Screenwriting : Content and needing thick skin but more than a script by Ilan Breil

This is advice everyone needs to hear. It is no good having one screenplay. Yes we can all play the game of “if it is great and a producer wants it”.

I like using metaphor. Imagine you have a shop and you have one loaf of bread, just one. Customers come in all day looking milk, dog food, toilet paper, and all can say is “how about some bread”. Some people come in wanting bread. But they want brown bread or rye or sour dough. You have a single fruit loaf.

You look at these people and say “this is the best fruit loaf in the world. why doesn’t it sell”.

Just like your shop. You cannot go to market with a single offering. Even if all you sell is bread (single genre), at least offer some variety.

That’s why I’m here to help :)

Oscar animated writers are very rare. :-) I have a question for you, please. Is everything sold either politically neutral or promoting the leftist globalist new world order type dogma? And I'm not asking about films that promote Jesus or right wing politics, more along the lines of conspiracy theories, are they taboo? thanks

Jay - Oscar nominated/awarded writers, live action or animated tend to keep that information under their hats unless they are in the 'club'.

Yeah, Doug, but I've been in world news for it, so... :-)

Hi, Ilan. How are you doing? Do you think every script needs a main character with a character arc? Sometimes I outline a story and I can't find a character arc to fit, but the story would be entertaining without a flaw and a character arc.

Jay, that’s a tricky question because it’s a political question in and of itself. I would say generally yes these days Especially with what happen with Netflix in the stock market which got crushed because of what Elon Musk said.. There’s always going to be a need to fill a void of action and thrillers and epix dramas, but generally it’s been that way especially on TV. but don’t let that deter you especially if it’s commercial. If it is an indie that will always harder to get made.

Thanks Ilan. This is a little snip of the flyer I made about my story. Anyone who is beholden to the current "mind virus" regime will be repulsed by it. :-) But yes, it is commercial, IMO to an extreme if done correctly, literally the entire world would be talking about it, it'll be a thing, like forever.

This is some good advice! thank you.

Lately me and my friends were trying to come to a conclusion on stories that are driven by multiple characters (in our case 3). Do you have any experience with that and might spare some tips on that?

Hi Ilan, I have a couple questions:

Why is it that present day Hollywood production companies typically seem like they haven't been around that long while the studios have been around forever?

When you see a Hollywood film's budget on IMDb, or another site, does that include its marketing budget? And is there a typical ratio/percentage from marketing to regular budget (ex. marketing budget is usually 50% of the regular budget)?

OK, I've got a question. How would someone from the USA go about trying to sell a script that fits a foreign market? I enjoy Asian martial arts cinema and have an idea to write something which fits that market. But I'm an American. How would someone even get their script/pitch heard by the right people?

Back here we have a saying: the persistent, not the pretty gets laid...so I think it hints enough...

Anthony good question but that’s an agency packaging angle with relationships with those buyers in those markets.

On a side note. I had a call with a big buyer today and she’s what they said when I asked what her major platform was looking for. Keep in mind she’s the #2 at the platform. I’ll reserve judgment until a bunch of people weigh in:

Wait for it …

“Returning drama series that have a strong central character with narrative drive and strong voice and dialogue. Any genre but needs to feel specific in it’s tone.”

Hey Frankie - great questions. Production companies exist and last as long as they’re producing and most that matter have deals at studios. Smaller production companies that own what they produce will last but most prod companies (pods) only last when their overhead is being paid by a financier or studios. Studios will all ways last because they are so vertically intergraded and have other sources of revenue. Plus they own the material and control the distribution. Pods just get fees for producing them as a service.

Budgets… what you see is some of the budget but not all and not the “prints and advertising”. The bigger the budget the bigger the marketing costs to protect the investment return. 100 mil movie costs another 30-50 mill to promote. It’s grey area.

Thanks, Ilan. That's exactly what I was looking for. I have a few more if you're able to get to them.

It seems like a reoccurring theme for the annual blacklist survey to have writers on it without credits in the Hollywood system (in the year their script is on there). I don't have an exact stat. But is there any rhyme or reason for this happening?

I know U.S. screenwriter agents have to get some kind of regulatory approval to become legit agents. Does the same go for U.S. literary managers?

I've heard more than once of instances where a writer has a falling out with their agent and can't ever get their their attention. When this happens, why wouldn't the agent just release the writer as opposed to keeping them as a client?

Frankie, the reason agents will maintain a client is it costs them nothing. The WGA did a survey a few years back and writers generate about 70% of their own jobs through contacts and other relationships. The agents get 10% of that money for doing nothing. So having someone they are doing nothing to help can still bring some money through the door.

I don’t think an agent will even cut a relationship unless it is doing them damage.

Big 3 agencies make more money co-producing than collecting commission fees. Thats why WGA members voted to fire their agents 3 years ago.

Dan, wasn’t the outcome of the WGA action stopping this? Agencies are no longer allowed to be involved in production. They had to divest themselves of interest in productions.

So some part of an overall corporate structure that may own an agency and be involved in production may exist. But, the agencies are no longer allowed to be involved in production.

That is my helicopter view of the landscape.

Craig - I was thinking in line with the dormant idea of if things take off for them, but that fills it in some more.

Frankie, for politcal reasons I won't touch that one but there's a zillion reason and agenda's behind how the blacklist works and I not a fan. It's become very political and there's no rhyme or reason to what they do and I think it's lost it's charm and purpose years ago and their motives have changed. I think what we offer here is better which is why I turned down studio jobs to some work for S32.

I had heard that before, that it's political. Much appreciated. I have others but I'll keep an eye on the forums and put them in another time. Shed them on lightly. Maybe I'll pop those other two back in again in the future too.