Writing for the Green Light
Tailor your screenplay to sell. Find out what Hollywood script readers, producers, and studio executives want in a screenplay (and why) from someone who’s been there. Discover what it takes to begin a lasting career as a screenwriter.
Peppered with interviews from established professionals, Writing for the Green Light: How to Make Your Script the One Hollywood Notices gives you a sharp competitive edge by showcasing dozens of everyday events that go on at the studios but are rarely if ever discussed in most screenwriting books. With his behind-the-scenes perspective, Scott Kirkpatrick shows you why the system works the way it does and how you can use its unwritten rules to your advantage. He answers such questions as:
Who actually reads your script?
How do you pique the interest of studios and decision-makers?
What do agents, producers, and production companies need in a script?
How much is a script worth?
What are the best genres for new writers and why?
What are real steps you can take to ‘break in’ to television writing?
How do you best present or pitch a project without looking desperate?
How do you negotiate a contract without an agent?
How do you exude confidence and seal your first deal?
These and other insights are sure to give you and your screenplay a leg-up for success in this competitive landscape!
Scott Kirkpatrick is the Director of Distribution for MarVista Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based production and distribution company that produces original Lifetime and Syfy channel films, co-produces TV movies with Disney and Nickelodeon, and has managed international TV deals on major franchises including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Digimon, and Julius Jr. Scott has also produced and directed TV series and feature films including Eye for an Eye, Muslims in America, and Roadside Massacre.
Writing for the Green Light
How to Make Your Script the One Hollywood Notices
Scott Kirkpatrick
First published 2015
by Focal Press
70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803
and by Focal Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Scott Kirkpatrick
The right of Scott Kirkpatrick to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested.
ISBN: 978-1-138-85645-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-01646-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-78100-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino LT Std
By Apex CoVantage, LLC
For my wife, Soha
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One A Crazy Little Thing Called “Hollywood Logic”
What agents, producers, and development executives at production companies need in a script to make it worth spending money on.
Chapter Two “So, What’s It About?”
Which genres get produced, which genres don’t, and why…. Plus, the six best genres for first-time spec scripts.
Chapter Three Writing Your Feature-Length Spec Script
How to transform an idea into a market-ready spec script while including all the points it needs to get past the reader’s desk.
Chapter Four How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Write for Television
Understanding how to wedge yourself inside Hollywood’s TV landscape by building a valuable portfolio of sample TV spec scripts and learning television’s real entry points for success.
Chapter Five Close Encounters of the L.A. Kind
Who you need to know and how to contact them; plus, how to fake confidence so you can pitch your script (and yourself) in the way Hollywood needs to hear.
Chapter Six To Live and Write in L.A.
Living the life of a professional Hollywood writer: Protecting your ideas, negotiating your own contracts, and managing your reputation.
Chapter Seven “Gold-Mine” Genres … Now and Forever
Understanding where Hollywood is going and how to get ahead of the curve by following the principles of the movie business instead of chasing trends.
Appendices
Appendix I Script Coverage
Appendix II The Non-Union Writer-for-Hire Agreement
Appendix III The Non-Union Option / Purchase Agreement
Glossary All the fancy (and confusing) acronyms that get tossed around and what they really mean.
Index
About the Author
Acknowledgments
I cannot offer enough thanks to my wife, Soha, for all the support and encouragement she’s provided in pushing me forward through each step of this journey. Not only is she my best friend, she’s my most trusted professional colleague and confidant (who I’m eternally grateful to have in my life).
To my editors, Dennis McGonagle and Peter Linsley (and to everyone at Focal Press and Taylor & Francis)—thank you for all of your guidance. You have been nothing short of accommodating; I hope this is the first of many!
And a big thanks to all of those who contributed not just directly to this book, but also to many of the professional experiences that led to its creation: Akim Anastopoulo, Nathan Atkins and Amanda Phillips Atkins, Erik Bork, Jason Brubaker, Chad Gervich, Ken Lee at Michael Wiese Productions, everyone at MarVista Entertainment, Donie Nelson, Michael Prince, my mentor Paul Rich, Reem Saleh, and to my parents Joyce and Ralph Kirkpatrick and my sister Jenny for all the years you put up with my endless—and at times obnoxious—obsession with the movies.
Introduction
If you’re reading this book, I’m assuming you (or someone close to you) want to be a professional Hollywood screenwriter. Maybe people have told you you’re crazy for choosing such a path, but it makes perfect sense to me. Hollywood is a billion-dollar per year industry and someone has to write all those scripts—maybe you’ve already taken a crack at writing a spec script or two and you’re just curious about next steps.
But let’s get realistic for a moment: being a great storyteller, rattling off a few ideas to some friends, or even writing a feature-length screenplay cost you nothing but time… . Yet, for the studio or production company you’re hoping will acquire and adapt your script into a full-on movie, this process costs a ton of money. Unless yo
u intend on producing a film based upon your own script (and funding it out of your own pocket), you’re going to need some solid advice on how to get your screenplay in front of the right people and learn how to talk about it with those who have an entirely different motivation than you for telling stories and producing movies: to make money distributing the finished version of the movie you’ve written.
Who Is This Guy?
The first thing you need to know about me is that I am not a screenwriter. The second is that my job is one of the most important during the lifespan of any movie—only you’ll never see my name listed in the credits or on the posters of any of the films with which I’m associated.
I’m a film and TV distribution and development executive… . Sometimes called a sales agent or a “suit.” I sell the rights to movies and TV shows, both here in the United States and throughout the world. I’m the business guy that the producers and financiers of completed films hire in order to make all their money back—with a heavy profit on top, of course. I’m also the guy production companies bring on to advise which films they should produce for their next slate to guarantee the largest margin of profit—and if there weren’t people like me with the specific job of knowing exactly how movies make money, there would be few producers out there investing money into making films in the first place.
Ever wonder how a movie gets from picture lock on an editor’s hard drive into movie theatres, television, or even onto your smart phone? Or, how a movie gets onto the playlist of an airplane’s seat console or broadcast in a foreign language overseas? That’s my world. I’m the guy working behind the scenes of the film industry to get the movies I’m hired to distribute from point A to B in the most visible and profitable manner possible.
I go to all the fancy events: Cannes Film Festival, Berlin, American Film Market… . I’ve worked with big-time Hollywood players and been associated with films budgeted in excess of $100 million and those with budgets of less than $10,000. I’ve aided in financing and preselling films, have served projects during their development and production phases, and have made huge profits for my employers on unknown foreign gems no one else gave a second thought to.
So why would I write a book on screenwriting? Because I can tell you everything about how the business of Hollywood actually works and how you can best position yourself to be taken seriously as a screenwriter by the very people you need to impress the most: managers, producers, and development executives at production companies. I can tell you what kinds of scripts they need, how they work, and how they like to be approached by new writers. Most importantly, I know exactly what the Hollywood system depends upon and how you can best place yourself to be seen as the one most capable in providing it.
I say all this because when I was starting out, following my own big Hollywood dreams, I devoured every book on screenwriting, directing, and producing I could get my hands on. All of them provided fantastic insight into working on set or how things operated in the idealized studio system, but few of them ever gave a glimpse into the steps one actually needed to take to find realistic opportunities to begin their careers. Without real-world guidance, it’s nearly impossible for any Hollywood newbie to present their work—or themselves—to anyone who can make a difference in their career paths. Rather than see anyone waste as much time as I did figuring out how the movie business works via trial and error, I’d much rather cut to the chase and simply lay out all the ground rules on navigating your screenwriting career in the most efficient and direct way possible.
In a city where every busboy, auto mechanic, and real estate agent has a script they’re secretly writing on the side—each looking for that same big break you are—you’re going to need every piece of info you can absorb in order to stand out from a sea of wannabes and be taken seriously by the industry’s decision-makers.
How to Use This Book
Writing for the Green Light is not for those only interested in the craft of screenwriting or for those looking for some easy “get-rich-quick” approach to the business; this book is purely about how to jump-start your career in the actual working world of Hollywood. I’m not asking you to sell out or go against your principles, instead I am asking you to consider the demands of the Hollywood system and what the writer’s role is within the day-to-day film business. If it truly is your goal to establish your credibility as a professional screenwriter, then you first need to secure for yourself a reputation as a writer who knows how to deliver a ready-to-go script that meets the needs of the Hollywood system, on time and within an expected budget range.
From there, you’ll get interest from agents and managers who will push and promote you to production companies, who will in turn commission your talents, which will eventually provide you with legit writing credits. After that, you can steer your career in any direction you choose—which is what most big-name writers have done. But for now, I’m simply providing you with all the details you’ll need in order to cross the career bridge all other resources rarely seem to offer any practical advice on.
All that said, it’s important for me to come clean and admit that while on the one hand I am completely guilty of pushing clichéd poster art and encouraging rushed rewrites of scripts for dull TV movies, on the other hand I know what gets a project funded and what gets a completed film sold—and if money isn’t coming back into an investor’s pockets, then there’s zero point for anyone to buy your script (or anyone else’s) in the first place.
This “insider info” approach simply does not exist anywhere else in the marketplace, especially not for screenwriters. The vast majority of screenwriting books out there seemingly regurgitate the same old information, focusing on things like screenplay format or on what page Act II should begin… . But none of these give you real insight into what to actually do with a script once it’s completed, offer qualified advice on how to talk about your script in a professional way, or even what your script is worth in the marketplace. In other words, I won’t waste your time with character arcs or genre theory because there are plenty of college professors and textbooks out there that can do that job more effectively than me. I’m much more interested in helping you know practical bits of information, like how much you should be getting paid and how to negotiate your own writing contracts—things that you’re somehow just supposed to know yet are shunned for asking.
The information I’m providing in Writing for the Green Light won’t be given in a vague way, either; I’ll be very transparent, blunt, and detailed, not only regarding what works in Hollywood, but also why—which is the key component that most other books fail to mention.
Truth is, most novice screenwriters I meet are extremely talented and passionate individuals who more than possess the skills and stamina required to deliver a well-written feature-length screenplay and to build a writing career. The problem is that most writers consistently write the wrong type of script or pitch it in the wrong manner, getting themselves nowhere in the process. Their circles of friends, advisors, and contacts offer well-intentioned yet out-of-date advice, and writers continuously find themselves left clueless, having no idea where (or how) to ever begin.
Not only can Writing for the Green Light put any novice head and shoulders above the competition by simply narrowing their focus to what the industry depends upon, it will help them navigate through dozens of everyday events that few screenwriting books ever approach. Things like whether it’s actually wise to sign with an agent or union, how to find good connections at film festivals and markets, or even basics like how to get your work in front of the right people.
The title says it all, Writing for the Green Light: How to Make Your Script the One Hollywood Notices. If a writer has questions beyond the mechanics and craft of screenplay format, this is where they’ll find the answers.
One
A Crazy Little Thing Called “Hollywood Logic”
In this first chapter we’ll lay out the ground rules on why the Hollywood system works the way it doe
s and how distribution and production companies develop their projects from the inside out. From there we’ll go into how these companies decide which scripts—or, rather, which writers—make the cut, as well as what steps you’ll need to take to get yourself positioned at the top of a development executive’s list of writing candidates.
Last Things First
Far too many screenwriting books spend the bulk of their pages yammering on about format and structure and then, at the very end, cram in a shoddily written chapter on what to do with your script after it’s completed. This used to bug me to no end. They take the most important aspect of screenwriting (earning money from your efforts by selling your script and seeing your work produced) and skim over it like it’s not really relevant to becoming a working professional. Of course, writing a quality script that’s well-structured and “fresh” is important, but if it just sits on your desk collecting dust, what’s the point? Even more shameful, some of the best “how-to-write-a-screenplay” books out there still attribute selling your script to “pure luck.”
Your success being a screenwriter has nothing to do with luck… . Your ability to go from a hopeful novice with a great idea knocking around between your ears and transform yourself into a professionally working Hollywood screenwriter has everything to do with only one thing: understanding the business of the film industry.
Hollywood Hierarchy
When people think “Hollywood,” they picture red-carpet premieres, big studio productions, and A-list celebrities… . But while all eyes continually stay fixated on this flashy (and closed-off) studio-dominated corner of the industry, few books or resources ever discuss the area of Hollywood that I work in—which happens to be most open and accommodating to new writers: Independent Hollywood.
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