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Question

Did the likes of Richard LaGranvenese and David Koepp and Ronald Bass become successful screenplay writers by attending writing seminars or using script consulting services or entering screenplay competitions?  I would guess the answer is no.  They graduated from prestigious universities and film schools with masters degrees. 

Can I realistically expect that without a college degree I have a chance of ever getting noticed in Hollywood?  Can I realistically expect that forking over for consulting services will increase my chances of being a successful screenplay writer?   I believe I can tell interesting, compelling stories.  I am a hard worker who is willing to rewrite as much as necessary.  Is that enough?

Excellent questions. I'll answer one of your last questions first: "Can I realistically expect that without a college degree I have a chance of ever getting noticed in Hollywood?" Yours being a pragmatic mind like the one asking these questions, my answer to you would be yes, you have a good chance.  If.

College degrees for creative people in Hollywood mean diddly. When reading your spec script, no ones cares one whit about your pedigree or Ph.D. or which planet you come from. The only question asked is, can he/she deliver the goods?

This does not exclude, however, the need for an extensive education (self-educated works fine) in how to write effective screen stories. Tim, here's the part that most people don't get. The vast majority of people who take a shot at screenwriting believe that because they've seen a lot of movies, they instinctively know how to write one. Nope. Screenwriting is one of the most difficult written forms of story telling to do well. It's easier to write a good novel than a good screenplay. And that means, you must learn how to do it well.

At cocktail parties, do you ever hear people saying, "you know, I think I'm going to take up brain surgery in my spare time"?

If someone told you they were setting out to write a novel, but that they'd never read one in their whole life, or maybe only read two or three—what would you estimate their chance of success to be?

I've been a professional screenwriter for about 20 years. I've written scores of feature, TV, and other projects for pay. My fifth produced feature-length script is LETHAL VOWS, a CBS MOW starring John Ritter.  (Co-writer and co-executive producer.)  And to this day, I'm still learning how to do it right. I read about the craft incessantly. I continue to take (as well as teach…one of the best ways to learn) classes on the subject. When I hear people saying they want to dash off a screenplay because they're tired of selling used cars, I want to throttle them. Can you do it, Tim? Absolutely. But understand the size of the learning curve.

Did Koepp and Bass take classes, seminars, etc., and use script consultants? You bet ya. Ron Bass is currently the most successful screenwriter in the world. He keeps on his personal, full-time staff, three highly trained and accomplished story and script consultants—to help him improve his material on a daily basis. (By the way—Ron Bass was originally an entertainment attorney. He didn't really get launched as a screenwriter until he was almost forty.) Let me blow another screenwriting myth out of the water: you do not write a script alone. You write a draft, then ask some (hopefully knowledgeable) people to read and react to it. You listen carefully, take notes, then go back and write another draft. Then you repeat the process. And again. And again. Getting the reactions of others—continual objectification--is an essential part of the writing process. And as you see, even many of the pros use script consultants. The hard part for newcomers working outside of Hollywood is finding a consultant who knows what the hell they're talking about. Choose carefully. Get their credits and background verified. Ask many questions up front. And do remember that, like much else in life, as a rule, you get what you pay for.

Some working screenwriters have graduate college degrees, sure. That's where a lot of learning goes on. But many do not. I personally stockpiled a couple graduate degrees because I knew I wanted to teach at the college level some day. However, here's a hard truth from my own experience. My real education in screen storytelling started after I'd left the hallowed halls of academe.

Tim, I've been reading a lot of script entries to our contest lately. I've run across brilliant dialogue and great characters. Wonderful first act setups. But in the majority of scripts, what's lacking is a genuine understanding of the underpinnings of screen story structure. Of what constitutes a movie story.  Of how much story is required to sustain a two hour film.  Of the necessity for key elements like a powerful nemesis, high stakes, a time limit, character growth, continually deepening conflict, rising tension, conciseness and purposefulness in scenes, scenes that are more than just pure exposition or ten minutes of talking—an understanding of how to show a story through a tight sequence of character-revealing physical actions and visual images instead of narration and verbal explanation.

And all this can be learned. The books are out there. The college Extension classes and workshops are out there. The seminars are out there.  You just don't become a brain surgeon overnight.  It doesn't happen without first reading a big pile of books, and listening to accomplished teachers...and without first maiming a few practice cadavers.

The story of how every professional screenwriter found their way to their career is different. No universals apply--except one. All of us studied the craft diligently and wrote script after script after script until we learned how to do it reasonably well. And we all wrote relentlessly until someone finally noticed. One or two drafts of one original screenplay, to my knowledge, has never been the basis for the launch of a real career as a screenwriter.

About contests. The prize money aside, they're useful because they can provide a new writer with recognition. You get in touch with an agent and say that your script just took second place in the XYZ competition, they'll be much more inclined to read it. It means part of their weeding-out process has already been done for them. It also can let you know where your work stands qualitatively, relative to what else other new people are writing around the country and the world. But never, ever pass any qualitative judgement on your own stuff based on the results of one contest. Or even two.

Thanks for your questions, Tim.  If you're interested in hearing the details about our own consultation services, please contact us again and I'll send you information on that aspect of The Hollywood Symposium.

Best wishes.

Eric Edson

From: Lauren Flans, Evanston, Illinois

Question

I am a bit confused about the exact meaning of the term "development" as it refers to screenwriting. Does it mean only the adaptation of material—like novels, short stories, or plays—into screenplays, or does it also include rewriting original scripts? How is "development" different from screenwriting?

Answer

The Hollywood term "development" refers to all paid writing work done on any screenplay before the script is given a green light "go" to production. The development period, which is sometimes not-so-lovingly referred to as "development hell" because it can feel endless, lasts from weeks to years depending upon the needs and tastes of the producer, director, and star of the picture. Remember though, that if something is "in development," it means that a writer is getting paid to write.

Development can involve a single screenwriter working on original or assigned material as a paid studio or production company employee and seeing that script all the way through production, or it can involve a number of writers working one after another on the same script before any production becomes assured. For example: the producers of the film THE FUGITIVE reported that they worked with a total of nine writers over a period of five years before they arrived at the screenplay that everyone involved, including Harrison Ford, was willing to go out and shoot. And on an "A" project like THE FUGITIVE, which probably cost around 70 million to make, every one of those writers who came and went in series were top Hollywood professionals making top dollars. Getting replaced as a writer on a project in the film business is not necessarily any reflection on the writer's ability. Every screenwriter that has worked on assignment in Hollywood on more than one or two projects has been rewritten. Every one of 'em. It's how the business works.

Truth is, a working screenwriter makes most of his or her money writing scripts as they pass through the development process. I personally have been paid to write sixteen feature length screenplays—and of the 16, a total of four have actually been shot so far. The others are still swimming somewhere between active, continuing development, and a studio filing cabinet. I have rewritten the work of others, and I have been rewritten myself. That, in a nutshell, is the professional life of an employed screenwriter. I once took an assignment to adapt a book for Disney, only to find out later that I was the sixth writer in succession to labor on the project.

When you sell your first original screenplay your agent will negotiate two things: first, the option amount, including a total designated price for the script should the option be exercised, and second, a sum beyond the purchase price to be paid to you for the rewrite (i.e., the development) of your script. (Sometimes producers try to get a free rewrite as part of the purchase price. Don't fall for it.) The Writers' Guild Minimum Basic Agreement now assures all screenwriters signing a Guild contract that the author of an original screenplay is guaranteed the first rewrite of their own material. This is a big reason why you should sell or option your material to a legitimate, WGA signatory producer—or, at the least, a producer willing to provide a full WGA contract.

Best wishes for your future career.

Eric Edson, Executive Director

From: C.S. Lee, Seoul, South Korea

Question

I want to enter my screenplay in your contest, but it's 150 pages long.  Your rules say scripts can't be over 140 pages.  Why the limit?  The biggest hit movie of all time, "Titanic," runs about three and a half hours.   If James Cameron can write a long script, why can't I? 

Answer

The page limit restriction on scripts for The Hollywood Symposium Screenplay Contest has been imposed for a couple very practical reasons.  A hard fact of movie life is that most agents in Hollywood refuse to read any screenplay over 130 pages.  And I have to say that their reason, by and large, is realistic-- because production companies just won't buy a script that's overlong.  Greater length means higher production costs.  I know TITANIC ran about three hours and 40 minutes or so--but that project was put together by highly successful and proven people, insiders working from the top down.  And still all the pre-release buzz on that film was about how much it cost, and how it spelled death to the studio if it didn't do well.  The fact is, newcomers just don't get that kind of screen time given to them.  Commercially it's too risky. 

And longer pictures are harder to book into theaters because theater owners are making less money per hour, hampered by being forced to run the film fewer times in one day.  Remember, you still pay the theater owner the same amount to get into the movieplex no matter the length of the flick--and you're probably still only going to buy one tub of popcorn no matter how long you're planted in that cozy theater seat. 

But there's another practical reason for the length restriction as well.  Up and coming screenwriters need to learn discipline.  I know from a lot of experience that 19 times out of 20, no, make that 29 times out of 30,when a new screenwriter is forced to cull pages and condense, the script gets nothing but better.  We must all learn the fine art of editing, of saying more with fewer words. 

Remember: today, a run-of-the-mill feature film produced by a major studio will cost somewhere around a half million dollars per page to film.  You can see why agents are so reluctant to present a lengthy script to their buyers.  And that's why we restrict the page count of our entries. 

Best wishes,

Eric Edson, Executive Director