Support the Cinefamily

So I live about...I don't know...two blocks from the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax here in Los Angeles. Actually my neighborhood is weird - it's at the geographic crossroads of Hollywood, West Hollywood and the Fairfax neighborhood, one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in LA. So on a given day we have the hipsters, the Hasidim and gay couples walking their dogs all as they head toward Canter's Deli for mutually agreed upon goodness. But anyway. The Silent Movie Theatre.

"Built in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, The Silent Movie Theatre ran for decades as the only fully functioning silent movie theatre in the country. It has been fully restored to its original, vintage 1940s art deco design, along with a brand new screen and sound system, to help a new generation enjoy the pleasures of cinema in a beautiful theatre."

So that's pretty cool, right? I get emails every week from Cinefamily, which is a sort of club that meets at the Silent Movie Theatre and I think oh, I should go see that movie, yeah, sure. And I never do.

Several friends of mine have plans to go see THE HANGOVER this weekend and I thought, well, sure, yeah, I love my friends very much. But - I'm not that excited to see THE HANGOVER, honestly. It's not really my cup of tea. Then I got this in my email inbox from the Cinefamily:

WINNEBAGO MAN, Sunday June 7th, 8pm

Jack Rebney, aka "the angriest RV salesman in the world," has delighted and fascinated millions of viewers with the hilariously foul-mouthed and ill-tempered outtakes from a Winnebago promotional video he made in the '80s - one of the first and best underground videos to be passed hand-to-hand, before the Internet turned him into a full-blown phenomena. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer takes on the seemingly impossible task of tracking down Jack, and his journey turns into a fascinating exploration of viral video culture, and what it means on a personal level to its sometimes unwilling subjects. When he finally tracks down Rebney, the real man is more savvy, irascible (of course), deep, weird, and cool than you could have possibly hoped for, and turns out to be more than able to hold his own in the modern media culture. In short, he is a star. A lovely and hilarious look at one man's response to Internet humiliation, and how that so-called "humiliation" can become a beacon of light to many. All hail Jack Rebney: the patron saint of our collective frustrations. Dir. Ben Steinbauer, 2009, HDCAM, 90 min.

- and I thought okay THAT I would see. That sounds fascinating. And I chide myself, momentarily, because I have not gotten out to support the Cinefamily and partaken of their impressively out-there play list and schedule. So for any Angelenos reading TRW today, please get out and support a theater that is off grid. Way off grid. A theater with a true love for the art and craft of cinema and the way in which the movies reflect just how odd we humans are. Step away from the megaplex once in awhile and see what else is out there.

***

The Cinefamily is an organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films. The Cinefamily’s goal is to foster a spirit of community and a sense of discovery, while reinvigorating the movie-going experience. Like campfires, sporting events and church services, we believe that movies work best as social experiences. They are more meaningful, funnier and scarier when shared with others. Our home is the Silent Movie Theatre, one of Hollywood’s most beloved and beautiful cultural landmarks. There, the Cinefamily will provide a destination spot for Los Angelenos and others to rediscover the pleasures of cinema.

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Dialing for Dollars

Hello, Wavers! You've by now noticed I've been posting less Wavy goodness lately. Mama has been very busy. Administrating and judging the Silver Screenwriting Competition, running The Script Department, working on my own writing and producing plans and projects, preparing for my class at the Great American Pitch Fest on June 13th and the panel I will be on at the Broad Comedy Film Festival in Venice the following day and (deep breath) writing a book based on The Rouge Wave and (deep breath) finding time to exercise, get enough sleep and eat well. Foof. It's a lot.

In addition, I feel as if I've said about everything I have to say on the topic of screenwriting here on The Rouge Wave so I'm posting less often and only when I really have something to say or a question to answer, rather than just warming over old topics just for the sake of posting. Hope that's okay with all of you wonderful, loyal Wavers. I love love love a good question or comment - that way I know I'm posting something that you wanted the answer to, not just postulating cutely on organic dialogue again.

Today I had to call 40 - 40 - agents, managers and production companies on behalf of a client with a script that I am in love with. Once in a blue moon, a script bubbles up to the surface that I just have to throw myself behind. And when I am a fan of a script, look out. My phone is smoking right now.

You know why calling a lot of people, some of which you know, some of which you don't is anxiety-inducing? Because some people are so short and rude on the phone. As I say, 40 calls, right? Of those 40, I would say I know or am acquainted with about 20 of those people. And those people are friendly. Hey Julie! Sure, what's the logline? Sure, send the script. Yay. Feels good. I know if the writer called on his own behalf, he'd be shut down just by dint of the We-Don't-Know-You Filter. So it's great to see those pay-it-forward/networking efforts cash out in getting reads when I want them.

Some of the companies I called - wow, dude. Take a coffee break. Breathe it out. Be nice. I can imagine being on the receiving end of query-type phone calls every single day must get really old and that the second you answer the phone, you're on defense but geezo, we're not curing cancer here, we're just talking about whether you'll read a story. Chillax.

Got some really, really interesting skinny from my old employer, Walden Media, about what's on the slate upcoming and what the new mandate is all about. Very different mandate, I'm surprised - moving closer to the Bristol Bay mandate of old. (Walden and Bristol are both owned by Anschutz. Well, they were. Til Bristol was shuttered a few years back). Cary Granat has formed his own prodco, continuing his interesting odyssey from Dimension to Walden to what amounts to Walden-II-Minus-Anschutz unless Anschutz is funding Granat which I seriously doubt. Phillip Anschutz is the man who signs the checks at Walden, incidentally, being the conservative Colorado billionaire who owns Narnia-land. I used to LOVE reading for Walden Media, let me tell you. That was a great gig. It's nice to continue to be in touch with creative executives there. Another reminder, Wavers - yesterday's assistant you were polite to is today's exec who gives you all the skinny.

It's very fun being just down the hall from Heroes and Villains; I just walked on down there all casual like with my coffee and leaned on the door frame and was all like, dudes, I have a rockin script that you need to read. Script in reading pile. YES.

All righty Wavers, more later, I will not abandon you, I'll just be posting a bit less and please, if you have suggestions or questions - send them my way and I'll be happy to answer them.

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Can Feedback Sabotage Your Story?

Rouge Waver Desiree wrote in and asked:

I've never had a pro to read any of my scripts, but various friends and fellow writers. It has its disadvantages, I know.

Several years ago I listened too much to the advice I got from a friend and one day I woke up and the story was no longer mine, it was his. Since then I have learned to trust my heart.

Would a situation like that ever appear with a pro reader? Would the reader see another potential than intended and give "wrong" advice and change the core of the story?

I have so many thoughts on these questions, Desiree, that it's gonna take me a moment to really get to the heart of it. First of all, this has happened to me, in the distant past. Asking for and receiving story advice that eventuated in my story changing altogether. But years and years and scripts later, I realize that the reason that happened to me is that I didn't know clearly what my story was anyway. So I cast about for opinions and suggestions to plug leaky holes in a weak story, didn't differentiate between the merits of this or that advice, and wound up cobbling it all together into a story that had no relationship to my original idea.

So yes, you will get advice from various people that could radically change your story - but the key is to develop the skill set to differentiate between what can add value to your story and what in fact degrades the central core of what turned you on about it in the first place. Additionally, writers should test changes and suggestions against the key components of the story: main character flaw, theme, the second act adventure (the meat of the premise) and the big battle scene in the end - the pivotal third act resolution. All of those particular components are actually hinged together quite neatly. Like a Rubik's Cube, the way they hinge can change - but they still have to click together and work. So if you change one thing, you affect the whole shape and mechanism of your script.

There is a right way and a wrong way to give feedback. Always be wary of someone who gives you numerous, specific ideas for changes without testing them against those key components. Not everybody is very well equipped to give feedback. But that's your responsibility when asking for it. I see that often on message boards - other screenwriters micromanage and give very specific advice to writers who have posted pages and then the script becomes a weird community project. Don't put yourself in that position.

Getting advice can be great; friends, colleagues or a pro reader might suggest something that opens up a whole new perspective. Just make sure you make it a collaborative experience and that ultimately you stay tethered to the fundamentals of your premise that got you excited in the first place. Test the suggestions against the components of your script, teasing out the outcome to see if it would alter your script in a desirable, surprising or value-added way.

Now: Would a pro reader give you story-changing advice? Maybe. Some. It depends. That goes beyond the scope of what readers get paid to do, generally speaking. At a company like mine, in which readers are paid to evaluate scripts but also to be encouraging and instructive, the readers will give examples and some suggestions, yes. But those readers will only give suggestions that still fit into the framework you came up with. Because when they give suggestions, they know the other key components of your script and they take into account the snowball affect.

I'm sure some pro readers or (not very good) consultants might try to more or less dictate what they would like your story to be - but if you feel those alarm bells going off, it's your responsibility to stop that flow and move on. Teasing great ideas out of a writer is much harder than just saying "look, I would do this." Teaching a writer to think critically and see opportunities instead of having the writer do what YOU think would work is where feedback and mentoring of writers becomes an art form. Anyone can dictate what THEY think YOU should do. But that's not their job. And you do not have to subject yourself to that.

Getting feedback is an interactive, participatory experience. Don't just get in the car blindfolded and be driven somewhere. Look around, ask questions, make your own suggestions and know the path you were originally on in the first place well enough to only deviate from it quite consciously. You are ultimately responsible for your story, where or if you get feedback on it, and what you then do with that feedback.

All of this said, because many Wavers might be members of writing groups or screenwriting message boards in which bad feedback runs rampant, this is probably a good time and place to talk about what good feedback looks like. When giving feedback to a writer, try putting the feedback in the form of a question. Two great ways to start off that question are "what if" and "maybe...?" So you might say, "What if the main character's flaw is actually that he's vain?" and then you and the writer can play with that for a moment. How would changing the flaw affect the theme? How would it affect the main character's arc of change? How would it affect the reversals and complications along the way? So you ask a question and then you follow through with testing how that possible change might affect the major components of the story.

So to summarize, Desiree -

Be careful who you get feedback from; avoid message board blowhards and total strangers who are not familiar with your premise, you or your process.

Check in with the clarity of your understanding of your premise and main character. Are YOU the expert of your own creation? Is your premise pithy, articulate and unique?

Test suggestions against the major components of your script to see if they add value or actually just loosen all the hinges and then require more jury-rigging.

Incorporate only the notes and feedback that resonate for you.

When you give feedback, pose it in the form of a question: "What if" and "maybe" are great starts.

If alarm bells go off because you're hearing multiple opinions and suggestions about your script, step away from the feedback, sleep on all of it and revisit your premise line. Remember, this is YOUR story that only YOU can tell.

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High School Career Day Interview

So this very sweet high school kid from New Jersey or somesuch ["Somesuch??" Hey, we grow great assistants out there! -Ed.] emailed The Script Department with some very thoughtful questions about my company and being a writer. I wrote up the answers to his questions which of course I answered honestly but simply, since this is a teenager and when I was done I thought hmm...while simplified, this is actually not bad.

****

What exactly is the role of your company when it comes to helping screenwriters get their materials to industry professionals?

The Script Department gives aspiring writers a sense of how their script would be received within the entertainment industry. We provide notes and feedback so that writers can address problems in their scripts – whether they be problems of execution or of plot, character or even the premise, so that when the writer then makes those adjustments, they have a professional, polished script to send out to decision-makers in Hollywood. Writers in the process become more adept at the craft of screenwriting. So often aspiring screenwriters have a skewed sense of just how original or accomplished their script really is and send it out to entertainment industry professionals only to get shut down immediately. We are there to help writers make a good first impression – and sometimes to tell them they are not quite ready to make any impression at all but should rather keep learning the art and craft of screenwriting. Writers who wish to be taken seriously and have a career in entertainment writing need to understand that the industry is quite competitive and shoddy work will tarnish their reputation.

What does your job at The Script Department entail?

I am the founder and director of the company so my job is quite detailed and complex but would include marketing and advertising decisions for my company, attending events and teaching classes, managing the readers who work for me, managing all financial decisions for my company and occasionally, working with clients one-on-one to provide story notes and consultations. In the big picture, my job is to keep the whole operation running on a day to day basis. I make sure our clients get what they paid for in a timely and professional manner, and I make sure my readers get paid well and on time for the work that they do. I also interact with other industry professionals making sure that they are aware of not only my company in general, but of a particularly good writer or script that I have so that I can make an introduction on behalf of the writer.

How many screenplays does The Script Department receive on a monthly basis approximately?

It depends on the month. Hollywood has seasons, just like other industries do. Our busiest time is in April and May because there are a lot of screenwriting competitions and writers want to up their chances so they get notes from us first. November, December and January are always a lot slower. In a busy month, we might evaluate about 100 scripts.

Are there any flaws you or The Script Department have seen in new screenplays written by new writers?

There are too many flaws to list here but the two most predominant ones are scripts that are not actually very original story ideas and scripts that are simply not executed well. That is to say, scripts with what we call “soft” structure, or under-developed characters or sometimes even formatting problems. The newer the writer, the more likely we will see these two issues.

Is there anything The Script Department is looking for in a screenplay when it wants to recommend a screenplay to industry professionals?

We are looking for a really great, really entertaining an original story idea and we are also looking for writers with what we call “voice." In the entertainment industry “voice” means a writer with a great deal of individualism on the page. Style, in other words. Hollywood loves writers with voice. The thing is, newer writers often have to learn the rules first before they can really depart and really let their own personalities through on the pages.

From what you or The Script Department have seen, is there anything high-level executives and industry professionals who make screenplays into films want out of new screenplays?

It’s simple. They want to be entertained. They want to not be able to put the script down. And they want to think to themselves that this script is very unique, and it’s cinematic and it will attract great actors and audiences are going to love seeing this film. The entertainment industry is all about dollars, at the end of the day. And movies are very expensive to make. So industry executives want to see potential return for their investment.

What is it like to be an agent who represents screenwriters?

It is a tough way to make a living. Agents are basically salesmen. They have to convince buyers (studios) that what they are selling (the script) is worth several hundred thousand dollars and that further, the script, once made into a movie, is going to earn the studio a great deal of money down the line. Agents make about 10% of the sale of the script. So that means if they sell a script for $200,000, they take home about $20,000. Not too bad but living in Los Angeles is expensive and agents often have to keep up their image with expensive cars and homes. So an agent might need to earn upward of $150,000 a year to support his or her lifestyle. So that’s making seven+ sales per year in order to support that. Agents earn 10% of whatever their client earns, so they can also earn money if their clients gets a rewrite job, not just an outright sale. But the bottom line is that agents have to hustle, every single day, to make a living. That’s why they are so picky when it comes to representing a writer. They can’t afford to hustle and make phone calls and sweet talk buyers if the writer isn’t original and compelling and talented.

What should a new screenwriter be concerned on when s/he is writing a screenplay?

Brand new screenwriters should know that their first script probably won’t turn out that great. They should know that it can take years to really become a gifted screenwriter and that even after that, they may never sell one single script. They should take the art and craft of writing very seriously and study it wherever and whenever they can. New screenwriters should read as many scripts as they can and they should write every day and see a lot of movies. Knowing a lot about movies, particularly the genre you most want to write will put you miles ahead of many other aspiring writers. New screenwriters should have fun and go for it but also be patient and know that this can take quite some time...

Is there anything agents who represent screenwriters want most from a spec script written by a new screenwriter?

A brand new screenwriter can be very attractive to an agent because he or she can say they rep the “hot new writer” in town. They want originality, personality and saleability - of the writer and the script.

Do you believe there is anything notable about a screenplay that is sold to a major film studio versus one that isn’t?

There is a saying in Hollywood that if we knew what made a hit movie, every movie would be a hit. People spend hours analyzing why some scripts get sold to studios and produced and others do not. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason or pattern that really holds up over time. Studios are drawn to movies that are what they call “four quadrant,” meaning the story should appeal to both younger women and younger men and older women and older men – the widest swath of audience possible. Give you an example: 8 MILE – not a four quadrant movie, right? But UP, the new Pixar release, is. Pixar is great at producing four quadrant movies. So studios do look for wide audience appeal but they are also surprised all the time by movies they didn’t think would appeal to a wide audience but do anyway, like JUNO. A script by an absolute beginner will probably not sell to a studio because the writer probably doesn’t have the skill, creativity and chops of a more experienced writer. But if you put two scripts side-by-side, both written by skilled, talented, experienced writers – probably the one that is both very unique and would appear to appeal to a wide audience will get that sale. “The same but different” is another adage out here in Hollywood, meaning audiences want to watch what they are familiar with – a buddy comedy, a super hero story, a romantic comedy - and yet with different twists, different characters, different settings, etc. DISTURBIA is an interesting example of “the same but different.” Being trapped in a location, unable to escape a menacing threat is not a new story idea. In fact, Albert Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW pretty much aced this story concept way back in 1954. But DISTURBIA put a new twist on it, and some new details that updated the concept but also put some new touches on it.

How should a writer treat rejection from an agency?

Writers should take rejection totally, 100% in stride. It is part of being a writer. Many very famous writers were rejected hundreds of times before they got published. Stephen King threw his break-out novel, Carrie, into the trash can, he was so frustrated by rejection yet again. Thank goodness he pulled it out of that trash can and submitted it – that novel kick-started a legendary and lucrative career. Rejection is part of life for a writer. You just keep moving on. Sort of like vendors selling balloons or churros or lemonade at an amusement park. You try to sell your writing and when you are rebuffed you just ask the next person if they want to read your story or script too. You have to be persistent, you have to have faith in yourself and you have to want it so bad you can taste it. Opinions are subjective; it only takes ONE person to say “yes” and there you will be – published, sold represented. Only one “yes”. Think about that. But the thing is, that “yes” will be buried under a pile of “nos.” You just can’t hear the word “no.”

I thank you a thousand times over for your willingness to assist me in my research.

You are so very welcome, Dale! I hope my answers have been helpful and good luck with your project!

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When is Enough Enough?

I was reading a script the other day as a favor to a friend. He asked how I liked it. Great, but I have some notes for you. Just little things to help make some moments pop. I could practically hear him deflate on the other end of the line. Oh - I don't really need more notes. I've had so many notes that at this point, I just need to be done with the script. Which is when I understood that my friend didn't really want or need notes, he just needed me to say the script was good and let him enjoy that feeling. I mean, I get it. I've definitely written and rewritten scripts to the point where when someone tells me a brilliant way to make x, y or z moment even better, I just smile and nod. No more. Enough.

So - how do you know when your script is done done? Is it that sick feeling that you cannot bear to hear one more thought about it? Or is it that wonderful feeling that it is 100% as good as it can be? Well - few of us ever enjoy that feeling, right? So how can you know? Being sick of your script is an indicator, for sure, but an indicator of what? That it's as done as done can be or that it's as done as you personally can get it?

One thing I do know for sure is that a script really can be tweaked into perpetuity and yes, improvement is always possible but if the changes are relatively micro, it's probably time to move on. It's about thinking over the best way for you to be spending your time, right? Is it worth tweaking endlessly when you could be working on a first draft of a fresh idea?

How do you know when to fold 'em, kiss that little darlin' goodbye and either put it in a drawer, enter it into a competition or send it to an agent or manager?

Well, if you've had more than four consecutive sets of notes, each of which resulted in a new draft, it's probably time to push the baby out of the nest, for better or for worse.

Or, alternatively, if you are now bored stupid at the thought of rewriting or tweaking your script - it's time to let the little fella fend for itself...and probably in a drawer if you seriously no longer get excited in any way, shape or form about it. If you can't get excited about your script, who else can?

Only you can know, Wavers, when enough is enough. But believe me, at a certain point in time, enough is enough. Your script is gonna have to stand on its own two legs ultimately, and it's the concept that's gonna knock someone dead, not whether the fairy godmother on page 10 gives her speech at the top of the stairs or the bottom.

Write, write, write. Keep moving, like a shark. Several pretty good scripts ultimately serves you better than one really good one that you've been working on for 10 years and oh wait, I need to rethink the scene on page 72...

Know when enough is enough. Trust yourself. Use your time well. Let go and move on to another script.

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The Thirty Thousand Dollar Question

Once in awhile, I come across things that really delight me and make me curious and tingly at the same time. The Robotard8000 was one such recent example. So when I saw an ad on Ebay yesterday for a feature script for sale for $30,000, I just had to know more. I contacted the writer and he was game enough to answer some questions for The Rouge Wave. Make of this what you will, Wavers - is it brilliant guerrilla market, giving Hollywood the eff you finger, or is it futile and misguided? Whatever it is, it is creative and it takes chutzpah. So without further ramblings, let's hear from the writer:

*****
So Jason – I came across your script for sale on Ebay for $30,000 and I must admit I was flabbergasted and amused by such an unorthodox approach. I love your chutzpah. Have you heard of fellow guerrilla marketers, the Robotard8000?

No I have not.

Have you had any serious inquiries? If so, have you sold the script? Why or why not?

I had one very serious inquiry. Some company in L.A., I don't want to give the name. We were in talks, they were going to buy the script, I sent them a business proposal, the partners were one day away from finalizing the deal when they had to get Board of Directors' approval, and it failed by two votes. One of the partners wanted to buy it outright by himself but decided against it. Very up and down process for me emotionally.

I’m sure you realize that listing your script on Ebay is way outside the usual steps for a screenwriter to sell a script. What made you decide to try this?

Basically it was a last resort. I wanted to produce this script myself, but my friend and fellow filmmaker moved to L.A. I listed it because I thought it would be a unique and hassle free way of selling my screenplay and maybe someone serious would notice it. My priorities have changed and I can't take the time and money that it takes to get a screenplay sold, pitched, or even read. It is nearly impossible to get your script even scimmed [sic] through in Hollywood without a foot in the door already. I would just love to see my screenplay made into a film, that is my dream.

How did you decide upon $30,000 as the value of the script?

Basically that is the top amount, I will accept reasonable offers. The deal I thought I had in place was not for the $30,000. I picked the brain of my friend in L.A., and we came up with the price.

Had you tried the usual steps to find representation for your writing prior to listing it on Ebay?

I entered the screenplay in a couple of competitions early on, got a couple of responses but nothing I wanted to follow through with.

What is your experience with screenwriting?

I was a journalism major in college, and co-wrote a couple of shorts that my friend and I filmed. One was called CONVENIENCE, kind of a horror-zombie style set in a convenience store.

What is your script about?

It is a 20something mob drama, about six to seven central characters. Set in NYC and a small midwest college town. I hear it is bad luck to completely tell the story and plot line before it is a done deal.

Why do you feel your script would make a great movie?

The beginning and end are extremely unique. It is very rare to see an original idea these days in Hollywood. I am sick of movies like GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST and THE PROPOSAL, we have seen these movies a thousand times. My movie is original.

If the script doesn’t sell, what do you plan to do next?

I will try a new way and interesting way to get my screenplay done. I love movies, most of all I love the storytelling aspect of movies and the escape that it brings to everyone's life.

Thank you so much, Jason. And good luck.

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Mixed Messages

Hello, Wavers! Did everybody have a nice Memorial Day weekend? I received a lengthy email from a client with a number of questions that I thought deserved a public answer since many of you may be able to relate. For ease of reading (and answering) I have translated the questions into very brief versions, distilling them down to the basic sentiments:

1. I keep getting different notes from different readers and different coverage companies. Some say "consider" and others say "pass." How the FRAK am I supposed to know what to do?

On this one, you have to take a deep breath and know that coverage, to a certain degree, is subjective. Though readers hew to certain standards, they are just people and until they invent the Auto-Reader 9000, you're stuck with that. The only advice I can give you is to take the notes that resonate for you and ignore those that do not.

2. Readers seem to have insanely high standards. It's like readers are keeping me out of Hollywood. How do I get around them? What do I make of ratings that I do not agree with?

Yes, readers have high standards. Most readers, and certainly those who work for The Script Department, come from the production company world, where giving a "consider" on a script is an act of putting one's job on the line. So readers are very hard on your script. They have to be. Giving a "consider" on a script means your boss has to read it this weekend. If your boss reads it over the weekend and disagrees that it warranted that - heads roll. So yes, sometimes readers will give a "pass" in lieu of "I'm not really sure." Believe it. I've been there. Sometimes a reader will lean on "consider with reservation" which amounts to "I'm not sure" but the production company world is quite harsh so readers work within that system. And it is a by-the-numbers system of rating and ranking scripts. Is it designed to keep you out? Yes, it is. But at a script coverage company such as The Script Department, we have no agenda except to help your writing improve. If we say your script is essentially a "pass" we mean it is not likely to fly at a production company.

Say you disagree. That's your prerogative and in fact, if you really, really disagree with that rating, then the choice is yours to go ahead and query/submit anyway. We in no way assume the authority or final word to tell you do NOT submit this script. We are just a safety system that gives you an idea of how it might fare at a production company if you submitted the draft we read.

Again, readers are tough and they are subjective. They try to be as objective as possible but they are just people doing a job. It is your gut feeling that rules what you do about your notes or about submitting the script, at the end of the day. We can't fish for you, but we can teach you how to fish. If you really disagree and think that the script just needs to get that one "yes" to get off the ground, you would be right - it does need one "yes" - that's all it takes. So it's possible that a "pass" rating by a script coverage reader might not dissuade an executive at just the right company for your script, who was in just the right mood. Use a system of odds: If three readers point out the same problem - you probably have a problem. If only one does, well, you have to use your gut instinct.

3. A reader I had recently made some comments about a particular world and situation I had set up and it was clear to me that she wasn't familiar with that particular milieu, and some of her opinions were incorrect because of that. I'm frustrated by that!

Say you're writing a script about fly fishing, or ticket scalping or space algae harvesting. When you submit that script to a production company, a reader will vet the script first. There is no way of ensuring that reader or any reader will indeed be familiar with a particular world of your script. Them's the breaks. Not every reader can have intimate knowledge of the particularity of your world. Say they ding you for stuff that you researched and know is correct.

There are two reactions you can have. One, bummer dude, you got dinged. The reader didn't get it. Try another company or reader. Subjectivity, human error and shortcomings are all an unfortunate reality in getting your material read in any venue. Essays, fiction, short fiction, scripts. Deal with it. Two, it is possible that you didn't make clear the particularity of the job or world or situation you were depicting. It is possible that had you done a better job, the reader, unfamiliar with 17th century butter churning or 21st century boiler rooms would have gotten it.

In fact, you have to plan for the possibility that not every reader who reads your script will "get" what you've written about. On the whole, because readers read such a large volume of scripts, they do have at least an inkling of what you're talking about. If they don't, they don't. I understand researchers are hard at work on the Auto-Reader which will make all coverages identical, with identical standards and results. I don't mean to be sarcastic, I mean to remind you that readers are people trained to execute a particular skill set in rapid delivery.

Rotten Rejections is a really great, entertaining and ultimately inspiring collection of rejections that famous literary authors received before going on to have huge success with the same book so insultingly rejected. Nabokov, for example, was told in a rejection letter that it would best if Lolita were "buried under a rock for a thousand years."

In fact, any Waver planning to go to the Great American Pitch Fest in Burbank this June 13th and 14th should definitely take my class, Top Ten Things Readers Hate (I actually think they politically correctly retitled it Top Ten Things Readers Aren't Crazy About or something...) and you will learn a ton of the practicalities of the life of a reader - what they get paid, how much they are expected to read, how they review scripts quickly, and more.

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Character Study: Geeks, Nerds, Slackers and Hipsters

First there was the nerd. Clean cut, intelligent, earnest and, well, totally uncool. They were social outcasts, mocked in high school and mildly ostracized in college, remaining virgins for unnatural periods of time. But they grew up and into themselves, got good jobs and had the last laugh at high school reunions. Still, nerds like George McFly just never had, well, nads.

Coolness is totally beyond the reach of the nerd. But - nerds, in the movies anyway, do have heart. They are the underdog, the one you sort of root for in the end. Why? Because oddly, many of us identify with the nerd. The nerd is the foundational visage of insecurity. No matter how cool you thought you were in high school, part of you felt outcast no matter what. The nerd just wore it on his or her sleeve.

The personal computer saw the rise of the geek - a nerd with mad computer skills. They spend hours alone, they play interactive online games and speak a sort of weird, yawn-inducing language nobody understands. Like the nerd, they are prone to sweaty palms and bad hair. But they had one thing their forefather the nerd did not - a skill set (computers) that is highly in demand. A geek is not such a, well, geek when you need your computer fixed, are they?

Then we have the slackers and the hipsters. I don't know about other urban areas but Los Angeles is awash with hipsters. They are literally everywhere, with their pork pie hats, tats, and man bags. Variations include chunky glasses, Doc Martens, soul patches, and either very coiffed or not-shampooed-lately hair. Is the hipster an outgrowth or expression of the nerd or the geek? Or are they in another category altogether? Is the slacker a slightly less cool, unemployed hipster? What about the metrosexual?

Connect the dots, Wavers - what is the evolution or provenance of the hipster? Do old-school nerds still exist? Are geeks really geeks anymore, or just people you pay a lot of money to to fix your computer? Are geeks sexy? How about hipsters? Cool? Or pretentious and annoying? Recently I had lunch with an unabashed nerd but I remember thinking to myself - man, this kid is one pork pie hat and tat away from being a hipster. He could go from social reject to trendy Angeleno in one afternoon. Are hipsters just nerds with more fashion sense? Or are they, as I suspect, inauthentic types, mining nerdom for irony and cool?

Do you fall into any of these categories? Do these categories apply to women as well? How many female geeks do you know? What category would Tracy Flick (Election) fall into? Do hipsters annoy you or do you aspire to be one? What makes a person hip, anyway? Is there an age cut off after which you're not a slacker...you're The Dude in The Big Lebowski?

Social labels are fascinating. Subtle shadings imply social strata, ambition and acceptance. Nerd, geek, slacker, hipster...is there a straight line of evolution? What's next? Who are your favorite movie nerds, geeks, slackers and hipsters?

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Buy My Script. Now.

For some reason The Script Department has received a plethora of inquiries lately from very new writers who are very out of the loop. The upshot of the inquiries is always the same - I've written this great story that I really think is amazing and now I'd like you to tell me how to sell it.

It's very easy, if you're on the inside track, to find that kind of inquiry incredibly naive if not a bit...unsmart. But we who have been at this for awhile and have been through the wringer need to step back and realize that the desire to tell a story is a far cry from having an understanding of how this industry works. Show business is like any other business, on a certain level. Profit, loss, competition, egos, percentages, up and down swings. You wouldn't design a new car and go to Ford and say hi, I've designed this new car so will you buy it? It's not that simple. A) who the hell are you? and B) having designed a new car doesn't then mean a manufacturer is going to pour money into that design and market and sell that car. You wouldn't do some stuff in your kitchen and go to Chanel and say hi, I've come up with a new perfume, would you buy it please? Are you guys with me?

There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to screenwriters trying to break in: The aforementioned, hi, buy my script and geez, it's gonna be great when I buy that new car and Hollywood is an effed up, monolithic, exclusionary machine and I'll never, ever break in. Neither is true.

Being a screenwriter is not a one-off, it's a long journey. So you've written a great script that you think would make a wonderful movie - congratulations! That really is an accomplishment to be proud of. Now get ready for the what-it's-like-to-be-a-writer part. Rejection. Silence. Notes. More notes. Existential angst. You write another script you think is a great story. Rejection. Silence. Notes. More notes. Existential angst. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Listen up, bright smiley noobs - there is no short path through this. It's what all writers go through. You are not special, blessed or supernaturally lucky. You are a writer. Or - are you? Because if the thought of toiling away again and again and meeting with only rejection makes you want to forget it and go for the promotion at work instead - please, save yourself the heartbreak and go for it. Hewlett Packard has great benefits.

The initial goal should be to learn the craft and learn it well. Which is a step that can take a long time and a lot of bad scripts that you thought were good scripts. Trust me on this one. After you have a stockpile of scripts, most of which are pretty bad and you know it, then you start writing scripts that are actually not bad. But they won't be very original. Rejection. Silence. Notes. More notes. Existential angst.

You'll get pretty hot, dirty and tired in this process. You'll have bitter days when reading the latest script sales or trade news makes you crazy. You'll want to quit, again and again. But something keeps pulling you back in. And you keep writing. Then finally you say eff it, I love this script. I got good notes on it. I feel good about it.

And then and only then is it time to try to find an agent or manager who believes your scripts are competitive on the marketplace. Notice I didn't say brilliant - I said competitive on the marketplace. Because Hollywood is one big hurly-burly marketplace of buying and selling. The wares are stories. And the market is hot and crowded, trust me on this. The agent or manager who represents you is the barker at a stall, trying to hawk your wares. And the only way he or she makes money when they pack up their booth at the end of the day, is if they can sell your script.

So you arrive on your camel, from the hot, dry desert with your wares - will you sell this for me? The agent or manager is going to look at your script, kick it some, check its teeth and make a decision. Man, that market is hot and tiring - am I gonna make some coin on this? Because I have those four other stories that are pretty bright and shiny. So why this one? Why this writer?
Trying to race around the desert and not travel through it first is going to result in chasing a mirage. You are not different from other writers who made the trek. You do not get a free pass. I'm sure your story is amazing - to you. I'm sure it was great to write it. And that feeling is the water that you store to replenish yourself along this journey. Validation, networking, studying, enjoying movies - that's the food and water you need to pack. Because the journey is very long. No, I cannot take your script, sight unseen, and get it to an agent or manager who will summarily buy it and make you rich rich.

Chances are, if you're reading this, you're thinking oh man, what dumb clucks - I know this already. But at one time you didn't know it. You had to learn. Probably through bitter experience. I know I did. Hoo, boy. What a bummer that writing a script does not then mean you sell it and get rich. But that's what separates the writers from the dabblers. Sure, I had a script I thought was great, 10 years ago. And it went precisely nowhere. I bundled up, got back on the camel and kept going. And I have a script now that I think is great. Now I'm actually in the marketplace - I can see the hawkers, I can smell the spices and hear the jingling of bells...it's all so close. But man, am I hot and dusty. And I have no guarantee whatsoever that I'm going to get a cool drink and buy a new camel. So you trundle on and you keep writing.

In a certain mood, these types of inquiries make me a bit irate. What, you think the art and the craft of writing a movie is that easy? So easy you can do it once and sell it? You think it's just a bunch of words and that you can learn it from some book and pull it off? But I take a deep breath and I realize that what looks like hubris is actually ignorance. An ignorance that is part of the journey. We all thought it would be way easier than it is to write a good script. We all thought we could get meetings pretty easily. We all figured that a script sale was a good but not terribly difficult thing. We can look back in laughter now, can't we? But that ignorance serves two functions - it gives us the blissful unawareness necessary to join this camel train in good cheer, and it gives us a milestone to look back on. If I knew then what I know now...

It's okay to be totally naive to this industry - it's complicated and full of mirages. One such mirage is that of instant fame and money. Don't you believe it. Keep that water and food for your journey and keep following the North Star. The marketplace is there - that's quite real - you can smell the spices and hear the barkers shouting even now, can't you? But you cannot take a shortcut to it. And not everyone who gets there is going to see their wares for sale. But that's the thing, isn't it? The mystery, the surprise, the sheer adrenaline of trying?

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Be That Person

So I'm at a bridal shower the other day with several women I've never met before. You know how that is. Whatever, blah blah, nice to meet you. As the women are chatting over champagne, one says she's an exec at a production company that I fairly worship. My eyes almost bugged out of my head. THAT company? OMG! Must talk up this woman. Must make connection. Want to do that right this second! I clutched my champagne with white knuckles. When will I have an opportunity? How can I do this?

I took a deep breath. You know what? That's not the way to do it. Relax, drink more champagne, open gifts and enjoy the party. Which is what I did. Everyone there was hilariously funny and interesting and we talked about the upcoming wedding and jewelry and exercise and life in general. But then the moment came - the final opportunity. We're all saying goodbye and see ya at the wedding and what are you going to wear...What to do? How do you snatch an opportunity without seeming, well, unseemly? Forget it, I think to myself. I don't want to be that person. Then another part of myself said Julie, before she walks out that door, you make a connection or I'll kill you. Note to self: Must discuss these voices with doctor.

Then the moment arrived. We were walking out the door when I screwed up my courage and said hey, do you have Facebook? Why yes, yes I do. Great, great, I'll look you up. Cool! Listen, I own this company that helps out aspiring writers - is there any way, if I find a good script, that I could send it to you? SURE! Wow, we'd love that, we'd love an inside track on brand-new writers. Anytime!

And that, Wavers, is how it's done. Phew. If you're lucky enough to be in an environment where there are people who could help your career, don't be the person who pounces on someone, much as you'd like to. Get to know them a little bit, find some way to connect. And then - be that person. The person who takes an opportunity and makes a connection. Because the answer might just surprise you. And now I have a pipeline for my clients to a GREAT production company that has made some of my absolute favorite films. Booyah.

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How Do You Find Your Way In?

Different writers have very different methodologies for finding their way into creating story or developing character. If you have ever worked with a writing partner, you know this. It's quite remarkable, actually, the differences in the ways writers understand story - or try to make sense of a nascent story. Some use a particular methodology that they may have read in a how-to screenwriting book and others are more gut-driven.

Having studied many ways of approaching screenwriting, I'm one of those people who has done a lot of writing and had a lot of experience writing good and bad scripts so I tend to put down the cookbook and salt to taste at this point. Many writers love Blake Snyder's approach or The Hero's Journey and hew to their choice very closely. When I went to the Writer's Boot Camp I remember learning their methodology and becoming very confused - but - where's the elixir?! There are so many different terms for the same thing - plot point, turning point, threshold - and I think I blew a gasket at one point - why can't there be one universal way of understanding the way stories are told?!

You have to use the method that works and makes sense for YOU and nobody else. If applying specific terminology or methodology feels cumbersome - step away from the book and feel your way in more organically. If you get hung up on screenwriting labels and fixated on them (I seriously got really hung up on the terminology of The Hero's Journey for awhile there) then that's a sign that you're paying more attention to the way somebody else defines story than to the intuitive feel you need to develop on your own.

I personally think the most descriptive words about writing a story are: Get your character up a tree and throw rocks at him. I know that's pretty reductive, but for me personally, I write story from a very character-driven perspective. What's the overarching premise? What does the character want? What do they need? It is the conflict between that want and need that drives the story forward. You can't drop a plot onto any old character and have a necessarily entertaining outcome.

In the first 10 pages of your script, you establish the world your character lives in. You establish his or her flaw (which is the tension between the want and the need) and you throw a giant rock into the pond - what goes wrong? What new situation arises that forces your character to change? Mind you - characters will do anything NOT to change and not to deal with their flaws.

For my money, templates do not apply to all stories or to all characters, so saying thus and such methodology/philosophy must happen in thus and such sequence is confining and too one-size-fits-all. But there are writers who work with a prefab construct just fine, and can take that way outside of the box, too. But not me. I need more freedom. I need to put down the cookbook and play. I know I need to be entertaining. I know my main character needs to have a satisfying arc. I know where the act breaks need to go and I know there needs to be a highly entertaining "battle scene" (see, WBC lingo; I can't escape it) in the next to last sequence. That's enough for me.

So - what works for you? Is there a particular method you use when sketching out your story? Or have you concocted your own way? Do you combine different methods? How close or far are you from throwing down the cookbook and intuiting story?

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