The Working Screenwriter

An Interview...

One of my loyal readers reminded me of an interview I did about six years ago for the Two Adverbs site. I just reread the interview and figured it still had plenty of pertinent information for anyone interested in a screenwriting career. So, for anyone who might have missed it...

Two Adverbs Interview

No Book Adaptation Deal...

It looks like that Frederick Forsyth book adaptation deal isn't going to happen after all. I couldn't come to terms with the producer. Just another case of not nearly enough up front $$.

C'est la vie.

A cool assignment on the horizon?

It looks like I might be penning an adaptation of a Frederick Forsyth short novel. The producer wants me to take the assignment -- and I certainly will, but only if I feel I can do justice to the project. So, in the next couple of weeks I plan to reread the novel (which I read a few months ago) and determine whether or not I can successfully translate Mr. Forsyth's fine story into a marketable screenplay. Stay tuned for further developments!

The return of Justin Samuels! (Well, sort of.)

I’m sure many of you recall the two astonishing interviews I did with Justin a couple of years ago. (If not, go here.) Well, I heard from Justin last week and he asked if he could interview me. Since turnabout is fair play, I naturally agreed. While my interview won’t generate anywhere near the firestorm of controversy that those other interviews generated, I think you’ll find it worthwhile. Feel free to check it out here.

Happy birthday, 007!

In honor of 50 cinematic years of Bond...James Bond.

BOND:
Who are you?

PUSSY:
My name is Pussy Galore.

BOND:
I must be dreaming.

In my opinion...

BEST BOND: Connery. Absolutely. (But Daniel Craig sure is terrific. He's finally reintroduced some excitement and intensity to the role.)

BEST BOND GIRLS: Honey Rider (Ursula Andress), Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), and Domino (Claudine Auger).

BEST VILLAINS: Red Grant (Robert Shaw), Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe).

BEST FLICK: Goldfinger.

BEST THEME SONGS: Thunderball and Goldfinger (but I sure do love Diamonds Are Forever and You Only Live Twice; From Russia with Love is also quite good).

BEST SCORES: John Barry was a genius, so I consider all the Bond scores to be pretty special.

BEST BOND NOVELS: Funny, I was actually named after James Bond -- my mom read the Bond books when she was pregnant with me -- but I've never read any of them. I should.

Enjoy this cool Bond tribute I found on YouTube!

* The above photo is of me with the Goldfinger Aston Martin (one of them, anyway) taken back in 1982, when my brother had it in his possession for a period of time. I actually got to drive around town in the car. Boy, we sure did turn some heads!

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My book Q & A: The Working Screenwriter - An In-the-Trenches Perspective of Writing Movies in Today's Film Industry is now available in a lower-priced paperback edition!

Advice for the Anxious Novice...

On one of the screenwriting forums I frequent, there was a posting from a novice screenwriter who was all knotted up with anxiety while he waited around for producers to get back to him on a script he recently submitted. I'm serious, this poor guy was a real mess! Anyway, he got a lot of good advice from others on the forum, but I felt compelled to offer my twelve cents worth of advice, which was this:

"If this is what's knotting up your guts, then maybe screenwriting isn't a game you should be playing. The fact is, this is a really crazy, disappointing, roller-coaster ride of a business. People will request your script and you'll never hear back. Never ever.

People will request your script and they'll eventually get back in touch, but they'll string you along for another couple months with 'I haven't gotten to it yet' or 'I've sent the script to an associate.'

Then you never hear back.

Then you send your script to somebody and they get back to you the next day and proclaim, 'I love your script!' Next thing you know you're meeting with this producer/agent/manager and all is right with the world. Then this person evaporates and they won't even return your calls or respond to your e-mails.

Then eventually you find some producer who loves your script, and you meet with him a few times, and he has some notes for a quick rewrite, and you implement those notes and do the rewrite, and you hand in the new draft, and the producer loves it, and there are a few more meetings with potential directors, etc. Casting suggestions are bandied about. Ideas about locations are brought up ('We can get a nice tax break if we shoot in Michigan!'). Anyway, this sort of thing goes on for a month or two or three...or longer...then one day there's a phone call...or maybe just an e-mail: 'Sorry, we have to pull the plug.' You feel like someone took a baseball bat and hit a line drive into your gut. (If you're lucky -- and if you're smart -- you managed to score some option cash out of that producer.) But hey, that's the way this scriptwriting biz goes. Get used to it. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get workin' on something else. In fact, you should always be working on other scripts.

If you're putting all your hopes and dreams into one or two scripts, or if you're sitting around waiting for word on the query you just sent out to 50 agents or waiting to hear back from a producer you just sent that script to...well, you're setting yourself up to go a little I-N-S-A-N-E."

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No witches, no warlocks, no vampires. Just a sexy, rollicking story about a guy trying to hit it big in Hollywood.

"A great summer read!"

"A sexy Hollywood tale!"

"It's WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN for the 21st century!"

Check out my book, Q & A: The Working Screenwriter! Interviews with 16 working screenwriters!

An old tip (but one worth repeating)...

I can’t tell you how many novice screenwriters get ripped off by unscrupulous scammers claiming to be lit agents, managers, etc. All I can say is it’s been going on for years and years and, even with warnings going out left and right all over Internet screenwriting forums, it’s still going on. And as the field of budding scribes grows, so does the rancid sea of scumbags looking to make a quick buck.

OK, I want you to read this next part very carefully…

If any agent, manager, or producer claims to have an interest in your script and asks you for money (i.e. reading fees, seed money, monthly maintenance fee, etc.), tell them “thanks but no thanks.”

Writers do NOT pay agents.

Writers do NOT pay managers.

Writers do NOT pay producers/production companies.

You, the writer, get paid when the agent, manager, or producer sells your script; the agent, manager, or producer gets their percentage (usually 10% for agents, 10%-15% for managers) when you get paid. End of conversation.

This also applies to so-called production companies that “love your script” but feel it’s in need of a quick rewrite…and hey, they can do it for a fee of $500 (or whatever amount). Two words here: BIG SCAM.

Once again…