Two screenwriting/business questions...

[victortiti89]

1. I know that having success as a screenwriter is almost impossible, so just curious: If you write and direct a screenplay, do you stand a better chance at this? For instance, do filmmakers with more than just scripts have more success or is it just as hard for them to have a career in Hollywood? In other words, if you finish a film school and say you want to direct for a major movie studio(just direct a movie, without having anything to do without actually writing it) will they let you do it based on your studies or will they just reject you?
2. I've seen many movies based on books. I've read about writers who were originally authors and were offered a chance to adapt those books for the screen...How do producers/studios decide which books to buy and turn into a movie? I know not all books are turned into movies...
Thank you for taking your time to read and answer this?

 

[directorik]

1. I know that having success as a screenwriter is almost impossible, so just curious: If you write and direct a screenplay, do you stand a better chance at this? For instance, do filmmakers with more than just scripts have more success or is it just as hard for them to have a career in Hollywood? In other words, if you finish a film school and say you want to direct for a major movie studio(just direct a movie, without having anything to do without actually writing it) will they let you do it based on your studies or will they just reject you?

No. You do not have a better chance at success being a writer/director
then just a writer. It is just as hard for writer/directors to have a career
in Hollywood. If you finish a film school and want to direct a major studio
movie without writing it "they" may or may not let you direct is based on
your studies. Many directors do not write.

2. How do producers/studios decide which books to buy and turn into a movie? I know not all books are turned into movies...

Producers decides on which books to adapt into movies in much the same
way producers/studios decide which screenplays to make into movies. It's
a combination of passion and what they think people want to see. It's
obvious with a huge best seller - producers.studios think most of the people
who bought and read the book will pay to see the movie. sometimes they
decide based on the popularity of the author. Sometimes a producer will
love a book and decide to turn it into a movie.