I thought I would attempt to solicit some IndieTalk opinions about a subject that is near and dear to me...
The topic is screenplays overall with an emphasis on screenwriting contests... I have a friend who's an A-LIST screenwriter and over the last few weeks, we've been on the phone till the wee hours of the morning discussing this business of screenwriting...
The following is my opinion only and for ME... In this business, it keeps ringing true on a day by day basis...
Here we go...
First of all... I know a lot of people that want to write a SPEC script and use it as a way of breaking into the business... They may ultimately want to be directors or producers but that being said... One of the very best ways to break into this business is to write that BREAK-OUT spec script that blows everyone away.
Let me also define "the business" a little further...
I'm talking about writing spec scripts for Hollywood. Not necessarily Indie films with little or no budget... I'm talking about writing something that gets your foot in the door with the big boys of Smell-A.
My opinion, as discussed with my A-List friend, is that everywhere we go, we have NEGATIVE OBSTACLES getting in our way... I'm not talking about the usual obstacles i.e., not knowing anyone, needing an agent, etc...
No...
I'm mostly talking about entrepreneurs... i.e., screenwriting contests, screenwriting books, screenwriting magazines, screenwriting gurus, etc.
I've been able to peek through the Hollywood barrier more than a few times since I've been writing... I've had some success and have even gotten a job or two but admittedly, I'm not an A-List writer... However, the little I've been able to access other working writers, producers, directors, etc., one thing stands clear above and beyond everything else...
HIGH CONCEPT SCREENWRITING.
Again... For clarification purposes... I'm not talking about indie low budget, Avant-Garde or experimental films... I'm not even talking about stuff like David Lynch would write... Charlie Kaufman yes, but not Lynch. I'm talking strictly about scripts that get sold to Hollywood and made into a film...
Everywhere I turn, I see screenwriting contests, books, gurus, etc., telling the proverbial wanna-be to write what they know, write what you feel, etc... From much of these recommendations, I see lots of screenwriters winning contests with historical stories, quirky character stories, etc... In fact, many a contest seems to be won with smaller type NON HIGH CONCEPT screenplays.
This would be fine as long as the screenwriters aren't trying to break into the business... And, I no means have any data or information to back this up but out of the some 75,000 PLUS screenplays that get written every year, the majority of the people that write these ARE IN FACT attempting to get noticed, discovered, a job, or better yet, SOLD.
Which takes me back to the problem...
It seems to me... With my limited observations with screenwriters/filmmakers that most are missing one very important factor... HIGH CONCEPT.
I schlep my way through at least 10 to 15 spec scripts a month for friends, for money, for coverage, etc. and at least 99% of these scripts suck. Poorly written, no structure, no real story, no real protagonist or antagonist, etc.
The 1% that do make the grade are RARELY high concept. Don't get me wrong... They are well written scripts. Clear characters and decent storytelling but one huge problem... WHO CARES?
Over the last 10 plus years, we seem to be somehow endorsing everyone and their brother to write these cute, quirky, character driven, scripts... Which they do and do very well but these very same scripts fail to make the grade in Hollywood. This would be fine as long as the writer doesn't want to try and break in but my unofficial survey tells me different. My unofficial survey tells me that 99% of the people I know that write screenplays DO IN FACT WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD or the HOLLYWOOD SYSTEM.
If you're lucky, one of these cool little scripts might get you some meetings but as usual, I know many many people that DIE in these meetings when asked what other material they are working on... As soon as they SPEAK about their projects, big group YAWN.
Please don't misunderstand me...
I am not telling anyone to quit writing those cool little quirky scripts... What I am saying is that to break into the Hollywood system or maybe I should say to maximize your chances of breaking into the system, you really need to have a high concept story. I would even go so far as to ask yourself the following question about your story, "WOULD I PAY $10 TO GO SEE THIS STORY AT A THEATER?"
Better yet...
A better question might be to ask your next door neighbor, your teenage brother, your sister's boyfriend, etc., if THEY would pay $10 to go see your story at a theater... Chances are (if these people are AVERAGE movie-goers) the answer will be NO.
I guess my complaint is this...
I see a ton of thoughtful and dedicated work on a monthly basis... Almost all falls short of its eventual goal i.e., to break someone into the business because the story is flat... Not important. Not something that will make you sit up and wonder about it.
I feel that contests, books (not all books mind you, but a large portion), gurus, and magazines do would-be future Hollywood screenwriters a huge injustice when they pick these quirky little scripts that rarely sell as winners... I feel that contests should be somewhat like the minor leagues of baseball... They need to prepare the hopeful screenwriter of what and how they should be writing.
Every time one of these cute little heartwarming scripts wins a contest, other hopefuls see this and figure, "Hey, I have a story like that..." Again, I'm not putting these kinds of scripts or stories down in any way. I've read lots of them in fact... What I am saying is that when one of these scripts wins a contest, it creates a lot of false hope in the minds of other screenwriters.
I will be the first one to say that Hollywood is losing ground with it's cookie cutter, sequel, built-in audience, book adaptation formulas of movie-making.
They suck. Just go watch SAHARA... LOL.
What I would like to impress upon those of you who really know how to write and WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD is to take that great writing of yours and turn it into a HIGH CONCEPT story and when you finally get to that A-List mountain top, go ahead and divert your attention to those cool little screenplays you once churned out and won contests with.
WHY?
Because I think that's the only way we're going to see a real improvement in the films we see... This weekend, I really wanted to go to the movies... In fact, going to the movies USED to be something I looked forward to on the weekend...
Not anymore.
Just one look at the myriad of slop playing here locally gets me back to work on my own script(s).
So what's the difference between the slop and the quirky, cool little scripts? HIGH CONCEPT, pure and simple. No more -- No less.
Almost all use similar structure but the idea just isn't BIG ENOUGH!
I know there's a lot of us out here that have some compelling, character driven story inside of us waiting to get out... That's cool. Do it. Just don't expect that kind of story/screenplay to get you into the system. Take that same technical expertise you have and attach it to a HIGH CONCEPT, and now we're talking... Once you're in the system, then you can make changes to it... i.e., Robert Rodriguez. He went against the grain of Hollywood and made his SpyKids films as well as Sin City... All high concept but done his way. That's how you change things in this world. You can't change shit in Hollywood by writing cool little stories that nobody cares about... I would recommend writing a book with stories like those because I think you would still stand a much better chance of getting your work made if someone publishes it into a book first.
You gotta have a big story. Without it, nobody in Hollywood will care. They KNOW what sells. Small stories rarely do and when they do, they rarely make money.
Like I said... If you're just into making your own films from your own work... No problem. This rant isn't meant for you but if you want to break into Hollywood... Make enough money to start making your own films your own way so you can make some improvements to the system, write HUGE! Come up with those HUGE ideas and write them the same way you write those small, compelling stories you do so well...
filmy
The topic is screenplays overall with an emphasis on screenwriting contests... I have a friend who's an A-LIST screenwriter and over the last few weeks, we've been on the phone till the wee hours of the morning discussing this business of screenwriting...
The following is my opinion only and for ME... In this business, it keeps ringing true on a day by day basis...
Here we go...
First of all... I know a lot of people that want to write a SPEC script and use it as a way of breaking into the business... They may ultimately want to be directors or producers but that being said... One of the very best ways to break into this business is to write that BREAK-OUT spec script that blows everyone away.
Let me also define "the business" a little further...
I'm talking about writing spec scripts for Hollywood. Not necessarily Indie films with little or no budget... I'm talking about writing something that gets your foot in the door with the big boys of Smell-A.
My opinion, as discussed with my A-List friend, is that everywhere we go, we have NEGATIVE OBSTACLES getting in our way... I'm not talking about the usual obstacles i.e., not knowing anyone, needing an agent, etc...
No...
I'm mostly talking about entrepreneurs... i.e., screenwriting contests, screenwriting books, screenwriting magazines, screenwriting gurus, etc.
I've been able to peek through the Hollywood barrier more than a few times since I've been writing... I've had some success and have even gotten a job or two but admittedly, I'm not an A-List writer... However, the little I've been able to access other working writers, producers, directors, etc., one thing stands clear above and beyond everything else...
HIGH CONCEPT SCREENWRITING.
Again... For clarification purposes... I'm not talking about indie low budget, Avant-Garde or experimental films... I'm not even talking about stuff like David Lynch would write... Charlie Kaufman yes, but not Lynch. I'm talking strictly about scripts that get sold to Hollywood and made into a film...
Everywhere I turn, I see screenwriting contests, books, gurus, etc., telling the proverbial wanna-be to write what they know, write what you feel, etc... From much of these recommendations, I see lots of screenwriters winning contests with historical stories, quirky character stories, etc... In fact, many a contest seems to be won with smaller type NON HIGH CONCEPT screenplays.
This would be fine as long as the screenwriters aren't trying to break into the business... And, I no means have any data or information to back this up but out of the some 75,000 PLUS screenplays that get written every year, the majority of the people that write these ARE IN FACT attempting to get noticed, discovered, a job, or better yet, SOLD.
Which takes me back to the problem...
It seems to me... With my limited observations with screenwriters/filmmakers that most are missing one very important factor... HIGH CONCEPT.
I schlep my way through at least 10 to 15 spec scripts a month for friends, for money, for coverage, etc. and at least 99% of these scripts suck. Poorly written, no structure, no real story, no real protagonist or antagonist, etc.
The 1% that do make the grade are RARELY high concept. Don't get me wrong... They are well written scripts. Clear characters and decent storytelling but one huge problem... WHO CARES?
Over the last 10 plus years, we seem to be somehow endorsing everyone and their brother to write these cute, quirky, character driven, scripts... Which they do and do very well but these very same scripts fail to make the grade in Hollywood. This would be fine as long as the writer doesn't want to try and break in but my unofficial survey tells me different. My unofficial survey tells me that 99% of the people I know that write screenplays DO IN FACT WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD or the HOLLYWOOD SYSTEM.
If you're lucky, one of these cool little scripts might get you some meetings but as usual, I know many many people that DIE in these meetings when asked what other material they are working on... As soon as they SPEAK about their projects, big group YAWN.
Please don't misunderstand me...
I am not telling anyone to quit writing those cool little quirky scripts... What I am saying is that to break into the Hollywood system or maybe I should say to maximize your chances of breaking into the system, you really need to have a high concept story. I would even go so far as to ask yourself the following question about your story, "WOULD I PAY $10 TO GO SEE THIS STORY AT A THEATER?"
Better yet...
A better question might be to ask your next door neighbor, your teenage brother, your sister's boyfriend, etc., if THEY would pay $10 to go see your story at a theater... Chances are (if these people are AVERAGE movie-goers) the answer will be NO.
I guess my complaint is this...
I see a ton of thoughtful and dedicated work on a monthly basis... Almost all falls short of its eventual goal i.e., to break someone into the business because the story is flat... Not important. Not something that will make you sit up and wonder about it.
I feel that contests, books (not all books mind you, but a large portion), gurus, and magazines do would-be future Hollywood screenwriters a huge injustice when they pick these quirky little scripts that rarely sell as winners... I feel that contests should be somewhat like the minor leagues of baseball... They need to prepare the hopeful screenwriter of what and how they should be writing.
Every time one of these cute little heartwarming scripts wins a contest, other hopefuls see this and figure, "Hey, I have a story like that..." Again, I'm not putting these kinds of scripts or stories down in any way. I've read lots of them in fact... What I am saying is that when one of these scripts wins a contest, it creates a lot of false hope in the minds of other screenwriters.
I will be the first one to say that Hollywood is losing ground with it's cookie cutter, sequel, built-in audience, book adaptation formulas of movie-making.
They suck. Just go watch SAHARA... LOL.
What I would like to impress upon those of you who really know how to write and WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD is to take that great writing of yours and turn it into a HIGH CONCEPT story and when you finally get to that A-List mountain top, go ahead and divert your attention to those cool little screenplays you once churned out and won contests with.
WHY?
Because I think that's the only way we're going to see a real improvement in the films we see... This weekend, I really wanted to go to the movies... In fact, going to the movies USED to be something I looked forward to on the weekend...
Not anymore.
Just one look at the myriad of slop playing here locally gets me back to work on my own script(s).
So what's the difference between the slop and the quirky, cool little scripts? HIGH CONCEPT, pure and simple. No more -- No less.
Almost all use similar structure but the idea just isn't BIG ENOUGH!
I know there's a lot of us out here that have some compelling, character driven story inside of us waiting to get out... That's cool. Do it. Just don't expect that kind of story/screenplay to get you into the system. Take that same technical expertise you have and attach it to a HIGH CONCEPT, and now we're talking... Once you're in the system, then you can make changes to it... i.e., Robert Rodriguez. He went against the grain of Hollywood and made his SpyKids films as well as Sin City... All high concept but done his way. That's how you change things in this world. You can't change shit in Hollywood by writing cool little stories that nobody cares about... I would recommend writing a book with stories like those because I think you would still stand a much better chance of getting your work made if someone publishes it into a book first.
You gotta have a big story. Without it, nobody in Hollywood will care. They KNOW what sells. Small stories rarely do and when they do, they rarely make money.
Like I said... If you're just into making your own films from your own work... No problem. This rant isn't meant for you but if you want to break into Hollywood... Make enough money to start making your own films your own way so you can make some improvements to the system, write HUGE! Come up with those HUGE ideas and write them the same way you write those small, compelling stories you do so well...
filmy
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