I guess you could call this my Christmas post. One of the things that really bugs me right now in the film industry is the prevalent notion that selling movies is like selling potato chips. It's just another product being sold to consumers. I think this line of thinking comes from the whole MBA mentality that if you can sell one thing, you can sell anything. And I think it's that mentality that has severely wounded the DVD market in this country.
Let me ask you this, when is the last time you fell in love while eating a bag of potato chips? Or driven three hours to see a particular bag of potato chips? How many potato chips have you eaten 10, 20, 30 times? How many times have you eaten a bag of potato chips that was so good you wanted to tell everyone about it? How many times have you gotten together with your whole family to eat potato chips?
So many people in this biz seem to forget the show part of show business. We aren't selling potato chips, we're selling dreams, a little bit of escape. We're selling wonder. The greatest moguls of Hollywood have known this concept. If we could remember this in Hollywood, then maybe people would start buying movies again, instead of watching poorly made, mindless, reality shows on TV.
Well, that's my little rant for the day. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Festivus, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate at this time of year. I hope you all had a good year and have an even better 2010.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
10 Things That Keep Screenplays From Selling
Usual Disclaimer: Everything written herein is solely my opinion. When it comes to screenwriting there are no hard and fast rules. There are tons of scripts out there that have one or two of these elements in them but sold anyway. I don't want to hear it. Also, I don't read scripts or work in acquisitions anymore. So don't send me your scripts, synopses, or queries letters. I will not read them. They will be discarded.
Back when I used to work in Acquisitions, I would be called upon from time to time to read scripts. And there were certain elements that would appear again and again and would quickly kill any interest in the script.
So, without further ado, here is my list of 10 things that keep screenplays from selling, in no particular order.
1. Length: You know how they say size doesn't matter? That's bullshit. When you're sitting down to a stack of scripts to read for the weekend, there's nothing I dread more than opening up a 150 page script. Unless you're writing an epic film to be directed by Peter Jackson, cut it down. Even if you are, cut it down. Nobody is going to read the whole thing anyways. Quick word of advice: the shorter scripts always got read first, unless there is hot talent attached. In that case, you don't need my advice. Stop reading and just go sell your script.
2. First 10 pages: It's Saturday night, you want to go out for drinks with your friends. But you gotta just get through this script. You're ten pages into it and you have no idea where it's going and nothing has happened. Do you keep reading the script? Or do you toss it aside and head on out the door? Your first 10 pages will kill you. Something has to happen in the first ten minutes of the film. Most readers have short attention spans and will decide within the first 10 pages whether they like the script or not. Save the exposition for later. You gotta grab them in the first 10 pages or they'll start thinking about their laundry, or the cute guy/gal at work and you've lost already.
3. It's So Pretty! If you wanna kill your script even earlier, draw some pictures of flowers on the cover. Or post your favorite poem. Or make a nice color photocopy of your favorite painting that helps to set the mood for the script. Don't do it! You may feel the need. But don't! If you absolutely have to include a quote or poem put it on page one at the top. Then realize it's going to be thrown out anyways by the director or the person they hire to rewrite your script. So why waste your time. Focus on the script.
4. Font Size: 12 point Courier. Nothing else. Nothing screams unprofessional more than seeing this! It doesn't make your dialogue more dramatic. It just makes you look like a tool. You're not a cartoonist. Just don't.
5. Exposition: Who needs to actually show the audience anything? You can just have a character say it in dialogue to the other characters! That's not awkward at all! "Remember the time I took you out dancing and you were wearing a blue dress just like the one you are wearing now? And a guy came up to you and asked you for the time? And remember how I blah blah blah blah..." No I don't remember. Why don't you just show me? It's a visual medium. You aren't writing a play. My favorite is the old "What's going on?" "I'm General Bigpants! And there is a large asteroid headed for the Earth and if we do not launch the space shuttle and send some people up there to destroy it, we will all die in about an hour and a half!" I'm bored already.
Action is story. They always say you judge a man by his actions, not by his words. You can shout "I'm not a murderer" all you want. But the bloody axe in your hands and dead body at your feet suggests otherwise.
6. Too specific: This is another pet peeve of mine:
"John put on his Nike tennis shoes. Then he took a drink drink of Coca-Cola while turning on his Emerson stereo system. AC/DC's song "Let There Be Rock" blasts from the speakers. John picks up his copy of John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and thumbs through it."
When I read stuff like this my brain explodes. I'm trying to remember all of these items because they must be important if they're mentioned by name. And I have to look up the song if I'm not familiar with it. And do I need to know the story of The Pearl to understand the movie? By then I'm lost and ready to move on to the next script.
7. Generic Characters: Another great way to confuse the reader, characters! Who needs characters that are all distinct? If one character is good, then twenty is better! I don't know how many times I've been reading a script where I had to go back and try to remember which character is which. The worst is when there is a scene between five guys, all in their 20's with the same characteristics and they're named Chad, Brad, Ben, Fred, Charlie, and Bob. At least name one of them Moishe or Juan or Vladimir. If the character names, or actions, or dialogue are too similar, it's easy to get lost.
8. Who cares? Too many scripts wind up the same as they are in the beginning. Nothing changes. Nothing happens. Nobody learns anything. So what's the point? At the very least, someone should have learned something. It's better if the change is more significant. Someone has died. People have broken up. Someone has fallen in love. Something has to have happened. Otherwise, why tell the story?
9. That leads to my next point. What's it all about? Can you summarize it in a sentence? Because guess what? The reader is going to have to the next morning when they tell their boss about the script they just read. If the answer is "It's a story about a guy and a girl who something happens and then this happens and then that happens, etc. etc." You're screwed. You haven't gotten your point across. If you have trouble with this, just read the TV Guide or the listings on your Tivo. They do a pretty good job of summarizing movies in a sentence or two.
Examples:
from tv.yahoo.com
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - John Hughes tale about a snob (Steve Martin) and a slob (John Candy) who keep running into trouble---and each other---en route home for Thanksgiving.
10. What's the trailer? You need 3 good scenes. First, potential stars are thinking "What scenes are gonna get me my Oscar?". Second, the potential producer is thinking "How am I gonna sell this?" Third, the director is thinking "Which scenes are gonna enable me to show off my brilliance?" You gotta have scenes that are gonna wind up in the trailer, on youtube, and to run on all the chat shows while they are trying to promote the movie.
That's it for now. Hope this helped some of you. But then, I'm sure all of your scripts are perfect and don't fall into any of these traps, right?
Back when I used to work in Acquisitions, I would be called upon from time to time to read scripts. And there were certain elements that would appear again and again and would quickly kill any interest in the script.
So, without further ado, here is my list of 10 things that keep screenplays from selling, in no particular order.
1. Length: You know how they say size doesn't matter? That's bullshit. When you're sitting down to a stack of scripts to read for the weekend, there's nothing I dread more than opening up a 150 page script. Unless you're writing an epic film to be directed by Peter Jackson, cut it down. Even if you are, cut it down. Nobody is going to read the whole thing anyways. Quick word of advice: the shorter scripts always got read first, unless there is hot talent attached. In that case, you don't need my advice. Stop reading and just go sell your script.
2. First 10 pages: It's Saturday night, you want to go out for drinks with your friends. But you gotta just get through this script. You're ten pages into it and you have no idea where it's going and nothing has happened. Do you keep reading the script? Or do you toss it aside and head on out the door? Your first 10 pages will kill you. Something has to happen in the first ten minutes of the film. Most readers have short attention spans and will decide within the first 10 pages whether they like the script or not. Save the exposition for later. You gotta grab them in the first 10 pages or they'll start thinking about their laundry, or the cute guy/gal at work and you've lost already.
3. It's So Pretty! If you wanna kill your script even earlier, draw some pictures of flowers on the cover. Or post your favorite poem. Or make a nice color photocopy of your favorite painting that helps to set the mood for the script. Don't do it! You may feel the need. But don't! If you absolutely have to include a quote or poem put it on page one at the top. Then realize it's going to be thrown out anyways by the director or the person they hire to rewrite your script. So why waste your time. Focus on the script.
4. Font Size: 12 point Courier. Nothing else. Nothing screams unprofessional more than seeing this! It doesn't make your dialogue more dramatic. It just makes you look like a tool. You're not a cartoonist. Just don't.
5. Exposition: Who needs to actually show the audience anything? You can just have a character say it in dialogue to the other characters! That's not awkward at all! "Remember the time I took you out dancing and you were wearing a blue dress just like the one you are wearing now? And a guy came up to you and asked you for the time? And remember how I blah blah blah blah..." No I don't remember. Why don't you just show me? It's a visual medium. You aren't writing a play. My favorite is the old "What's going on?" "I'm General Bigpants! And there is a large asteroid headed for the Earth and if we do not launch the space shuttle and send some people up there to destroy it, we will all die in about an hour and a half!" I'm bored already.
Action is story. They always say you judge a man by his actions, not by his words. You can shout "I'm not a murderer" all you want. But the bloody axe in your hands and dead body at your feet suggests otherwise.
6. Too specific: This is another pet peeve of mine:
"John put on his Nike tennis shoes. Then he took a drink drink of Coca-Cola while turning on his Emerson stereo system. AC/DC's song "Let There Be Rock" blasts from the speakers. John picks up his copy of John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and thumbs through it."
When I read stuff like this my brain explodes. I'm trying to remember all of these items because they must be important if they're mentioned by name. And I have to look up the song if I'm not familiar with it. And do I need to know the story of The Pearl to understand the movie? By then I'm lost and ready to move on to the next script.
7. Generic Characters: Another great way to confuse the reader, characters! Who needs characters that are all distinct? If one character is good, then twenty is better! I don't know how many times I've been reading a script where I had to go back and try to remember which character is which. The worst is when there is a scene between five guys, all in their 20's with the same characteristics and they're named Chad, Brad, Ben, Fred, Charlie, and Bob. At least name one of them Moishe or Juan or Vladimir. If the character names, or actions, or dialogue are too similar, it's easy to get lost.
8. Who cares? Too many scripts wind up the same as they are in the beginning. Nothing changes. Nothing happens. Nobody learns anything. So what's the point? At the very least, someone should have learned something. It's better if the change is more significant. Someone has died. People have broken up. Someone has fallen in love. Something has to have happened. Otherwise, why tell the story?
9. That leads to my next point. What's it all about? Can you summarize it in a sentence? Because guess what? The reader is going to have to the next morning when they tell their boss about the script they just read. If the answer is "It's a story about a guy and a girl who something happens and then this happens and then that happens, etc. etc." You're screwed. You haven't gotten your point across. If you have trouble with this, just read the TV Guide or the listings on your Tivo. They do a pretty good job of summarizing movies in a sentence or two.
Examples:
from tv.yahoo.com
First Blood - Sylvester Stallone is a former Green Beret waging a one-man war against police and the National Guard in the Pacific Northwest.
Failure to Launch - The exasperated parents of a 35-year-old ladies man who won't move out of the house hire a woman who specializes in luring men to leave the nest.Planes, Trains and Automobiles - John Hughes tale about a snob (Steve Martin) and a slob (John Candy) who keep running into trouble---and each other---en route home for Thanksgiving.
10. What's the trailer? You need 3 good scenes. First, potential stars are thinking "What scenes are gonna get me my Oscar?". Second, the potential producer is thinking "How am I gonna sell this?" Third, the director is thinking "Which scenes are gonna enable me to show off my brilliance?" You gotta have scenes that are gonna wind up in the trailer, on youtube, and to run on all the chat shows while they are trying to promote the movie.That's it for now. Hope this helped some of you. But then, I'm sure all of your scripts are perfect and don't fall into any of these traps, right?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
American Idol and Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
I have been thinking the last couple of days about certain people's obsession with American Idol. For those three of you unfamiliar with the show, it is supposedly a singing talent competition where the winner gets a recording contract. It makes me think about Plato's Allegory Of The Cave.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Allegory of the Cave, you can read about it on Wikipedia. Here is a short version from the Wikipedia article:
"Plato imagines a group of people who have lived chained in a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of the cave entrance, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to seeing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not constitutive of reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners."
To me, American Idol represents the shadows on that wall. People watch the show and believe that it is somehow real. That it has some influence or impact on their daily lives. But the people who believe in that show are deluded. The show is probably the most artificial and unreal singing competition ever. Anyone who has ever made or dissected a documentary would know that simply by picking and choosing what to shoot and what to show, you are creating a story that didn't necessarily exist. They are looking for telegenic young people that they can package and sell.
To me, the most laughable conceit was that the final competition represented some sort of referendum on this country's opinion of homosexuality based upon the perceived sexuality of Adam Lambert. It would appear that viewers and commentators have somehow made the connection based upon his over the top and flamboyant style. Of course, not once has he confirmed the speculation. Most likely it gives his brand a certain edginess and mystery. Have we all forgotten that this is show business? (Note: He did subsequently come out of the closet. But at the time no public declaration had been made.)
But this belief that the vote represented something is completely invalid, since not everyone in the country voted or even watched the show. The viewership for the finale was 28.84 million people out of the estimated 304 million people living in the US. That represents a little less than ten percent of the population of this country. Additionally, viewers were allowed to vote as many times as they like. So one person could vote once or they could vote 20 times. This means that the vote of certain people counted more than the vote of someone who only voted once. In addition, voters who were voting in areas of the country with a more dense population would have more likely faced tied up phone lines and had a more difficult time in registering their votes than someone who lives in a more rural area. That may have been the deciding factor since apparently the singer who won appeals to a more rural fan base.
In addition, since the winner is based upon votes, the show is not picking the better singer, merely the more popular one. And we surely know that popularity does not necessarily equate talent. How many talented singers, actors, writers, painters do we know of from history that have toiled in obscurity only to be discovered much later? Just look at people such as Vincent Van Gogh who only sold one painting in his lifetime, or Emily Dickinson, who lived in seclusion and only had 12 of her 1800 poems published in her lifetime.
On top of that, if you look at the track record of the winners of past seasons, their success has been spotty at best. Sure, people know Kelly Clarkson (who actually did have a recording contract when she went on the show). But how many records have Fantasia, Taylor Hicks, or Ruben Studdard sold? Their sales are decent, but given their promotion and exposure on the show, you would expect them to be able to sell millions and millions of CDs.
The media also helps to maintain the appearance of newsworthiness. If you watch news shows, or read the news, you will see countless articles about the show. Although, is it really such a stretch, considering that the show is on Fox, which happens to be owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns many news outlets including Fox News Network, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Haper Collins, The Times Herald Record, MySpace, Hulu.com, Rotten Tomatoes, IGN, among many others? So is it any wonder that you see countless news articles about the show?
Ultimately, my point is that they are packaging a product. They are not trying to find the best singer in America. They have no interest whatsoever in that. The winner is not neccessarily a better singer or even more popular. Which means ultimately that the results are meaningless. Now turn off the TV, go outside and get on with your life.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Coachella Wrap Up - Day 1
Okay. I know I am a month late in doing this. But I have been so busy following up from my trip to Hong Kong and Cannes that I haven't had much time to think.
Here's my Coachella wrap-up:
Day 1: Friday
Probably the busiest day for me.
After taking the short cut to the back parking lot and getting in after about 10-20 minutes, we went and picked up the locker key. Seriously, if you are going to Coachella, just go ahead and rent a locker. It makes for a much happier experience. And you are going to want a jacket at night because it can get chilly.
First band we saw was Noah And The Whale. We left after 15 minutes. It sounded like the lead singer was losing his voice. So instead we went to go see We Are Scientists, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was never a huge fan of them before now. But they put on a good show.
Watched a little of The Airborne Toxic Event, who I had seen before. They put on a good show. But I had to leave early to go see The Hold Steady.
The Hold Steady were amazing. They are such a good, fun band to see live. They were one of the highlights of the weekend for me. I'm serious. Go see them perform if they are in your town. Then off to The Sahara for The Ting Tings. They were a lot of fun live. As you can imagine, the tent was packed for their show. Watched a bit of Franz Ferdinand from afar while eating dinner. We left early because we wanted to get close for Leonard Cohen.
Leonard Cohen still puts on a great show. The man is a living legend. Seeing him perform live, at sunset, under the desert sky was just a magical experience. If you saw anyone else at that time, you choose poorly. This was the number one performance of the weekend for me. The crowd sing along for Hallelujah was really amazing.
Watched a little Beirut, then headed off to the Sahara again for The Presets. They were a lot of fun and I danced like crazy. I was so exhausted after their set, I was ready to head home. We stopped and lay on the grass for a bit for Paul McCartney. I just wanted to be able to say that I saw him perform. If we weren't so exhausted, we would have stayed for more. But we just wanted to get back to the house and get some sleep.
Here's my Coachella wrap-up:
Day 1: FridayProbably the busiest day for me.
After taking the short cut to the back parking lot and getting in after about 10-20 minutes, we went and picked up the locker key. Seriously, if you are going to Coachella, just go ahead and rent a locker. It makes for a much happier experience. And you are going to want a jacket at night because it can get chilly.
First band we saw was Noah And The Whale. We left after 15 minutes. It sounded like the lead singer was losing his voice. So instead we went to go see We Are Scientists, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was never a huge fan of them before now. But they put on a good show.
Watched a little of The Airborne Toxic Event, who I had seen before. They put on a good show. But I had to leave early to go see The Hold Steady.
The Hold Steady were amazing. They are such a good, fun band to see live. They were one of the highlights of the weekend for me. I'm serious. Go see them perform if they are in your town. Then off to The Sahara for The Ting Tings. They were a lot of fun live. As you can imagine, the tent was packed for their show. Watched a bit of Franz Ferdinand from afar while eating dinner. We left early because we wanted to get close for Leonard Cohen.
Leonard Cohen still puts on a great show. The man is a living legend. Seeing him perform live, at sunset, under the desert sky was just a magical experience. If you saw anyone else at that time, you choose poorly. This was the number one performance of the weekend for me. The crowd sing along for Hallelujah was really amazing.
Watched a little Beirut, then headed off to the Sahara again for The Presets. They were a lot of fun and I danced like crazy. I was so exhausted after their set, I was ready to head home. We stopped and lay on the grass for a bit for Paul McCartney. I just wanted to be able to say that I saw him perform. If we weren't so exhausted, we would have stayed for more. But we just wanted to get back to the house and get some sleep.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Whew!
What a crazy month it has been. For those who are interested, I've been posting the details of my trip on twitter. You can follow me here: www.twitter.com/todfilm.
I'll have more in depth postings later. Hong Kong was great. Amsterdam was cold. Cannes had great food. That's my short review. More in depth coverage will come. After my around the world trip, including HK Filmart and MIPTV, I am so incredibly busy. I have so much follow up to do. Basically going to two markets in a row, a film market and a TV market, means I have double the amount of work to do. Now I am working on a bunch of deals to bring our product to distributors in Asia.
Then a couple weeks after I got back, I went to Coachella. This is my fifth time going to the music festival. I had a lot of fun. Stand out performances for me were Leonard Cohen, Antony, and The Hold Steady. I didn't see many bad performances because I didn't bother to stick around. Why would you when you have five stages of music to choose from?
I'll have more in depth postings later. Hong Kong was great. Amsterdam was cold. Cannes had great food. That's my short review. More in depth coverage will come. After my around the world trip, including HK Filmart and MIPTV, I am so incredibly busy. I have so much follow up to do. Basically going to two markets in a row, a film market and a TV market, means I have double the amount of work to do. Now I am working on a bunch of deals to bring our product to distributors in Asia.
Then a couple weeks after I got back, I went to Coachella. This is my fifth time going to the music festival. I had a lot of fun. Stand out performances for me were Leonard Cohen, Antony, and The Hold Steady. I didn't see many bad performances because I didn't bother to stick around. Why would you when you have five stages of music to choose from?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Making Money in Short Films?
This isn't a post so much as it is a question. Back when I started making short films back in 2003, there wasn't really a market for short films. The broadcasters I talked to didn't even know what to do with them. This was back when digital filmmaking was just starting to take off. So with all of the changes in digital filmmaking and websites and everything, is anyone making any money at short films? I'm not talking a couple hundred or a couple thousand dollars from film festival license fees. But is anyone making serious money off their short films? Like $30-50,000 with their shorts? And I am talking about profit not net. I have friends that have spent $30,000-50,000 on their short films that got substantial five figure license fees from broadcasters, but they still haven't broken even. Is there a market for short films or are they still used mostly as calling cards and stepping stones to make features?
I'm just wondering how much the short film market has changed in the past five years. After I did my last couple of shorts, I decided to take some time off. Now I am thinking about getting back behind the camera again but wondering what I will find once I enter that world again. For the past couple of years, I've been focused on selling and promoting other people's films.
I'll be traveling a lot over the next couple of weeks with Hong Kong Filmart and MIPTV coming up. Then a week later I head out to Palm Springs for Coachella. It's gonna be an interesting month. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share with you guys.
I'm just wondering how much the short film market has changed in the past five years. After I did my last couple of shorts, I decided to take some time off. Now I am thinking about getting back behind the camera again but wondering what I will find once I enter that world again. For the past couple of years, I've been focused on selling and promoting other people's films.
I'll be traveling a lot over the next couple of weeks with Hong Kong Filmart and MIPTV coming up. Then a week later I head out to Palm Springs for Coachella. It's gonna be an interesting month. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share with you guys.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The storm cometh
Remember that storm I was talking about? Well, it's here and the reason I haven't been blogging much lately. I'm in the process of getting ready for my around the world trip in two weeks. If you want more immediate updates, I'd suggest following my twitter feeds.
You can definitely feel the effect of the world economy on the international film world. A lot of my regular buyers are deciding not to spend the money to go to the film markets. Let's hope they still have money to buy programming.
Looking forward to a boring film market. I'll be sure to bring my DS to play while I am bored.
You can definitely feel the effect of the world economy on the international film world. A lot of my regular buyers are deciding not to spend the money to go to the film markets. Let's hope they still have money to buy programming.
Looking forward to a boring film market. I'll be sure to bring my DS to play while I am bored.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Calm Before The Storm
I realize I have been rather absent from my blogging duties the past two weeks.
First of all, the big news is that my short film Coffee came out on DVD on the gay short film compilation FirstOUT 3 from Alluvial Filmworks. I haven't gotten any reporting yet. But supposedly it is performing well. I have already gotten a couple of emails from people that saw the film. So I know it is out there and available. If you see the DVD in the wild, please let me know where you saw it. If you absolutely must buy it, you can get it from TLA Video. In addition, I am pretty sure it is also available for rent from Blockbuster and Netflix.
Other than that, I have been getting ready for the coming busy festival and film market season, with Sundance, NATPE, Berlin, Filmart, MIPTV, and Cannes all coming up in the next six months. I won't be going to all of those events, but it's still going to be pretty busy for all the ones I will be attending.
That's it for now. I am going to enjoy what little peace remains before my job gets all hectic and super crazy.
First of all, the big news is that my short film Coffee came out on DVD on the gay short film compilation FirstOUT 3 from Alluvial Filmworks. I haven't gotten any reporting yet. But supposedly it is performing well. I have already gotten a couple of emails from people that saw the film. So I know it is out there and available. If you see the DVD in the wild, please let me know where you saw it. If you absolutely must buy it, you can get it from TLA Video. In addition, I am pretty sure it is also available for rent from Blockbuster and Netflix.
Other than that, I have been getting ready for the coming busy festival and film market season, with Sundance, NATPE, Berlin, Filmart, MIPTV, and Cannes all coming up in the next six months. I won't be going to all of those events, but it's still going to be pretty busy for all the ones I will be attending.
That's it for now. I am going to enjoy what little peace remains before my job gets all hectic and super crazy.
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