Ever sold a screenplay?

T

T-1000

Active member
Wow, I haven't been to DVXUser for a very long time, but I wanted to ask this simple question:

Has anyone here ever sold a screenplay to anyone? - Whether it was sold to some major head honcho, or a small independent group, or even to a bunch of amateurs with camcorders that are looking to make any type of film, it doesn't matter. What has become of your finished screenplays?
 
I sold a screenplay to a group of indies about a year ago, but nothing ever came about from it. The check cleared, I had to pay taxes on it, but nothing ever came about from it. I tried to follow up with them about five months ago, and the phone numbers were all disconnected.

I have tried to shop some stuff I have written to agents and go direct to studios, but get the whole nonsolicited material letter back. Now I figure I will just shoot my own stuff and see if anything can come about on that route.

I am trying to disprove the idea that people with English Degrees make the best waitors.
 
That's too bad, man. I think the best way to do it, is to find a Screenplay Agent, since producers prefer to buy the scripts from agents instead.

The reason I asked this question, is because of all the crap movies that are being made. I have a hard time believing that there aren't any good writers out there that can write something better than Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo. I know for certain that there are 19 year old college students (like myself) who can write an amazing script, but it's just too damn hard to sell it. So instead, we get the Hollywood crap from the people who are already in the game - with the exception of a few great movies that come out every once in a while, as well as Charlie Kaufman. Oh well, that's life.
 
TheYankee said:
I sold a screenplay to a group of indies about a year ago, but nothing ever came about from it. The check cleared, I had to pay taxes on it, but nothing ever came about from it. I tried to follow up with them about five months ago, and the phone numbers were all disconnected.

I have tried to shop some stuff I have written to agents and go direct to studios, but get the whole nonsolicited material letter back. Now I figure I will just shoot my own stuff and see if anything can come about on that route.

I am trying to disprove the idea that people with English Degrees make the best waitors.
Click to expand...

How much did ya sell it for? If ya don't mind me askin.
 
TheYankee said:
I
I am trying to disprove the idea that people with English Degrees make the best waitors.
Click to expand...

I think that actors are the best waitors, followed closely by former dotcom CEOs....
 
T-1000 ,

Remember that no matter how great your screenplay is, nobody will buy it unless they believe it will make them money.

A great script doesn't make a film, money does. Therefore something commercially viable is needed. It can still be great as well, but that is secondary in feature funding, especially Hollywood.

May I ask what your script is about? Would it make money? If it is like a Charlie Kaufman script, it could be a very hard sell. Charlie Kaufman's own scripts aren't huge box office draws
 
Do it yourself

Do it yourself

I have been writing for almost 5 years, and nobody would even take a look at my screenplay let alone allow me to come in for a meeting. And the only one that did! wanted me to change it to the point where it no longer was my idea, that's when I said "F" this and bought my DVX :thumbsup: . Why did I spend 5 years begging and kissing ass? When, I can just do it myself and at least have something to show for my effort.

Not to say that it’s impossible, and I agree with you that you should get a writing agent if you are serious about wanting to write.
 
From my experience, which granted is very limited, there are only two ways to make a run at anything when it comes to writing.

Way #1 (what worked for me in the past) networking. This is the key to anything in life (professional, personal). I was able to sell a script because I knew people who were interested in a project I had written and because of our relationship I was accessible to them and when they needed a project I was in the right place at the right time with a product in hand. Then again, my experience yielded no professional results other than a check (not even a weeks worth of pay from my daytime job though).

Way #2: Writing agent. This is a great way to have someone do a lot of the leg work for you. Then again, I will say from my that there are really thousands of great writers out there. When I first graduated from college I had a degree in English. Half my graduating class, including myself, set out to write the great American novel. Now this is just from one school in NC. If you look at all the colleges and how many English majors are pumped out a year (not to mention all the other areas of study) there are literally millions of people who every night sit down at typewriter, word processor, or pen & paper and write what will be the next great american novel. How many of these will be published? Maybe 1/10,000 (that's generous). With the advent of screenwriting software and word templates, the number for screenwriting the next great American movie is equal.
The odds are not in your favor. This is not to say it cannnot be done, but Hollywood is a network of people already connected. If you don't know someone then the odds of moving forward, even if you have the greatest script ever penned won't matter.

OK, this whole post made no sense and I'm just rambling.

Hey, if you have an idea and want to run with it, then more power to you. For me, I continue to write daily, but I choose to make my projects myself and hopefully some day someone will see one of them, respect the written part, and that might open an opportunity. Who knows?
 
mmm said:
May I ask what your script is about? Would it make money? If it is like a Charlie Kaufman script, it could be a very hard sell. Charlie Kaufman's own scripts aren't huge box office draws
Click to expand...

I wasn't really hinting that I had my own finished scripts - I have a bunch of *unfinished* scripts sitting on my hard drive, and I already knew that it was pretty much impossible to sell one if I did happen to finish a screenplay. I just wanted to hear from other people's experiences, or if anyone has actually sold a script for a significant amount of money.

I agree, Charlie Kaufman's scripts aren't exactly Hollywood Blockbusters, but he's already in the game, so he can get away with these extremely creative and crazy movies that he's been writing. What a lucky guy.

Perhaps in the 70's it would be easier for any writer with a decent, finished script to sell a script than it is now, because now it's all about selling the movie to a target audience, or a summer movie with action and special effects that will make them a ton of money. Anyone agree?

I'm glad this thread didn't die, thanks for the replies. :)
 
I agree, a film needs a target audience. If it doesn't have one, make it for fun on DV if you want.

Then post it here and we'll watch it! :)

From my experience as a director, I have found it hard, if not impossible, to find scriptwriters willing to write a script that is commercially viable. Therefore I am now writing a feature myself. I don't consider myself a great writer, but I know the idea is strong and has market appeal. I plan to get the story down on paper and then work though it with a "writer" or two. I already have plans in place for funding the project and I am pretty confident it will be shot. My biggest concern is the distribution and back end!
 
It's great if you're able to shoot the film yourself, but my question is - What do you do with the film when it's done? The main thing I can think of is you can submit the film to Film Festivals, or try to showoff the film on a website, and maybe someone will pick it up either from the Internet or from the festivals, but other than that, I wouldn't know what to do with a well done film that I shot myself, and the most exposure the film would get, would probably be online.
 
T-1000 said:
It's great if you're able to shoot the film yourself, but my question is - What do you do with the film when it's done? The main thing I can think of is you can submit the film to Film Festivals,
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This is my biggest pet peeve with people who call themselves indie filmmakers these days. Make sure you have a plan for distribution before you even think about hiring cast and crew or shooting the film.

If you want to go out and make a short film and put it in the festival circuit that's fine, but if you are going to ask people to commit a lot of their time and talent to shoot a feature, especially if they are doing it for free or below scale, then you better make sure that distribution is going to happen.

Let's face it, if you are making your film on a shoestring, then chances are you don't have the money of clout to get the buyers to come see your film at a film festival, much less ink a deal with you. That's why you need to know what market your film is going to target, study that market, and have plans to get your film into that market. Even if you are self-distributing, you better know what you are going to do with the film once it's done before you even start shooting it.

Better yet, if you are a director, then hire a producer who can handle all the business aspects of your film for you. Okay, I'm done ranting.

Rob
 
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