ScriptFaze

90% Patience

Let’s face it—developing a career as a writer in Hollywood is no easy task. I know people with multiple scripts under their belts and short films that have won awards around the globe—and still have no representation to speak of. It’s a hard game, not for people with thin skins or fast tempers—and one skill more than any other will determine your success as a screenwriter: Patience.

There’s nothing fun about patience. In fact, it pretty much sucks. Hollywood is full of movies about leading characters who REFUSE to be patient, who demand action NOW, and who TAKE CHARGE of their lives and experience IMMEDIATE RESULTS. And yet, many of these same scripts sat around on shelves and in harddrives for YEARS before the right people read them and decided to put them into production.

Yes—Hollywood is tough, it’s dirty, it rewards the hustlers and the already-wealthy—but more than anything else, Hollywood is SLOW. This is an industry where it takes people months to read a hundred-page document, and years on end to develop the same document into a production-worthy project. It’s an industry where no one will call for months at a time, and where new writers can spend years in development before ever seeing a dime. The losers leave—and the winners wait. That is how the game works, and if you can’t handle a lifetime of fiddling your thumbs, this is not the career for you.

Sound dire? Well—that may be because THIS writer just had a TV pitch postponed for probably the 7th or 8th time earlier today. After a week of memorizing, practicing with a writing partner, psyching myself up for the big moment—one phone call, and we are now back ON HOLD. And why was this my pitch post-poned? Well—it seems that one of the execs we were meant to be pitching to called in sick this morning with fears that he may be infected with the dreaded SWINE FLU. And that was that. The world adapted—all eleven people meant to be in attendance were notified—and the pitch was put back in hiatus after MONTHS of waiting for it to be scheduled. Or make that RE-scheduled. This was not our first walk around the block with this company.

So—whattaya do? At the moment I was told the news, it was all I could do to keep my cool. What I WANTED to say was SCREW YOU. THE PITCH IS OVER. I DON’T NEED YOUR STUPID COMPANY TO APPROVE MY SHOW ANYWAY. But what I DID say was—NO PROBLEM. CALL ME WHEN IT’S RESCHEDULED, AND I’LL BE READY. And I will be. But BOY does it suck to get benched.

Waiting around was not a natural talent for me. I was always a “take action” sort of a person before moving out to LA, and naturally, I thought this go-to-it-ness would be just what the doctor ordered to blaze my trail through Hollywood. I was wrong. Turns out, to make it in Hollywood, you need to be PROFESIONALLY BIPOLAR. You need to TURN OFF emotional connection with the projects you create, TURN OFF your pounding drive to succeed, and TURN OFF that part of you that relies on professional success to fuel your sense of self-worth and achievement. But at the same time—when you DO get the big meeting, or you DO finally find yourself in that pitch—you need to be able to TURN BACK ON these traits just as quickly. At a finger snap, you will need to be able to reconnect with your passion, reconnect with your ruthlessness, and reconnect with the very same EXCITEMENT that you may have spent months beating into submission. And that’s the crazy truth about the life of a professional screenwriter.

A developed patience is something all writers must esteem to. For me, the trick to developing my patience was to focus more of my energy on the things in my life that I COULD control—such as my relationships, family, hobbies, etc. Rather than stress about what was or was not happening in my career, I needed to accept the fact that screenwriting (and filmmaking generally) will always be a WILD CARD. Every now and then, you may strike it big—but when your scripts DO receive professional attention, it will not be the result of your DRIVE or EXCITEMENT. It will be random. Your manager will have passed the script to one person, who passed it to another, who passed it to another—and somehow, someway it finally found its way to the right person’s desk.

Once I found a way to separate my self-esteem and sense of self-worth from how quickly or slowly my scripts were finding their way into the industry, everything started to get easier. Honestly—if the experiences of THIS writer sound anything like your own—find a different yardstick for measuring your personal progress, and you’ll be amazed by how much easier it is to find the patience to keep moving forward.

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Oh—and to Matt V: Thanks so much for your kind email last week! We’re thrilled you like the site. Hope you’re tearing it up with your script—and are well past page 17 by now! :)

NICHOLAS PALLOS: Two Tricks For Becoming A Produced Screenwriter

SO YOU'VE FINALLY FINISHED that coveted feature spec you’ve been slaving over for months (if not years), and are ready to watch it come to life on the big screen.  Why not?  That’s why you write screenplays, isn’t it?  To see Sean Penn inserted as your male lead and to get the chance to goggle as he deftly delivers your clever dialogue. To watch the credits roll by after a successful Hollywood premier and see those lovely words – WRITTEN BY – followed by your name.  To be able to log onto IMDB and marvel at each writing credit you’ve managed to manifest.  Yes, these are the things a screenwriter lives for.  So what’s standing in your way?  

Clearly, it’s no cakewalk trying to convince a studio exec to green light your masterpiece, or even get a meeting with said exec in the first place.  And unless Harvey Weinstein is on your speed dial, you most likely also have the usual culprits to contend with – finding an agent, motivation, discipline, support. But aside from those common speed bumps, what excuses do you have?

Now, understand, there’s nothing wrong with writing a screenplay that doesn’t ever reach the promised land of “being produced.”  There are those writers who make a very good living while never seeing their work grace the silver screen (or the boob tube).  There are even a handful of writers who’ve sold their scripts to studios for hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, have great agents, contacts, and resumes, but still have yet to see their work ultimately realized as a finished product.  Should it matter?   Is getting produced that big of a deal? 

I don’t know about you, but if someone offered me half a million dollars for my spec, and told me it would probably never be made, I’d take it in a heartbeat. You may say that you write screenplays for fun – which is fantastic!  But don’t tell me you haven’t, at some point while plugging away on your laptop, visualized that magic moment of walking into a cineplex and experiencing your baby on display in front of a packed audience.  We all do it. And if you’re a TV writer, you’ve surely imagined that prime-time moment where your show flashes onto HD plasma screens everywhere.  It’s only natural.  Getting produced is important.  Not only for your resume, but for your screenwriter’s soul.  It is the most fitting end to a journey that begins with “FADE IN."

Assuming you don’t have the top literary agent at CAA in your corner, and you’re not the offspring of some famous Hollywood mogul, there are two solid ways I know of to get produced.  The first is simple, and fairly straightforward: Network. 

My first produced script occurred because I met someone who got me a job where I met another person, who introduced me to two other people, who eventually bought my script and turned it into a finished film.  Bottom line – you can never know enough people!  What would have happened if I hadn’t reached out to that initial contact?  Well, someone else would probably be writing this article.  I can’t tell you how valuable networking has been for me – and in this strange world of entertainment, one of the tricks to turning your contacts into future gold mines is learning to give before you receive.  If someone asks you to take a look at their script and provide feedback, or help them prepare for an audition or an interview, or even hold a boom mic on the set of their short film – do it!  People remember these things, and the favor will be returned.  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met on their way up the entertainment power-ladder.  Do something nice for them, and when they graduate to a mighty position in the industry, their return favor may just get you produced.  

The second way to turn your script into a movie or TV show is to take matters into your own hands – literally!  Write that script.  Rewrite it until it’s ready to be made.  Have as many people read it as possible to get a broad spectrum of feedback – and when you think it’s golden, grab a camera and SHOOT IT.  Don’t wait around for Steven Spielberg to invite you into his office and offer you a six-figure deal plus back-end.  Just make your movie, regardless of whether it’s a pilot, short, or feature.  Introduce yourself to a DP, a producer, an editor.  Direct it yourself, or find someone who shares your vision to help guide the process. 

I made the decision to do just that in 2007, and now I have an award-winning film entering its fourth film festival.  If I’d waited around for something to happen, I’d probably still be waiting.  Sometimes you simply have to be pro-active and confident, and do it yourself.  Is it easy to make a movie?  No.  But if you’re passionate enough about your story, and want more than anything for it to be viewed on the big screen, you’ll find a way to get it done.  Mr. Weinstein may not be in your rolodex, but there are many other creative ways to find funding, including grants and contests.  One thing I always try to remember if all else fails:  Family members with a couple extra dollars laying around are out there, somewhere.  Hopefully you’ve done them a favor!      

Nicholas Pallos is a produced screenwriter living in Los Angeles.  Visit his website at:  www.nicholaspallos.com