TUESDAY'S BIZ TIP:
IT'S WHAT YOU KNOW
Everyone in Hollywood says the SCRIPT is
the most important part of any film, but that doesn't seem to
give Screenwriters any power in the business. We can't greenlight
a film. We can't get Mel Gibson to read our script. We can't get
an agent to return our calls. Too much of our success relies on
OTHERS. Which brings us to the big choice. Do we: A) Sit back and
wait to be discovered? Or B) Find things we CAN do, and DO
THEM?
There was only one correct answer to that question, so i
hope you're still with me. Today's Tip is about self-improvement
and hard work. The one thing we can change in this world is
OURSELVES. So let's get started with a few basics.
A SCREENWRITER'S JOB IS TO KNOW EVERYTHING. We are the
brains of any film. If a Producer goes to the circus on Saturday,
is thrilled by the Trapeze Artists, and calls you to come in and
pitch Trapeze scripts; you had better be able to come up with at
least five different ideas, or someone else will get that job.
This doesn't mean you have to be an expert when the phone rings,
but you have to know enough to be able to rush down to the
library and know what to research so that you can know EVERYTHING
at the pitch meeting.
You should also know what's been done before. I purposely
chose the Trapeze because I know NOTHING about it. I've seen in a
few films, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, TRAPEZE, THE BIG CIRCUS, a
Marx Brothers film; and read a novel by Alastair Maclean. That is
my knowledge base on Trapeze Artists, everything else I'd have to
learn at the library.
What do YOU know about Trapeze Artists? If you know LESS
than I do, you just LOST a job to me. You went into your meeting
under prepared, so the ideas you pitched weren't as refined as
the ideas I pitched. Odds are, someone reading this tip
knows more about Trapeze Artists than I do. Maybe someone who
worked road gang on a circus, or is just FASCINATED by Trapeze
work. I LOST this job to them. Why? Because I wasn't prepared
enough. And that's MY fault.
MY POINT ISN'T to go out and study Trapeze facts, but to
learn as much about EVERYTHING as you can. Keep LEARNING. I
subscribe to several magazines, from Time to the American Journal
Of Criminal Pathology to National Geographic. I keep a huge file
on Strange Facts, overflowing with newspaper clippings and notes
jotted while watching 60 Minutes, 20/20, and the Discovery
Channel. Maybe I'm crazy. Anyone who believes that in Hollywood
it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know; is WRONG. It's BOTH!
If you are constantly learning new things, you will eventually
stumble on a great story that no one else has thought of. I have
a script that combines three science news stories I have in my
idea bin - separately they're nothing... but they have elements
that overlap, and when combined?
IF YOU AREN'T THE SMARTEST GUY IN THE ROOM, THEN YOU'RE
THE DUMBEST.
Scriptwriting is a highly competitive business. Many more
writers than there are jobs. But the good news is, you are only
competing against YOURSELF. YOU have the power to improve your
chances of selling a script through dedication and accumulation
of knowledge, so that when the Producer asks you a question, you
KNOW THE ANSWER. If the Producer needs a dozen ideas for Trapeze
films, YOU have the ideas. And you have the job.
HOLIDAY BLOCK - older tips that haven't run for a while because site traffic is slow... look for a bunch of NEW tips at the beginning of the year!
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Okay, I'm the West Coast Editor, so I'm biased - but this is the best screenwriting magazine out there. Other magazines have articles *about* screenwriters, Scr(i)pt has articles *by* screenwriters.
You'll find articles written by Tony Peckham on writing his screenplay INVICTUS (directed by Clint Eastwood) and screenwriters Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman on writing THE MESSENGER and screenwriter Scott Burns on adapting THE INFORMANT! from true story to absurd comedy.
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