Screenwriting

“Navigating Stage 32's Introduce Yourself Weekend!” www.stage32.com/blog/navigating-stage-32s-introduce-yourself-weekend-3460

“Take The “Work” Out Of Networking - The Importance Of A Polished Stage 32 Profile” www.stage32.com/blog/take-the-work-out-of-networking-the-importance-of-a...

“How To Present Yourself Online To Book Jobs In The Entertainment Industry” www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-present-yourself-online-to-book-jobs-in-the-...

“How To Attract Allies In The Film Industry” www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-attract-allies-in-the-film-industry-3706

“5 Tips To Make Networking Opportunities Valuable” www.stage32.com/blog/5-tips-to-make-networking-opportunities-valuable-3765

It's a clunky system, but generally speaking, you get added by the productions you're attached to. You don't go adding yourself to stuff. Same with awards, I imagine, most of which aren't going to worth the bother listing.

CJ Walley normally I would agree. But with a name correction and having worked in the um, 80's... it's a manual search and add. One also has to add IMDB qualifying awards.

From what I remember, changes take like 4-6 weeks. (But that was before Amazon bought IMDB)

Hey Susan Kelejian Fiverr.com has folks that can help ya do that. Cheers!

When I update my bio or have someone add me to a production, it's pretty much instant. There are tiers of membership though. I know someone who was part of their early submission drive and they can pretty much change anything they want because they are a long-time trusted contributor.

Sallie Olson Sounds like a winner! Can't imagine a horse-sized wasp crawling on my back while face-down in the mud! Question: Wouldn't the dude be crushed to death if the Mega-Bee was horse-sized?

What a cool idea, Bill Brock! That sounds like such a great exercise as a creator, but also a great experience period.

Bill Brock Maybe if it had all six legs on him at once. But it's scrambling through, rushing to its next destination, it could easily pass over with only one or two of its feet making contact, or none at all for that matter, considering their anatomy spreads their legs out to the sides while the man would be long and narrow, centered on the tunnel floor. It's Fantasy...suspend reality just a little bit? LOL

Ashley Renee Smith Agreed, Ashley. I stayed at the Roosevelt almost 5 years ago. It'll be a total blast revisiting the place and seeing how well my memory served me as I wrote the script. Characters running up stairs, taking elevators, entering the large ballroom, the small lobby, then doing the same across the street at the Chinese Theatre, then heading over to the Cinerama Dome Theater, and the IN N OUT Burger joint. ALL are settings in HORROR-FEST!! : )

very intresting

As a paid reader for studios/prod-cos/networks for many years, this rule should always be followed: "Less is more."

One of the best screenplays I read was a draft of The Revenant movie. Writer did not use slug lines or follow format rules. Wrote in chunky paragraphs. I had no problem following the story. The sentences were basic 4th grade level but visually gripping.

Daniel Morris As some have mentioned, reading scripts is the best way to learn. There are many different types to be found online. Start with scripts of Academy-Award-nominated movies put out by the Academy each year. They will be different from the original versions by the writer/s, but they will give you a good idea of how the words on the page translate onto the screen.

Once you've digested a few dozen of those and you have your feet under you, ask around for earlier copies of scripts - one's closer to the writer's original intentions. They're not always easy to find but worth looking for. Read those while you watch the film. It'll be instructive to see what was kept, edited down, changed, or discarded.

Digging this back up because dogmatic advice can be dangerous.

Reading scripts is powerful, but not necessarily for the reasons people state. Reading scripts won't tell you specifically how to write, but it should show you the spectrum of what's considered acceptable. It will most likely prove to you that there's an audience for your voice, which you may need to know when people are telling you you must specifically do x and y.

Don't ask, just show your writing has an attitude...If I had something important to tell in my script I'd stay with it...

This is so awesome Susan Kelejian ! Congratulations! What a great way to end the year!

Fantastic!!! Congratulations, Susan Kelejian!

Amanda Toney I appreciate it Amanda. Your help and support did not go unnoticed by me

Well done, both for getting the gig and sticking with your passion for so long.

Congrats!

Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Mark Deuce. Happy Holidays! Hope you have a lotta success next year!

It's a tricky balance. You have to know when you're being approached as a writer or a typist. On the flip side, if someone's paying you do follow a brief, it's wise to follow it.

It happens the other way too. You get on set, the script is locked, and then an actor wants to rewrite your work. Sometimes they approach you about it. Sometimes they sideline you and go straight to the director.

CJ Walley It is a tricky balance, isn't it? I've had producers and directors bring on other writers and what they added was terrible. I literally had to ask them to remove my name from the credits. I have learned from these lessons and approach new challenges with these scenarios in mind. To be honest, I was never getting paid what I feel I was worth so, I never gave a damn about pay. You pay me half up front and the balance when I'm done. If you're stupid ideas are more important than the integrity of the story, I walk. I love writing but I don't need a stroke arguing with morons. If I'm fortunate to direct my own work, that problem is no longer.

There's projects I've been asked to look at where I will go in saying I'm not looking for a credit, typically because I know it's not going to be my work at the end of it.

That said, my attitude is that we're all collaborating as people who bring wildly different skillsets to help get a movie made. I'm the writer. I'm being brought it as the expert in that area and with the talent to deliver. I don't tell the producers, director, cinematographer, or actors specifically how to do what they're best at, and I don't expect it to come the other way either.

CJ Walley I love your zen attitude. I try but sometimes I have to medicate rather than meditate. You gotta love filmmaking!

HAPPY HELLIDAYS Philip David Lee

“Navigating Stage 32's Introduce Yourself Weekend!” www.stage32.com/blog/navigating-stage-32s-introduce-yourself-weekend-3460

“Take The “Work” Out Of Networking - The Importance Of A Polished Stage 32 Profile” www.stage32.com/blog/take-the-work-out-of-networking-the-importance-of-a...

“How To Present Yourself Online To Book Jobs In The Entertainment Industry” www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-present-yourself-online-to-book-jobs-in-the-...

“How To Attract Allies In The Film Industry” www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-attract-allies-in-the-film-industry-3706

“5 Tips To Make Networking Opportunities Valuable” www.stage32.com/blog/5-tips-to-make-networking-opportunities-valuable-3765

Thank you! Mark Deuce

You're welcome, Ryan Wilford. Happy Holidays!

Thank you for the insight! That's what I've been gathering from my research, getting the script reviewed by peers for any edits/changes, and then yeah, entering contest which is another way to get agent's attention. I'm in the process of checking out contest, I've joined multiple networking sites, but this is the only one so far, where you can create post and connect freely, so I like it! Fonde Taylor and I'll check out the site, thanks!

Hello, Mary! how exciting! nice to meet you, love meeting my fellow incoming writers. Congrats! is it in the works? that's awesome. I haven't sent anything to festivals or contest yet, I'm in the process of reviewing them and budgeting lol they can be pricey!

The best thing you can do right now is study the craft and start networking. With better craft skills, you'll see ways to improve your screenplay and go in better armed for the next one. The seeds you start planting now in terms of networking may pay off in another ten years.

You're going to get a lot of bad advice. Do your due-diligence on where it's coming from. Stay away from competitions. Don't use feedback as a crutch for craft skills. Don't go looking for representation as an unknown. Most importantly, know that it might another ten years of solid work before you even start to get traction.

Thank you, I’ve never heard of this one, I’ll look it up.

Re: Save the Cat -- I actually found Save the Cat Writes a Novel goes into much more storytelling-related detail and is helpful if you can reverse engineer the ideas to apply to screenplays. :)

Thanks so much for the shoutout John Clive Carter. It means a lot. Here's a review of my book from a former director of story at UTA.

As highlighted above, Save the Cat is a lifesaver for understanding the structure. Some criticize it for being formulaic but I have found exponential benefits from it.

Hi Daniel, I'm looking for a screenwriter who can transform deeply personal, spiritual encounters into a compelling screenplay. If you're passionate about stories that connect the human soul, let's collaborate!