10 questions..

[victortiti89]

These are 10 questions about screenwriting and screenwriters. I know these are a lot of questions, but I had them for a while and feel you could help me with them. So, here they are:
1)Can you sell a screenplay to Hollywood if you live outside the United States?

2)As far as I've read, some first time screenwriters get paid a lot of money, while others get paid very little. Why is that? What makes the difference between this sums?

3)Is it compulsory to register your screenplay? What happens if you send it without registering it first?

4)What does it mean to have a manager? How is it like working/having one?

5)Do people who follow screenwriting courses or film colleges have a better chance to sell their script?

6)How do some screenwriters get to direct their own scripts?

7)Is it possible to sell a few screenplays and then you won't have to work again for the rest of your life?

8)What happens if you get a writing assignment and fail it?

9)Can you ask for a writing partner if you get a writing assignment from your agent/manager?

10)Will your agent/manager provide feed-back for your scripts until they're ready?
Thank you for reading and answering!

 

[Birdman]

When you asked me what sales rep I am, I assumed you were talking about being a screenwriter in the industry, either being successful (optimistic and very supportive of the 'company') or unsuccessful (bitter and trying to make others feel bad), which would make no sense because my goal isn't to become a screenwriter with either of the philosophies you came up with.

...It was an analogy, ...not a simile.

You and several others have consistently expressed (and focused on) the difficulties in becoming a successful screenplay writer. The odds are always staggering against success. What the screenplay writer thinks doesn't matter. Everything the screenplay writer does will be changed. The screenplay writer's "vision" is of no consequence. It doesn't matter how good a script is ...it's the networking that gets the job done. Hollywood scripters are way more talented dialogue writers than we are. You guys thrive on "doom and gloom".

I offered victortiti89 the two ends of the screenplay spectrum. You cannot argue against these two ends of the spectrum ...because that's exactly what they are! I didn't "direct" him in either direction because it's a personal choice. You (and several others) firmly believe that "Philosophy #2" is the only way that works. So much so that you immediately followed up with this:

"If you write a great script Hollywood will find you"

Don't live by this one.

...I do NOT believe that "Philosophy #2" is the only way. I believe "Philosophy #1" has just as much merit because the odds are so restrictive no matter which philosophy one chooses. My "personal" belief is that if a person has 100% complete and total faith in what they are doing ...If they put 100% effort into their work ...If they feel in their heart of hearts that they are creating a MASTERPIECE of a screenplay ...then that person stands a better chance at being a successful screenplay writer than any of you Eeyore-emulating mother fuckers clinging to your networking as your best hope for success. ...But that's just me.

Two questions that it would be nice to hear answered:

Who are some screenwriters in the last 10 that have succeeded by sending in a script to a major studio?

...My guess is that the amount of screenplay writers who have sold a script by sending it directly to a major motion picture studio is exactly equal to the amount of posts where I have suggested that a screenplay writer should do this to become successful. ...Am I correct?

Which one of those sales reps do you consider yourself?

...I am a "retroactive" version of the "Successful Sales Rep". I am already successful, ...the rest of the world just hasn't caught up this this fact yet.

I'll gladly accept that ticket.

...Get there early! ...Seats will fill up fast!

-Birdman

 

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

...It was an analogy, ...not a simile.

You and several others have consistently expressed (and focused on) the difficulties in becoming a successful screenplay writer. The odds are always staggering against success. What the screenplay writer thinks doesn't matter. Everything the screenplay writer does will be changed. The screenplay writer's "vision" is of no consequence. It doesn't matter how good a script is ...it's the networking that gets the job done. Hollywood scripters are way more talented dialogue writers than we are. You guys thrive on "doom and gloom".

I don't completely agree with the statements about thriving on doom and gloom + it doesn't matter how good a script is, but yeah, I can agree with most of what you're saying. Proceed.

I offered victortiti89 the two ends of the screenplay spectrum. You cannot argue against these two ends of the spectrum ...because that's exactly what they are! I didn't "direct" him in either direction because it's a personal choice. You (and several others) firmly believe that "Philosophy #2" is the only way that works. So much so that you immediately followed up with this

Okay. I put in my opinion about which method/philosophy is most effective based upon facts.

...I do NOT believe that "Philosophy #2" is the only way. I believe "Philosophy #1" has just as much merit because the odds are so restrictive no matter which philosophy one chooses.

There have been successful screenwriters that have started on an indie level in the last 10 years, yet it seems like we are yet to find screenwriters that got success sending their script directly to a studio and have achieved success, meaning their screenplay gets made. But both are incredibly difficult.

My "personal" belief is that if a person has 100% complete and total faith in what they are doing ...If they put 100% effort into their work ...If they feel in their heart of hearts that they are creating a MASTERPIECE of a screenplay ...then that person stands a better chance at being a successful screenplay writer.

Okay. I don't agree 100%, but okay

than any of you Eeyore-emulating mother fuckers clinging to your networking as your best hope for success. ...But that's just me.

- EEMF

 

[Birdman]

Chimp,

Okay, I've got to ask:

Haven't you ever felt so strongly about a screenplay you've written that the document itself demands (SCREAMS) that it be made into a movie?

Haven't you felt haunted by a script? Possessed by the scenes? ...Where day and night it creeps into your life, pulling and pulling at you? ...No escape?

Haven't you ever looked at the clock and been firestorm angry because you are 3/4ths the way through maybe the most intense scene in movie history ...and you have to stop to do a wife-dictated chore?

Haven't you had a character in your screenplay stuck in a unbelievably desperate situation with you (and your keyboard) being the only hope of saving them? ...and feel guilty because they are still suffering while you're doing something else?

Haven't you read back a section of your script and thought to yourself, "It would be a complete injustice to mankind if this script was never made into a movie?"

Haven't you ever slaved over a script and felt so emotionally attached that it almost controls you? Where it It owns you? You can (((feel))) and (((see))) the movie happening on a private movie screen inside your mind ...and it's fucking GREAT! You watch other movies and think to yourself, "Mine would kick this movie's ass!". Can't you hear the crowd laughing when the movie hit's that perfect one-liner response from your main character? Feel that cold-sweat tension from the people sitting around you in the theater when that unbelievably intense scene in YOUR movie finally comes?

Every artist (painter) worth his salt feels that once s/he has completed a painting, that they have ultimately given birth to perfection. ...something never before seen by mankind and never to be reproduced by anyone else ...only "imitated". It's something unique!

Don't you ever feel that the screenplay you've finished WILL ONE DAY make it to the silver screen NOT because of what's in you ...but because of what came out of you right onto the paper?

Haven't you ever felt the sum total of your script ...is somehow better than you? That the script you wrote had already been written in another realm or dimension? In other words, what came out of you came from a higher source ...somewhere you don't fully understand. ...It was already there, waiting to be chronicled ...and the only part you really played was writing it all down?



Because if you have, ...then you're well on your way to "Philosophy #1".

-Birdman

 

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

Yes. I don't think our differences lie in how we imagine and think about our scripts, but rather our method regarding how to bring those scripts to the screen. I myself love to write, but I also want to direct.

 

[Caidh Mor]

Haven't you ever felt so strongly about a screenplay you've written that the document itself demands (SCREAMS) that it be made into a movie?

Haven't you felt haunted by a script? Possessed by the scenes? ...Where day and night it creeps into your life, pulling and pulling at you? ...No escape?

Haven't you ever looked at the clock and been firestorm angry because you are 3/4ths the way through maybe the most intense scene in movie history ...and you have to stop to do a wife-dictated chore?

Haven't you had a character in your screenplay stuck in a unbelievably desperate situation with you (and your keyboard) being the only hope of saving them? ...and feel guilty because they are still suffering while you're doing something else?

Haven't you read back a section of your script and thought to yourself, "It would be a complete injustice to mankind if this script was never made into a movie?"

Haven't you ever slaved over a script and felt so emotionally attached that it almost controls you? Where it It owns you? You can (((feel))) and (((see))) the movie happening on a private movie screen inside your mind ...and it's fucking GREAT! You watch other movies and think to yourself, "Mine would kick this movie's ass!". Can't you hear the crowd laughing when the movie hit's that perfect one-liner response from your main character? Feel that cold-sweat tension from the people sitting around you in the theater when that unbelievably intense scene in YOUR movie finally comes?

Every artist (painter) worth his salt feels that once s/he has completed a painting, that they have ultimately given birth to perfection. ...something never before seen by mankind and never to be reproduced by anyone else ...only "imitated". It's something unique!

Don't you ever feel that the screenplay you've finished WILL ONE DAY make it to the silver screen NOT because of what's in you ...but because of what came out of you right onto the paper?

Confidence is good, but confidence unfettered with the rigors of realism is a shortcut to egotism.

I would suggest that you maintain the passion that you have for your project, but temper it with humility. Otherwise your confidence will, inevitably and ironically, lead you into a derivative of the bitterness you're arguing against; one where you believe your work to be that of true genius, and that it's everyone else who doesn't comprehend your artistry.

 

[Birdman]

Confidence is good, but confidence unfettered with the rigors of realism is a shortcut to egotism./QUOTE]

...There isn't a UFC contender that has hasn't told the world that HE is the next world champion right before entering the ring. Realism is just a small, brief obstacle to success.

I would suggest that you maintain the passion that you have for your project, but temper it with humility.

...I'll save the humility for the TV interviews and awards speeches.

Otherwise your confidence will, inevitably and ironically, lead you into a derivative of the bitterness you're arguing against; one where you believe your work to be that of true genius, and that it's everyone else who doesn't comprehend your artistry.

Confidence isn't a one-time operation. It is an attitude in life. When you get knocked down ...you have to get right back up and go at it even harder.

"it ain't about how hard you're hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."-Rocky Balboa

-Birdman

 

[Birdman]

Yes. I don't think our differences lie in how we imagine and think about our scripts, but rather our method regarding how to bring those scripts to the screen. I myself love to write, but I also want to direct.

...So you're an option quarterback? The ball has just been hiked and you have to decide whether to throw or run?

-Birdman