Producing

Number 9 is the one that hit hardest for me, and it came from a place you would not expect. I spent years inside large technology companies watching multi year projects collapse at the exact moment they were supposed to ship. Not because the tech was wrong. Because two people in the room could not agree on who owned the outcome, and everyone else kept their heads down and waited it out.

When I moved into writing and producing, I kept seeing the same pattern in different clothes. A project that looked healthy on paper would start bleeding credibility the second someone felt their contribution was being quietly rewritten. Not always the loudest person in the room. Sometimes the quietest one who just stopped showing up.

The lesson I took from both sides is that the ego conversation has to happen before you need it. Not in the middle of a fight. Before the first draft. Who owns story. Who owns tone. Who walks away with what if the thing falls apart. You do that up front and you save yourself a year of slow bleeding later. You wait, and the project teaches you the same lesson with a much higher tuition.

This really resonated, especially “a great idea is not enough.”

As someone still early in the process, it’s been eye-opening to realize how much execution and consistency matter beyond just the concept itself.

Also the point about relationships building careers more than projects, that’s something I’m starting to understand more as I engage with the community here.

Number 6 is golden! I will add that relationships that are built over time that aren’t purely transactional are invaluable. Some projects talk several years to get off the ground, I only want to work with people I’ve built a solid relationship with. I will add kindness and humility is something I value above all else. Follow the golden rule in your personal and professional life. Next, trust your gut—my instincts have never failed me. Follow passion and not mandates or trends. I could go on and on…I love this work!!

Thank you Alexia Melocchi for taking the time to share this wisdom.

Thank you for that. I copied it and saved it to my "education" folder on the film industry. I already know that, despite my screenplays being award-winning, getting them produced is rather like winning the lottery. However, you can't win if you don't buy a ticket. So, I continue to seek options wherever I can. I'm not sure my work will ever be produced. I hope it does, but if not, at least I'm doing something I love...writing.

Lindbergh Hollingsworth Me too. I wonder why the quick deal, it's not like the WGA to be first in that line. There's some speculation that the deal includes some kind of contribution to the WGA P&H fund, which apparently is in trouble. The WGA has the highest employer contribution to P&H in the industry already - over 24% total. So their fund shouldn't be suffering. It doesn't sound right. Just saying.

What? No sequel to the writers strike of 2023? I hope this doesn't mean that the industry is learning from its mistakes and changing its behavior. That's a dangerous precedent to set.

Richard Buzzell I doubt anyone's learned anything. In fact, the WGA, with the highest employer P&H contributions among the unions, may have caved early because... somehow... their pension plans are in trouble... The deal apparently involves an injection into it. That all smells very funny. Just saying, there's speculation happening. However, it is also a different moment for everyone. We'll see what SAGAftra does - whether they extend the sell-out of their membership over AI that they allowed last time or not... I haven't heard a peep about DGA positions yet but I might have missed it.

Your pension read is the kind of detail people will be missing for months. That is the story hiding behind the quick close. The public framing always leans on residuals and minimums. The real pressure point is usually upstream in the P and H math where nobody wants to look.

On the AI piece, the thing the last round got wrong was treating AI as a single thing that could be fenced off with one clause. It is not a single thing. There is training data. There is tool use inside the writers room. There is generative output in the finished product. And there is synthetic performance. Each of those has a completely different leverage profile and the contracts keep trying to staple them together.

What I would watch in this round is whether any of the language starts to split those layers out. If it does, that is a sign the negotiators are finally talking to engineers. If the language stays blurry, whatever they sign is going to collapse the second a studio finds a clever interpretation. Which will happen faster than anyone wants to admit.

Eric Charran Good points. My observation on AI is that the studios at least have been looking at it, gen-AI especially because most all other machine learning is supportive and technical. Which Gen-AI is as well being in essence just a sophisticated animation tool with enormous IP issues surrounding it. Those issues per se don't affect the writers much more today than they did last time around. But overall I think the industry understands much better that the issues are.

Isaiah Kollmansberger I sent you a network request with my direct email. I have 30+ years in the industry and am the head of the Independent Producers Guild. Let me know what you need!

Hello Isaiah Kollmansberger My name is Jack Binder, Producer and Founder of www.FilmBudget.com Worldwide. I am a major hollywood studio, indie film and tv producer, line producer, executive producer, DGA UPM, financier and investor. I assist fellow filmmakers with bankable, bondable, finance and production ready film budget and schedule packages, film finance business plans, film tax credit estimates, and one-on-one producer consultancy packages from short to long term engagement. Please fee free to reach out and connect (I dm'd you) here or via filmbudget.com/contact. I look forward to hearing more about your project and best wishes with all of your endeavors.

Rob Tobin yes that is a good idea, but I want to pitch this month. I d love to send the new script to competitions though

The people that sell movies know what is in demand. And that changes all the time. It's better to write as much content as possible and just be ready for the right time.

Hi Anna, feel free to contact, happy to help you.

aKseniia Zhuravleva ,

feel free to share

The reason I mention submitting to contests isn't because they'll necessarily get you produced or hired, but rather than they provide a baseline opinion on your script. If you don't make even the quarter finals of a good contest, you might not want to submit that script to production companies that keep track of scripts submitted to them and who will not read anything from a screenwriter who previously submitted a subpart script.

Hi Angel - I’m a Screenwriter- and an award winning filmmaker- I have currently just completed a huge top secret screenwriting project for a author with an out of this world true story I’m also seeking Producers for - I’m also involved in 2 other new writing projects from 2 other Authors about to sign with me. So if you want to get the ball rolling and develop the book to screenplay - I could be the man for the job. I haven’t read your book yet but I am considering taking on one more writing project this year and this one sounds intriguing. I love sci-fi but mostly focusing on Non- Fiction out of this world projects. Best Brett Berg

“The construction of this underground universe is impressive. The cinematic adaptation has enormous potential.”

Hola Brett, gracias por tu mensaje.

Me parece interesante lo que comentas, especialmente considerando tu experiencia en desarrollo de proyectos y búsqueda de productores. Actualmente estoy trabajando en una saga de ciencia ficción titulada Exodus 2333, que no solo es una historia, sino un universo narrativo con potencial de expansión audiovisual.

Antes de avanzar, me gustaría saber más sobre tu trabajo previo: proyectos, créditos o material que pueda revisar para entender mejor tu enfoque como guionista.

Si vemos alineación creativa y profesional, con gusto podemos explorar una posible adaptación a guion. Por mi parte, busco construir algo sólido y bien estructurado a nivel cinematográfico.

Quedo atento. Saludos, Angel

Hola Ana Cristina, muchas gracias por tus palabras.

Desde el inicio concebí este universo con una base muy visual y cinematográfica, cuidando no solo la historia, sino también la atmósfera, la tecnología y la estructura social que lo sostiene.

Me alegra mucho que percibas ese potencial de adaptación, porque justamente es una de las direcciones en las que quiero llevar Exodus 2333.

Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de leer y comentar.

“The construction of this underground universe is impressive. The cinematic adaptation has enormous potential, and it’s great to see such attention to visual and technological details.”

Hi Karlyle! Pitch decks are highly desirable and shouldn't be expensive at all. Canva (https://www.canva.com/) is a go to a lot of creators and producers use to produce inexpensive/free decks. Studios I've worked at expect a deck to accompany the script since it is an easier way to visually access the tone and world of your story.

For a SCRIPT????? If my agent couldn't pitch a script with a logline, I'd find one who could. IMO and my 30+ years, pitch decks are for producers who are pitching a project, not a writer pitching TO producers. Everyone wants the writer to be the producer these days...

Thank you for the comments. I started writing screenplays around 2024 and had no prior industry experience, so I'm not sure how I could become a producer. I think my agent wants to be, though. I'll talk with her about it and see what she says. I'm not very tech-savvy. So, I haven't tried to create one myself. I've piddled with some AI stuff, but haven't found it very helpful, so far.

I agree with Shadow Dragu-Mihai. Save your money.