Only Lawrence Whitener on IMDb. Trained by the same Yale screenwriting professor who taught the screenwriters of "The Hangover, Olympus Has Fallen, The Wedding Ringer, 500 Days of Summer, Pig" and others. He told me as he told them, "Move to L.A., you're that good!" After two years of pitching to every studio I received their verbatim response. "What a great script! Know what you should do? Make it yourself." A Producer explained the Hollywood Insider's philosophy to me succinctly with "If I don't already know you, I don't need to know you." Truth is, no one in Tinsel Town believes in you, except you. If you're not prepared for years of rejection, you picked the wrong profession. With 25 double-digit award-winning feature screenplays (10 more in Rough Draft) and 16 short scripts with 13 self-produced into SAG-Aftra films (2 streaming on Amazon), I've earned over 470 Awards in just six years. So what did an I.S.A. Exec tell me? "You might as well give up. You have too many awards. You'll never get a Lit Man. Just quit." And as we all know, if you don't have an Agent, Lit Man, or Entertainment Attorney, your submittals are deleted. I write all day everyday because I have to. It's like breathing to me. It's not your destination that drives you, it's the trip getting there. Enjoy the view along the way, I still am.
Screenwriting : "Never give up. Never Surrender." (I heard that in a movie) by Lawrence Whitener
Executive Producer at DOG-e The Movie, LLC ♦ Screenwriter, Producer, Director, Actor
3 months ago
"Never give up. Never Surrender." (I heard that in a movie)
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Such great writing on his show.
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I think every writer should read your post, Lawrence Whitener, especially new writers. I learned to shut out and ignore "you can't," "you won't," and so on. Congratulations on all your accomplishments and hope you have more!
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The more I learn about screenwriting as a business, the more challenging a career path it seems to be. Even when you make something exceptional, you have to make the next thing more exceptional. Yet, writing stories is funny, they keep coming through you and every bit of encouragement, no matter how small, drives you to write more. The journey is the success, as long as you can make enough of a living. Too bad there isn’t something like a writing collaborative, where things like healthcare could be partially covered. The WGA is great, but it’s so difficult to get in. Sorry if this li Debbie Downer but, but with all the content options today, there should be more opportunities. Writers need more love.
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Hi Lawrence,
So, it's Catch-22 after all. You can write endlessly—until exhaustion, or with joy, sweat, and sparks. But still, it might be a letter to no one.
Your story reads like the script of The Survivor. Awards, recognition, streaming… You’re known. That’s a huge milestone.
But here's the thing. If a producer already has ten brilliant screenwriters on speed dial, who will write anything for them—then the other million of us are irrelevant. Even if we’re at the same level.
Is that really the system? A closed loop of “already known” talent writing everything on demand? And the rest of us… ghosts in the inbox?
Still, thank you. Your honesty is rare and strangely comforting. We’ll keep writing—if not for “them,” then for the joy of the road itself.
Respectfully,
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It is an important, if also a little deflating, reminder. The success many of us imagine remains like a winning Powerball ticket it would appear. However, if we can align our mentality with reality in a way that re-orders our priorities then it can still be a very fulfilling experience.
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YES. Here is a hard truth. He has had TOO much success in getting his work praised by judges. " Is that really the system? A closed loop of “already known” talent writing everything on demand? And the rest of us… ghosts in the inbox?"
YES.
It is a small club and very hard to enter. Big respect for all his hard work.
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My experience as an actor and writer (and accidental producer) is this industry works like any other. You get to know people, future collaborators, early in your career. And you bring each other up. You develop trust to counter the wall of risk. You band together to in producing a project. You support each other, not just in spirit, but financially, and in the marketing of the work, etc... And it doesn't end until you retire from your creative life. Never be on an island in an industry dependent on collaboration and friendships. Share the passion. Live a balanced life. And as your writing earns awards, so have your friends and associates, and the crews, and the casts, the creatives who support them (casting, post editing, etc...). Just keep the writing going and pitch everything, not only to studios and indie movie makers, but to your trusted collaborators, your friends, your fans, your industry. It's like - it seems every sound tech is a filmmaker. Especially in Los Angeles.