
Here’s some free advice on how to succeed in the business written by someone with over twenty years of experience of working with writers and getting their scripts sold and made. There is no one with this background online providing you with this grade of information. Yes, there’s plenty of former script readers and producers, as well as a few former agents and scriptwriters. But no one has done all of these things. On top of that, I have a recent PhD that involved 5 years of research on what makes scripts work at the box office.
By the time you have read these articles, you will know more about writing a script that sells and how to have a career as a screenwriter by avoiding some key mistakes in working with agents, producers, directors etc., than most film school students, and I have taught at a number of film schools.
The other thing to bear in mind is time. Your time. How precious it is. I have seen writers make the same mistakes in their scripts over and over again. Spend hundreds of hours on concepts that have no chance of ever selling. This is time you could be spending with friends, family, just having fun. I have seen professional writers who know these things turn out amazing first drafts in three months. Respect yourself. Don’t waste your time. A mentoring session with me can save you hours of your life that you will never get back and set you on a course to success by making sure you are working on the right idea in the right way and then know to get it to the right people who will get your script made.
These articles are getting constantly being updated and added to, so please check in weekly.
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With its catalogue of hit songs, iconic characters, memorable quotes and familiar scenes, ‘Grease’ is truly a behemoth of US and global popular culture. From the stage show’s debut in 1971, to the Hollywood film of 1978, to the numerous rereleases and anniversary celebrations of the twenty-first century, it has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, success across a range of media. ‘Grease’’s extended run on Broadway through the 1970s ensured it a prominent place within broader debates on the musical, 1950s nostalgia and American youth. Numerous stage revivals have followed, with theatres across the world revisiting Rydell High in front of sell-out audiences. Hollywood has time and again sought to recreate ‘Grease’ the movie’s phenomenal box-office success with a procession of similarly themed rock and roll youth musicals (‘Footloose’, ‘Dirty Dancing’, the ‘High School Musical’ franchise, to name a few). However, even as these productions enjoy their own renown, in terms of sheer longevity, prominence and popularity, ‘Grease’ was, is and will remain ‘the word’ when it comes to musical blockbusters.
Twenty years ago, I started off working in the story department at MGM, which led to my becoming a literary agent in Beverly Hills, eventually starting off my own management company and also producing. Somewhere along the line I also launched a website called writemovies.com to help writers break into the industry. Over the years …
Screenwriter Horrors – Major Mistakes & How To Avoid Them Read More »
Questions production companies & studios, publishers and agencies will ask of your script, novel, play, article or short-story: (Taken from the confidential studio instruction manual given to executives and readers). THE COMMENT The “comment” is that portion of the coverage in which the reader gives a critical appraisal of the material. Comments usually run from …
This is an article I wrote for the prestigious Journal of Screenwriting that was peer-reviewed, in other words, subjected to intense scrutiny by some of the leading people in the field to ensure that the content is AAA. Creative decision-making within the contemporary Hollywood studio System by Dr. Alex Ross This article seeks to contribute …
Why William Goldman Was Wrong: The Studios Always Make Money As a starting point, this article examines the New Hollywood period between 1966 and 1985, when audiences were increasingly being drawn to television, and studios were struggling to tap into the period’s complex zeitgeist. Hollywood films such as The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967), Bonnie and …
Apart from the detailed margin notes, I will provide you with the script itself, the following is some of the sample feedback to expect on your project. Notes by: Dr. Alex Ross Concept: I happen to be a real fan of government cover-up stories, so this concept which peals the onion back to the …
How Do Studios & Production Companies Assess Your Script? Read More »
Not a problem, as long as you are prepared to invest the sweat equity to learn the craft of screenwriting. There are no shortcuts. There is a reason for the high turnover of people in Hollywood. Thousands arrive each week and want to be the lead actor in a sitcom without having studied acting, and …
What Happens if You Have Neither The Time Nor Money To Go to Film School? Read More »
Screenwriter, scriptwriter; the terms are interchangeable, right? Surprisingly, no; these are two very different things with a fair amount of nuances between them. To put things simply, one describes someone who writes for film while the other represents every other kind of script creation. To put it in more complex terms, well, here is everything …
Screenwriter vs Scriptwriter: What’s The Difference? Read More »
Writing an outline for a screenplay is the first step to creating an interesting movie. An outline for a screenplay is the skeleton that provides a structure for your script. Movie production companies and studio Executives will also often ask for a screenplay outline before you will be asked to commence a film writing project. …
There is an entire industry out there that promises to turn people into professional screenwriters for beaucoup $$$. The list of screenwriting courses and how-to books is endless, driven by the sheer number of hopefuls who want to make a living writing for film and TV. Unfortunately, some of that offering advice have no credible …
During the four years it took me to research what makes scripts succeed at the box office for my PhD, I came across a very worrying trend. Academics who believe that various mathematical models can predict the success of a screenplay. This is one of them: https://www.pnas.org/content/118/26/e2011695118.short Now anyone who has ever worked in the …
So, Your Script Did Not Sell. This Might Explain Why and Put You on The Right Track Read More »
I recently did an MA in creative writing and must say that it was a significant waste of time. 90% of the feedback was from other students who knew as little or less about writing as I did. I also taught screenwriting at various colleges over the years and found that the colleagues who had …
Over the last twenty years, the two titles that have most often been mentioned in producers’ offices and studio meetings have been: Robert McKee’s STORY and Linda Seger’s HOW TO MAKE A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT. If you are going to use one of the books, you might as well use one that the people you …
I recently did an MA in creative writing and must say that it was a significant waste of time. 90% of the feedback was from other students who knew as little or less about writing as I did. I also taught screenwriting at various colleges over the years and found that the colleagues who had …
There is an entire industry out there that promises to turn people into professional screenwriters for beaucoup $$$. The list of screenwriting courses and how-to books is endless, driven by the sheer number of hopefuls who want to make a living writing for film and TV. Unfortunately, some of that offering advice have no credible …
Bauman was a purist in preserving a specific nostalgic conceptualization of the 1950s but historically accurate representations were not an essential element for an industry blockbuster. Jameson wrote that the nostalgia film is “mortgaged to music.”[1] Grease’s throwback to the fondly remembered era of Eisenhower makes for an interesting and obviously appealing film because it …
Grease Is the Word’: Exploring a Cultural Phenomenon NOSTALGIA IN GREASE Read More »