The Bad News
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If you have finished a
screenplay or want to embark on the screenwriting journey, pat yourself on the back for being a
brave soul and prepare yourself to find:
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You may have trouble getting someone in
Hollywood to READ your masterpiece. And if you do, it will
likely be read by several readers (all of whom must enjoy it), before
finding its way to the production executive who controls the purse strings. |
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Well written screenplays
often do not get considered for purchase. There are many
combinations of reasons that may result in your material being
"passed on" (i.e., "failed"). Usually
it is the concept that kills you. They may tell you it is "uninvolving,"
"too familiar," "not marketable," "not
castable," or that there is a project like it already in
development or production. They'll critique your writing and
story telling as a whole.
They'll focus on your dialogue or your characters. They will
pick you apart. |
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Looking at the number of screenplays
registered each year at the Writers Guild versus the number of yearly
screenplay sales will tell you that your chances of success are
poor. And here's the kicker... |
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Even exceptional screenplays may die
on the vine if they fail to fall into the ever-changing conceptual
"niches" that Hollywood execs are
looking to fill. Sometimes it has nothing to do with you...the studio
may simply tell you that they "are not buying right now" (read,
restructuring their business plan or changing management) . |
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Discouraged? If so, good.
Your options are simple: Fight or Flight. If
you chose to run away now, we may have saved you years of agony. But
if, like most writers, you want to roll up your sleeves and
wrestle those demons you've woven into 120 pages...it is time to go to
work.
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On to the the
good news... |
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