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Script Market News October 10, 2001 |
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| Break into Screenwriting: Script Marketing Advice | |
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Script Market News ============== From the Editor: If you have had trouble concentrating on work this past month, you are not alone. The exterior landscape of our country has changed forever – and so has the interior landscape of each of its citizens. Many of us wonder about the relevancy of the arts in times of crisis. In light of the events of September 11th and the aftermath, finishing your script and selling it seem slight, self-serving endeavors. A few of you may even have abandoned your scripts to become an Air Marshall or decided to pursue other worthy humanitarian goals. But most of you still want to be writers – movie writers. No one would designate the movie business an essential industry, especially in a time of global crisis; yet the movies you write have the potential to influence huge numbers of people. I urge you to make the most of this opportunity. Screenwriters have the power to expose, to explore, to crystallize, to entertain, to engage, to inflame, to outrage, to galvanize and to enlighten on a very large scale. The forum for movies is world-wide; develop your stories and characters to be worthy of this forum. We have experienced many moving personal stories this past month: stories of generosity and courage, stories of terror and hate, stories of reunion and recovery, stories of heartbreaking loss. Let the power of these true stories lend focus and gravitas to your own efforts and fuel your desire to be the best story-teller you can be. Script Market News grows longer each issue. This month I published some articles completely, others I represented with a short teaser and a link to the full article. Let me know if you prefer I publish everything in its entirety (despite the length) or a digest version with links or some combination of the two. Lenore Wright, Editor TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLE -----> Knock Their Socks Off! (Boffo Query Letters) WHAT'S NEW -----> The Screenwriter's Web MARKET TIPS -----> Contests, Market Opportunities, Internships IN THE SPOTLIGHT -----> Michael Hauge, Part 2
S P E C I A L M E S S A G E -------------------------->
Don't Dress for Success ----------------------------- FEATURE ARTICLE ----------------------------- Query Letters Guaranteed to Knock their Socks Off! by Lenore Wright Some writers mistakenly believe a query letter should ask permission to send their script. That sets you up for a lot of rejection. Your query letter has a much more subtle purpose – to identify those who will respond to your movie. HOW TO BEGIN Format: Query letters run one page or less, single-spaced in a readable font on business-like stationery. Salutation: Write to a targeted individual, not a company. This target should be someone appropriate for your story. ANTICIPATE THEIR QUESTIONS Often, you do not personally know the target and they certainly do not know you. Put them at ease by answering the first question on their mind – --> WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ME? Your opening paragraph should clarify why you have chosen to query this particular person. Define how the script might meet their needs. If an established film professional referred you to this person, tell them this upfront. Then answer their next question -- --> OKAY… SO WHAT IS YOUR MOVIE ABOUT? I know this part of the letter sets stomachs churning. Writers believe the entire future of their script relies on what they put into these few descriptive sentences. No one sells a movie script off a query letter; all this letter has to do is entice them to take a look at the script. Hopefully this letter begins a long conversation between the two of you as you work together to set up the script at a movie studio and get it made. Organize your pitch into two paragraphs:
The first pitch paragraph acts as a trailer for your movie. Tease the reader into wanting to see your movie script, just like movie trailers entice the audience to come back to see the next attraction. Introduce your genre, the main characters, the situation of the lead character, the main obstacles and major adversary, and how the lead plans to overcome these forces. Hint at the ending without giving it away.
The second pitch paragraph promotes your script by highlighting vital elements that reveal unique marketing angles, which make your movie special. Think of this as the poster for your movie. Here are some brief examples of story elements worth emphasizing: ~ POTENT THEMES: The movie WITNESS had a provocative theme – Do you resort to violence in order to keep the peace? ~ UNEXPECTED TWISTS: The alien in E.T. is not a conventional extra-terrestrial intent on conquering earth; he is a frightened, homesick, lovable creature who was stranded here accidentally. He is not the adversary in the movie, the misguided adults are. ~ GENRE FLIP-FLOP: THE FULL MONTY is an a-typical male bonding movie (no violence or contact sports) where the men recover their pride by baring their souls as well as their bodies. ~ PRESSURE COOKER: Some movies use devices to raise the stakes. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET has a ticking clock – Kris Kringle needs to be released from jail by Christmas Eve. TITANIC exploits our knowledge that the big boat sinks and sets us wondering which passengers will survive. If the description of your movie hooks your target, another question arises -- ---> WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY? This paragraph should reveal your credentials. Include relevant background information: scripts sold or optioned, filmmaking experience, publishing credits. If you have no credits, focus on relevant accomplishments: script contests or writing programs you have completed. If you have personal experience relevant to your story, the setting or the crisis, include that; but be brief. Add a unique and memorable detail that will make you attractive to the agent or producer. Some writers target film pros from their alma mater. Others mention unique hobbies, personal experiences or established careers in other fields that give them a special point of view. THE HANDSHAKE Invite them to read your script and tell them how to get a copy. Some writers include a self-addressed stamped postcard for a reply. VITAL TIP: Include your contact information! WHAT TO LEAVE OUT OF A QUERY LETTER THREATS: Resist the urge to beg, whine, complain, fabricate or threaten. CYNICISM: Avoid statements like this: You are my 209th submission and you will probably blow me off royally like the rest of them did… NEGATIVITY: Resist defeatist generalities: With 100,000 scripts floating around Hollywood, I doubt you will pay attention to mine… PITY: Do not ask for pity: I have three young children, my health coverage expired, the transmission blew on my Toyota and my husband just walked out on me… QUERY TUTORIALS TO CHECK OUT The following articles outline the elements of great query letters. Check them out: The Quest for a Winning Query Letter by Susan Kougell ~ http://www.wga.org/ (Click the FOR WRITERS tab, then click on THE CRAFT in the left TOC.) How to Write a Successful Query by Moira Allen ~ http://www.writing-world.com/query/query.html Cover Letter Tips by Todd James Pierce ~ http://www.allaboutliteraryagents.com/ THE LAST WORD For better results, focus on the ACTION you want the reader to take after reading the letter. SUBTLE HINT: You want them to think -- Hey, we do not want to miss out on this script, we should take a look at it. Good luck! Subscribe to Script Market News
----------------------- WHAT'S NEW -----> The Screenwriters Web ----------------------- This weekly column explores the best online tips and tools for screenwriters. You will find it each week at Breakingin.net/. The topic this week: WHERE AGENTS HIDE OUT The Web abounds with helpful information on agents - what they are looking for, the deals they have brokered recently, what makes them cranky and even their contact information. BUT... you have to know where to look. Let the Screenwriters Web be your guide. To read the column ---> http://breakingin.net/agents_hide.htm ---------------------- MARKET TIPS ---------------------- -----> Euroscript Film Story Competition Euroscript selects 20 film stories each year to develop to script. The writers develop their stories to a final draft screenplay in nine months. Through a distance script development program, professional writers act as script editors and work in a close relationship with the chosen writers. Applicants must be EU citizens (European Union). Details ~ http://www.euroscript.co.uk Entry forms ~ info@euroscript.co.uk ------> Free Online Registry for Screenplay Shorts! Have you written a screenplay short? It's a great way to break into the business. Writers Script Network, one of the most successful of the online script registry services, currently offers FREE listings for screenplay shorts. Their online script database includes thousands of film industry subscribers - agents, directors and producers. You can post your screenplay short free - for now - so how can you lose? List your short: http://www.WritersScriptNetwork.com/home.html ------> Scriptapalooza Television Writing Competition This popular contest, sponsored by Screenplay.com, is open for television script submissions. Categories: original pilots and scripts for existing TV shows both 1/2 hour sitcom and 1 hour programs. The deadline: November 15th. Details ---> http://www.scriptapaloozaTV.com ----------------------------- IN THE SPOTLIGHT -----> MICHAEL HAUGE (Redux) ----------------------------- Our interview with popular script consultant Michael Hauge continues... Lenore Wright: We're going to discuss the challenge of writing a script that reads like a movie. Once a writer has a story they believe would be a great idea for a movie – how can they test it? What are the essential components for a successful screenplay? Michael Hauge: Keep in mind that I spend two whole days of my seminar on these points. There are certain core things that every screenplay must possess. I would say that if your screenplay has these five qualities it is going to be in the top 10% of the movie scripts floating around Hollywood because most of them do not.
That is my term for a protagonist who drives the story and with whom we are deeply involved.
We do not want to go to the movies to watch someone do something interesting, we want to go to the movies so we can be the person who is involved in this action. So we have to become that character psychologically. How do you create that identification? There are five ways. 1) You make the character sympathetic, so we feel sorry for them. 2) You put them in jeopardy so we worry about them. 3) You make them a good-hearted person who is well liked by other people so they are likeable. 4) You make them funny, so even if they are a darker character like Danny DeVito usually plays or Jack Nicholson or Eddie Murphy, they are so funny that we want to become them because they get away with stuff we could never get away with. And we laugh at them while we watch them. 5) Or you make your hero powerful – a super hero or someone who is very skilled at what they do. Robert DeNiro plays a very skillful jewel thief in The Score. And that is one of the main reasons we identify with him - besides that we see him in jeopardy at the beginning of the movie. He is so good at what he does that we want to identify with him. You must use at least two of these devices when you introduce your character.
This is the killer element that very few people understand. Movies are about characters that want to cross a finish line at the end of the movie, and we must know what that finish line is by the one- quarter mark of the movie. We must know what we are rooting for the hero to do and we must know what it will look like when they succeed. Many, many writers write movies about characters in situations or characters who want to be fulfilled or be successful or be accepted; but they do not pin that desire to a specific goal to accomplish that. Take any successful movie… In Rainman, the hero wants to kidnap his brother and take him to California. In Gladiator, the hero wants to kill the emperor. In romantic comedy, they want to win the love of the other character. The hero wants to get custody of his kids in Mrs. Doubfire. She wants to break up a wedding in My Best Friend’s Wedding. She wants to put together a merger in Working Girl. You have to give your hero that visible goal because without that there is nothing to build your structure on, nothing for the audience to root for.
There must be obstacles that seem insurmountable to be overcome in the pursuit of that goal. In Titanic, Rose wants to get to America with Jack, but unfortunately she is aboard the Titanic which sinks – so it is seemingly impossible for her to succeed.
If your story has these five elements, you are going to have a screenplay that at least gets considered. Then there are numerous other elements to strengthen it and make it more commercial and more artistic – structural concerns, character arc, scene writing, dialogue and so on. But without those first five essential things then none of that other stuff is going to make any difference... Michael has MORE, SO MUCH MORE TO SAY... The interview CONTINUES ONLINE ----> http://breakingin.net/hauge2.htm Michael offers intensive, two-day seminars that cover the entire process of screenwriting from story structure to marketing. Here is the current schedule: Philadelphia, PA ----> November 3-4, 2001 Los Angeles, CA ----> November 17-18, 2001 Los Angeles, CA ----> February 2-3, 2002 For seminar details call 818-995-8118 or email mhauge@juno.com Check out Michael's new site ---> www.ScreenplayMastery.com (It's terrific!) |
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----> COMING SOON to Script Market News! The Screenwriters Web: Screenwriting Boards ~ Post to Profit! |
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That's all for now. Whew! Finish that script - we'll find a market for it. Lenore Wright, Editor |
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