Monthly Archives: April 2016

Not completely true. Here’s the thing. Writers respect writers. Directors, for the most part, respect writers. Producers love and respect good cooperative creative writers, know who they are, and remember them. Entertainment Executives like writers who know what they are doing and appreciate them. They also know and understand the necessity of the writer. Industry people from all walks pay attention to who writes what. They know. Serious film buffs know who some writers are, especially the A List ones.

A small percentage of the public will see something based on who wrote it. And by small, I mean, very very small. Bordering on microscopic when you take the population into consideration.

The public at large?

Not so much. They know SOMEBODY probably wrote it, but man, did you see those Dinosaurs? Or that explosion? Or how the actors in that scene made you cry? Or how cool the film looked? And how did they drive that car out of that plane?

They do notice writers when the film sucks. “Who wrote that shit?” But even then they don’t actually look and see who did.

And on the films or TV where they were entertained? Don’t kid yourself. They may look at the name, but it’s gone by the time they get home.

But Bob, there are screenwriting podcasts. And books. And websites. And seminars.

And blogs.

Those are all for those select few thousand (out of millions and millions) who care.

So why don’t people care who the writers are?

How do I count the ways. Writers are invisible. You never see them onscreen. Their names are on the film once, as the audience is walking in or walking out. The audience didn’t come to see the writer. They may have come to see the story the writer created but they never consider who wrote it. Or they go to see the stars, or the hype. The writer is never on Jimmy Kimmel to promote the film. You never see the writer walk the red carpet either. They do, but when that happens, it’s time to cut to commercial.

Writers do get to be on panels at Film Festivals, but those are for the small percentage of people who actually care who the writer is and want to hear from them. And mostly it’s people who want to be writers, too.

Do I sound bitter? Absolutely not. I started out as an actor. When I decided to try writing, I knew what the bottom line was. I knew where the writer was on the public’s food chain. I knew if I succeeded, I would have to be content having the industry know who I was as a pinnacle. I’m still working on that.

You don’t get into the screenwriting business to get famous. I got into it because I wasn’t that good an actor so I thought I’d try it because I LOVE movies and don’t want to do anything but work on them. What I found out was that I loved writing. I loved creating story. I loved fitting all the story elements together like puzzle pieces. And the first time I saw my script, my story, my characters, my dialogue on a screen, I was hooked. A junkie. I want it again and again and again.

Everyone has their own reasons why they write for film or TV. Getting famous shouldn’t be one of them. And being famous isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anyway. I’ve been out to dinner, played golf, and had drinks with some very famous people and I wouldn’t want that kind of public attention for anything. It might be fun for a while, but for me it would wear very thin.

So, for that group of writers, or would be writers out there who think it’s not fair that writers aren’t as publicly valued as actors and directors... Don’t blame the industry.

It’s the public. They don’t care. They just want to be entertained and thrilled and to laugh or cry or be frightened. No more. No less. And if you as a writer accomplish that and can sit in the theater or a home or a screening room with people watching something YOU wrote and they react to your work in any of those ways..... you’ve gotten everything you need from them.

You don’t need to be stopped in the grocery store or walking your dog for autographs because, well, it’s not going to happen.

And, to be honest... I’ve also noticed that most of the people who complain the loudest about no public recognition of screenwriters are the ones who’ve never sold anything or had anything produced.

Having the respect of industry peers beats the hell out of anyone recognizing you in Costco anyway.

 

Follow me on Twitter. @bobsnz

Yep. The dreaded “M” word. The word that splits the writers who consider themselves artists from the ones they see as sellout commercial screenwriters.

Money.

Now, let me get something straight right from the start, screenwriters who write commercial scripts are not sellouts in any way shape or form in my humble opinion. You can come up with a great commercial idea for a film and feel the same passion for it as a writer as you can any script you write. In fact, you need to if you want it resonate with an audience.

This all comes from a post on a screenwriting board where a writer decried the fact the money going to into superhero films was ruining the film business. That commercial films were making it hard for serious “message” films to get made. Films that raised awareness and educated and allowed a writer expression. Not so surprisingly, films like the ones he writes.

There’s a whole group of people who think all film should be art. To improve mankind and to inform and educate. That pure entertainment for entertainment’s sake in film is a waste. Superhero films, remakes, TV adaptations, sequels, best seller adaptations... all these things are ruining the film business and shouldn’t happen. Film as art. And that’s what the studios should be making.

I know it’s not a black or white thing. I love film as art as much as anyone. But I’ve seen some great commercial films I thought were art. And... I’ve seen “art” films that were so pretentious and full of themselves there was really no art to be found. No one person or group can define it for another. And that’s the problem. There are writers that would like to define it for everyone.

Would I love to see studios taking a flier on some real spec scripts and make something different? You bet. Name me a writer who wouldn’t. But reality says that’s not going to happen. Maybe ever again.

Studios and even some of the bigger Production Companies these days are so risk averse they don’t want to take a chance on losing any money on anything that they don’t think already has a built in audience.

Money.

It’s an ugly word that some of these writers think should be low on the list of why films get made. Well, except when it comes to what they expect to be paid. But that’s a whole other blog.

A world they live in where money, other people’s money, not theirs, shouldn’t matter to the artistic filmmaking process. That the reason they haven’t sold their art is based purely on the stupidity of the studios and big Production Companies and what they think are the purposefully dumbed down audiences. Audiences who would be so much smarter if they just watched their films. That all these studio people think about is Money, not art.

And you know what? They're right. That's what studios think about. So do independent producers. So do production companies. And the sooner you as a writer who wants to see your work made and on screens for the public someplace recognize this truth the more it will make you think about what you write. And that’s a good thing.

I’m not saying you need to chase trends. I’m completely against that. I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t write something that moves you. More than a few writers have written films strictly as writing samples. Something out of the box and exciting or controversial or completely different for a genre, just to get noticed. The difference is that they knew the films probably wouldn’t get made, but might get them an agent or manager or writing assignments. It’s worked for quite a few of my friends, and actually, me.

But there’s a big difference between writing something as a sample and writing something with no commercial appeal and getting angry no one wants to buy and produce it because people are too stupid to realize that it’s art that needs to be seen.

If you want to sell a script and make money, you need to think about the audience you’re writing for. And the wider that audience, the more chance you have. My first real chance at a produced film was writing a Christmas Film for Hallmark. Did I worry it was Hallmark and what people would think? Nope. I took that opportunity and gave it everything I had as a writer, heart and soul...

And it’s a film I’m really proud of. I didn’t particularly make a lot of money for it either, but boy did it open doors. And it definitely wasn’t art. But it made people laugh for the right reasons and got incredible ratings. Good enough for me.

I love what I do. I love it every day. I get paid to tell stories. Something I would have to do even if I wasn’t getting paid. If I was a caveman, I’d be the one painting the buffalo pictures on the cave walls. I love creating story. I love the challenge. It’s what I dreamed about doing. Do I feel blessed that I’ve been able to get paid for it? You bet your ass.

So... do I think about money when I write?

Absolutely.

I think, “Is this a script that somebody would invest in?” before I write anything. I think, “Is there a wide enough audience for this?” at the same time. Why? Because I understand any money I might make as a writer depends on my honest answers to these questions. It’s a fact of trying to do this for a living because the word “art” is not a word producers think about when reading your script.

They’re thinking about money. If they like it, they’re thinking about what it will cost them to option or buy it. How much it will cost to make. Where they can go to get the money to make it.

The M word.

Follow me on Twitter. @bobsnz