Phil,

Sent you PM with his name. Feel free to send it around, didn't want to plaster it here.

Quoted from Me I have an imdb profile!!!!   Does that mean I am somebody?...no

I'd rather be a nobody with an IMBD profile then one without. Again, I dunno how much of this is really true.

Quoted from mcornetto So don't expect to work in that town until you have an IMDB profile.

Isn't that the point though.? Don't we all want to work in THAT town? That's where the best and worst movies get made. I'm just confused about how to break into the biz as strictly a writer. Bad and good, most of us... are still here.

James

Phil -
I failed to make my point.

Freddie's youtube goof offs may be no great shakes, but the guy had to figure out some story and fight scene choreography for these.
I concede his work currently appears to largely be a SFX venue, but then again so was Bomkamp's pre-DISTRICT 9 work.
Both of these geehaw with Rick's third point, above.

A couple months back I did a little digging around on FROZEN due to the talk around here.
The director, Adam Green http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1697112/ began with some goofy shorts, they got a little better, and now look at where the guy is.
(lucky schmuck married the brunette chick, Rileah Vanderbilt, in SABER. The blonde chick, Clare Grant, married Seth Green. Don't know if Adam and Seth are related).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470828/


Just last night I posted a DVD extras review for the $20million (US) DAYBREAKERS, writen & directed by the Spierig Brothers. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1294961/ whose prior work was the $1M (AUS) UNDEAD. Their credited work prior to that was the $3,000 (AUS) THE BIG PICTURE.

PI didn't really impress me, but BLACK SWAN seems to be a decent outcome of that humble begining.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004716/

And then there's the whole Robert Rodriguez saga. QT, as well.

Now maybe these are just a few co-winkie-dinks, but I'm pretty sure the more digging around we do we can see "Yes" some of these people start from not all that impressive beginings but they take off from there.

Rome wan't built in a day, and not every writer/director is committed to the Ed Wood/Wes Craven/David Cronenberg never ending series of (profitable) tripe.

"What they plan on doing with the film" is perfect.
"Who are THEY?" would be more to what I was addressing.
=> People with toys and skills but not the head for writing a story by the truckloads. <=
WE are the writers, to obviously varying degrees of sucess, that write for those with toys and skills but no ideas.
Our competition is with people that can write/direct/produce.
So, writing for something that can be sensibly financed & produced is very sensible.

Good, bad or indifferent, some of the shorts I write are more sensible budget-wise than others.
GLORY & PRIDE or NINJA GOPHERS would be cheap.
SMALL POWERS would not.
AUTOMATED might be feasible.
THE MANSOUR CIRCLE INCIDENT completely out of any sensible budget for a short.

I believe James' original idea was to vet "Is it better to write to win contests or to be produced?"

I would lean towards produced, in which case budgetary considerations come before high art of literary merit competitions warrant.

Quoted from jwent6688 Isn't that the point though.? Don't we all want to work in THAT town? That's where the best and worst movies get made. I'm just confused about how to break into the biz as strictly a writer. Bad and good, most of us... are still here.

Not all of us want to work in that town.  But the point is if you want to work in that town then you set up a plan to get there.   If that plan involves the step of getting an IMDB profile then I've just told you how to do that.  So make the IMDB profile your first objective.   To be honest, I don't think that's a requirement.

Quoted from jwent6688 Phil, Sent you PM with his name. Feel free to send it around, didn't want to plaster it here.

I looked.  I wasn't impressed.

Quoted from jwent6688 I'm just confused about how to break into the biz as strictly a writer. Bad and good, most of us... are still here.

I still say that entering competitions is a good way to get noticed.  Filmmakers often ask to the competition organizers for contact information of the winners.  And it always looks good on your resume when you can mention competitions you've won in.

You also have to know how to shop your scripts around.  Don't try with the big names.  Oliver Stone isn't looking to make a short right now.  Craigslist is a great place to find student filmmakers and other people wanting to get into movies.


Phil

Quoted from RayW Phil & Pia impress the pudding outta me because they've been able to successfully secure producers for their material. I gather it takes a LOT of effort.

Phil might work hard at it Ray, but you don't know me. I don't have dreams of working for Hollywood. I'm my own weird little person who writes for a completely different reasons.

Don'tchagotta put a little hustle in it?

I don't have dreams of working for Hollywood. I'm my own weird little person who writes for a completely different reasons.
You're soooo cryptic!
Don't tell me.
I just wanna immmmmagine what that means.  

Just a note on breaking in - I read on Scriptshadow that it takes an average of SEVEN YEARS for a writer to go from starting to write scripts to breaking in. So I really don't think any of us are doing too badly.

Quoted from JonnyBoy Just a note on breaking in - I read on Scriptshadow that it takes an average of SEVEN YEARS for a writer to go from starting to write scripts to breaking in. So I really don't think any of us are doing too badly.

If that was the case (I don't believe it), my day is coming very soon.


Phil

SPIN: the best short on Youtube. Good example of storytelling without dialogue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_njc

Quoted from fionaman SPIN: the best short on Youtube. Good example of storytelling without dialogue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_njc

Nice film.

Quoted from JonnyBoy Just a note on breaking in - I read on Scriptshadow that it takes an average of SEVEN YEARS for a writer to go from starting to write scripts to breaking in.

I'm six days from my 8-year anniversary. So, I have less than a week to go before I "break in".

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

=)

Quoted from Mr. Blonde I'm six days from my 8-year anniversary. So, I have less than a week to go before I "break in". YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

That's just the average...for everyone who got lucky on their first go...there's someone who took twenty years.

Allowing for a Bell curve 7 years in the middle - disallowing infinity because those that didn't break in are probably excluded from the statistics - using 71 as a more than reasonable maximum age to finally break-in by.  That means it can take from 0 to approx 55 years to break-in.  

Thanks guys, for depressing the shit out of me....

Reality sucks!


Phil