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1) How the professional writer gauges the market. This area addresses how the pro writer determines what might sell? Most projects are in development for years. How does a writer know what subject matter or premises might be salable today?
2) How professional scripts are constructed (not how they might be improved). This area addresses how the amateur writer might make a script salable. It includes how the pro writer might structure the story, how the pro hits plot points on particular types of stories, etc.
3) How a professional script is marketed. This area addresses how an amateur writer might generate interest in a script from professionals who can get their script the attention it needs to succeed.
Of course, this thread will focus primarily on number 2 above.
This thread was started in part due to the Script Club, which serves a different function. It’s based in part on the Script Club’s structure though. The idea is to pick a script we can all read and study. The difference is that in this thread we will study professional scripts as opposed to unproduced ones. And rather than study how to improve them, we will focus primarily on how they were written.
The selected script needs to be:
1) One all participants agree on. It needs to be considered what is the best, most useful script to study however and not exclusively a matter of personal taste.
2) One in which we all have access to the same copy. We all need to be able to read the same version. Wherever possible, it will be best of course to have the actual script that sold, although that will probably be difficult to know with any certainty in most cases.
So to start off:
[Edit -- a script has been decided on. Please see below.]
Quoted from Breanne later in this thread
The objective is to study a script that sold in Hollywood; to examine what made it sell; and to use it as a model to help give us a better understanding of how to improve our own work toward the goal of selling a script.
The script we’ll be studying is I Want to _____ Your Sister.
The first thing that needs to be done is we all need a copy of the script. Mike (Shelton) has graciously agreed to send a copy to anyone from the club who requests it so let Mike know if you want to participate.
Here are the ground rules (yes there are rules):
1) We are not here to discuss what’s wrong with the script. We are here to discuss what’s right about it. Arguments over its artistic merits will be struck down with swift justice from the whip wielding Dominatrix of Doom.
(*Note: in Bert’s case, since he actually desires punishment from the whip wielding Dominatrix of Doom, his punishment shall be the withholding of punishment -- ahh, clever, huh?)
2) Read the entire script before commenting on the script. I’m not saying you can’t post at all in the thread before you read the whole script, just that we want to look at how each portion of the script relates to the whole.
3) Be nice! Just remember; we all have the same ultimate goal, which is to sell our work. Everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it. Personal attacks will be met with swift justice….you get the picture.
Basically anything that has to do with what makes this script a desired and successful script is open for discussion. As far as what particular subject to begin with; it’s hard to say without cracking the script open.
I do want to begin with the script itself. I want to examine the character introductions; When/how they occur; The inciting incident; What is it and when does it occur?; What’s the crisis?, etc; The setup; How is it metered?; Is there a pivotal action that occurs on every page? Is there some pivotal new information introduced on every page?
Now go out there Team Script Club and read! (after Mike sends you the script. )
So what script do we want to do? I don't think we should limit it to just the Oscar worthy ones. Those are the minority of those that are sold. Also are we talking ONLY about Hollywood here?
So what script do we want to do? I don't think we should limit it to just the Oscar worthy ones. Those are the minority of those that are sold. Also are we talking ONLY about Hollywood here?
Hmmm. I think the majority of people are most interested in Hollywood. But personally, I’m interested in selling a script to anyone who can actually get it produced with good production values. I’m personally interested in theatrically released films. But I’m open to anything that can lead to Hollywood sales too.
About the film; what about The Wrestler? Or what about what Verdugo suggested? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Or Halo?
I think we should be really clear about our objectives. I think most of us are looking to break into the industry and that is why we want to discuss the pro scripts. To see how we can structure or theme our scripts so they can grab interest and sell. Obviously, unless we have lottery type luck, no one is going to break in on the higher end of budget things - so we should probably stay away from block busters - IMHO. So Halo is probably out (as a first script anyway).
I think we should look at lower budget movies that sell since this is likely the direction from where our break would come. I'm not sure about they type of budget either The Wrestler or Benjamin Button have. Can we even get our hands on the Benjamin Button script.
Maybe, since we can get a copy of the Wrestler, we should go with that one.
I would consider Countdown to be a high budget film and Verdugo said it could break a writer in. He said it probably wouldn’t get made but it could get the writer assignment work.
But we have another problem. Pia thinks two threads are too many. I think she may be right.
You know, I think I need to go check out my husband's cd/video shelf to post some two cents worth of my possible interests, but I really am happy to discuss anything.
Every time I enter into an area that I might not otherwise, I feel excited and surprised by how much it stimulates a new point of view from which to analyze and deconstruct and also a new appreciation.
Right off the top of my head though: How about: Tuesdays with Morrie. Or: Dead Poet's Society. Or how about another one where Robin Williams starred: The Night Listener?
I've read both The Wrestler and Benjamin Button, and while I think both are good, I have to sat that The Wrestler might be the best way to start. It's a little more in line, length-wise, with what we normally write and is fabricated in a manner that I think everyone would be familiar with and can comment on. Banjamin Button is a little on the long side for most here, I think.
As far as Oscar stuff goes, I think they'll both be nominated, but The Wrestler just seems to be more in line with a discussion at this point.
Breanne, I am in there like a shot. It is clear that the Script Club format is not really geared up for reading produced scripts and this would be a good compromise.
Michael is 100% correct, we should have a clear objective before starting a discussion on a particular script. We need to understand the market that script was written for and be realistic in our comments with regard to that script and its intended market. My personal goal from this exercise is to try and get a better understanding of why the script worked and thus why it got interest from the studio. This is a very different objective from the Script Club as has been discovered this week so I cannot see it conflicting with that at all, so see no reason at all why the two cannot run together.
There is no doubt that the biggest opportunity for any of us to break into the business is with a low budget indie feature, it would not be a bad idea to at least make sure we include some of them during the course of this. I don't know if they have to be all Hollywood movies, there are some great low budget movies that come out of Canada, the UK and Australia from time to time.
One thing that very rarely gets discussed here at Simply Scripts is the commercial appeal of the script. i.e. actually writing a script with a clear idea in mind of who the audience is, how much money can we get from them and from there what is the maximum our script can cost to produce. It was only this week that I realized how crazy that was that we never discuss it because this is without doubt the most important thing in the mind of anybody who is in the position to say yes or no to our script. It is almost as if we try to kid ourselves that it is still all about art and story and nothing else.
One thing that very rarely gets discussed here at Simply Scripts is the commercial appeal of the script. i.e. actually writing a script with a clear idea in mind of who the audience is, how much money can we get from them and from there what is the maximum our script can cost to produce.
Exellent point, Murph', but discussing how much money a script can generate at the boxoffice would be speculation imo. cos' of that big X in the equation. Actors. Whether we like it or not, movies (Hollywood movies) will draw people to the theaters merely because this and that actor/actress is attached. There are exeptions of course but unfortunately they are few and far apart.
Down in the hole / Jesus tries to crack a smile / Beneath another shovel load
Exellent point, Murph', but discussing how much money a script can generate at the boxoffice would be speculation imo. cos' of that big X in the equation. Actors. Whether we like it or not, movies (Hollywood movies) will draw people to the theaters merely because this and that actor/actress is attached. There are exeptions of course but unfortunately they are few and far apart.
Indeed this is true with regard to the actors that are attached to a film. I would probably go and see a movie with Robin Williams even if it didn't seem of interest to me otherwise.
There is no doubt that the biggest opportunity for any of us to break into the business is with a low budget indie feature,
Re: GM's quote above, I'd just like to say that I seem to be seeing a LOT of no-name, first-timer writers and directors getting their big break on these "disposable" $30 comedies that churn through the box office in the blink of an eye.
As a low-budget indie filmmaker myself, having just completed my 5th feature film, I can tell ya that the low-budget route for breaking into the business is more fraught with peril than I've ever seen it. There's simply too many people making too many movies. My friend and producing partner is a Sundance programmer, and he says right now they've received something like 7800 submissions, and submissions aren't even closed yet for a few more months. Last year, they received 7800 TOTAL.
My $0.02, from the trenches of banging my head against the wall: without names attached to your script, or in your movie, you simply don't get any traction. Even films that become the darlings of Sundance, most with name actors or producers, fall more quickly to the wayside than in times past.
As a low-budget indie filmmaker myself, having just completed my 5th feature film, I can tell ya that the low-budget route for breaking into the business is more fraught with peril than I've ever seen it. There's simply too many people making too many movies. My friend and producing partner is a Sundance programmer, and he says right now they've received something like 7800 submissions, and submissions aren't even closed yet for a few more months. Last year, they received 7800 TOTAL.
My $0.02, from the trenches of banging my head against the wall: without names attached to your script, or in your movie, you simply don't get any traction. Even films that become the darlings of Sundance, most with name actors or producers, fall more quickly to the wayside than in times past.
Brian
Brian,
Thanks for your input. Maybe you can offer some insights into the following: I hear conflicting accounts of what breaks a writer in.
Some say low budget is best because it has a wider range of producers who can get it made.
Some say big budget is better because an agent can sell the writer and not necessarily the script, thereby getting the writer assignment work.
Some have suggested that pro writers understood the market and wrote according to what was most salable.
Some say that won’t work.
Any thoughts or advice? Should a writer simply write something that showcases his or her talent? Or should a writer go for salability in the marketplace?
This should be a Script Club thread. The SC was started in order to discuss scripts. Any script. I just don't think we realized produced scripts would get more attention than our member's scripts.
Also, "anything" can be discussed about the script. Even salability or anything else for that matter. Again, I don't think anyone realized that was something anyone wanted to discuss. As long as we discuss one topic at the time so it doesn't get so random and muddled.
We are all still new at this and a system is slowly forming...
I would suggest, that we ask for a few suggestions from people who intend to participate what type of script should be discussed this time. What genre, written by a seasoned pro or newbie and so on.
I would also suggest that Breanne hosts this this time. I know you can better come up with exact topics.
I also think you should serve beer and nuts... actually, skip the nuts. We already have plenty here. (said with lots of love for my fellow ss members)
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