Read

Reading a script, taking notes, and writing a synopsis (known in the industry as “coverage”) is generally at least a two–four-hour process for someone who is well schooled in doing so. The likelihood of finding a specific screenplay that is uniquely suited to collective global marketplace desires, which also correlates to the market value you’ve assessed based on the due diligence you’ve performed, is generally like finding a needle in a haystack. Most agencies, managers, and production companies employ readers to plow through hundreds of screenplays. They write synopses, or coverage, cite strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately recommend or do not recommend the screenplay for clients or for production based on the criteria that the agent, manager, or production company is looking for. However, as an independent producer, you probably don’t have a team of readers on your payroll. Instead, you’ll most likely read a large number of screenplays yourself.

A question you might have at this point is where to find the material to start the reading process. Listed below are a few of the numerous screenplay services that offer subscribers access to unsold screenplays.

• InkTip (www.inktip.com): A searchable database of speculative screenplays and books (those written in hopes of attracting a buyer) that connects writers with industry professionals. Writers pay to have their screenplays included and indexed on the website, but production companies, producers, directors, name talent, and agents and managers can search it for free.
• Script Pipeline (www.scriptpipeline.com/home): A community-based research tool used by writers and other industry professionals. Its organizers have built a writers’ database of over one thousand agencies, management and production companies, and any other entities to whom writers might want to pitch their work. Script Pipeline also offers tips on how best to submit a script and what genres and budgets companies are currently interested in.
• Wordplay (www.wordplayer.com): Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean, started Wordplay, and the website has since evolved into one of the best internet resources for screen-writers. It has over three dozen articles on screenwriting, written by two of the hottest writers in the business, along with a discussion board and a forum for posting new articles.
• Done Deal Professional (www.donedealpro.com): This database has up-to-date news on script sales, including who sold what to whom and for how much, as well as daily updates and frequently used message boards.
• IMDb (Internet Movie Database) (www.imdb.com): Not wholly accurate, but more so than most web databases, IMDb lists credits for millions of films, including details of who wrote a particular movie, whether a producer actually has any credits, whether the director was actually the director, and which actors were really in the film. However, due to the hive mentality of the world at large and IMDb’s inability to check facts, you need to be constantly vigilant and make sure your profile contains accurate information.
• Script Magazine (www.scriptmag.com): Many feel that Script (online) is the best screenwriting magazine on the market. Instead of publishing interviews, often the site will offer articles written by the screenwriter of a major studio motion picture.
• IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project) (www.ifp.org): A great organization designed to assist independent filmmakers; it is also responsible for the yearly Independent Spirit Awards.
• Scriptwriters Network (http://scriptwritersnetwork.com): A nonprofit organization designed to help screenwriters. There are three meetings every month: a Speaker Series, with a name industry professional (just about anyone who has ever been nominated for the Best Screenplay Oscar has spoken to the group); a Seminar Series; and a Showbiz Series. The Network also sponsors a contest, two outreach programs, and numerous events.
• Drew’s Script-O-Rama (www.script-o-rama.com): If you are looking for a script from a major motion picture, this is the place to find it for free. Drew’s is the oldest script download site on the internet and many feel it is still the best.
• The Daily Script (www.dailyscript.com): This site also has free script downloads. Reading scripts that are successfully structured and have been produced is a fruitful learning experience before writing or overseeing the development of your own project.
• Simply Scripts (www.simplyscripts.com): A search engine that searches a database of free scripts of movies, television and radio shows, and stage plays.
• Planet MegaMall (www.planetmegamall.com): If you can’t find the script online or would rather have a paper copy from the actual original script, this site sells almost every script imaginable.
• Amazon (www.amazon.com): The internet’s largest bookstore has everything from original scripts to books on how to write them. There are books about story structure and books about form. You can even buy the latest edition of Final Draft software, as well as a book on how to use it.

Some sites and services offer reviews and box-office information that may be helpful.

• Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com): Hundreds of thousands of film reviews, all in one place. This site has capsule reviews from all the major critics, plus thousands of critiques from people you’ve never heard of. It compiles overall ratings (on a scale from 0–100) and provides links to the full reviews from all of the critics.
• Roger Ebert (www.rogerebert.com): Reviewers explain why they love or hate a movie and what they feel worked or didn’t work in films.
• Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com): This site has box-office information on almost every film, which is helpful because it’s critical for you to know whether the films that are similar to your script connected with the audience or flopped. You might be surprised by the number of films that received great accolades in the press but didn’t make much money. You can also see which films didn’t make back their production costs.
• Hollywood Reporter (www.hollywoodreporter.com): This site offers breaking entertainment news, film reviews, and box-office grosses; film, television, technology, finance, music, and international articles, blogs, columns, and reviews; as well as bloated, self-aggrandizing advertising.
• Variety (http://variety.com): This site also offers breaking entertainment news, film reviews, and box-office grosses; film, television, technology, finance, music, and international articles, blogs, columns, and reviews; as well as bloated, self-aggrandizing advertising.

Some sites add a little industry-related comic relief, such as:

• Top5 Movies “Little Fiver” Humor List Archive (www.13idol.com/top5movies): Funny “top ten”-style comedy lists about the film business.
• Scriptshadow (www.scriptshadow.net): Carson Reeves offers a slew of practical advice and reviews of new scripts in Hollywood. On “Amateur Fridays,” he and the Scriptshadow community review a new writer’s script.
• Feedback Friday (www.feedbackfriday.blogspot.com): Every Friday screenwriters send in the first ten pages of their scripts to be read and reviewed by Robert Dillon and other writers, who provide interesting feedback and advice.
• Go Into the Story (www.gointothestory.blcklst.com): This blog offers screenwriters updates on the spec market, daily dialogue clips, interviews, and a wealth of useful information.
• Script Frenzy (www.scriptfrenzy.com): Each April, writers band together to write a hundred-page script in thirty days. It’s a life-changing event simply because it forces you to write every day. Once you have finished the first draft, you begin rewriting, the point when so many people get bogged down. Writing without worrying about every scene/character/line of dialogue is a great exercise, improving creativity and helping you dig deep to find new ideas.
• Imsdb (www.imsdb.com): Hundreds of thousands of scripts are available on this site. If you want to compete in the world of screenwriting, reading scripts is the best way to get used to formatting, and it helps you elevate your own writing to a professional level. Be a better writer by being a voracious reader.

Network to Gain Access to Material

Another way of finding material, particularly if you live on the East or West Coast, or in a major city, is to attend writing seminars, many of which are advertised online. These are designed to introduce writers to directors, producers, and prospective filmmakers. Some operate almost like a speed-dating service, with writers going from table to table, pitching their story and script in five-minute intervals before moving on to the next. One of my assistants used to attend these seminars on behalf of my company, and we actually made a film for Sony based on one of the five-minute pitches and even used the writer a second time.

Try to cultivate a contact at one of the major talent agencies and/or boutique literary agencies and solicit available spec screenplays. Note: it is not easy to be taken seriously by any midsized or larger agency, so you need to find an “in.” Establish a relationship with someone at the agency, even at the lowest level. Take an assistant to lunch. Buy drinks for someone who works in the mailroom. As depicted in the HBO series Entourage, there is a very strong network of agents’ assistants throughout the industry. One of my former assistants knew everything before it became public, because he had personal relationships within the talent agency “assistants’ network.” Another former assistant worked her way up the ladder in foreign sales companies and she has since held positions as the primary sales agent at several of the top independent production sales and distribution companies.

Make the System Work for You

I once needed a prominent actor to agree to star in a particular film in order to make a deal with a studio. If I didn’t get the actor, the deal was off. The following is an example of how I made the system work in my favor:

• The problem: The actor and his agent had already passed on the script.
• The known facts: Most agents, and particularly this agent, rarely read the whole script; they read only coverage of scripts, written by readers in the agency. The actor also rarely bothered to read scripts until he showed up on set; instead, he relied on his agent’s recommendations regarding material.
• The assistant: The agent’s assistant had made it clear that he was someone who possessed an entrepreneurial spirit and aspired to be a player.
• The solution: I made a deal with the assistant. We changed the date of the draft of the script (as though it were a brand-new, rewritten version). He wrote glowing coverage of the screenplay and put it into the system at the agency, as though it had been covered independently by one of the agency’s readers.
• The play: I called the agent and made a lucrative offer to the actor. I told the agent that the script had been completely rewritten and reenvisioned. (It was new to him, of course, since he had never read the original submission himself.) The agent asked his assistant for coverage, then, after reading the now glowing fake coverage on the same old script, called to tell me that the script was much better than the original version so he would now strongly recommend it to his client.
• The deal: Based on his agent’s recommendation the actor agreed to do the film, which meant I was able to make the deal with the studio.
• The payoff: The actor made a huge payday. The agency earned a big commission. I made a nice producer’s fee. The entrepreneurial assistant got $5000 when the actor signed his contract. Free enterprise was served all around.
• The moral: The system is full of bull. Find any way you can to navigate through it. Think outside the box and beat the system at its own game … as long as it’s legal.

We discussed earlier that managers, agencies, and production companies (and obviously studios and networks) employ readers to sort through a huge volume of screenplays. However, the independent world is completely different than the studio world. If I am producing a purely independent film with no studio backing or involvement, readers present a problem for me. Unlike the agent in the above illustration, I would never trust anyone else’s opinion or knowledge of what works for the independent marketplace. A reader’s coverage is meaningless to me, as are a reader’s recommendations. I only ever trust my own opinion and knowledge of the independent film marketplace, the importance of genres and their value in the global market, and, in general, how the business works. If an enthusiastic reader effusively praised and highly recommended a particular script, I would still read the material myself and make my own assessment.

Write

If you feel you have a talent for the written word, writing a screenplay is always an option that affords the independent producer direct control over the material and allows them to realize their vision. Obviously, if you feel that you have no talent or aptitude for writing, this is not an option. But for those who feel they do have the patience, talent, and tenacity to write, it is certainly a viable option. Even if your script ultimately fails, the process of writing it will be highly educational. If you haven’t written a screenplay before, I suggest picking up a copy of Syd Field’s Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, which offers a simple and concise roadmap to aspiring screenwriters. I have written and co-written many screenplays which have been made into films and Mr. Field’s book has proved invaluable to me over the years.

Develop

If you don’t have the time or ability to sit down and write a screenplay yourself, the next best thing, if you are a producer, director, or filmmaker, is to oversee the development of your story or idea. That means finding a writer and imparting your ideas to him or her, based on your due diligence in the marketplace and the trend that you’ve identified. Then it is your responsibility to communicate the creative analysis effectively to your writer and explain how they must hit all the specific criteria you’ve identified for the key major territories. First you should flesh out your original idea with the writer, then develop it into a story or treatment, and finally into a full-fledged screenplay that is commercially viable in the foreign and domestic markets and meets the criteria you’ve identified from your key buyers.

Just as there are many “wannabe” producers out there, there are many wannabe writers, too. When searching for a writer, meeting and talking to prospective candidates and hearing their ideas for the type of movie you desire to make is the first step. Years ago, I met with a writer for the development of a TV movie—the meeting was so fantastic, I hired him on the spot. When I received his first draft of the screenplay, however, I was appalled. He had completely missed the boat. This taught me early on never to hire a writer based on a meeting, rather, hire based on reading writing samples of their work. When reading writing samples, ask yourself several questions: How solid are their story structure, act breaks, and character development? Is their dialogue believable? Your search should continue until you find a writer who meets all of the specific criteria for your project. There is an old saying, “horses for courses.” In this context, it means that a certain writer might be terrific for an action piece or a thriller but might not be suited to write a romantic comedy or drama. Once you have found a writer who is appropriate for the genre of film you intend to make, the next issue is how to pay him or her.

In this development scenario, you, the producer—having done due diligence and possessing full knowledge of the market desire and market value of the film you are attempting to develop—can leave nothing to chance. You must be hands-on. Don’t naively think that you can impart all of the nuances and requirements to a neophyte writer and have them magically create a screenplay that meets every one of your market-specific criteria. Remember, your script must be genre-specific. If you are developing a thriller, it must have a proper thriller structure. Buyers don’t want a drama with a final twist passed off as a thriller. When in doubt, use classic films of the genre you are developing as examples of structures that work.

Keep in mind that you also have specific budgetary, and perhaps location specific, parameters within which to work, and the writer needs to understand these limitations. If you are trying to please several territorial buyers with specific elements—such as action without gratuitous violence, blood, or gore; stock footage that may be prevalent in your film (such as a submarine or aircraft carrier); evenly spaced action beats every eight to ten pages; or even a disaster film with a science fiction overlay—you cannot expect any writer to understand everything in detail or deliver such a tall order without your constant guidance and input. Also, remember that you are developing your screenplay based on the market value of the picture, which you have determined through your research. This translates into the production budget, which is something that you, as the producer, must always keep in mind and regularly remind the writer about.

Many young and hungry non-union writers are looking for a break and someone to believe in them. If you are charismatic and able to instill a sense of confidence and collaborative passion, they might be willing to share your vision and work for free until the movie has been made. The problem you then face is that you still need to own or at least control the material so the writer cannot just walk away with your idea if there is a disagreement. Therefore, in every scenario, even among friends, I strongly suggest a written agreement between producer and writer that clearly spells out the terms of your understanding. If you are developing your screenplay with a writer who is working for free and you part ways for any reason, you must own and control the material created by the writer if you ever intend to use any of it. At the very least, you must insist on an option on the material, which gives you exclusive control over it and the right to produce the picture based in whole or in part on any material created by the writer. Even if you have to pay the writer a nominal option fee, applicable against a purchase price if and when the film is made, you must retain exclusive control over the material.

I use one of a number of contracts when dealing with non-union writers. The following are all effective deals for independent producers.

Non-union Independent Films: The Backbone of the Film Industry

I strongly contend that, similar to Major League Baseball, the independents are the free “farm clubs” for the major studios, networks, and unions, who later all capitalize on the talents of writers, producers, actors, and directors who have developed and honed their skills working in independent films. Without the independents, there would be no training ground for new talent who ultimately make money for the unions, the studios, and the networks, at no risk or expense to them whatsoever. Major League owners pay big money for their farm teams in order to develop talent who later move up to the majors if they are good enough. The studios, networks, and unions get their independent “farm clubs” for free, and yet systematically, in their conglomerate imperialism and greed, try to put the independents out of business. The narrow-minded unions tend to vilify independent producers and filmmakers, rather than embracing them for nurturing the pool of talent that ultimately, as working union members, pays for the unions’ many high-salaried administrative staff, attorneys, and accountants and contributes to the vast wealth of pension plans that make all of the unions prosperous. Rather than thanking the independents for their efforts, most guilds smite the independent producer at every turn and are so punitive that independent filmmakers embrace non-union filmmaking all the more.

Tricks to Write for Cost-effective Production

From a production standpoint, while your movie is being developed on paper, you think cost-effectively and communicate specific limitations to the writer. There are several factors that novice producers do not usually take into account when collaborating with writers on scripts. But these factors can add up and drastically increase your production costs. For example, night exteriors are very expensive. Night is predominantly illuminated by moonlight, and to recreate moonlight you need a big, powerful, elevated light source on a Condor, crane, scaffolding, or high stand on top of a truck, or placed on the roof of a building. Aside from the cost of renting and transporting all of that equipment, there is the cost of manpower to transport and operate the Condor, build the scaffolding, hoist the light, transport and fuel a generator to power the light, operate the generator, run cable from the generator to the light, drive the truck to transport the generator, and on and on. Get the picture?

Everything you want to see on film at night has to be lit: the background actors, faces, and everything else all take additional time, additional manpower, additional equipment, and additional money. As a cost-conscious independent producer, you’ll need to find creative solutions to problems in order to reduce the overall cost of your project. A trick that I often employed was to use a night exterior stock shot for a transition and then cut to a night interior, which is a controllable set, so all you have to do is block the windows if it’s daylight outside and you are shooting day for night. Another possibility is to find a night location that has a great deal of ambient light, such as a brightly lit downtown complex, a train station, or an amusement park. The Las Vegas Strip is a great example, as is the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. Anything that gives you plenty of ambient light sources, and in many cases a lot of colorful light (which looks good on film), is a good way to “cheat” night exteriors in low-budget film-making. That way you can capture an image without big lights and equipment and simply add some fill light using small, battery-powered lamps.

Another thing to keep in mind when writing for cost-effective production is to limit the number of speaking roles in your screenplay. Every speaking role costs you union scale plus, at the time of writing, approximately 18.77 percent payroll tax, plus 17.3 percent pension, health, and welfare contributions to the Screen Actors Guild (assuming your picture is a SAG signatory). So every dollar a producer pays to an actor actually costs almost $1.36. And this does not include additional expenses per performer for meals, travel, hotel, and living expenses, if applicable; nor any overtime, forced calls (calls to work sooner than twelve hours after dismissal the previous day), mileage, looping (post-production voice replacement or additional lines), and personal wardrobe rental and cleaning allowance.

Let’s look at an example. If a SAG eight-hour day rate is $268, but invariably you will need twelve hours per day with your actor plus lunch, that rate will jump to $469, plus $78.79 for pension, health, and welfare contributions, $11.50 for wardrobe allowance, an agency fee of 10 percent, your payroll taxes (SUI, FUI, FICA, Medicare), and workers’ compensation and payroll fees. So you, as the producer, will pay each actor on a day-player contract almost $800 per day, not counting mileage money, which might also be factored in!

Screenplays for independent films should therefore always limit and consolidate the number of speaking rolls, and particularly SAG speaking roles. Gratuitous one-liners from characters like waiters, bus drivers, and other incidental speaking roles should be consolidated or, preferably, omitted. For example, if there is a scene in a restaurant with a couple sitting at a table, it is unnecessary and costly to have a waiter say “What can I get you?” Instead, the principal actor may just as easily turn to the waiter as he arrives at the table and say, “I’d like the Caesar salad please. Hold the anchovies.” The waiter will still appear onscreen, but now you can pay him as a non-speaking extra, thus eliminating the union expenses outlined above (not to mention residuals, which we will discuss later).

Consolidate and limit the number of locations, too. A low-budget film should be structured around a small number of major locations, which saves money, since the number of company moves (when your entire cast, crew, trucks, and equipment pack up and transfer from one location to another) during production will be limited. The most cost-effective production plan is to find a location with a central base camp so that equipment can be dropped off, thus eliminating drivers and fuel costs. For example, if your script calls for a church, a private home, a retail store, and a restaurant, it’s wise to look for a neighborhood that has all of these buildings in close proximity to one another. You might then negotiate with the church or the restaurant to use their parking lot as the base camp for your trucks and equipment, or obtain a permit for adjacent street parking. Then there will be no need to move all of your production vehicles. A normal pickup or stake-bed truck may be used to transport smaller amounts of grip, camera, and lighting equipment to the retail store, restaurant, and/or private home without having to move your entire caravan of vehicles, thus eliminating the time, drivers, and manpower it takes to pack, move, unpack, and set up in a series of new locations. Depending on proximity, it might even be possible to walk to the various locations in the above example, using small pushcarts to transport the equipment. Your film will benefit from multiple locations without incurring any of the costs of drivers and fuel, or having to spend time on multiple company moves.

In 2007 I made a film for Sony called Missionary Man, which employed exactly the limited-location scenario I’ve just described. We filmed in Waxahachie, Texas, setting up our base camp behind the old jail. We shot for eighteen days in numerous downtown locations without ever making a company move. Instead, we used a combination of hand-carts, stake-bed truck, pickup truck, and small passenger van to move cameras, grip and sound equipment, and lights. Throughout the filming we made just two company moves: to Lake Waxahachie, a few miles away, for two nights; and to Lake Whitney at the very end of the shoot. We filmed twenty-six days with only two company moves.

We will discuss many more possibilities for cost-effective production in a later chapter, but all of the cost-saving measures described above should be considered during the development of your screenplay. In low-budget filmmaking, a rule of thumb I have always employed is to focus the story and script around one major location, with no more than three additional company moves, and limit the number of speaking roles to a maximum of twenty.

Screenplay Titles and Perception

The system and way of doing business in the current mainstream entertainment business is like “the emperor’s new clothes.” Everything is perception, and (figuratively at least) thousands of people are walking around naked in Hollywood while sycophants and yes-men tell them they look great. I realized early on that actors and agents respond to perception more than anything else. If I needed an actor of reasonable note to star in Blood Chase Psychos, for example, I would not put that title on the script; nor would I feature the obviously cheesy nature of the film in submission to Breakdown Services, a company that synopsizes scripts and character breakdowns for casting purposes for all talent agents and managers. Instead, I would substitute a pompous title, such as Inheritance of Valor, to disguise any inference that the project was a low-budget exploitation movie. Similarly, the synopsis for actors and agents might read: “After a heartbreaking personal loss, Dirk Stone has taken a leave of absence from the Los Angeles Police Department. A series of events force him to confront his inner demons and transcend his fears in order to rescue a small child who is being held hostage by a ruthless serial killer.” Meanwhile, potential buyers in foreign markets would receive a very different synopsis for Blood Chase Psychos (the same movie, of course): “Deranged psychotic killers escape from a prison mental ward and go on a bloodthirsty rampage. Only one man, ex-L.A. cop Dirk Stone, can stop them.”

Perception is everything. I have used the (fake) title Inheritance of Valor numerous times during pre-production and casting to secure the services of some pretty good actors who likely wouldn’t have responded to a cheesy foreign-market action title. Also, many films are shot under “working titles” which may change once the film is completed.

Assuming you have the final draft of your screenplay, based on the trend that you identified and your creative and financial analysis of the global marketplace, what do you with it? Chapter 7 will take you through the next steps. First, though, you should register your screenplay with the United States Copyright Office to acquire copyright protection for the material you have developed. Also register both the story treatment and the screenplay with the WGA to protect yourself and your material against potential plagiarism.