Hi Stage 32 people! My name is Andy - I've just joined the site this weekend, so this is all very new (and a bit complicated!) to me, but when I came across the site, I thought that this was potentially what I was after - a better place to connect. I'm from Exeter (South West UK). I've been making films, helping others make films & dreaming about making films for more years than I care to think about. Along the way, I got married, became a Dad, held down the day job - but the dream of a career in filmmaking never really came to fruition. I've continued to make films, improved my skills, and the quality of my work. But still I couldn't quite work out how to get from 'here to there' - 'there', being a place where I am working professionally as a film director. I have no connections in the industry at all, and no profile to speak of - so I am trying to rectify this by joining the site. I want to reach out, try to make those connections, collaborate - and perhaps come across an opportunity or two. At the very least (perhaps, the very most), I may meet others who are on a similar journey as me - so I hope we get talking. Feel free to check out the links to my work on my page, and let me know what you think. Right, time to continue exploring this site - I may be a while...
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That's really kind, Brandi - thank you. I'll get stuck into the Getting Started stuff!
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Hello Andy, I'm in the South East of England, in Hertfordshire, welcome to the site, I'm fairly new here as well, it's great fun finding your way around and I've made loads of connections already. I understand where you're coming from in not being able to get yourself known to the right people, as well as being a literary editor, for the last 30 years I've been writing songs and lyrics and though I have enjoyed some lovely achievements along the way, I've never been able to get into the right circles, it really is extremely difficult, but I hope you find the right people here and that your dreams come to fruition, the most important thing is not to give up and keep believing in yourself and your capabilities.
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Hello, Andy. I second Brandi's recommendation to check out the HELP, FAQ and GETTING STARTED sections. I also recommend checking out a few of my free webcasts, On Stage With RB. You can find them under Education. Free to watch as often as you'd like.
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Thank you Rosalind for the words of encouragement - really appreciated. And thank you Richard & Brandi for the advice - off to check out the webcasts!
Hope you find them enjoyable and useful, Andy!
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Andy - Partially because my oldest son married a girl from Oxfordshire, I wrote a screenplay that involves English characters in a romantic comedy. Though I think I can sell it in the U.S., it might be better suited for the U.K. Might you have any suggestions for how I might pursue optioning the film in the U.K?
I'm not sure I've enough expertise to advise you on this one, Bob. Assuming that you still have the rights to the screenplay to develop as you wish, then you could try approaching UK production companies / broadcasters. Working Title are probably the most famous prod company for rom-coms ('Four Weddings & a Funeral', 'Notting Hill'), but you will almost certainly not be able to submit to them without an agency representing you. Smaller prod companies may have different rules - you'll have to do some research on that. Similar situation with UK broadcasters. The good news is that there is always room for a good romantic comedy - Look at the work of Richard Curtis - he's made a career out of it!
Thanks Andy. Might you have Richard's contact info? LOL