I posted this link yesterday. Armored came out earlier this week. The guy was a regular member at the forums at DD.  http://twoadverbs.blogspot.com/2009/12/selling-armored.html

And I applaud him Niles. I really do. A guy like that gives us all hope. However, again with the film school. I read somewhere recently, BBC Writers Room I think; about how one of the regular writer’s there, found his way into the business. What he was basically saying was, that the few contacts that he had actually made, had proved to be invaluable. A friend of a friend, of a friend.

I’m not saying he didn’t have to be a good writer, he obviously was. But I can’t help wondering if his career would have got off the ground without them.

Introductions are a huge part of the industry. I’ve read scripts on this site, and I’m not just talking shorts, that would be good if produced. Some maybe, even a little better than that.

Perfection seems to be the pursuit of the wannabies and not the Pros. We criticize  redundancy, passive verbiage and action lines; yet some of the produced scripts are riddled with them. Assuming that no one’s going to put in redundant lines in production, you’ve got to think they were in the original script.

Oh, and thank's to Me and you... Ah, you know what I mean. I will check the script out.

Of course, it is a question of what you want. It is true there are some very good scripts here, but not all of the writers want to be professionals, they write because they enjoy it, more like a past time than anything else.

I wonder how many of the people here on SS want to be serious, professional, screenwriters? There is a thread specifically for this very topic, and it makes interesting reading.

It should also be noted that the best way to get somewhere is probably not to approach film companies - though I have done that (and will no doubt continue to do so), but to get an Agent - they are the ones with the contacts, the foot in the door.

Pia - what's "DD"?

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I like the way Simpson refers to "Pre-Professional Screenwriters" in that interview - much better than "Aspiring" which I have never liked. Might adopt this myself!

My thoughts on this whole mess --> It "CAN" happen to you... Just bank on it happening to someone else.

When I say be exceptional... I mean it. I mean be so exceptional no one else but you can fit through the producers door you're dealing with.  I've talked to these people.  I've done various monkey boy tricks for these people... I've sold scripts before.  I've optioned them before, but as good as my material is.  As absolutely ground breaking and cutting edge and just.... NEW. my vault of material is for their respected genres.  I still haven't had the desire to actively pursue it full time.  Why?  Because I know reality and it's helluva lotta footwork to get there.  

So, yeah... You will hear the occasional --

"HE SOLD A SCRIPT & NOBODY EVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE... I THINK THE GUY WAS FROM JOPLIN NEBRASKA, EVEN"

You just might hear of that... but guess what? You also hear of people winning powerball too... Ask yourself if you know them personally or even heard of them in passing.  That will give you a clearer picture of what you're dealing with. Also, Hollywood has been known to embelish a lot of these stories too.  They often change the writers age, sometimes by 10 years when they post it in the papers too.  They often change where he was born and his name, even.  So don't go thinking everything you read from Hollywood is real.  A lot of this is simply fluff to let the masses believe the circle of Hollywood isn't just a select few in the unions.

Also, 9x's out of 10... These guys who sell their scripts for 400,000 and 1 million dollars are often never heard from again.  This guy will never sell another script.  EVER!  It's like reality tv... you might land a show for a season because you're an attention whore, but it's that 2nd and 3rd and 4th and so forth that comes back to bite you on the ass.

Well, unless you have the ability to shoot 30 kids out of your twat.

G'luck writers... you're going to need it.  I'll be living my life, not chained to the hopes and dreams of maybe someday, in the mean time.

P.S.  DD is probably Done Deal...

Pia means DD as Done Deal. A great forum for screenwriters. You should check it out.

I've never contacted a film company or sent any queries because I think that would ruin my chances right away. You're right, the best way is to get an agent to approach those companies but those are hard to get. I think the best way to get an agent would be to...

1 - Place highly in one of the bigger screenwriting competitions which could lead to requests to see your work by agents or production companies.

2 - Write a high concept, low budget script and place it on Ink Tip. Lots of writers get agents by this method so they must be more than a few looking at what's listed.

I've never done any of the above yet. My only completed feature, I wouldn't consider it low budget so Ink Tip's out the window for that. I will enter a screenwriting competition early next year but with so many entries, I won't be holding my breath.

Hey, now come on guys.

I was asking you to prove me wrong. Not confirm my worst nightmare!

Fuck it! Sand, where's my lottery ticket.

Quoted from Baltis. My thoughts on this whole mess --> It "CAN" happen to you... Just bank on it happening to someone else. When I say be exceptional... I mean it. I mean be so exceptional no one else but you can fit through the producers door you're dealing with.  I've talked to these people.  I've done various monkey boy tricks for these people... I've sold scripts before.  I've optioned them before, but as good as my material is.  As absolutely ground breaking and cutting edge and just.... NEW. my vault of material is for their respected genres.  I still haven't had the desire to actively pursue it full time.  Why?  Because I know reality and it's helluva lotta footwork to get there.   So, yeah... You will hear the occasional -- "HE SOLD A SCRIPT & NOBODY EVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE... I THINK THE GUY WAS FROM JOPLIN NEBRASKA, EVEN" You just might hear of that... but guess what? You also hear of people winning powerball too... Ask yourself if you know them personally or even heard of them in passing.  That will give you a clearer picture of what you're dealing with. Also, Hollywood has been known to embelish a lot of these stories too.  They often change the writers age, sometimes by 10 years when they post it in the papers too.  They often change where he was born and his name, even.  So don't go thinking everything you read from Hollywood is real.  A lot of this is simply fluff to let the masses believe the circle of Hollywood isn't just a select few in the unions. Also, 9x's out of 10... These guys who sell their scripts for 400,000 and 1 million dollars are often never heard from again.  This guy will never sell another script.  EVER!  It's like reality tv... you might land a show for a season because you're an attention whore, but it's that 2nd and 3rd and 4th and so forth that comes back to bite you on the ass. Well, unless you have the ability to shoot 30 kids out of your twat. G'luck writers... you're going to need it.  I'll be living my life, not chained to the hopes and dreams of maybe someday, in the mean time. P.S.  DD is probably Done Deal...

Balt,

What do you do with your scripts then?

You always say how incredible they are, but then say that you won't post them here and can't be bothered with Hollywood.

What is it you're tyrying to do with them?

Just curious.

Done Deal Pro  

Hey, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films Balt, What do you do with your scripts then? You always say how incredible they are, but then say that you won't post them here and can't be bothered with Hollywood. What is it you're tyrying to do with them? Just curious.

I've done plenty with them... I've been very active in the business of screenwriting.  I grew very tired of the entire business about 3 years ago and opted out completley... I focus on my day to day life now, my family, and my band above all else.  Writing, to me, is what I do... If it's not music or for video game websites, or it's blogging or It's screenwriting. I use to write skits for a weekly Youtube show about 2 years ago that grew to decent yet "mild" success in the video game forum world. I love writing.  It is a fulfillment to do it... I don't look for it as entitlement and I've said this time and time again,  I don't have the desire to write for Hollywood like so many writers here do.  I don't have the time or energy to put into it right now... Maybe someday I'll get back to doing it, but right now it just isn't in me.

When I write I write movies I wanna see and that I'd pay to own.  That's it.  Just because I don't post work here anymore, due to the fact nobody was reading features and anything past 5 to 10 pages, doesn't mean I'm not active in the community or others ... Or, even in the business.  I've critiqued screenplays for money... I send my material off to countless people for review and I network all the time.

Not everything I do is public... and or even under my name, Baltis.  I often use a few other names... More so when dealing with video game material or movie review material or blogging.  I don't want to be attached to these other projects should something ever arise... You all would be wise to do the same if you take on other ventures.

From the Writers Guild of Great Britain:

How do I copyright my script and please can I have some information about copyright?

As an author you automatically have copyright over your script, unless you assign it to someone else. You do not have to go through any formal procedure – if you wrote it, and you have not infringed someone else’s copyright, then the copyright is yours. Copyright means that no one can use your work without your permission.

As an author you also have moral rights over what you have written, unless you waive them in a contract. Moral rights include the right to be identified as the author or director of a work as appropriate, the right to object to the derogatory treatment of a work and the right to object to false attribution of a work.

There is a good explanation of UK copyright law on Wikipedia.

Guild members can contact the office for advice about copyright. We are not able to give any advice to non-members.

Who can I register my script with?

The Guild does not believe that registering a script gives you any significant protection from copyright infringements in this country. However, if you wish to register your script both the Writers Guild of America, west  and the Writers Guild of America, East offer the service for a fee, as does The Script Vault in the UK.

This is from The Script Vault's web page:

What is The Script Vault?

Script Registration and Deposit

The Script Vault offers a script registration and deposit service that helps to safeguard your copyright by registering the author of a piece of work and also establishing the date it was written; this registration can prove to be invaluable in the event of a copyright dispute.  Our Script Registration service is approved by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and costs just £10 per script for online registrations.   Your script will then be deposited in our 'Script Vault' for ten years - that's just £1 per year!  For details either use the navigation screws above or click here.

The script registration service can be used to register any piece of original work including scripts, plays, synopses, treatments, book manuscripts, showreels, videos, CDs, tapes, ideas, concepts or any other format which the client chooses to record their original idea.  We do however recommend you read the UK Copyright Law section on our site to find out what can and can't be copyrighted.  Click here for information on protecting programme ideas, formats, treatments, synopses etc.

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Personally, I believe this sort of thing is a waste of time, but I know many writers here are worried about copyright issues and this sort of site would be of interest to them.

Niles, that's basically how copyrights work in the US. You own the copyright on anything you create as soon as you create it. The Library of Congress and the WGA are there to prove WHEN you wrote if any questions arise at some point in the future.

Well, we are all signatories of the same convention on copyright, although the US joined a lot later than most of Europe! (cough)

It strikes me that a service like Script Vault is probably no more useful than a site like Mediafire - when you upload to that, you get a date stamp for your file, for free.

Strictly speaking anyone can register a work as their own - it does not prove the work is yours, just that you have registered it as yours. You can still have stolen it!

This is from "Storysense.com" - thought it was an interesting take on the whole "registering your script" debate:

It isn't necessary to file a copyright with the Library of Congress.  Your script is automatically protected under common law.  However, it's a good idea to register it, either with an online service, such as the National Creative Registry (protectrite.com), or with the Writers Guild of America. This being said, the Industry tends to view registration and copyright notices as the marks of a paranoid amateur.You would be wise to leave them off your script.