ScreenplayLab: Intro to Screenwriting

Intro to Screenwriting

by Robin Rowe 1/21/2006

Basic Tools

10-point checklist
1-page synopsis
Scene cards (2:30 per card)
Scene-by-scene treatment
90-page screenplay with industry standard Final Draft ($229)
Free alternatives to Final Draft: Cinergy and Celtx

Market Research

How many people want to see movies like your's?
http://imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm

Writing

Who's your audience?
Original or adaptation?
For an unknown writer if your story is not an adaptation of a published comedy or thriller expect your screenplay to be very difficult to market.
How will you get an agent?
Writing partner?
Have you read the fundamental books? (Vogler, Decker)
Commercial vs. non-commercial is not the same as studio vs. indie
Do you want to produce or direct?
Mass market: writing what will appeal to others
Novel vs. movie
The "high concept" great premise
Structure: page 2, page 10, acts 1-2-3, the ending
Obstacles, not conflict
Dialog: the coffeeshop trick
On the nose: the swap lines trick
Comedy: the improv trick
Characters: the friends, family and co-workers trick
Goals: scheduling your writing
Procrastination: start what you finish
Writer's block: one-liner scene improv trick
Contests: worth it?
Feedback: friends, notes, workshopping
ScreenplayLab notes or workshop for $20

Marketing

Networking
The query
Agent (10%)
Manager (10+%)
Entertainment Lawyer (10% with agent, 15% without)
Writers Guide to Hollywood Producers
Studio and prodco pitch meetings
Only copyright registration can provide injunctive relief ($30)
WGA registration ($20 or $10 if WGA member)

What not to write if you're an unknown writer and want to sell on spec

Drama. It's only 8% of the market and you're competing with top writers who have won Oscars.
Dark comedy. It's not funny on the page. You're at the mercy of reader and actor interpretation. Again, competing with established writers.
Horror. The theory is that you don't have to be a very good writer, that this is a good way to break into screenwriting. The reality is the market is flooded with bad horror scripts and that most horror is not bought on spec but is written at low pay as work-for-hire.
Fantasy. These scripts are so expensive to produce it creates a big risk for producers to go with an unknown writer. It's hard to get a fantasy from an unknown writer read because the spec market is flooded with bad ones.
Television. Only writers who have worked in a writers room in episodic television have the experience and credibility for this demanding fast-paced writing environment. It's different from features where the writer doesn't have to write a new episode weekly.

Is Hollywood Out to Steal Your Idea?

When a screenplay gets stolen in Hollywood that's news, like a plane crash. If that sort of risk worries you then you probably don't want to fly. You don't have to pitch your ideas to Hollywood. You can produce your movie yourself using your own money.

Ideas and story titles can not be copyrighted. If the copyright laws were as restrictive as some people would like the producers of Lost would need to get permission from Gilligan's Island because the idea of a bunch of castaways on an island has been done. Fortunately for writers, you can take an existing idea and develop it in a new way that isn't derivative.

Sometimes new writers make the mistake of thinking they can own the sequel or adaptation to an existing movie. They may even try to pitch it to the movie's true owners. This would be like strangers knocking on your door and telling you that you should pay them for the privilege of letting them use your house in a movie. They don't own your house. If you write a sequel or adaptation of any copyrighted work you must license the rights. You must also respect trademarks.

Most commercially successful Hollywood movies are not original. Consequently, it's difficult for for an unknown writer to get a successful producer to read an original screenplay. Is your screenplay based on a published work or licensed life rights of a famous person? If not, Hollywood development executives have probably already heard many pitches that sound like yours.

New writers often imagine that their ideas are original when in fact execs have heard the same story idea before a dozen times. Just because you've never seen a movie produced about something doesn't mean it hasn't been pitched to execs before or isn't already in development somewhere. How would you choose if six different writers pitched the same story idea to you? What makes the difference is having a star attached or being based on a bestselling novel. Originality can even be a disadvantage. If your idea is truly original it may be unproducable in the Hollywood system because nobody knows how to budget it or if it would even have a market.