An Epic Story

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LincolnLogs

Hello All~

Ok. First things first. I apologize for anything I might say that makes me a total n00b. I know that people who are reading this are more accomplished in the art form of film making than myself so I do not want to come off as an unappreciative person.

I have always been into watching films, but I unfortunately have not led a life where I would actually make them. I enjoy movies from an artistic standpoint as the viewer but not the creator. However, I have always created short storylines that I jot down from time to time that maybe "one day" I would either want to put on film or discuss with someone who actually makes movies. Anyways, today I created one of my most epic stories. It involves science fiction, time travel, drama, and so many plot twists....I believe it rivals the likes of The Usual Suspects, The Sixth Sense, and Memento. I know that sounds crazy but I like to think of myself as a logical and realistic person, so needless to say the story I created got me so excited that I felt I needed to reach out to someone.

So my question for everyone is, how in the hell do I get this epic tale told? Can I approach production companies in Hollywood directly about my idea? Who can I go to and pitch the storyline? Do I create a script and then try to sell that? How does it all work? I want to share this story with people on such a large scale but I am ignorant and do not know how it all works.....

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
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The script is usually the best way to start. But I would refrain from using the word "epic" when describing your movie. Epic can be viewed (at least in this day and age) as an opinion. For example I may think Star Wars is the most epic thing ever created, but you might say Lord of the Rings is. See the problem? Plus I automatically thought "noob" when I saw the title of this thread, no offense, just because of that word. If you used something like that in your logline (look that up if you don't know what it is) I highly doubt they'll give it a second look.

Anyway, start with the script first. Don't bother with asking production companies if they're interested in your script if you don't have one to begin with. For all you know they might say "yes, send us a script" and you could be SOL. Timing is everything.

You might want to give us a simple one or two sentences of what your story's about. That kind of exercise is helpful in the long run. That would be the logline. Think of it as the TV Guide's description of a movie.

For example, the logline to my movie is: "STRANGER is a psychological thriller about a young woman who's forced to drive a sadistic, psychopath to the location of his next victim."

And don't be afraid to ask questions on here. That's what this site's for. Remember even Spielberg was a noob at one point.
 
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Nothing you said sounds crazy. This is how all writers start -
they have an idea they want to share with people.

Lord of Light is correct. You can’t approach prodCo’s with the
idea. You cannot pitch the story line to a studio or producer. You
will have to do what all writers have done. You will have to write
the script.

You are logical and realistic person so I’m going to tell you the
reality is it will take you a long time to get a finished, ready
to sell script. So get started. And during the year you are
writing, polishing and perfecting your screenplay you will have
plenty of time to read a lot of scripts and do a lot of reading
about the process of selling the script.

Right here on indietalk you will find many posts about how it all
works. It’s quite complicated and there are no easy answers. But
first you must have a finished script.

Take Lord of Lights’ advice and read a lot of loglines and work on
a great one for your story.
 
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Thank you guys for the help! That is exactly what I needed to get started.

So if I create a script and it really isn't too good from a dialogue standpoint the prod companies won't even bother taking it seriously even though the plot is great...????

So basically, I am saying that the overall story might be amazing but my capacity to write an amazing script just might not be there... Are there writers out there who are willing to collaborate or does everyone just go solo? Again, it shows my n00bness, but at this point I don't care because I feel the story is that great.

I will start to work on the logline at least....that is something I feel I can do.

Thanks again for so much help!
 
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LincolnLogs said:
Thank you guys for the help! That is exactly what I needed to get started.

So if I create a script and it really isn't too good from a dialogue standpoint the prod companies won't even bother taking it seriously even though the plot is great...????

So basically, I am saying that the overall story might be amazing but my capacity to write an amazing script just might not be there... Are there writers out there who are willing to collaborate or does everyone just go solo? Again, it shows my n00bness, but at this point I don't care because I feel the story is that great.

I will start to work on the logline at least....that is something I feel I can do.

Thanks again for so much help!
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that, realistically, producers, studios, prodCo's are
looking for the entire package. There are so many scripts out
there that a script that has a great story, but isn't well written
in other aspects, just isn't going to get looked at.

The good news is there are writers out there who collaborate. This
is done all the time.

How about this:

Write down your entire story. Kind of like a book. This is often
called a "treatment" and done all the time. It can be as many
pages as you think it needs to be because at this point you won't
be showing it to professionals. This is for your benefit. It
doesn't have to be sellable or even showable. But it will show a
potential writing partner that you are serious and have already
worked very hard on your story.

Writing is a lot like anything else. When you first get on a
bicycle at a young age you aren't completely proficient in a day
or two. When you first get behind the wheel of a car you aren't
ready to enter an auto race or even take a 500 mile trip. But if
you write every day - every day - you will be a much better writer
in three months than you are today.

So my advice is to read at least one screenplay a week. Pick up a
couple of books on screenwriting ("Story" and "Making a good
Script Great"). Read about Joseph Campbell. Read the posts in the
"Screenwriting" forums here. And write every day. Every day.

You aren't in a sprint. This isn't something you will have on
screen in a few months. Or a year. Look at it as a marathon. Start
slow, learn, read, listen and write.

You may be a better writer than you think.
 
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Rik, as always, great advice.

Lincoln, it's a process really. You can't go from idea to success overnight.
It takes a lot of effort and hard work.

The odds are extremely high that even if you have a good idea for a story,
and you write a treatment, that it won't be very good since you know nothing about structure.
That's not a knock on you at all. Every single writer starts out that way.

It will take a long time to even know what you are doing.

As Rik mentioned, there are lots of posters here who will help. Look around.
Find free sources of information on the internet. And then read books.

I recommend:

Story
The Poetics
The Art of Dramatic Writing
The Hero With A Thousand Faces
The Foundations of Screenwriting

And anything else you can think might help.

It's a long process. Good luck.
 
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