agent – The Story Department

For some of course, this is not a hard task; they know how the world of entertainment works whether they be in LA, London, Australia or NYC and they follow the rules with the help of a representative like myself.

Some people however, want to be in this world and don’t have the ‘in’. Here’s a little help in the right direction. What everyone is looking for: A good script that tells a tale that will be commercial or poignant and will appeal to a big enough audience to get financed. If you think a story about an alien in disguise who sells ice cream to pensioners in an old folks home is going to sell you’re likely wrong.

You don’t have to think big but you have to see a broad appeal.

But how to get started while you already have the skills but not the contacts to get to these people who are going to help? It’s the old joke of not being able to get a job unless you have an agent and not being able to get an agent unless you‘ve had a job. For me at least, for writers, this isn’t necessarily so. I am always open to listen and to read. I will know fairly quickly if you’ve got what it takes.

It takes talent, it takes a clear vision and it takes a willingness to listen and be guided. Easier said than done! To me though, just as if someone hadn’t heard Barbra Streisand sing they wouldn’t know she could have, all writers with talent deserve the chance to be read to see if you might be the next Aaron Sorkin or Julian Fellowes and just haven’t been found yet.

Preparation for being read is very important.
It’s just as important as preparing the story to be written.

Make sure, if you are pitching to the US that your script is formatting appropriately for America.

The more classes and seminars you attend the better, as more and more professionals are teaching and speaking at classes. If you have something good to sell and approach people correctly and with your passion on your sleeve you will be heard. As long as the instructor is someone who has worked in the business and had a script sold or has gotten to some form of development they can likely lead you down the right path.

If you haven’t structured it right, no respectable rep will read it. It tells me right there you’re not really that serious about what you’re doing and since I’m going to help you and hope you’re going to help pay my bills, you better take it seriously. There is formatting and act breaks for television and character arcs and A and B stories, etc… It’s a job so prepare for it like one. Get it to the best place you believe it can be and have some people read it. Go to networking events, make friends with assistants. HUSTLE.

When it’s truly ready, continue to work the schmooze. Get involved with other writers and intern at companies. Hang out with the people who are doing what you’re doing; at a Writer’s Store, a university, a friend of a friend or through researching on the Internet, you will get it to an agent or manager. There are many websites in the US where you can have your screenplay on show and managers, agents or production companies can take a look. Make sure you write a clear synopsis.

If you are going to send a query letter, do it as carefully as possible. If there is anything impersonal or out of sorts with a query letter I will not respond to it. I have accepted scripts via query and some have been good! Everyone needs a break and I understand that; but not everyone will.

I will read scripts from friend’s abroad, a suggestion from a client or anyone. I am honest and you have to prepare yourself for cutthroat criticism. If your script is not at its best you will know it soon enough.

It’s easier than ever to contact people now that there is Twitter, Facebook
and other social media sites giving you almost instant access.

The good news is that the industry outside of Hollywood is smaller and therefore more people are looking for new talent. Also, some places like Australia and London have great film commissions and sending your scripts to them in hopes of getting financing already puts you ahead of others, without a rep.

It all comes down to the work you’ve done. If you’ve got it right so far, then nothing can stop you.

-Jenny Frankfurt

Jenny Frankfurt has been a literary manager for the past twenty years, and runs her own company Highstreet Management, based in Los Angeles, where she represents writers and intellectual property around the world.

Prior to this she was Head of the Literary Department for Handprint Entertainment and has worked at both The William Morris Agency and ICM.

Jenny also blogs and tweets.

Screenwriting: from Fail to Sale (3/5)

Samuel Bartlett — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:37:12 +0000

Two years back a friend said to me, why don’t you enter some of your scripts into scripts comps.

Phooey, I thought, (yes I thought Phooey – great word huh, so under used.)

-By Samuel Bartlett

PART THREE – THE TRUTH ABOUT COMPS

I conjured images of those competitions you find in supermarkets where all you have to do is fill out a brightly coloured form with your name and address and you stand to win a car, or a yacht, (I just realized I have no idea how to spell yacht – thankyou spell-check) or a holiday to a remote place with crystal waters, etc… but no body ever knew anyone that had won these prizes.

There is getting noticed, there is getting producers to read your work, and that’s where my first TIP comes into it.

I figured screenwriting comps were for chumps.

Ba-bow (its back!).

Screenwriting comps are a great ‘in’ for people with zero or little inside contacts in the functional film business.

If you ‘place,’ in a script comp it’s basically a stamp of approval that comes with your script saying, this isn’t a pile of shit, you’re not completely wasting your time reading this.

I’ve just realized how much there is to say on script comps, but I want to keep this concise so here goes…

If you ‘place,’ in a script comp
it’s basically a stamp of approval

Don’t go for the win in a comp. Placing in a comp is just as good as winning. MANY, many, times it’s the script that comes in 8^th that gets signed by an agency or made by a production company, so often the winner gets lost in obscurity.

Don’t expect the scripts comp to advance your writing career; that’s your job, not the script comp’s, even if that’s what they proclaim they’ll do if you win.

No, all they can do if you win is send out your script to producers and agents with their script comp’s stamp of approval, but get this, agents and prod companies are just as interested in reading that 8^th placing script as the winner because they KNOW that at that top level of things what defines a 1^st placing script against an 8^th placing script is so very subjective – particularly when you’re talking about a script pool of 5,800 scripts. 8^th is as good as first when you’re looking at the crème of that many scripts.

So that’s what you’ve got to do. Write that script, send it to the comps, when one does ‘place’ then it’s your job to use that accolade and start approaching prod companies. Only now when you send an email to them, (keep it super brief, professional) lead with that accolade from the script comp:

“I’m writing to you regarding a script that has just placed in the X screen writing competition.”

Most producers will read the first line of an email, they read that much, you’ve got their attention, they’ll read on.

Don’t expect the scripts comp
to advance your writing career;
that’s your job.

If a prod company is looking for scripts (and all functional prod companies are) then they’ll be a thousand times more inclined to read your script than if you just send a cold email saying, hey I’ve written a script, it’s great, my friend says so and he/she knows their shit, so fucking read it.

PLACE, THEN CLOSE

That is what I did:

My script came top ten at the Austin Film Fest in its category. I sent an email to a prod company in LA. They read it in a few days then emailed me back saying they really liked it, can we buy it?

Fuck yeah, I said…

I didn’t have an agent, a manager? But I did have a friend. Friends are great, especially when they’ve got managers and agents and have sold films and scripts. I found this friend at a party at the Austin Screen Writing Festival. Without him I would have been fucked.

Friends are great, especially when they’ve got
managers and agents and have sold films and scripts.

I had no idea what a script contract looked like. The one I ended up signing basically said that this prod company could do what the hell they want with my script, they could even get someone in to completely re-write the thing and not even give me a credit as writer.

I had no clue – but my friend ran the contract by his agent and it came back fine, just a standard contract.

We negotiated price, came up with a figure we’re both cool with, I signed, didn’t hear anything for a while, but when the financing finally came through they got in touch with me for re-writes.

Re-writes. Holy shit that was fun.

That was when I felt like a real writer, this is actually going to be made, emailing back and forth with a producer in LA, bettering the script.

The one thing I learned from that process was to never, ever, ever, underestimate a producer that’s actually MAKING movies.

–Samuel Bartlett

Part 1 – The Beginnings
Part 2 – Cars and Cops
Part 4 – The Law of Causation
Part 5 – Writing and Reading

Photo Credit: Nomadic Lass – Shorts and Longs

Samuel Bartlett is an award winning screen writer and film maker with two feature films currently in development with Los Angeles based production companies.
He shot his first award winning feature film in 2011 and has another short film ready for the festival circuit. He divides his time between Sydney, London and LA.

Samuel Bartlett

Samuel Bartlett is an award winning screen writer and film maker with two feature films currently in development with Los Angeles based production companies. He shot his first award winning feature film in 2011 and has another short film ready for the festival circuit. He divides his time between Sydney, London and LA. Samuel also regularly deconstructs unproduced scripts here.

deconstructthescript.blogspot.com.au/