How to start fast in hollywood?

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dioxholster

Member
I can pitch and write mediocre scripts, how does one like me get a job as a screenwriter? My main ultimate goal is director, but I care about everything that gotta do with filmmaking, be it cinematography or editing. But I want to launch my own film projects on the cheap, I got B-movie ideas and I want someone to hear them. How does that happen without any connections? I'm considering going to film school but I'm reluctant because its my belief that there should be opportunities for me present first before heading that path.
 
First, stop writing mediocre scripts. When you have one that isn't mediocre, submit, submit, and submit some more. Give your script to ANYONE who will read it. Here's a list of agents to start with--

http://www.truby.com/wgaloa.html

If you want to get educated and make some contacts without breaking the bank, you might want to try UCLA extension courses. Of course, you have to live in Los Angeles first. I'd say right now the quickest way to make a splash in Hollywood is to make an impressively special effects laden short film, but you may not have to have the skills and resources to pull that off...BTW, is this the same dioxholster who frequents AICN? If so, I must warn you this forum is HEAVILY moderated and no AICN style douchebaggery is tolerated in the least, so brush up on the forum rules before you get into trouble.
 
Who would want to represent someone who writes mediocre scripts? I'd say hold off on trying to find an agent until you've spent a ton of time the skills needed to write great scripts.

As far as opportunities go, you need to MAKE THEM. You won't stumble upon them. And you need experience.. Start writing and making little cheap short films so you learn the skills you'll need for bigger projects. Learning to be a good filmmaker is like learning to be a brain surgeon. You have to study and hack up a few brains practicing before you're ready for prime-time.
 
Batutta said:
First, stop writing mediocre scripts. When you have one that isn't mediocre, submit, submit, and submit some more. Give your script to ANYONE who will read it. Here's a list of agents to start with--

http://www.truby.com/wgaloa.html

If you want to get educated and make some contacts without breaking the bank, you might want to try UCLA extension courses. Of course, you have to live in Los Angeles first. I'd say right now the quickest way to make a splash in Hollywood is to make an impressively special effects laden short film, but you may not have to have the skills and resources to pull that off...BTW, is this the same dioxholster who frequents AICN? If so, I must warn you this forum is HEAVILY moderated and no AICN style douchebaggery is tolerated in the least, so brush up on the forum rules before you get into trouble.
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No, this is serious, I'm here talking about my future career why would I mess around? By mediocre, I mean they are "okay" nothing special although they have unique aspects to them. Even if I find an agent, what will he do for me? I see it as a competitive business and there is no room for new talent. And I don't know about short film and VFX, they could end up being a waste of time, but I am friends with vfx aspiring artists so not sure if thats good or not.

Snazzy Flapper said:
Who would want to represent someone who writes mediocre scripts? I'd say hold off on trying to find an agent until you've spent a ton of time the skills needed to write great scripts.

As far as opportunities go, you need to MAKE THEM. You won't stumble upon them. And you need experience.. Start writing and making little cheap short films so you learn the skills you'll need for bigger projects. Learning to be a good filmmaker is like learning to be a brain surgeon. You have to study and hack up a few brains practicing before you're ready for prime-time.
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If I wrote a great script, I wouldn't be here. What I write are more plot-driven and are marketable, more like comic-book style stories.
 
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dioxholster said:
No, this is serious, I'm here talking about my future career why would I mess around? By mediocre, I mean they are "okay" nothing special although they have unique aspects to them. Even if I find an agent, what will he do for me? I see it as a competitive business and there is no room for new talent. And I don't know about short film and VFX, they could end up being a waste of time, but I am friends with vfx aspiring artists so not sure if thats good or not.
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I just thought I'd give you fair warning. I got into trouble in my early days here as I was used to other more rough and tumble forums....If you find the right eager agent he can get your scripts out there, get you meetings with producers and development execs. It might lead to something. In my case it didn't. Took me 17-18 years to start making money on my writing, which obviously isn't fast. I finally made some headway only because of my contacts from living in Los Angeles for 20 years. If you have good social skills you might be able to make something happen sooner for yourself. I got my first agents by working in mailrooms during college. One of them represented me for a while, the other gave me a referral.
 
vcassel said:
Most Hollywood selling screenwriters don't have long careers for whatever reason. There's always room for new talent.
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I think a lot of them end up doing last minute, uncredited rewrites which is where the big money really is, so it just seems like they disappear, when they really are just making obscene amounts of money for low profile work.
 
Batutta said:
I think a lot of them end up doing last minute, uncredited rewrites which is where the big money really is, so it just seems like they disappear, when they are really just making obscene amounts of money for low profile work.
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There's that, yeah. A lot of them take the money and retire. Screenwriting is hard. When you have a million dollars and aren't hungry to break-in anymore it probably becomes harder.
 
But yeah, there's really no route to success in Hollywood. Even as a consolidated writer, director, producer - an auteur - of an independent film, there are still so many people who will their fingers in your pie that success might as well be considered purely happenstance in most cases.

Studios love cheap films that look expensive and make lots of money. Start with that and think of overall budget in your rewrites.
 
One of the things I love about movies, is because everyone can watch them, everyone thinks they can make them just as easily. It is a skill set like anything else that requires training and practice. These guys are right. Hone your skills, write your way past mediocre. Grab a dslr camera some like minded friends, and shoot shorts, lots of them. And then learn how to market yourself and your work properly. Don't start posts by stating you want the secrets to the fast track to Hollywood, and then open your pitch with I write mediocre work. That pitch is weak sauce. Remember in this town everyone is an overnight success, it's because nobody knew who they were the 20 years they were trying to break into the business. It's a turtle race, slow and steady, and you'll do fine.
 
ATrain said:
One of the things I love about movies, is because everyone can watch them, everyone thinks they can make them just as easily. It is a skill set like anything else that requires training and practice. These guys are right. Hone your skills, write your way past mediocre. Grab a dslr camera some like minded friends, and shoot shorts, lots of them. And then learn how to market yourself and your work properly. Don't start posts by stating you want the secrets to the fast track to Hollywood, and then open your pitch with I write mediocre work. That pitch is weak sauce. Remember in this town everyone is an overnight success, it's because nobody knew who they were the 20 years they were trying to break into the business. It's a turtle race, slow and steady, and you'll do fine.
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well I dont have time to play around, after college, I'll need work fast, and I rather become a writer or filmmaker than get pulled into doing something else. Yeah I didnt want to BS you guys by saying how good I am, there are plenty of others better than me but they lack something I got, I know what people want to see and how they want to see it. I don't write stuff about my issues like all aspiring writers seem to do, my stories focus on absurd circumstances that characters face, nothing realistic. I'm moving away from short stories because frankly no one reads those, on the other hand, scripts feel so devoid of emotions when compared to literature so I had to get used to that.

I'm thinking of submitting my scripts to small time independent film companies, I guess I should opt for an agent at some point. I'm not dieing to write films or anything, I'm thinking of a career job not following my dreams or any of that.
 
dioxholster said:
I'm not dieing to write films or anything, I'm thinking of a career job not following my dreams or any of that.
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Well, even with the best of chances, having a career as a screenwriter is still kind of a crap shoot, so I wouldn't count on it keeping you fed for many, many years unless you are extremely talented or extremely lucky. There are far easier ways to make money if all you're looking for is a career and almost none of them involve the film industry.
 
dioxholster said:
well I dont have time to play around, after college, I'll need work fast, and I rather become a writer or filmmaker than get pulled into doing something else. Yeah I didnt want to BS you guys by saying how good I am, there are plenty of others better than me but they lack something I got, I know what people want to see and how they want to see it. I don't write stuff about my issues like all aspiring writers seem to do, my stories focus on absurd circumstances that characters face, nothing realistic. I'm moving away from short stories because frankly no one reads those, on the other hand, scripts feel so devoid of emotions when compared to literature so I had to get used to that.

I'm thinking of submitting my scripts to small time independent film companies, I guess I should opt for an agent at some point. I'm not dieing to write films or anything, I'm thinking of a career job not following my dreams or any of that.
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Northing wrong with getting pulled into a few something elses outside the film industry and experiencing some of what life has to offer. A lot of great writers held a divergent assortment of short term jobs. Those writers are never short on interesting ideas or characters.

Good luck!
 
Well, you have some fatal flaws in your logic....

1) There is no fast track in Hollywood
2) You don't opt for an agent
3) You probably don't know exactly what people want to see

Let me explain. Someone mentioned a potential fast track was big VFX project online. Yeah, that was the way in last year. There were a few pickups. But Hwood got bored of that. Niel Blomkamp (sic) was the one guy that made it in on that wave. But those waves only come once every great while. When I was at a management company for a bit we had calls everyday from people who were "better than the rest, had something no one else had, had a look we haven't seen before..." blah blah. You name it, we heard it. How many of those people ever became represented? None.

The Hollywood system, especially now, is not prone to taking risks. Even if you have the best script ever written, it probably won't be made into a film. That's why there is the Blacklist which goes around every year. It's all of the amazing unproduced screenplays that development execs loved. Few of those scripts had options on them though.

And your script pickup has less to do with how well it is written, but how well it is tracking on tracking boards. Your fate in Hollywood is less about you and more about what people are saying and thinking about you. It kinda sucks.

2) You will never be able to opt for an agent. Unless you decide to switch agencies after you are represented. You don't find agents. Agents find you. Since you are nothing to them unless they can sell you. They don't get paid unless you do.

3) If you actually knew what people wanted to see and how, you'd have made it by now. Thousands of people are employed in Hollywood to figure out what people want to see and how. If you think you have the next great idea, great! Now write it.

I don't want to seem like a bad person here. I just want you to readjust your view on the system that is Hollywood. It's a system where luck plays a bigger factor than talent. Like I said, start writing your big idea. Get it into competition, win awards, someone will notice eventually. Or produce a great short, get seen by several hundred thousand people, someone will notice. Or see if you can set up meetings with people. That's how the system works. And it's your best chance.
 
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Mattykins said:
...I don't want to seem like a bad person here. I just want you to readjust your view on the system that is Hollywood. It's a system where luck plays a bigger factor than talent. Like I said, start writing your big idea. Get it into competition, win awards, someone will notice eventually. Or produce a great short, get seen by several hundred thousand people, someone will notice. Or see if you can set up meetings with people. That's how the system works. And it's your best chance.
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So its more about perception? build a street cred? Thats interesting. Hollywood right now is about sequels and reboots so it shouldn't be too hard to dazzle them with a new idea. But everyone has an agent, why can't I get an agent? And producing a short film isn't easy, the ones that get famous are the ones that are vfx heavy.

What if I work as an intern to a production company or become someone's assistant. I know I sound impatient but if I tell myself that its gonna take time then I'll be setting myself for a long time of waiting. I rather be looked at as a crazy person as long as it gets me to that window.
 
dioxholster said:
What if I work as an intern to a production company or become someone's assistant.
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Definitely a route a lot have taken. As I mentioned, i got my first agents by assisting agents. You could also assist a writer, or a producer or director. I'd stay as close to the work that you want to end up doing, as the industry has a way of typecasting you. I bounced sideways into an editing career and sort of got stuck there as I became pretty good at it. Not that I'm complaining as I enjoy editing and it's good money but that's how things happen.
 
New ideas are a dime a dozen. Over 50,000 scripts are written each year so I'll bet 15,000 of those are new ideas. 20,000 of those are sci-fi scripts. 10,000 are horror. 10,000 are romantic comedies. There is no end to ideas. Execution is the key. Mediocre won't cut it. Not everyone has an agent. Most people do not have an agent. Agents want to represent people who are making it happen. They don't have time to waste with people that don't produce. They sell scripts. If you don't have anything to sell then why would they want to represent you? They have Oscar nominated writers cranking out new ideas. They have filmmakers who don't hesitate to make their own films. They have writers that have all the connections and money.

Maybe you should start with an internship. Contact every production company you can find and call them. You may not get paid a nickel for your time, but you will learn and make connections. Go for it.
 
dioxholster said:
well I dont have time to play around, after college, I'll need work fast, and I rather become a writer or filmmaker than get pulled into doing something else. Yeah I didnt want to BS you guys by saying how good I am, there are plenty of others better than me but they lack something I got, I know what people want to see and how they want to see it.
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The simple answer is to stop trying to gauge the market and just start delivering. Even the most skyrocketing of careers take years to launch. And there will be setbacks and frustrations.

You know what the market wants? Prove it. There's a bazillion different channels and ways to reach an audience, but its a rare filmmaker here on these boards and on the internet in general that is worth watching. My goal as a filmmaker has always been to get people to ask me to watch my stuff for a second time.

That's the trick. Stay where you are make things outside of the system and find fans that believe in you as a storyteller, that's the path to a career today.

If your goal is to become a rockstar, just quit.
 
too hard to dazzle them with a new idea. But everyone has an agent, why can't I get an agent? And producing a short film isn't easy, the ones that get famous are the ones that are vfx heavy.
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You seem to have missed just about everything I said...

New ideas are indeed out there, yes. Though they usually just float in the ether. Which is why I mentioned the blacklist. Every single script on that list is brilliant (usually). But they are unproduced. No one wants to make them. The ones that get optioned usually sit for years. And then it pops into turnaround and the process repeats.

You don't have an agent because you are worthless. Agents work on commission. They get a cut of your paycheck. Managers are the same way. No one will represent you until you have something worth representing. Until that happens, you are worthless to everyone. Which is why you won't get an agent. They can't make money on you, so they don't want you on their client list. A smaller agency might see potential and pick you up easier after you have notable work. But WME2 certainly won't pick up a no name without anything major backing.

The VFX thing is a year old. No one cares right now. I think the last thing to ride that wave was Pixels.
 
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