/thriller) by Julie Ransom
KOALAS ON BIKES (family) by Sam Gray

L

LIFE AMONG THE RUINS (heist thriller) by Anthony Fisher

M

MEADOWLANDZ (drama) by Moon Molson
MECHANICSVILLE (drama) by Chris Thornton and Jason Thornton
MILLIE AND DANIEL (drama) by Reid Waterer
MY BROTHER MICK (drama/thriller) by Kim Nunley

N

NINJA COWBOY (comedy) by Sean Hartofilis

O

OFFRAMPS (comedy) by Patrick O’Riley
ONE NIGHT STAND (horror) by Ian Coyne
OUTNUMBERED (thriller) by Gary Buglass

P

PIXEL GARDEN (drama) by Odin Ozdil
PLUS SIZE (comedy) by Jacob Roman

Q

R

RAEFORD’S GRILL (drama) by David Meyer
RAINDROP SKETCHES (neo-noir) by Kevin Parnell
REVENGE IN THE RED PALACE (drama) by Amy Quick Parrish (repeat)
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE (drama) by Melissa Goetz

S

SEASON OF MISTS (drama) by Kevin Brodie
SEEKING SAMARKIND (drama) by Felipe Cagno
SHIFT (thriller) by Kodjo Akeseh Tsakpo
SIMPLER (comedy) by Surita Parmar
SWIRLY (comedy) by Earl Bench

T

THE BASEMENT (drama) by Scott Shackleford
THE COOL KIDS (thriller) by Cliff Zimonowski
THE DEATHS OF ARCHITECTS (drama) by Nasar Abich, Jr.
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF WANNABES(drama) by Bill Hawkins
THE FUNERAL ESCORT (comedy) by Michael Comstock
THE GREAT AMERICAN LOSER (dramedy) by Jess DiGiacinto
THE GREY (family) by Garth Pappas
THE HAPPINESS EXPERIMENT (dramedy) by Alex Darrow
THE OTHER GUY (rom-com) by Jae Yu
THE WARRIORS OF WESTGATE (drama) by Michael Harriel
THE WINE RUNNER (romcom) by Wenonah Wilms
THE WONDER (comedy) by Gregory Abbey

U

UNGRATEFUL DEAD (dark comedy) by Mark Roberts
UPGRADE (sci fi) Louis Rosenberg

V

VIKTOR (action-thriller) by Matt Wheeler

W

WAY TO THE CAGE (drama) by Richard Michael Lucas
WHAT’S DUE (thriller) by Keith Watson
WHEN IN LIMBO (thriller) by Adam King
WITHOUT CONSENT (drama) by Roberta Pleczenik

X

X-RAY AND THE SNEAK (comedy) by John Plunkett

Y

YOU AND ME (drama) by Casey Fenton

Z

123

360 DEGREES OF UNCONSIOUSNESS(drama) by Antwan Ward

Grand Prize Winner:
Freebird, Hilary Graham

2nd Place:
The De-Haunters, Calvin Field and Bryan Bagby

3rd Place:
The Orchard, Diane Stredicke

Top Five Finalists
Blood Snow, Adam Hong
Influence, Dov Engleberg
Snilderholden’s Jungle, Jennifer Thomas
Sleeping with the Lutefisk, Wenonah Wilms
Unsigned: The Feature, Danny Musengo and Christopher Wasmer

Blood Snow, Adam Hong
Freebird, Hilary Graham
Influence, Dov Engleberg
Jam the Flow, Galen Young
Lucifer’s Bounty, R.D. Wright
Mr. Unlucky, Tony Nichols
Shooting Bambi, William Goins
Sleeping with the Lutefisk, Wenonah Wilms
Snilderholden’s Jungle, Jennifer Thomas
The De-Haunters, Calvin Field and Bryan Bagby
The Friendliest Evil Clown Around, Michael C. Pauly
The Lam of God, Drew Langer
The Orchard, Diane Stredicke
The Terminals, Matt Umbarger
The Warrior Within, Nicholas Wright
Through the Night, Edward Martin III
Unsigned: The Feature, Danny Musengo and Christopher Wasmer
Wrocklage, Steve Daniels

A

A Soldier’s Honor, Mike Scherer
All The King’s Horses, Richard Huber
Another Time, Another Place, Skip Berry
Apricot Harmony, John Killeen
Aurelious Rising, Paul Cooper
Away Games, Michael Cheung

B

Bad Rap, Mark Grisar
Bananafish Sandwich, Kevin O’Malley
Battle Mountain, Kristine Hurst
Blood Money, Michael Eging
Blood Snow, Adam Hong
Blowback, Jeff Travers
Body Work, Haik Hakobian
Bridie Molloy, Daniel Donnelly
Bull’s Eye, Tamara Farsadi
Business or Pleasure, Sara Zofko

C

Chapman, Justin Owensby
Christmas 1914, Robert Milius
Cross My Heart…, Rich Sheehy
Cul-De-Sac, Galen Young D

Devil Of Sorrow, Robert Lewis
Devil’s Due, Neil Cumbria F

Family First, Patrick Barb
Feed the Monster, Rob Rex
Felix the Flyer, Christopher Canole
Fort Miserables, Leonard Lawson
Freebird, Hilary Graham
Free Skate, Caitlin McCarthy E

G

Garbo’s Last Stand, Jonathan Miller
Ghoul, Kelly Parks H

Hanging On, Matthew Kaplan
Hate Day, David Kempski
Head Games, Scott Marengo
Hunger, Michael Hogan I

In God’s Name, John Killeen
In Trust, Justin Owensby
Influence, Dov Engelberg J

Jam the Flow, Galen Young

L

Lights on the Lake, Jason Tucker
Loss of Innocence, Eric Gaunaurd
Lucifer’s Bounty, R.D. Wright

M

Marry Me, Daniel Korb
Mr. Unlucky, Tony Nichols O

P

Phantom Noise, Yvette Bou
Powder Brown, Philip Dorr Q

Qumran, Mike Scherer R

Red Card, P Montgomery
Relative Terms, Deborah Stenard
Revived, Jennie Von Eggers
Running Gun, Mike Bencivenga S

Salt and Light, Natalie Zimmerman
Scavengers, Diana Kemp-Jones
Scent of Jasmine, Israela Margalit
Scents of Justice, James Albert
Searching for Ernie, Ron Vigil
She’s Got A Way, Elise Stempky
Shooting Bambi, William Goins
Sisters in Arms, Barry Leach
Sleeping With the Lutefisk, Wenonah Wilms
Sliding Into Home, Rich Sheehy
Snilderholden’s Jungle, Jennifer Thomas
Something For Me, Juan Sebastian Jacome
Sonny Takes to Peru, Mark Hammer
Soulmating, Christopher Bosley
Stakeholder, Stephanie Branco
Stolen Sky, Dan Fabrizio
Stuck on Love, R.J. Berens
Stupid Love, Steven Zelman
Swing, Christie Havey-Smith T

The 6, Brandon Vega
The ABCs of Mr.D, Alex Darrow
The Adventures of Zara Zancón in Cactus Canyon, Amy Quick Parrish
The Bermuda Prawn, Patricia Semler
The Bottomless Puzzle, Patrick Daly
The De-Haunters, Bryan Bagby
The Devil in Saint Nick, Christopher Burns
The Doll, Rich Figel
The Fire Store, Allen Colombo
The Friendliest Evil Clown Around, Michael Pauly
The Goddess, Rafael De Leon Jr.
The Hinge, Vining Wolff
The Knuckleballer, Michael Murphy
The LAM of God, Drew Langer
The Magic of Merin: Inside the Lamp, David Kiez
The Nazi Method, Matthew Grant
The Nutcracker, Connie Tonsgard
The Orchard, Diane Stredicke
The Placeholder, Amy Neswald
The Price of Vengeance, Patrick Hoeft
The Prisonaires, Mike Freeman
The Saxon, Nigel Grant
The Spinning Wheel, Natashia Saunders
The Terminals, Matt Umbarger
The Tooth Fairy, Michael Hogan
The Warrior Within, Nicholas Wright
Through The Grapevine, Shequeta Smith
Through the Night, Edward Martin III
To The Sea, Elizabeth Robinson
Tool, G.T. Field
Tooth Lake, Richard Topping
Truthies, Carlo DeCarlo
Turnabout, Mike Scherer
Turning Annie, Bruce Stirling
Twilight, Sebastian Moretto U

Unity, Eugene Langlais
Unsigned: The Feature, Christopher Wasmer
Utopia, Kevin Norman W

Wait For Me, Brantley Black
White Niggers in the Woodpile, Paul Van Zyl
World Wide Web, Jason Arnopp
Wrocklage, Stephen Daniels

Y

Yard Sale, Irin Evers