Screenwriting : Producers and directors who want to be writers: Run for the hills! by Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

I've learned to ferret 'em out pretty quick. My first impression of 'em tends to be pretty good - go with your gut.

Doug: Definitely good advice.

Every meeting I ever had with "ppl In the business" at coffee shops lead to 0 money, 0 jobs.

And every meeting at an office, with valet parking somehow lead to money, real jobs.

Simply put: professionals don't work for free. And they don't work without written agreements which specify how they get paid, which has nothing to do with approval of the results. It has to do with how may drafts and polishes one does.

I've rarely said yes to many offers over the years so probably dodged a lot of bullets as a result. I've been freelancing most of my life via another line of work (print & web design) so learned the hard way via that, I guess. Plenty of horror stories there.

The most negative experience I've had in collaborating as a writer was working on a short where, even at the treatment stage, the director kept radically changing their mind over what they wanted. I felt like it was abusing the relationship, especially when they were getting my time for free, and walked.

I'm in a very happy place with my current partnership through which I've written/produced three features now. We're on a really close wavelength and I'm left to get on with it before turning in a script that gets little more than typo corrections. I know I'm incredibly lucky to have that and, to be honest, it makes me afraid of ever stepping out of my comfort zone should the opportunity arise. There's a double benefit too - a director who believes in your writing will fight for it on set when it needs to be defended the most.

Something that tends to run through all industries is the principal that, the cheaper the client, the more problematic the client.

I feel the comment about back-end deals just being working for free is unfair. While this being offered is certainly a red flag in many cases, participation (as in ownership at a decent percentage) can be highly lucrative and a good way for a writer and producer to move forward where a budget can't cover a fair writing fee. It's just a case of writers being able to do their due-diligence well and only attach to projects highly likely to get financed, made, and sold.

I respect anybody that speculates carefully, especially in today's market. It's amazing how many people I see froth at the mouth at the thought of writing for free yet will spend twenty years of their life churning out spec scripts that go nowhere - it's like they don't know what "spec" is actually short for.

All the writers I know who are working, and can prove they are working, are fighting their way up from the bottom like you would in any industry by being as competitive as possible. I've written for free and with no contract going in and it's worked really well for me because I believe I have a good gut feel for who to trust. I find many writers are sitting waiting for some kind of Cinderella moment so they can bypass the slog and/or want an inherently unstable business to guarantee 9-5 style stability while still also offering unlimited opportunity.

I think people tend to balance their priorities between artistry, employment, and entrepreneurship in different ways too. Some people need freedom, others need predictability, and some need control in different degrees and mixes.

We are individuals each & every one of us and I hesitate making 'one size fits all' blanket statements. I certainly can't speak for any of you - only myself. I've got decades of writing under my belt but I couldn't find any local talent so I had to learn Producing/Directing by myself. I did it! When it comes to working for free - I do it all the time (it's my hobby now). I've taken 'stock' of my life and realized that while I'm not really wealthy; I'm comfortably retired; in reality I have more money that I need. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a worthy project to invest in?

I appreciate the posts on this thread. Thanks for your thoughts.

I encourage people to do what makes them feel comfortable. And, if a screenwriter thinks they must be paid for every creative word they commit to the page, God bless them! Many "professionals" I know have long gaps between their paydays. That's why I continue to sell real estate. First and foremost, I write because I love doing it. My house and car are paid for, and I'm willing to roll the dice in certain situations.

In my experience, damn few producers/directors I've met are willing to fork over their own money to pay a writer. My goal is to make films, and like CJ, I've had some pretty good instincts on shady people and those I could trust. However, I have some bad luck. But even in those situations, I've produced some high-quality work that I've shopped to other interested parties. So no regrets for those experiences.

My instincts have put my scripts in front of some incredible people. For example, in 2018, I signed a write-to-shop agreement with a well-known entertainment agency with several first-look deals. This outfit put a pilot concept in front of Martin Scorsese's team when he was looking for a project. He eventually chose The Irishman by Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List and Money Ball). Around the same time, a Craigslist ad offered me a shot at working with a famous ABC sitcom actor and his manager, with whom I had several meetings.

Finally, I've been pretty blessed to be considered for big-budget projects without dropping names. I don't recognize any absolutes beyond my opinion that many folks in the filmmaking universe talk a lot of crap, and I'll continue to forge ahead in my own humble way.

CJ: Congrats on Script Revolution and your recent film success. You've been in for the long haul.

Writing is hell.

The fact is most producers/directors aren't in a position where they can afford to pay a writer to produce speculative work. This is the harsh truth most amateur writers are ignorant of. The indie scene is brutal and most filmmakers are in a catch-22 situation where funding is subject to having a script and attachments while most spec scripts coming across the table aren't logistically suitable and/or market orientated (that's before even getting into quality).

It really hits you when you go into producing yourself where you're trying to secure funding and generate profit. You need scripts to suit the situation and that situation is always changing. You have a potential financier, certain resources, and guidance from your sale's agent, so you put a script together for that but you don't get a greenlight and everything goes back in a drawer. Then a new opportunity arises but it's a different set of resources and limitations so you ideally need something bespoke for that.

An indie producer, if they are lucky, might be chasing a serious new opportunity every few months or so with wildly different budgets and needs. They can't afford to pay writers anything close to the kind of rates amateur writing communities band about to churn out good quality material on demand.

Between my first greenlit movie and my second, I effectively wrote four spec scripts that got close but didn't quite make it because of unexpected events (Covid being the biggest obviously). At the fictional WGA minimum banded about within screenwriting communities, that would be over $300K in writing fees before any funding is actually secured. At true WGA minimum, it would still be over $50K!

This is why so many filmmakers outside of the studio system are writer-directors. This is the reality nobody wants to talk about because it kills the illusion that screenwriting is a valid get rich quick scheme.

Something I also came to accept, and perhaps the most bitter pill to swallow thus far, was that, given my current situation as a producer with the resources, connections, and routes to market I have, I most likely would not choose to produce MY OWN PORTFOLIO OF WORK over coming up with something new! That's a scary realisation to go through! Where you have to admit that a decade's worth of material you've been carefully crafting isn't currently viable to you in your own eyes.

Can you get a greenlight off the back of a pitch and a concept? Sure... if you have a hell of a good reputation and a very trusting investor which, guess what, comes from having a proven track record of turning around profitable films - so there's your next catch-22 and you've still got to squeeze to get the juice.

This is something I've been trying to address with Script Revolution for years (thanks for the kind words on this) and why I bang on constantly about writing quality scripts that can be produced easily/cheaply while being desirable within the marketplace. Something most writers simply aren't doing. I feel my approach was recently vindicated by this success story from Gary Piazza who sold his first spec after three decades trying by changing his approach. Another great example is Jerry Robbins who is reporting the exact same route to seeing his name in credits on the big screen.

It's not the nineties anymore but, even back then, Tarantino was writing Dusk 'Til Dawn for $1,500.

True Romance was fabulous though, CJ, for whatever Tarantino was paid to write it. I was so inspired by that movie it made me write my first script.

Tarantino wasn't paid to write True Romance. It was a spec he took on and rewrote after a draft by Craig Hamann that he then tried to make himself at weekends on 16mm under the title "My Best Friend's Birthday" which he also starred in but gave up on (he would later go on to claim the footage had been burned in an accident but it's surfaced on YouTube since). The script got picked up as a made for TV movie of the week with a deal so bad it infuriated him. It then, thanks to the festival success of Reservoir Dogs, got into the hands of Tony Scott who was looking to repair the damage Days of Thunder did to his reputation as a serious filmmaker so it then became a theatrical project. Tarantino was sone done with the whole ordeal and felt so screwed over by everyone he refused to rewrite the ending into something more positive.

Pre Pulp Fiction, Tarantino's story isn't as fraction as romantic as people like to think it is. The only good deal he got was the sale of Natural Born Killers for WGA minimum which he used to buy the cherry red '64 Malibu that you see used in Pulp Fiction (which got stolen from set during production). Killers itself got radically rewritten because Stone felt it needed taking from being a "movie" and turning into a proper "film". Again, chagrinned by the situation, Tarantino refused to do the rewrite.

Wow. You know your stuff.

CJ: Great information. It will benefit folks that read this post.

In 1988, I met Johnny Vato from Oingo-Boingo at a gig we did together in LA. We became friends for a while and he took me to a video rental store in Manhattan Beach. The guy working the place was a super friendly person who knew everything about all the films. Guess who? Little did I know he'd be a kingpin one day.

Some nice points. I think a lot of writers mistake a "spec script" with writing "on spec" - As Tarantino recommends, it's good to write spec scripts, which you then can pull out to sell or pitch when someone is seeking something that sounds similar. But writing "on spec" is another thing entirely, and IMO should-simply-not-be-done by anyone who considers themself a professional writer. The examples above of directors and producers who don't want to pay for something are actually the reason for this policy. They can't do it themselves but want it for free. That being the case, why would you want to work with them anyway - they certainly aren't committed to producing anything they have not put any investment into. They already don't value your work, that's plain. But what about you? Do YOU value you work? Do you value it enough to insist on being compensated for it? Now I am in a different category than most screenwriters because (1) I don't write spec or on spec, ever, because (2) I don't produce anyone's work but my own, which I write, and (3) when I do write for outside parties, it's on specific commission only and compensated. One reason I do that is a lesson I took to heart from Robert A. Heinlein, which addresses the issue of professional versus amateur. Heinlein decided to become a professional writer, and make his living from it. From the beginning, he asserted that as a professional writer, he would not ever write for free. Because, of course, a professional writer writes for compensation (usually money) and the amateur writer writes for the love. That doesn't mean that a professional doesn't love what they do. It means they don't give it away for free, ever, ever, ever. Because they expended time on it and it is literally their bread and butter. BTW, Heinlein SOLD every work he ever wrote - and permitted NONE of it to be published in any way without compensation. That's not to say that writers are not in a very competitive environment - it's more competitive than most even imagine. But it is to say that if your attitude is that you are going to write as a professional, you are certainly going to develop a different attitude and make different decisions than you did as an amateur. The amateur is reaching for a lottery ticket win because its fun, and really that's the kind of chance they have of success. The professional is building step by step and will have success at some level. That's in every endeavor in life, and writing is no exception,

Shadow, that attitude works great if, you live in LA\you're a White Male.

However, for BIPOC writers looking to break in, that attitude is often misconstrued as being "unreasonable". And can often be met with a great deal of hostility.

That being said, I have learned from experience to say no the minute someone approaches me with an offer of "experience" or ask if I'll write "on spec".

When other writers ask me why, I explain it the way I would to a Director or Producer: It's not a matter of attitude, but pure economics as I have bills to pay and neither the time nor inclination to put my energy into someone else's dream if there's no iron-clad guarantee of payment.

Mickey Fisher wrote for free for about a year for Spielberg, Amblin, and William Morris on "Extant" tv series. Google Fisher's public articles of his journey from nobody to co-creating a network tv series in less than a year.

Supposedly, Taylor Sheridan wrote "Sicario" for free. Them legit producers on Sicario didnt say no to free writing. Not sure if Hell Or High Water was in production when Sheridan wrote Sicario

@Elaine Haygood - That attitude works period, as a POC myself, and 90% of my work being with Black filmmakers and artists, I can tell you it works for them. I understand the way you explain to people, but I assert it is a matter of attitude - a professional attitude. It's absolutely unprofessional and abusive for anyone to suggest you work for free. YOu shouldn't apologize or even respond politely to people who suggest you should. They wouldn't ask you to paint their house on spec, or do their dental work on spec (if you were a dentist). And if they did, you wouldn't explain that you have to pay your rent, you would more likely just tell them where to go (at least I would), and they would deserve it. Writers and independent film makers in general need an attitude adjustment - and it's there own attitude that needs adjusted (I am not directing that comment at you). They get abused because they don't believe in the value of their own work, pure and simple, and usually abused by people who don't value their own work as well.

Shadow has a valid POV - basically you don't value yourself - no one will...

However, writing specs is no waste of time...of course you'll write it for free (on your account) but as said by many - screenwriters currency is finished script - not logline, outline, idea... finished script...anyone naming themselves screenwriters has to have ahold of those...it's what manager, agent, director, producer or any kind of filmmaker would expect of you bashing on his door with an appetite for success...

Lastly, Dan I'm pretty sure Sicario was written as spec...I've read the early draft, vastly differing from the movie...some on the nose dialogue, too much exposition, many traits of an usual spec script...

Actually, I feel like the valid exchange is - I'll write what you want to me to write if you pay me now for my time and energy. Otherwise, you can't ask me or anyone to put in their time and energy into something with strict instructions, like a job would, without the payment of a job. It's simple, really. Pay me, get what you want. Don't pay me, then give me creative say - and back end, of course. Nothing is free.

CJ, Phil. I see an excellent collaboration in the making?

As writers, we have to stick together and pull each other up. A support system that helps improve one another's writing ability and creative instincts. I feel that collaborations help build friendships and explore a new network that wouldn't otherwise be accessible. And when you have great writers like my good friend, Phillip E Hardy, in the team, so many great concepts become a reality. P.S. Anyone needing their scripts to be doctored or an honest second pair of eyes with feedback you can ACTUALLY apply. Holla feel. He's quick, professional and cost-efficient. More importantly. There's no BS.

The work I've done thus far as a writer-producer has led to employment and career opportunities for nearly 100 actors and over 250 filmmakers. I'm incredibly proud of that.

If I have to take a hit, waive my fee, arrange a deferral, go in with only a verbal contract, or negotiate participation, I'm prepared to do that to get a film made with the right people.

Compensation comes in many forms and money is just one of them. Would I like to be financially secure for the rest of my life? Sure. But money can't buy the relationships, connections, experiences, and artistic expression that making a film brings.

The economics of film in this day and age suck on the most part but you can either keep fighting and having fun doing it or you can sit in a corner grumbling how unfair it is.

I'm tired of being told people don't respect/value me because of my approach when I'm surrounded by so many friends who are mutual champions.

If this doesn't make me a professional writer and means I'm not a real producer then fine. I can live with that.

First off, let me say I am incredibly proud of CJ and what he has done. It was his site, Script Revolution, that gave me the courage to keep pumping out scripts. Second, let me confide in you guys in this string for a minute. I cannot get movies made the normal way. I have to pay for animation to get them made. But if that is what is necessary, so be it. So f-bombing be it. At least I get the please of sharing the film with the world on YouTube at the worst. I don't need to make money on my scripts or on my books or on my movies. My main priority is to share my thoughts with the world. That was always my goal. And if you look at my track record, I have done a damn fine job of that. I am in CJ's camp, and happily so.

Geno, I'm having to bite my tongue on this one. Hoffa was murdered in Daytona Beach, Fl. Here's the sequence of events. We killed Dyess, Sr. Hoffa came to Clewiston. A contract WAS put out on Hoffa by Mafia and handled by their Underboss Anthony "The Greek" Toulis. Toulis gave me the contract for $10,000. Next came Reagan. Then, Walsh. This is not bragging. This is the truth.

Nancy:

Right on point! LOL

Hmm....I expected backlash. Good. But, interesting! All this was in the early 80s. Not 1975 as they would have you believe for the Hoffa contract. Maybe I read this wrong. Did you write the "Irishman" script about Hoffa?

Nancy: The Irishman was written by Steve Zaillion. If you're into gangsters, I wrote a script about Biff Halloran. He was associated with the Gambino crime family during the 70s.

Geno: Your family members and contacts probably know about Biff Halloran then (See NYT article below). His hotel on Lexington Avenue was a big mob hangout. One of his friends gave me his jailhouse manuscript in 2012. This is what got me into screenwriting. I wrote a highly fictionalized pilot and show bible based on some stories his friend told me. I did a press release and for years, including a few months ago, people that knew Halloran have been contacting me about the project. One of those contacts who was his next-door neighbor led to a shopping deal.

I'll bet you've heard some great stories. I looked up Couto and like many of these guys, longevity was not in the stars.

However, the mob guys never fail to fascinate the public and provide material for writers.

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/30/nyregion/ex-hotel-owner-with-former-t...

Ok, so that explains why there was no backlash. Robert Dinero's movie was a bunch of BS which is one of the reasons why I believe he was investigated and taken down. My connections are Pablo Escobar (killed by me in October of 1990 in Melbourne Beach, Fl), the two Dyess's, Bush Jr (Reagan contract), the Clintons (Conway, Little Rock, Mena, AK), Toulis, Bulger, Iceman, Gotti, Griselda Blanco the Second and Rivi Ayala, etc., etc.

I had been trained by CIA's Sermon Dyess, Sr., and JR. in my early years in black ops starting at the age of 8. By the time I was 18 I had completed several missions, one of which was the bombing of a Daytona Beach train killing 24. That was my handler Mafia Underboss Toulis. Again, not bragging.

May I ask what your screenplay was about? The one that was passed over in favor of "The Irishman?"

Nancy: As I told Gino, my script, now called Gangster Hotel, is about former Hotel Owner Biff Halloran: See articles to news links from circa 1998 when he disappeared. But my of my story is fictionalized.

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/02/19/state-convict-drawn-to-casinos/

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/30/nyregion/ex-hotel-owner-with-former-t...

https://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/9/prweb9861160.htm

What do you think of Writers who want to be Producers or Directors?

Geno, the trouble is so many are clueless as to what really happened with Escobar and how Obama's BC came to be thanks to Mike "Zullo" Moore's fake investigation. But, I get your point! Thanks!

Phillip! Wow on the Seminoles! They were just a few miles south of us and I have always had a fascination for their tribe. I'm not sure if I know anything personal about the NY Mafia. Rivi, if I recall correctly, was originally from Chicago and we made several trips to that location. That's where "Lilly" was from.

Ok, definitely a game of chess here. Dyess, down by my hands. Buy out Seminoles, the second king's legit down, and then there's just Pablo. One thing I learned early on, Gotta kill all of the kings.

Geno, he's just asking a question about his movie which I'm sure he knows the answer to already. Let me rephrase that, about a character motive's in his movie..

Geno yes I do.

Hi Doug Nelson I think writers who want to be producers directors comes down to ones intention. For example. I wanted to make movies from a child. I've always been fascinated with the whole concept. But when I actually started to study film, I realised that the most important part is the script. It doesn't matter how great of a director you are, if the script is a piece of crap, the movie is gonna be crap. So I learned how to read scripts, then write them and fell in love instantly. It has been therapeutic for me, because all the images, dialogue and scenes that used to plague my thoughts are now down on paper and more importantly, I know, what works, what doesn't, why? and how that translates onto the screen. I believe that this will help me to become a great director in the future, but for now, I'm enjoying the creative freedom and crafting of scripts. My next move is to shadow a few good directors and learn the craft, as I'm sure it will help me to become a better writer. I feel like, the more areas of the entertainment space I explore, the more I sharpen, diversify and strengthen my writing ability. I could be wrong, but when I look up the experience/profiles of directors who've produced films/tv shows that I enjoy, majority of them have also been screenwriters, show runners, novelists etc. What's your thoughts on the question?

@Geno, I don't either. Hell, I can't even make it through a second draft. Let alone directing and producing it. Now, if I were about, oh say, forty years younger, I'd definitely make a go of it.

@Naithan And, as for storyboarding and visualization, too many concussions. Three that I can recall so my 3D abilities are shot! That's initially why I'm on here getting info for storyboarding software.

If I had all the tools I might be able to direct or produce a film.

How about actors?

Keanu Reeves co-wrote the rewrite of John Wick with David Kolstad. KR didnt ask for writing credit.

Budd Schulberg hated Marlon Brando who said publicly he wrote the famous taxi scene in the movie, "On the Waterfront." The exact words of the taxi scene were on the pages weeks/months before they filmed the scene.

Re topic Producers & Directors who want to be writers. Interesting links emphasise cool points relevant to those concerned but talking in general I feel there’s no natural progression to be either writer/producer, writer/director or producer/director etc to juxtapose any of those titles. Many factors are at play, talent, a hard wired mind set, passion for the art, geographical, educational and financial resources etc. Obviously particularly in studio/established industry hierarchy it may well be who artists know to give them work but if hard grit wasn’t put in prior then no hail Mary will be tossed all way up field. Fascinating thread, thanks for share. Darn it, my first trip USA cancelled pandemic so be a 6 week trip 2023.

Many of you find screenwriting to be difficult - wait until you try Directing.

Doug Nelson LOL. If one were to attempt direction or just want to know what to expect on set, what books would you recommend?

Doug - Personally, I don't find screenwriting difficult. I find getting the script in the right hands is the trickier part.

Everyone - Once I eventually realised that screenwriting is just another art form -it's subjective- I focused on learning the 'industry standard'. However, it wasn't until I began submitting scripts that I learned there isn't an industry-standard per se and that it's more formatting fundamentals mixed with personal preferences that satisfy the reading professional. For example, I have submitted my scripts to some working professionals who hate to see FLASHBACK and prefer SUPER: whereas others don't mind either. Some prefer to see SERIES OF SHOTS, MONTAGES over VIGNETTES. I understand that they can all be differentiated and essentially serve different purposes, but the point is, depending on the reader, they may prefer to see a Scene Heading with FLASHBACK as opposed to SUPER: under the scene heading. My limited experience is that, if possible, knowing a reader's preferences before submitting a script can make all the difference whether you get your desired outcome.

On the topic of submissions - I have found greater success in submitting directly to VPs, directors, showrunners, etc., as their agents/gatekeepers have no idea of what they're looking for or what makes a good script/pilot. However, I fully understand their roles and how they deflect millions of crap material from wasting everyone's time. I just find that a lot of them are jobsworth. Has anyone else had this experience?

While I never intended to get into producing it's completely opened up my world in terms of appreciating how films are put together, financed, shot, and sold. That's gone straight back into my writing. Best free education you can get in my opinion.

Working closely with a director and watching them do their job can be a baptism of fire that should put off all but the most determined.

It's hard not to go through these experiences and see a lot of aspiring screenwriters coming across as lazy, entitled, and ignorant.

It also makes you realise that, if you really want your vision to become a reality, you need to take up the mantel and lead. That's the fundamental reason why writers transition into these areas.

Geno Scala - let me address your response as you probably thought this was my opinion on something, as opposed to what I experienced.

The person who passed on my script for seeing FLASHBACK in the Scene Heading suggested I replace it with SUPER: under the heading instead. He said that despite the witty and engaging dialogue in the first five pages, he would not read another line until these changes were made, as 'incorrect formatting' is one of his pet peeves. The funny thing about that situation is his superior managed to set her eyes on my script, and she loved everything, including the formatting. Netflix UK has since requested a Show Bible, and I now await a response and possible pitch date.

Definition of ART: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Based on this description and the opinions of many industry professionals who have redirected me to think this way (Sir Marco Robinson - Legacy of Lies), I disagree with your statement.

Your assumption that my formatting was not professional or unique was precisely that, an assumption. I am happy to send you the feedback report directly from Netflix and the comments made. They mentioned that the concept is unique and has massive scope for teachable moments and longevity. The only negative comment made was the use of Flashback.

For one project in particular - submitting to a VP associate of mine got me through the pearly gates and in front of the official writing team for that specific studio. I believe that there is no one way to get your foot in the door, and it worked for me on this occasion. Be it, they only wanted me to join the writing team and didn't see that particular script as high-concept.

As for agents and gatekeepers, that was definitely me generalising and probably a mistake on my part. I should have said that I have a friend who knows nothing about scripts and is a gatekeeper for a well-known production company in LA. She applied for a production assistant role, and that's where they placed her to start learning the trade. She's been doing that role for the last couple of years.

I have also been offered this role when applying for PA roles but refused them, as I wanted a PA/Runner role on set amongst Key PAs, ADs, Directors, Actors, Cinematographers, Engineers, etc.

I've been told this is the most efficient education you could ever ask for, and the best part is you're paid. Imagine that, being paid to learn something you're already passionate about. Sounds like a dream to me.

Just to clarify.

1. Nothing mentioned above or previously is my opinion or speculation. These are my personal and factual experiences that I was simply sharing.

2. I have taken no offence to any of your comments, and my response was simply to bring clarity. It is not my intention to offend you or anyone else reading this.

Have a great day.

Naithan - The Tagonist

Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal" -My big brother from another mother, who holds no punches when feeding me constructive criticism and has played a vital role in my personal development, both written and professionally- you're a genius.

And here's why...

Though I'm a year young on Stage 32, I have not seen a post more engaged than this one.

The crazy part is you have done less talking than anyone else. This is what posts are supposed to do, present compelling material that captivates the audience, provoking them to engage.

Well done, Phil E. Hardy, the writer who's better than most and still yet to boast. Lol.

CJ Walley I cannot lie. I look forward to being in your position for every reason you mentioned. I genuinely wish you success with your latest projects.

I'm kind of jeal that you're working with someone I highly respect; Shane Stanley. I have learned so much from him about the dos and don'ts of screenwriting. Why you should always write and pitch a 2-pager and get feedback before wasting your time writing a 110-page script no one wants. Distribution deals and everything else. The guy is a low-key genius. My progression has probably been fast-track due to the advice I took away in a few interviews/podcasts he featured in. Saved me a lot of time for sure.

Yeah, Shane and I are like brothers. Producing with someone who's had that level of experience has been incredible mentorship for me. It's also been a huge rejuvenation for him as he now has a ride-or-die writer. The last film we got greenlit was done so off the back of a two page synopsis I put together.

We sometimes do talks together on Script Revolution via Zoom which are like the casual chat over drinks you'd get at a film festival in the evenings. We've been known to go for eight hours sharing advice and experiences.

I need to put another producing blog together but so much keeps happening so fast I can't keep up.