The world just came to an end for 199 students.
To say screenwriting is a difficult industry to break into, is like saying the sun is hot. It doesn’t capture the shear enormity of it. But to say it’s impossible would be incorrect as well, because a new legend is growing.
The words stripper wins Oscar, could be found in every major publication, in every city after Diablo Cody, a former erotic dancer, won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2008 for her screenplay, Juno. She shone like a beacon for every would-be, want to-be, screenwriter in the world. If she, a stripper, could do it, anyone could.
Sadly, we all know Diablo Cody’s name because she’s Diablo Cody. She’s the exception. The truth of the matter is that even after the most recent rise in appreciation of independent film, getting a movie made is still supremely difficult and making a living off of writing screenplays is even more so.
In his book, From Reel to Deal, Dov S-S Simens says that there are upwards of 300,000 screenplays written every year, 50,000 registered with the Writers Guild of America and of those screenplays, less than 1,000 actually turned into film. That means that 299,000 screenplays every year are nothing more than a waste of hours upon hours, weeks upon weeks of hard work.
Give up.
Go do something else.
Still with me? That’s the first characteristics a young, successful screenwriter will need: the will and desire to succeed in the midst of insurmountable odds. As a professional screenwriter, you can expect far more downs than ups. Ron Bass, screenwriter of Rain Man says in The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters that, “It’s hard to be in an industry where people alternately tell you your brilliant and they didn’t like something.” Developing thick skin and a tenacious attitude is essential to becoming successful and achieving long term success.
For those lucky, successful few, screenwriting can be a very lucrative career. The Writers Guild of America’s stipulates that for a low budget, studio production adhering to union dues, a writer must be paid a minimum of $23,540 for the treatment, $20,460 for the first draft, $17,047 for their second draft, and another $8,528 for a polish, totaling close to $70,000. For a high budget film, the total amounts to almost $117,000. If that wasn’t enough, the writer is the only person guaranteed payment, even if the movie doesn’t get made. That said, a young screenwriter isn’t going to be picked up off the streets to write a screenplay for a Hollywood production. You have to prove you can write first and to do that, you to have a great screenplay under your arm.
Writing a great screenplay can’t be taught, it must be done. There’s no recipe or write-by-numbers that will help anyone be successful. Common tips amongst screenwriters are: write something you care about, write what you know, and be original. Outside of that I’ve been told to stay committed, enthusiastic, and make a habit out of writing. If we adhere to these tips a great screenplay will eventually emerge and when it does, we’re faced with the challenge of getting it into the hands of someone who can get it made. For some this proves to be the most irritating aspect of screenwriting.
The old catch-22 says that you need an agent to sell a screenplay, but you can’t get an agent until you sell one. So how do you get an agent? “It’s a bit like the grim ‘how do I get a girlfriend’ conundrum”, William Akers writes in his book, Your Screenplay Sucks!. There is no easy answer. He tells how he had friends who worked in the business take his screenplay to agent after agent and essentially held a gun to their heads until they read his material. The meaning behind the anecdote is simple, do what you must. If you’re not that forceful or direct or don’t have the industry connections to get it into the hands of an agent, take heart, because there are other avenues.
Eric Roth, screenwriter of The Insider and Forrest Gump got his first agent after winning the Samuel Goldwyn Award at UCLA. Scott Rosenberg, who’s writing credits include Gone in 60 Seconds also won a screenwriting competition and had his pick of agents. Outside of winning screenwriting competitions, the most popular method to attracting an agent is by sending the query letter. This basically amounts to sending out hundreds of blind letters (either hard copies through snail mail or digital letters via email) to every agency in town in hopes of catching the eye of an agent. Of course, every would-be screenwriter in the world does this, so its chances of success are slim, but it does work and is how Academy Award winning screenwriter, Tom Schulman got his first agent.
William Akers gives us a a few other ideas as well: “Before you send a letter, get a name to send it to. Don’t do a standard letter, Catch their eye. Be Creative. Enter contests. Win or come close.” He also suggests ignoring the “how do I find an agent” conundrum entirely and making the movie yourself. If it’s a good movie, agents will be lining up to help you sell your next project. But this creates it’s own headache between finding a trustworthy producer, a competent director, securing financing, dealing with actors and locations, finishing the film, editing, sound design, color correction, 35mm blowup, submitting to festivals, and marketing, all before anyone ever sees the film.
No, you’re a screenwriter. You want to write. If you enjoyed working with contracts and dealing with lawyers, you’d be in another field. Instead your self reliant, probably something of an introvert, and are perfectly comfortable if you don’t leave your house for weeks. We’re not typically the type of people who enjoy large crowds or partying or schmoozing. As a result, newly successful screenwriters can be in for a rude awakening when their screenplay sells or they’re hired to write one.
Writing is a personal journey but filmmaking is the ultimate collaboration. First the screenwriter writes something deeply personal and then the studio changes it to make it connect with a wider audience. Then the director comes in and puts his or her own personal touches to it, and then the actors change this and that, then the studio screens it before a test audience to find its strong and weak points. In the end, the final product and the original screenplay may look drastically different. Unlike other writing careers, screenwriting offers the least amount of author control.
Once the screenplay is sold it belongs to the studio or producer. The writer can be fired at any point, for any reason. Next time you look at the credits pay attention the “written by” credits. If there’s more than one name look to see how it’s formatted. If it says, “written by Joel & Ethan Cohen” it means it was written by both of them. The “&” symbol means they worked together. If it said, “written by Joel and Ethan Cohen” it means Joel wrote the first drafts and then either left the project or was fired. In any case, Ethan took over the project and wrote the final draft.
Surprisingly this isn’t the worst of it. Many times the director will send your screenplay off to a writer they have a special working relationship with and have them work on a polish. David Fincher’s Fight Club is credited to having been written by Jim Uhls when in fact his screenplay was changed, altered, and rewritten by Andrew Kevin Walker. Walker got paid for his rewrite, but didn’t receive a screen credit. Sometimes you’ll be like Jim Uhls where your screenplay will be taken away and changed and other times you’ll be like Andrew Kevin Walker and won’t receive a screen credit for the work you put in.
Ultimately, in the end screenwriting is an exciting, lucrative career. How many careers are there that allow millions of people around the world to see your work? How many careers give out awards on the grandest stage in the world? How many careers allow you to be creative? Inspirational? Funny? How many careers are there that allow you to write movies? Just one.
No comments:
Post a Comment