Subscribe RSS

Script Coverage: To Take The Notes Or Not To Take The Notes

June 14th, 2010 by How To Hollywood Guru | No Comments | Filed in Marketing To Hollywood, Screenwriters

Most screenwriters know that they need to get script coverage before they send out a query letter to a literary agent or producer to try to get them to read it. You have to make sure it’s ready to go to market before you start trying to sell your screenplay.

Knowing that, you find a place to get script coverage that you feel will do a good job for you. Then you get the notes back and they say that your script falls somewhere short of perfect and they tell you why. It’s not quite what you wanted to hear about your screenplay that you worked so hard on, and you feel that ping of disappointment.

In fact, now that you think about it, you don’t really want to make any changes and you’re not even sure if you agree with the feedback. But yet you know you getting feedback on your script with a script analysis is part of the process of selling your script. So now you’re in the middle of it, and you got the notes that you’re not too excited about. Now what? Are you just missing something because you feel defensive? Or do the notes stink?

Here are three things to keep in mind in determining whether to take the notes or not:

1. First, let go of your disappointment, defensiveness, or hurt feelings about what the script coverage says.

It’s natural to feel a little bit badly when someone tells you they think your work is not the best it could be. But let go of that as quickly as you can. You can’t make good, clear decisions when you feel that way. You have to get that out of the way first.

2. Listen objectively to what they’re saying and try to get it. If you don’t get it, ask questions.

Once you let go of the disappointment or any other negative feelings, then you can listen for the value in what they are saying. Hopefully, when you looked for someone to review your script, you did your homework and found someone who has credibility. And if you did that, why would you NOT listen to them objectively? You should seriously consider what they say, even though in the end you may or may not apply it.

As you listen objectively, first, try to fully understand what they are saying and why they believe you need to do it – that is, if you can ask questions. Whenever you get script coverage or a script analysis, try to get something oral so you can ask questions of the person giving you feedback.

So listen objectively, and then make sure you fully understand both what they are saying and why they think you should make the change they suggest.

3. Finally, think it through later and make your choice about whether you will apply it or not.

Make your choice NOT based on the fact that you don’t want to rewrite it, but based on what the script needs to fulfill your vision – not the vision of the script analyst or coverage person, but your vision.

Keep the craft in mind. Many suggestions may be to improve the script in the arena of the craft that doesn’t effectively change it. Most of those kinds of changes you should definitely give very serious consideration to – such as raising the stakes, developing the character arc, and making it more dramatic and so on. But when it comes to changing major elements of the screenplay, such as the age or gender of the character, give it some thought. Be open to changing or not changing.

In the end, it is most important that as a screenwriter, you connect with your gut. If a script analyst suggests a change that you are not sure about, get connected to a place deep inside of you to see if it fits with the story you are trying to tell. And be open to the answer. When you do this, you will be surprised at what you find.

Your best bet starts with you choosing a script analyst whom you feel is professional, will communicate with you in a way that supports you instead of tears you down, and who will also be honest with you about what needs work. And, of course, someone who is very good at what they do.

Choose wisely, grasshopper. And listen to that place deep within! Good luck in writing screenplays and happy re-writing, too!

Tags: , , , , ,

How Not To Schmooze In Hollywood

November 8th, 2010 by How To Hollywood Guru | No Comments | Filed in Actors, Marketing To Hollywood

At the same time the idea for this article popped into my head, so did the face of an old friend of mine. That friend is actor-writer-director-producer “Robert.” Many years ago Robert and I were roommates for two years or so after meeting up through the SAG board. We hadn’t been in town too awful long, and even though I was looking for a girl roommate, and he was looking for a guy, we each settled for our second choices, and we moved into a cute little apartment right near Melrose and La Brea.

Robert was a great roommate. Sometimes he’d come home at about 2 o’clock in the morning when I was already in bed, and I’d hear strange noises in the kitchen — the kind where you know someone’s trying to be quiet but now you’re suddenly wide awake from curiosity? Yeah, that kind. I wanted to know what he was doing. So I’d get up and poke my head out of my room, and there he’d be. Sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. Even after a night out. He had come home and gotten my little note asking him to take his turn at the kitchen cleaning, and he just wanted to get it done — at 2 o’clock in the morning. I would just smile, have little endearing thoughts about Robert, and go back to bed.

But not only was/is he a great guy roommate who was easy to get along with, he is a Master of the Schmooze. (The truth is, he’s told me, that he doesn’t even think of it as schmoozing, he’s just being himself. But to myself and others, we can see that he has an ability to connect with people in way that many of us would like to have for our own schmoozing purposes.)

Many years after we were roommates, I took him to an event at the Academy where a producer friend of mine was screening his film. After this screening for about 300 people, there was a cocktail party that was very crowded. Robert and I tried to make it over to congratulate my friend on his film, but we couldn’t take three steps without someone stopping Robert to connect with him. Either they had worked with him and were happy to see him, or someone close to them had worked with him and they re-introduced themselves. It was a phenomenon. The interesting thing about it, however, is that these people were not just crazed fans happy to meet Robert. The way they spoke to him was with genuine affection and a happy smile on their faces. It was clear that they truly liked him as a person. It definitely broke down the paradigm that says everyone in Hollywood fake and only wants to use you.

Another thing that has particularly struck me about Robert over the years is how many people he keeps in touch with on a personal level. I know for myself I can get really lazy about going out and mingling. But frequently when I talk to Robert, he’ll have three birthday parties he needs to hit in one night, and he makes sure he does it, too. He makes it a priority to keep in touch, accept invitations, show up, and stay connected to people. When asked how he got to be like this, a good ol’ Oklahoma boy, he just says, “Well, I don’t know since I don’t even think about it. But I grew up with two great parents who were outgoing and funny and a house full of brothers. Maybe that had something to do with it. I just enjoy people.”

Okay, so I could go on and on about how great Robert is at connecting with people, but more importantly, I thought you might like to hear a few tips from him! So after fondly relishing my memories of him, I called him and asked him for some tips to pass on.

After making it clear that he doesn’t think of himself as an expert on this (even though he’s giving a speech about this same thing in a couple weeks), he said a few short words which I have summarized as follows.

Key One: Get genuinely interested in other people.
Just be yourself. Be real. Get genuinely interested in other people. The most interesting people are the ones who are genuinely interested in others. Learn to really enjoy the process of talking to people and getting to know them.

This is a lesson that goes back to who knows when, but for sure Dale Carnegie wrote about it in his seminal book “How To Win Friends and Influence People.”

Key Two: Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda.

Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda. If you want to speak about work, don’t beat around the bush. Be specific about what you want to do. When people sense that you are trying to hide it, it’s really obvious, and they’ll see it a mile away, and it’ll get you nowhere.

Key Three: Allow for a follow-up.

Learn something about the person you’re talking to and be interested in what they have to say. Have a sense of humor. Leave them with a real sense of your personality.

So that’s what Robert had to say. He also made the point that as soon as you start doing these things as “tips,” then you’re actually not doing it all.

“No matter how you say it, you have to be genuine and real with other people.”

So there you go. Hollywood may have a reputation for being a city of users, but there really are some real, genuine people out there. And when you are that way, you stand out from the crowd!

In Smart Girls on Agent Meeting Role Play, you can learn to craft a pitch of yourself and practice your small talk so that you can get out of your head and have your real self shine through!

How To Write A Screenplay: The Basic Plot Points That Help Sell Your Script

July 28th, 2010 by How To Hollywood Guru Too | No Comments | Filed in Marketing To Hollywood, Screenwriters, Sell My Screenplay

The plot of a screenplay is the basic fundamental story itself and how it builds to create momentum and intrigue and keep the reader or viewer interested along the way.  You start by breaking the plot into three major sections, which are called acts.  The basic concept is:

• Act 1 (the first 1/4 of your screenplay 25 – 30 pages) – This is the setup of your story where your characters are introduced along with the basic direction of the story. This first Act must contain a Hook in the Set-Up to keep the reader, whether it’s a literary agent or producer, riveted to your screenplay.   In particular, the first 5 pages of a screenplay should totally hook the Hollywood movie executive.  If it doesn’t, they will read no more than 10 pages hoping it will get better and will then toss it in the trash.

• Act 2 (the middle half — roughly pages 27 to 87) –  Now that the story is Set-Up with the basic characters and the challenge of the story, you have to focus on creating lots of Conflict and Increasingly Difficult Obstacles for your main charactet to overcome. This is typically the hardest part to write because you have to makes sure that it builds upon itself and doesn’t become repetitive.

• Act 3 (the final quarter of your screenplay – roughly 85 or so to page 100 or so, and up to 120).  Your Third Act starts with a turning point and builds to the Climax of the story with the big confrontation between your main character and their opposition.  This is where your character either achieves his or her goal or fails — usually it’s best to have them win.  After the climax, then you have the Resolution to show how it all works out and things get back to a basic, simple life again.

Your plot is essentially how you put the basic pieces of your story together to make it interesting.  You should write out the basic beats of it at some point in your writing, whether it’s to do it before you start or at some point after you get some of your story down on paper.  The main thing is that while writing itself is often a right brain/creative process, working out the plot itself requires you to sit and think about it at some point and to really structure it for maximum effect.

This will be one of the biggest challenges you have, so stay at it, study it, and work on it till you feel in your bones that it is as good as it can be.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Write and Sell a Screenplay – Literary Agent

July 22nd, 2010 by How To Hollywood Guru Too | No Comments | Filed in Marketing To Hollywood, Screenwriters, Sell My Screenplay

Finally, you’ve finished your masterpiece, a 100 and some odd pages of a screenplay… and now the hard part begins.  What… now the hard part begins?  Yes, now you have to try to sell it.  You either have to go directly to a production company or you need to find a literary agent to help you sell it.  It seems like the hardest part would be to write a 100-page screenplay, but the sheer level of competition and the lure of Hollywood glamour make this a super competitive field and thus selling a screenplay is a challenge all its own.   Here are a few pointers to get you started down the right path.

Proofread again. It’s important to make sure that there are no errors in your screenplay.   A literary agent will get a very bad impression if your script has errors, so before sending it out, proofread it one more time.  If you know your grammar or formatting has problems, hire a professional proofreader to review your screenplay.  Be sure it is someone who knows proper Hollywood script formatting.

Once it’s ready to go, you must learn to pitch your script.  As I like to say, “If you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.”   Whether you write a query letter or pitch verbally, you have to develop a pitch of your story, which is simply telling a very short version of it to get someone interested.

When you pitch verbally to a literary agent, you have only a few seconds to hook them, so make the most of it. Practice pitching to your friends and family, or even in the mirror. It doesn’t matter where you practice, just keep at it.  See if their eyes glaze over or if they light up.  That should be your feedback.  You can also work with a professional pitch coach in Hollywood to help you prepare it. 

It can be challenging to get a chance to pitch verbally, so another option is to write a query letter to sell a screenplay. It will most likely be the first thing seen by a literary agent so it’s imperative that you impress them. This is your only chance to convince them that your screenplay is unique and great, so be sure that your query letter presents your script in the best possible light.

If you aren’t sure about the query letter part, that is another area that you can get a professional to help you.  Or even if you simply don’t have the time to mess with it and would rather work on the script itself, then you may want to hire someone to help you with the pitching and marketing.  Some possible places to get help are QueryLetterMailing.com and The Great American Pitchfest.  At the query letter mailing site, they will help you put together a query letter to go out to production companies and literary agents.  The Great American Pitchfest is an event that happens once a year where you can pitch in person to your choice of as many as 100 different Hollywood professionals. 

The main thing after you write your screenplay is to make an effort to sell it.  Don’t hold back and sit on it for years like some aspiring screenwriters do, get a pitch ready.  Then try to get your screenplay read by Literary Agents, Literary Managers, and Producers in Hollywood — any way you can!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries