In a previous video, Scott Kirkpatrick talks about how a screenwriter with no connections can get a pitch meeting - ua-cam.com/video/3ADgrqi_-d4/v-deo.html
Look at what he said about his own company’s arbitrary one-dimensionality though: guys like him who toe the industry line generally end up tying themselves into a corner, because once they find their first viable revenue stream, their aversion to risk drives them to pigeonhole their own catalogue for the indefinite future to chase that cash flow Alternatively, studios like A24 choose to accept the risk needed to earn great reward, and eventually they strike gold with a speculative hit or three which catapult them into corporate-levels of revenue anyway 🤷♂️ Two different philosophies of business: leaders, & followers
He’s a merchant that doesn’t want a writer to have an experienced manager/ agent looking over their deal because his company makes films that play like muzak during holidays. He wants a hack that churns out SIX scripts a year. Its the type of association that can potentially stain your credentials for good. At least he’s up front about it.
I’m going to film my first screenplay. It’s going to be a disaster, however, it will be an experience to learn from. When and if it is ready for an audience to watch, I may upload it on UA-cam. This in itself will be a success. The dream to make it in Hollywood appears to be unattainable. If you share this same sentiment, then why don’t you film it yourself?
Creating an opportunity for your script is just as important as creating a high concept screenplay. That is, if you want to see it on screen, and not just the movie in your mind, a bit snarky but true.
I'd suggest you look under the "rule for submission" and/or "query letters"... You CAN always ask questions. The worst they'll do is shoot you down flat... BUT generally, a reasonable information request will get you the information you need... like who to send it to, what to address in the subject line of email or as cover letter substance... and whether an agent or marketing person needs to be involved at all... Often things on "want ad's" say "Have your agent contact _____ at wherever incorporatedLLC" because they ASSUME you have an agent, NOT because they require you to get one... ;o)
I wonder why he didn’t mention screenwriting competitions, as a great way for unknown writers to get their names out there without the help of backup? 🤔
Probably due to demand. Once demand ramps up the existing supply will dwindle... As a result the price will go up. Supply and demand I would guess... But that's just a guess.
@@ColdWarAviator Yes, I have noticed price changes on Amazon. My own book sometimes goes up and it makes me worried, because I have no control over it and people should not be paying more than what is initially asked for. But $50-100+ seems like a lot Amazon is asking. Not sure if that helps the author or his readers. It does nowhere indicate what the original price was.
@@SaraX2024 yeah that sux. I'm in an advanced reader's group for a sci Fi author who has about 15 or 20 audio books on Audible as well as the physical copies on Amazon... It's amazing listening to all the stuff that goes on which readers NEVER get to hear about. Makes me not even want to go through the larger distributers to try to do things... But then again, they have the audience numbers so I suppose it's a trade off. I guess on the up side for fiction writers is just WHO you may reach. The author whose group I'm in just got one of his books optioned for a Netflix limited series, so it definitely affords one the possibility of a much wider audience if the stars are all aligned just right 😉
Probably the same way that actors act in the worst movies. They're interested in a payday only and it doesn't matter what they're acting in. "Just pay me" is the mentality. So I would argue that those terrible movies you mention are done for the same reason. A writer writes some garbage but a studio sees enough potential based on current market trends so they buy the IP and produce it but the writer makes small change by comparison. They don't care, they're getting paid. They now work in volume not quality. Some writers simply want their works produced and they care little that it was great or not. They're very formulaic and cookie-cutter but they don't care. They're getting their stuff produced while others who might have great scripts aren't. Some scripts might be fantastic BUT because they are so compelling, they are now seen as riskier because they're going to need a bigger budget and more settings and scenes and so on and so forth, so studios will shy away from those. Exponentially so for those unique scripts that are untested in premise, so there's no built-in audience for them, and that would have a studio also shying away from getting involved. They want to actively avoid (as best as possible) investing major money into what can end up being a multi million dollar flop. Despite the fact that the script might have been banging. In due course, this could also be that those who have the better/best scripts are pricing themselves out of the market OR coming into the market at a time when that genre/premise is already washed out/played out or untested. I've noticed in my lifetime that Hollyweird is very very cyclical. This is popular right now so they make a whole glut of films in that genre, then it plays out and gives way to the next trend. Rinse and repeat. Sci-fi. Action. Comedy. Musicals. Animation. Fantasy. YA fare. Book adaptations. They all have their little cycles they go through. The windows for those cycles has diminished considerably over time with the windows becoming increasingly smaller and smaller. Most cycles seem to last 2-4 years at best then the next cycle kicks in. In today's ESG/DEI world though, if it's woke enough some studio will surely try to snap it up because they want to partake in the woke shenanigans that are crippling the industry as we know it and we see it so often. The more woke it is, the better it is in their minds. The more checkboxes it ticks off the more interested studios are to produce it. This is why we are in a cycle where we are seeing truly terrible movies hitting screens one after another with all too few outliers in the mix. It's also how a truly great script can be ruined immediately when a studio picks it up and takes the gamble on it because they know they can woke it to Hell and back and then release it...taking what should've been a great movie and shitting all over it so they can stay in line with the other woke fare that is seen. Race swapping. Gender swapping. Altered dialog which dials up the woke to 11. Things like that which will decimate a good movie with a decent premise. The only respite is in knowing that Hollyweird is still cyclical in nature and eventually the woke phase will run its course and we'll get back to watchable films again.
@kevinzhang6623 HAH! You can "fix" it and French it up til the cows come home dude, but the bottom line is that WOKE doesn't sell, and it's been established time and time again since 2015. But sure, call it whatever you want. Because yes, indeed, everything DOES fall apart and we've all watched as much play out time and time again. Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess. You keep telling yourself whatever you need to to get those winks.
Question: there are studios out there that will not even entertain a script without representation. There are also studios and agencies that will not even talk to you without a referral. My question is what does one do about that?
And I'm not trying to be mean when I say this but if you have that type of attitude then why try screen writing at all? I'm going to go ahead and say this you might not like it but I do believe if you actually have the gift Jesus Christ gave you that gift. Ask him to lead you to an agent ask him for help. Even if you don't believe in him just be like sir I don't know if you're real but if you are real please help get me a screen Writing agent, please help me get my workscene, et cetera. I am not joking.
@@janellerollins5893 I'm not insulted, I'm just a realist. But I will say this: I could have shortened your sentence to make it read like this: "Your attitude is off. Seriously. Get in there and ask Jesus Christ, "I have this gift, so why doesn't anyone read me? Why can't I catch a break?" Have a lovely day, friend. 🙂
In a previous video, Scott Kirkpatrick talks about how a screenwriter with no connections can get a pitch meeting - ua-cam.com/video/3ADgrqi_-d4/v-deo.html
This real talk is priceless. Scott’s transparency and clear-eyed explanation is so generous of him. Thanks Film Courage for putting this one together.
Look at what he said about his own company’s arbitrary one-dimensionality though: guys like him who toe the industry line generally end up tying themselves into a corner, because once they find their first viable revenue stream, their aversion to risk drives them to pigeonhole their own catalogue for the indefinite future to chase that cash flow
Alternatively, studios like A24 choose to accept the risk needed to earn great reward, and eventually they strike gold with a speculative hit or three which catapult them into corporate-levels of revenue anyway 🤷♂️
Two different philosophies of business: leaders, & followers
He’s a merchant that doesn’t want a writer to have an experienced manager/ agent looking over their deal because his company makes films that play like muzak during holidays. He wants a hack that churns out SIX scripts a year. Its the type of association that can potentially stain your credentials for good. At least he’s up front about it.
@@Scout555 Point taken, thanks! At least he's up front about it, but yeah I agree with the risks you mention
He is awesome! I met him at AFM 2023. Very generous spirit.
I’m going to film my first screenplay. It’s going to be a disaster, however, it will be an experience to learn from. When and if it is ready for an audience to watch, I may upload it on UA-cam. This in itself will be a success.
The dream to make it in Hollywood appears to be unattainable. If you share this same sentiment, then why don’t you film it yourself?
Creating an opportunity for your script is just as important as creating a high concept screenplay. That is, if you want to see it on screen, and not just the movie in your mind, a bit snarky but true.
What about for mandates? If I see a studio wants a script about ABC, how do I get a shot at that?
Rub shoulders with those kind of industry folks.
I'd suggest you look under the "rule for submission" and/or "query letters"... You CAN always ask questions. The worst they'll do is shoot you down flat... BUT generally, a reasonable information request will get you the information you need... like who to send it to, what to address in the subject line of email or as cover letter substance... and whether an agent or marketing person needs to be involved at all... Often things on "want ad's" say "Have your agent contact _____ at wherever incorporatedLLC" because they ASSUME you have an agent, NOT because they require you to get one... ;o)
Do screenwriters need an agent when starting out? What do you think? Please leave a comment below.
You don't need an agent. You just need to do a lot of legwork and be persistent. If you want someone else to do all that leg work, then get an agent.
I wonder why he didn’t mention screenwriting competitions, as a great way for unknown writers to get their names out there without the help of backup? 🤔
@@MoneySoul what in person panel would you recommend most?
Yes my son have so much work on major shows left CAA went to UTA he his to turn down work
Why is this book so expensive on Amazon?
Probably due to demand. Once demand ramps up the existing supply will dwindle... As a result the price will go up. Supply and demand I would guess... But that's just a guess.
@@ColdWarAviator Yes, I have noticed price changes on Amazon. My own book sometimes goes up and it makes me worried, because I have no control over it and people should not be paying more than what is initially asked for. But $50-100+ seems like a lot Amazon is asking. Not sure if that helps the author or his readers. It does nowhere indicate what the original price was.
@@SaraX2024 yeah that sux. I'm in an advanced reader's group for a sci Fi author who has about 15 or 20 audio books on Audible as well as the physical copies on Amazon... It's amazing listening to all the stuff that goes on which readers NEVER get to hear about. Makes me not even want to go through the larger distributers to try to do things... But then again, they have the audience numbers so I suppose it's a trade off.
I guess on the up side for fiction writers is just WHO you may reach.
The author whose group I'm in just got one of his books optioned for a Netflix limited series, so it definitely affords one the possibility of a much wider audience if the stars are all aligned just right 😉
Thank-you so much
They speak as if only good movies were actually made. No, most movies are terrible, how did those writers get work?
Probably the same way that actors act in the worst movies. They're interested in a payday only and it doesn't matter what they're acting in. "Just pay me" is the mentality. So I would argue that those terrible movies you mention are done for the same reason. A writer writes some garbage but a studio sees enough potential based on current market trends so they buy the IP and produce it but the writer makes small change by comparison. They don't care, they're getting paid. They now work in volume not quality.
Some writers simply want their works produced and they care little that it was great or not. They're very formulaic and cookie-cutter but they don't care. They're getting their stuff produced while others who might have great scripts aren't. Some scripts might be fantastic BUT because they are so compelling, they are now seen as riskier because they're going to need a bigger budget and more settings and scenes and so on and so forth, so studios will shy away from those. Exponentially so for those unique scripts that are untested in premise, so there's no built-in audience for them, and that would have a studio also shying away from getting involved. They want to actively avoid (as best as possible) investing major money into what can end up being a multi million dollar flop.
Despite the fact that the script might have been banging.
In due course, this could also be that those who have the better/best scripts are pricing themselves out of the market OR coming into the market at a time when that genre/premise is already washed out/played out or untested. I've noticed in my lifetime that Hollyweird is very very cyclical. This is popular right now so they make a whole glut of films in that genre, then it plays out and gives way to the next trend. Rinse and repeat. Sci-fi. Action. Comedy. Musicals. Animation. Fantasy. YA fare. Book adaptations. They all have their little cycles they go through. The windows for those cycles has diminished considerably over time with the windows becoming increasingly smaller and smaller. Most cycles seem to last 2-4 years at best then the next cycle kicks in.
In today's ESG/DEI world though, if it's woke enough some studio will surely try to snap it up because they want to partake in the woke shenanigans that are crippling the industry as we know it and we see it so often. The more woke it is, the better it is in their minds. The more checkboxes it ticks off the more interested studios are to produce it. This is why we are in a cycle where we are seeing truly terrible movies hitting screens one after another with all too few outliers in the mix. It's also how a truly great script can be ruined immediately when a studio picks it up and takes the gamble on it because they know they can woke it to Hell and back and then release it...taking what should've been a great movie and shitting all over it so they can stay in line with the other woke fare that is seen. Race swapping. Gender swapping. Altered dialog which dials up the woke to 11. Things like that which will decimate a good movie with a decent premise.
The only respite is in knowing that Hollyweird is still cyclical in nature and eventually the woke phase will run its course and we'll get back to watchable films again.
@@BigDaddyJinx but my point is… don’t you have to be good to get a first job?
@kevinzhang6623 HAH! You can "fix" it and French it up til the cows come home dude, but the bottom line is that WOKE doesn't sell, and it's been established time and time again since 2015.
But sure, call it whatever you want.
Because yes, indeed, everything DOES fall apart and we've all watched as much play out time and time again.
Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess. You keep telling yourself whatever you need to to get those winks.
Brilliant
We need an agent, because no one takes unsolicited scripts...
Question: there are studios out there that will not even entertain a script without representation. There are also studios and agencies that will not even talk to you without a referral. My question is what does one do about that?
This guy can teach you all how to be successful at making the worst films on the planet. 👍
Outsiders don't apply, you have to be in the business.
And I'm not trying to be mean when I say this but if you have that type of attitude then why try screen writing at all? I'm going to go ahead and say this you might not like it but I do believe if you actually have the gift Jesus Christ gave you that gift. Ask him to lead you to an agent ask him for help. Even if you don't believe in him just be like sir I don't know if you're real but if you are real please help get me a screen Writing agent, please help me get my workscene, et cetera. I am not joking.
@@janellerollins5893 I'm not insulted, I'm just a realist. But I will say this: I could have shortened your sentence to make it read like this: "Your attitude is off. Seriously. Get in there and ask Jesus Christ, "I have this gift, so why doesn't anyone read me? Why can't I catch a break?"
Have a lovely day, friend. 🙂
Hey, Anyone want to "Collabe"
Then reply me