I have had several filmmakers enquire about some of my shorts over email, they have asked for and I have sent them my conditions etc.

Then... nothing, nada, zilch

I'm not bothered that they don't want to go ahead with my script, happens all the time. But how hard is it to drop an email to the writer with a "thanks but no thanks"?

I find it rude to be honest. And on the off chance they email me again in the future about a different script, I don't know if I would bother emailing them back. I hold a grudge for a long time.

On a similar note, do we have a list of producers/filmmakers/directors that SS members have had dealings with? Would be nice to have a hit/miss list so if I am contacted again I can quickly check the list and see if they are recommended or not - or at least, contact the SS member who has had prior dealings with them.

Anyway, rant over.

Matt

Matt, it's par for the course unfortunately.

I've been exactly where you are and how you're feeling. Actually it's worse when an Agreement is signed, months go by, they've told you they'll keep you in the loop with production but you get nothing. You then send a polite email to ask how it's going? Nothing. No courtesy email.

You learn not to get your hopes up.
Don't expect anything then it's a lovely surprise when you're treated with respect and a production eventuates.
We're writers, bottom of the rung.

I think some people change their mind too which is cool but they still can't bring themselves to say thanks anyway.
You get used to it.

Yes I understand. I am not disappointed that they don't want to continue, this is just a hobby for me so if anything happens to my scripts afterward then that is a bonus.

I'm annoyed at humanity, rather than losing an opportunity. In any walk of life, If someone gives me something I have asked for, I'll respond to them. If I have 5 plumbers quote me for a new bathroom, I'll email 4 of them saying thanks but no thanks.

But then again, I am English so I am naturally polite and courteous  :)

In my experience, the newer the filmmaker, the more polite and professional. Especially students fresh out of school. They get more arrogant and treat you like dirt the further along they are in the business. Also, I think since most people uses their phones for everything nowadays, emails are often written on their phones and because of that, IMO, they resemble text messages more than proper emails or professional letters.

Like Libby said, as writers, we are the bottom rung on the ladder and the first to be forgotten in the process.

I'm with LC,

It's a good lesson to learn to never get your hopes up. Sucks, cos so much of the fun of all this is the possibility of what might happen... just rarely does.

I started out doing stunt work and acting almost 20 years ago, and one of my mates who'd already been at it a while just said "nothing counts until you're set"... he was almost right, but I've learnt that even that isn't enough. I've worked on a few films that even after being shot never got released.

So I guess the main thing is write for enjoyment first, and hope of a pay off second.

When you discover someone has used your script and accredited you on IMDb and haven’t even told you.  Never mind ascertaining the status of the script.  That’s annoying.

Google/YouTube your name.

Once I discovered a script of my was used on YouTube by searching the character names.  Cheeky bastard didn’t recognise me.

On the subject of asking.

The weirdest request I got was for a script I wrote about another SS writer here.  One of those SS scripts that take the piss.

I do wonder if that one was made...

Quoted from jayrex When you discover someone has used your script and accredited you on IMDb and haven’t even told you.  Never mind ascertaining the status of the script.  That’s annoying. Google/YouTube your name. Once I discovered a script of my was used on YouTube by searching the character names.  Cheeky bastard didn’t recognise me.

I just did a search, and though I didn’t find any script/video stuff, I did find something else I wrote posted without permission. Now I get to do my very first DMCA takedown request.

Quoted from Grandma Bear … Like Libby said, as writers, we are the bottom rung on the ladder and the first to be forgotten in the process.

Agree, the fact that writers are viewed as chum in the bowels of Hollywood is (IMO), without a doubt, the most perplexing aspect of that entire toxic industry… if you consider the fact that a script is and always will be the genesis of any major production.

If we consider writers as Alchemists, then it’s possible to state that they have the innate ability to encouch theoretical models of human perception into a tangible form, that is, based on preconceived notions of the collective mind or *nous.

*Wiki Quote on ‘nous’:

“For Aristotle, this was distinct from the processing of sensory perception, including the use of imagination and memory… This therefore connects discussion of nous to discussion of how the human mind sets definitions in a consistent and communicable way, and whether people must be born with some innate potential to understand the same universal categories in the same logical ways…”

Consider: “ …and whether people must be born with some innate potential to understand the same universal categories in the same logical ways…”

It’s evident they do, and yet… do not, and the notion that other(s) in Hollywood, outside of the philosophical tenet of the writer’s Alchemical ink, are simply those who have acquired base knowledge (not nous) of the Alchemical process similar to today’s modern Chemists… it’s plausible to say “they can modify the story to fit the mold of the production house’ ideology via the writers’ proposed recipes (scripts) without understanding the Archetypes involved in the creation process.”

Consider: “… how the human mind sets definitions in a consistent and communicable way”

Is a stern admission that the direction of a movie is based on preconceived Archetypes of the collective mind (recognizable patterns), and what donates as a “watchable” movie; understood by all who possess a lower brain-stem.

Archeus: Wiki Quote:

“All living things contain both a chemical and life aura to them; the former, to the clairvoyant, is usually a subtle light-red flame. The latter is usually a static streaming of blue and white light.”

The ‘Life Aura’ (the subtle red flame: heart) is that which the Writer gives unto Hollywood for them to complete the ‘Chemical (static streaming of blue and white light: film) process’. So we get a consensus that the magic of Hollywood might fall solely on the use of a 35mm soft lens filter to distort the viewer’s illusion of reality and throw them into a ‘dream world’ (this is evident by simply toggling your ‘Nouveau riche’ plasma screen color setting from the default ‘Theater Mode’ to something more along the lines of ‘Vivid’. This will easily tear down the gossamer of illusion between your mind and the 35mm movie set; for example: those elaborate time piece artifacts and backdrops in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ outside of the ‘Theater Mode’ will simply be revealed as nothing more than dime store props with cheap gold paint applied).

That’s why today’s movies appear to have lost that ‘old time magic’; being shot in digital HD immediately tears away the stage gossamer and throws the viewer into a shitty ‘made for TV soap opera’, regardless of the production value. Today, a movie hinges on two things: the actors’ ability to act (regurgitate lines in an entertaining way), and the story: the immutable law of nous Archetypes (patterns) that the human collective can relate to via preconceived notions of reality (brought forth by the writer).

I rant for thee simply to nail this concept into the industrial head of ‘La La Land’; unless those (writers) employed in the halls of your movie production house possess the innate ability to design scripts around the collective Archetypal mind (nous) of human intellect, that which any and all can relate to, then it’s probably best to seek it elsewhere… perhaps the ‘vineyard’ of Simply Scripts to start?

Rant o’ the day…

Have had many similar experiences.  It's a very odd - unreliable industry.

Unfortunately that's just the way it is. I’ve been in the same situation several times. I’ve had 2 films produced, I saw either the behind the scenes photos or actual unedited footage and then they stopped communication, never to be heard of again.

While it always sucks, I've learnt not to get my hopes up about anything. If it happens it happens.

Have had all of the above in spades, people buying my scripts and then not making them, making them and never releasing them, making them without asking (4 times and counting on Youtube).

I initially thought that by trying to make people pay for the scripts then this would increase my chances of it getting films made... my theory been they'd value the script more and have more skin in the game.

NAH! It made no difference whatsoever.

So now I try and get paid for everything and only give freebies if the Producer/Director has already made things and done a good job.

My thinking is that if they are gonna sit on my script and then do nothing with it then they can bloody well pay for the privilege!

Same thing for me... I've had literally 10+ people ask about 2 of my short scripts. I'll give them permission, then nothing.

It gets to the point that I'm unsure to give the go-ahead to someone else out of respect for the person who asked first. Maybe I should just stop caring; if I end up with multiple versions of the same short, I couldn't care less since there's nothing monetary attached to them.

I've also had it happen like Warren has mentioned, where they will send me rough or unedited footage that looks pretty promising, but then they permanently cease communications. It's mega annoying.

I've been looking for this thread Matthew!

Yeah I am so with you with the courtesy thing!! WTF!.... Okay I'm from NZ and yeah, politeness and courtesy drummed in (not saying other people on here haven't had it drummed in ;) anyways,,,, it is the one thing I can't stand about the industry......How friggin rude people can be.
I really don't care if it doesn't get made, I get it...but the ghosting is completely based on rude friggin behaviour....
There... the courtesy police has spoken...

And yeah Anthony they can pay for the dam things now....I want to get something for the effort of getting ghosted.

Quoted from Kirsten I've been looking for this thread Matthew! Yeah I am so with you with the courtesy thing!! WTF!.... Okay I'm from NZ and yeah, politeness and courtesy drummed in (not saying other people on here haven't had it drummed in ;) anyways,,,, it is the one thing I can't stand about the industry......How friggin rude people can be. I really don't care if it doesn't get made, I get it...but the ghosting is completely based on rude friggin behaviour.... There... the courtesy police has spoken... And yeah Anthony they can pay for the dam things now....I want to get something for the effort of getting ghosted.

With ya.

It's even worse with literary agents. I finished writing a novel in December and I've been writing to bloody loads of agents and publishers ever since. A lot of them state on their website, "We get so many submissions that if you've not heard from us in 8 weeks then take that we are not interested" basically saying up front that they are not going to reply to you but just hang around expectantly for 8 weeks just in case.

It is so frustrating, what is wrong with spending seconds to send a simple email?

You're also only supposed to send to one agent at a time, aren't you? So, send to one agent, if no response after 8 weeks, then assume you're free to send to the next. I remember reading somewhere that agents don't like it when you also send to the competition at the same time. Probably because they want to fleece you on a 'deal'.

Mathew

As the responses on this thread have shown, it's a common story. Most of us have been through it. It is what it is.

They are not obligated to produce your script. Some probably think they've given you an ego boost and that's enough.

Also, most would rather ghost and save face than send that "I'm sorry but" email.

Thanks to Scriptrevolution, I get emails from producers/directors about short scripts way more than I used to.

To be completely honest, I just don't respond, or immediately respond "no thanks", to emails that seem to be part of a "shotgun effect" approach where they've sent emails to the writer of any script that fits their criteria. This includes a clear copy and paste email body, or the fact that the email is about two lines and they offer no information about themselves or their plans(to be clear,  I've never said no to any producer based on their experience or lack thereof. I'm always happy for students/young people to do whatever with my scripts, I'm not special).  That seems to avoid the complete timewasters.

Every other experience I've had has been positive, even if they don't end producing what I've written