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story StoryPros Winner; low Black List score; Erotic Indie or Foreign Film

I just won the StoryPros script writing competition, had a Scriptpalooza reviewer write that the script could get 'high consideration' if I made changes (which I've done)...but VERY LOW reviewer scores on Black List. The latter reviewers (2 of them) didn't seem to take into account I wrote a NC17 erotic art film, and basically said "there is too much sex and it will have a very small audience and no one will make the film."

I've worked for a year with a well respected script editor who says it should be a 'cult classic' with a very strong story/dialogue. The story takes place in France between an American who lost his wife in a car accident, his French lover who turns out to be a prostitute, and the vengeaful ghost of his dead wife coming back to haunt him as he descends into madness (we learn later that he killed his wife in the accident out of jealousy over an affair).

Are there Indie film studios (or foreign/European market) that I could contact to see if they would be interested in the script? Any specific contacts that I could reach out to? Or is it hopeless?! Also, how can I share my script with this forum community or are there others I might upload my script to?

Thank you very much!
 
Firstly congrads on the placing. The downside is that it's a small contest and has little clout. Enter the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting - if your script places well there, you'll get read requests.

http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/

I've worked for a year with a well respected script editor who says it should be a 'cult classic' with a very strong story/dialogue.

I presume they charged a fee? And since they are 'well respected', they charged a very considerable fee?

I'm not saying this is your situation but I really hate it when script 'gurus' charge $200+ per hour to consult on scripts. The reality is that most non-pro writers have exceptionally slim chances of selling their scripts and even if they sell or are optioned, most scripts don't get greenlighted. Many pros (except for the elite top 20 or so) are struggling in the industry too - there's far too little original work, too much comic book or popular novel adaptations (because the studios want movies with an already captured fan base to leverage - big fanbase usually equals big box office returns).

Yet there are dozens of script 'gurus'/'doctors out there (many with no production credits) who will consult on our scripts for significant amounts of cash. It's a part of the industry that sickens me.

An erotic art movie is a near impossible sell. When was the last time you saw one of those? One or two have come out of Europe in the last few years and that's about it. A director or writer with lots of sales may be able to get such a project off the ground in Europe but even then it will be very difficult. In America, a non-pro has no chance with such a project.

Chloe with Amanda Seyfried had hints of erotic-art-movie, but only hints.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/

Movies need to be able to generate a return for their investors. So investors like movies that are viewable by a wide audience and appeal to a wide audience - an R rated erotic art movie is the opposite of that.

If you're paying your 'script editor'. Stop doing so. Cease contact with them. Anyone in the industry with any degree of honesty would have told you not to follow this project from the start. If it's your passion then sure write it - you can use it as a writing sample. But to sell - a near impossible task...

Sorry if this hits you hard. I'm passionate about my scripts too (five so far - all commercial, one reached semis of the Nicholl) but we all need to understand the reality of modern-day Hollywood.
 
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First off, I VERY much appreciate your honesty, even though it's incredibly discouraging. I'm sure you're right, it's just that I thought an erotic thriller with an artistic bent (based on the myth of Narcissus, surrealistic elements, lovers' dialogue on the nature of love 'can you really know your lover, etc') would have been very interesting to the indie, art house, European crowd. On Netflix there are a number of fairly recent erotic FRENCH films like Exterminating Angels, but you are suggesting it's a practical impossibility for an unknown writer (which may well be true!) Do other people agree this is hopeless? How would I go about contacting the director of this film (or European studio)???

It's discouraging to hear your view on script editors (doctors). I chose the guy who was ranked number three on the done deal forums (I prob shouldn't give his name), spent two thousand dollars for several exhausting rewrites... he really did spend a lot of time making specific detailed changes to the script (he said this is a rare thing for him to do, but did so because he very much believed in it "a script about voyeurism, murder, sex and madness is the sort of movie I'd very much like to see, would do very well as an indie flick, and well known actors would be clamoring to act in it"). What really got me was that he refused to share it with any of his contacts and after all these rewrites he suddenly decided it shouldn't be a psychological thriller (he didn't like the idea that the protagonist was struggling against his sometimes violent schizophrenic nature to find love) but rather a romance.
The whole 2 year struggle has left me devastated, honestly.

I honestly think it's very well written with an intriguing storyline, but maybe it was doomed from the beginning as you suggest.
 
First off, I VERY much appreciate your honesty, even though it's incredibly discouraging. I'm sure you're right, it's just that I thought an erotic thriller with an artistic bent (based on the myth of Narcissus, surrealistic elements, lovers' dialogue on the nature of love 'can you really know your lover, etc') would have been very interesting to the indie, art house, European crowd. On Netflix there are a number of fairly recent erotic FRENCH films like Exterminating Angels, but you are suggesting it's a practical impossibility for an unknown writer (which may well be true!) Do other people agree this is hopeless? How would I go about contacting the director of this film (or European studio)???

It's discouraging to hear your view on script editors (doctors). I chose the guy who was ranked number three on the done deal forums (I prob shouldn't give his name), spent two thousand dollars for several exhausting rewrites... he really did spend a lot of time making specific detailed changes to the script (he said this is a rare thing for him to do, but did so because he very much believed in it "a script about voyeurism, murder, sex and madness is the sort of movie I'd very much like to see, would do very well as an indie flick, and well known actors would be clamoring to act in it"). What really got me was that he refused to share it with any of his contacts and after all these rewrites he suddenly decided it shouldn't be a psychological thriller (he didn't like the idea that the protagonist was struggling against his sometimes violent schizophrenic nature to find love) but rather a romance.
The whole 2 year struggle has left me devastated, honestly.

I honestly think it's very well written with an intriguing storyline, but maybe it was doomed from the beginning as you suggest.

If I add up all the screenplay contests I have paid for, and the feedback/coverage (always sub $125) that I have paid for, I'm sure the total would be a good bit over $2k.

I have put at least 1000 hours into some of my scripts. Some have been a real labor - and despite all that work, I have little to show for some of them - but my screenwriting craft has improved.

My last script got into the semis of the Nicholl - top 120 out of 7000+ scripts, so that was pretty good.

But no sales.

Screenwriting is a hard hard business - much more so now then in the past.

Obviously go ahead and try to contact some producers and agents regarding your script. I should have made it clear that I did not mean 'don't try', we always have to try. Donedeal would be a good place to seek advice too. Given the nature of your project, you're going to have a hell of an uphill struggle trying to raise the cash to get it made. It is very difficult for non-pros to break into this industry, let alone ones with an erotic art-house movie with an R17 rating.

That's my opinion based on my experience, discussions with working screenwriters and daily viewings of the tracking boards, done deal etc. You could prove me wrong - I obviously hope you do.

Always try, so indeed do contact some agents, producers etc.

Screenwriting - Persistence
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/persistence.php

If you get no where, let it go and move on to your next screenplay (or project). Writing a screenplay can be a real baptism of fire but you've grown, and I'm sure your screenwriting has got a lot better. And how many people can get to say they have written a screenplay? That's a big credit in itself, how cool.

Do also enter it into the Nicholl, if it places there, you'll get industry read requests.

Hopefully others will chime in and give their guidance and opinions too.
 
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