Things just keep getting weirder...Amazon Studios

My biggest concern is that if someone submits a really great screenplay, and it receives a lot of positive reviews and attention over at Amazon's site, then will all the leeches come out of the woodwork to "rewrite" it so that they can get partial credit and pay? I would be pissed if I won, yet then had to split the money ten different ways with people I didn't even know because they swooped in and rewrote my work.

They really need a better system over there.

Anybody shouldn't be able to just rewrite another person's work merely because they have an Amazon account. There should be some sort of process that would allow another writer to ask for permission, or to pitch to the original writer what they would change on the script they want to revise. Then if the original writer doesn't want to permit anyone else to revise their script, then they shouldn't have to. Unless I am already being paid something upfront, I'm not really comfortable with a total stranger being able to do whatever the hell they want with my work. I don't think it is too much to ask that I be allowed to pick my collaborators when I'm, you know, doing work on spec. I'm sure a lot of writers would feel this way, professional or not.

bbinnard said:
All previously stated concerns duly noted, it still seems to me that the Amazon offering could be helpful for total amateurs (like me) who have no connection with the industry and hence no way to get any submission even looked at. For people having the resources to make an actual full-length indie film there are certainly other considerations to make - namely those already mentioned. But for a plain, ordinary person with no connections to any industry people at all, the Amazon scheme is at least an approach that could work. Lacking that there is really no alternative I am aware of.
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I may try this Amazon Studios thing with ONE of my ideas just as an experiment, and even at that, only with the notion that I would be doing it for exposure.
 
they're following a "cream rises to the top" approach in that bad rewrites won't attract much attention on the site, but good rewrites may surpass the original in popularity. all three will be in competition with each other. and I imagine the original author is free to rewrite himself, or rewrite someone else's rewrite of his original. not likely to participate, but I want to watch this whole thing unfold.
 
Yeah agreed Zak, in fact its not unlike hitrecord.org in some respects too - collaboration websites with t&c that are well - difficult for professionals to swallow.
 
CallaghanFilms said:
Sounds like a real lose-lose for writers. Now one has to worry about pre-sale rewrites?! And potentially from every slang-whanger and wordsmithy in sight?
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Exactly why I decided not to participate. Like I want my script rewritten by some anonymous jag-off...Art is subjective and dependent on an individual view-point and can't be crowd-sourced like computer coding or Wikipedia.
 
Zak Forsman said:
they're following a "cream rises to the top" approach in that bad rewrites won't attract much attention on the site, but good rewrites may surpass the original in popularity. all three will be in competition with each other. and I imagine the original author is free to rewrite himself, or rewrite someone else's rewrite of his original. not likely to participate, but I want to watch this whole thing unfold.
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I guess my worry is more about if I bust my ass writing a great screenplay, and I do understand that it would have to be amazingly great to get any real attention, then someone comes along and does some minor tweaking. Does that individual get a large cut of the winnings, if the revised version of my script did end up winning?

How do they decide who gets what and how much? Will the WGA help them wade through various drafts to determine this? What if this person changes a lot of stuff that doesn't really affect the plot or character arcs, but is merely cosmetic changes like names and some descriptions here and there. I'd be pissed if someone else changed just enough to convince a person unfamiliar with screenplays (possibly the Amazon Studios staff) that they did some sort of major rewrite? My concern is, does Amazon have the proper staff of people that know how to spot who did what between various drafts?

I hate to sound pessimistic, but I see potential legal trouble brewing in the future for Amazon Studios once people start winning the monthly contests.

Zak Forsman said:
not likely to participate, but I want to watch this whole thing unfold.
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Me too. I may try and enter something too, but overall I'm curious to see how this all shakes out in the end.
 
Batutta said:
Exactly why I decided not to participate. Like I want my script rewritten by some anonymous jag-off...Art is subjective and dependent on an individual view-point and can't be crowd-sourced like computer coding or Wikipedia.
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I thought you decided not to participate because you were saving your real juice for FICTIONFEST...
 
Mark Harris said:
I thought you decided not to participate because you were saving your real juice for FICTIONFEST...
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I save my juices for me and my wife...Funny story, I actually had a script meeting several years ago with one of the Amazon script judges, Mark Gill, back when he was at Miramax. Nice guy and he was a big fan of one of my co-writers, who was a comedian. We later had a meeting with another blow-hard, Spanish producer who was incensed my comedian friend met with Mark Gill first, because Mark had crossed him on some deal. The producer kept mispronouncing Mark's last name as 'Jill' in his thick Spanish accent, saying repeatedly that "Mark Jill...is the ANTI-CHRIST!" Whenever I want to get a laugh out of my friend I say "Mark Jill is the ANTI-CHRIST!" in a Spanish accent. A pointless story I guess but I always found it amusing.
 
Hmm....I'm actually reconsidering, only because I have enough scripts lying around that I could sacrifice one just to see what would happen. I just have to decide which one would fit best.
 
Batutta said:
Exactly why I decided not to participate. Like I want my script rewritten by some anonymous jag-off...Art is subjective and dependent on an individual view-point and can't be crowd-sourced like computer coding or Wikipedia.
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Exactly. And by the above, I mean "every slang-whanger wanker and shitty wordsmithy in sight"
 
I say that because the Waverly Films guys have been making hilarious shorts for years. It's just that they finally stumbled upon the strategy of flattering someone in a position of power. They got Eli Roth's attention in a good way, and now they get to make a future. It took them 190 shorts and 26 million views to do this.
 
mentatDUKE said:
I think the moral of the story is just keep making cool stuff and somebody will notice.
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Yes, but the one main positive thing with the Amazon Studios concept is that it is at least an avenue purposely set up to find new talent and material.

I think now matter how awesome some filmmaker's short/feature film is, or how high concept of a fake trailer they make, but just putting it up on Youtube is still a huge crap shoot in terms of luck. Not that there is anything wrong with putting stuff up on Youtube, but I would think it is still more likely going to happen for someone if they proactively put their material in the hands of the movers and shakers of the industry. That is hard as hell to do, but I'd rather know I did all I could instead of just hoping for Youtube or web success.
 
Nektonic said:
Yes, but the one main positive thing with the Amazon Studios concept is that it is at least an avenue purposely set up to find new talent and material.

I think now matter how awesome some filmmaker's short/feature film is, or how high concept of a fake trailer they make, but just putting it up on Youtube is still a huge crap shoot in terms of luck. Not that there is anything wrong with putting stuff up on Youtube, but I would think it is still more likely going to happen for someone if they proactively put their material in the hands of the movers and shakers of the industry. That is hard as hell to do, but I'd rather know I did all I could instead of just hoping for Youtube or web success.
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No. Your chances of getting anything out of your work are at least as good putting it on YouTube as they are going through Amazon Studios. By now there are NUMEROUS examples of people getting success from the crap shoot from Fred to Justin Beiber to the guy in Uraguay to the twitter guy with **** my dad says. So far there is absolutely nothing to suggest that amazon has anything to do with "movers and shakers of the industry".
 
This might be a good opportunity for the writer/DIRECTOR. Write a micro-budget film. Shoot it. Then upload the script & "test" movie. A filmmaker could get some good exposure from the right peeps because of this.
 
Okay, most of the fears are justified.

As for 18 months, eh, big deal. It's the "forever" part that could potentially sour the script for life. Then again, it's up to the writer to make sure it's a NEW DRAFT they're hawking down the road, with many improvements that weren't seen previously on Amazon (use your imagination).

That said, there are many ideas I would not give over to Amazon with this deal, and have not.

But I've got 20 feature scripts languishing away on hard drives. Some can be played with online, and it really doesn't bother me. It's getting the notice in the first place that's still the issue, even on Amazon. Besides, a cut of that prize money could sure have an impact here.

Apparently some of these participants have large nettworks of homies and bros. One script had eleven more "5 star reviews" than recorded downloads. Pretty odd, no?

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