Good Reader, WTF! Five years? Where’d that go? Looks like I missed the Anniversary. December 9, 2009 was the first post here at Script Gods. Here’s a piece of it:
“You’ve written a script (or 10) and sent it (them) out to varying degrees of success. No breakthroughs, but there’s been “movement.” Or maybe you’ve had zero movement, and you’re pissed off. Any of the following scenarios sound familiar?
- You placed quarterfinals at the Southwest by Southeast Panhandle State Screenwriting Competition. They claimed industry pros would read your script but you haven’t heard back yet.
- You sent out query letters and got a response from producer Rod Blagojevitch. His GotaGuy Prodco is located in Encino. You sent out the script with a $100 “reading fee” but haven’t heard back.
- Your pitch for Stay Puff Marshmallow Man In Montana was well-received at Pitchfest. A junior agent at Gersch was interested enough to give you his card. You phone him, but the calls go unanswered. You follow up with emails, nothing. You don’t want to come across like a stalker so you wait for the agent to respond. It’s been three months…
Can I tell you: The agent did respond.
Hollywood rejection sounds like this:
…………………………………………………………………
Silent. Economical. Perfect.
You keep waiting for news, hoping something will break. What the hell else are you gonna do? And this is the $64,000 question: What can you do about it?
How about controlling what you can control?
How about being proactive?
How about not waiting for the phone to ring?
How about making something happen.
But how? You’ve read all the books and blogs; you took classes and seminars; you went to the cattle-calls at Pitchfest, even shelled out $300 for Screenwriting Expo 5…
Consider today’s thought from the sales department:
A customer will do what they do, until the pain of doing it becomes unbearable.
Or this thought, from The Sage:
Lessons are taught until they are learned.
There is an angle, something you haven’t thought about yet. There is a way. When they told you at Pitchfest nobody is looking to buy your character-driven, deeply personal drama inspired from your very own Grampie and his days as a catfish noodler– what did you do? Did you crumble? Did you even finish the script? Welcome to Darwinism, Hollywood-style.
The Pitchfest finochio goes back to his gig at Smores, Buttcheek and Jones… and you? You toss in. You give up. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Writing is a pain in the ass. Not to mention the chances of your script turning into Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine are about as likely as you winning the Illinois Powerball Jackpot.
Object Lesson #1: If I can get my movie made, you can make yours.
That is my message to you, Good Reader.
You might be the genius in the crowd. You might not. Let’s find out. Read Script Gods Must Die. There will be learning here. Vamos!”
It’s been a good run.
Here’s what to look for in Year 6 at SGMD:
- Original Posts: The majority of writing will continue to be original. I’m camping in all of Chicago February and will write about 30 blog posts in one shot. What’s the alternative–slip on an icy patch, break my leg and have the bone pierce the skin, yes THROUGH the skin, as just happened to a student of mine? Nah, I’m camping in. However…
- Script Mag Sampler. Anyone who runs a blog or writes for one knows the monumental amount of time that goes into it. I’ve been writing for Script Magazine of late. Because I’m splitting time there and can’t freaking clone myself–I’m going to cull from the blogs of the 60+ writers my editor Jeanne Bowerman has assembled over there. We’ll link to some stuff I think might help you, with the screenwriting with attitude POV for SGMD.
- Best Screenwriting Links & Articles: I’ve also accumulated a shitload of instructive online articles from last year. I’ll assemble an archive of them for you here.
- Chat: It’s been awhile since I updated the status of the micro-budget film Boris Wexler and I finished in 2014. We’ve had some recent big news and I’ll spill it shortly.
- Devolve: This web series I produced just wrapped (late January). Due date for release mid-April. Any of you thinking of making a web series, keep it tuned here.
- Future Projects: As an ex-craps dealer, yeah, I might be more superstitious than most. So I won’t jinx two very promising back-burner projects cooking right now–but when they move to the front burner, you’ll be the first to know.
So, stay tuned. This has been a no bullshit zone for five years, and will again…
Let me leave you with these 24 Life Lessons from Werner Herzog. Nothing more needs to be said.
Go and do likewise, Good Reader!
