BIZ TIP TUESDAY:

WHY READ THE TRADES?


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When I graduated High School and wanted to get into the movies, but lived hundreds of miles away from Hollywood, I would go to the main branch of the public library once a week to read their copy of Weekly Variety. It made me feel like an industry insider, and I ended up learning all kinds of things that I might never have known. Eventually, I got tired of driving to the main branch of the library and decided to subscribe. Once a week I'd get the paper and pour through it, looking for clues on how to get into the business and what kinds of things I should write. And at least once a month there was a big special edition - for the Cannes Film Festival or the Oscars or the big Year End Issue that listed every movie released that year and how much it made, *plus* the all time box office champs broken down by decades. All of that great information, plus a list of films in production and pre-production and post production! It was like working at a studio!

Once I moved to Los Angeles, I had a subscription to Hollywood Reporter (daily) for several years - and a couple of years ago I realized I was getting most of that same information online, so I stopped subscribing. But a couple of screenwriting classes I took decades ago suggested subscribing to the trades (I think Michael Hauge suggested it in his great class) and now it's my turn to suggest reading the trades. The great thing about reading the trades now is that you don't even have to subscribe - you can read them online. Free.

Though every so often either Variety or Hollywood Reporter decides to restrict or limit what you can read online for free, and there seems to be a move to charge for magazine and newspaper content online, you should be able to read one of the trades online for free - and there are websites with other information that are free. But if you read the trades, what should you be looking for?

WHAT SOLD

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The obvious thing to look for are recent screenplay sales. Who is buying, what are they buying, and (just for fun) how much they paid. You can spot trends, and if you have a screenplay that matches that trend, get it out there. Last year when I wrote this tip, one of the trends seems to be Contained Thrillers - companies are buying them because they are relatively inexpensive to make, and if they work - they sell tickets. If you have one of these on your shelf, this would be the time to get it out there. But other things you can learn from what sold is what is not selling - trends go both ways, and when one subgenre becomes popular, another fades away. If you were getting ready to write a new script in a genre you think is hot, wouldn't it be helpful to know that it has faded away and isn't hot at all anymore? If you are *driven* to write that script, write it - everything is a cycle. But knowledge is power.

Another element of what sold is who sold it - the agents and managers involved. If you write crazy comedies and you notice that a certain agent seems to sell a lot of crazy comedies, you might target them with your scripts. Same with production companies and managers and anyone else involved in the business. As screenwriters, a very important part of our job is getting our scripts sold or landing assignments where we are paid to write a screenplay based on a novel or comic book or board game or drier lint. Knowing what kinds of scripts are selling, who those scripts are selling to, and which agents are doing the selling is valuable information.

WHAT'S HOT

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The trends that influence the trends. What movies are making money? Every weekend is a horse race between movies, and who wins and who loses will trickle down into what type of screenplays they buy. You may think the Box Office Charts are only about the money, but they are really about tickets sold. The first weekend's box office for a film is about the *concept* - did it interest the audience enough to buy a ticket and take a chance on that film? The second weekend tells us what the audience thought of the movie itself - the execution - did this film deliver on its promise? It's not uncommon to see the second weekend for a summer tentpole movie plummet over 50% because the first weekend viewers told their friends the film sucked. If a film does not open well - the audience was not interested in the concept - and that is valuable information for a writer to have. People do not want to see movies like that one! If the movie does great opening weekend business then dies, as a writer we know that concept is not enough on a story like that - it really needs good writing to back it up. (Um, if you didn't already know that part, you're in trouble! The most amazing high concept still needs great writing to back it up.) Over on the ALLIGATORS ON A HELICOPTER Blog, my friend Scott tries to pick the winners of this horse race every week just for fun. I think this is a great exercise in tuning in to the ticket buyers. The Box Office Top Ten is part of my local TV news on Sunday and Monday, and is all over the entertainment TV shows and newspapers - folks who are not trying to break into the business know what movies were 1-10 in ticket sales over the weekend... so a screenwriter, someone who *is* trying to break into the biz, better know this stuff! Read that Box Office Chart and use that information!

TRENDS

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Many articles in the trades either focus on trends in the business or might be about something else entirely and have hidden nuggets of information about trends. Are budgets going up or down? Which studios have decided to make more movies and which have decided to make fewer movies? What kinds of movies are a specific studio going to focus on? Which stars are on their way up? Which stars are still stars? Which stars are on their way down? Which studio has decided not to use top tier stars for a while? The film business is always changing, and studios and producers are always trying to find new "formulas" for a successful movie. You may have noticed the increased importance of "branded" and "pre-sold" concepts in screenplays - they are making MONOPOLY: THE MOTION PICTURE because *everyone* knows Monopoly the board game. Disney is *all brands* - they have decided *only* to make movies based on some existing pre-sold property, to the point of *not* making sequels to their own hit movies in some cases! Disney has Marvel and Pixar and Bruckheimer and Hasbro - and any original spec that goes there will end up a sample for an assignment to adapt some Hasbro toy. Knowing that in advance will help you market your script.

Another big picture trend that a bunch of writers on message boards seem to have missed is the death of the mid-range picture. Today the studios are focusing on inexpensive comedies with great concepts like HANGOVER 2 and big event films. Summer now lasts almost the full year! They have discovered that the momentum of a big film like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL will not only make a bunch of money in the cinemas, a big event film is more likely to sell well on DVD/Blu and more likely to sell for top dollar to cable networks like HBO and Showtime. Even if the movie sucks, the event aspect of a film is important. The target audience - those people who go to the movies every week - will have to pick one of the two or three new movies being offered, and the one that looks like the most fun will win. The folks who do not go to the cinema regularly need a *reason* to get out of the house and go, and if the film is a big event - that's a good reason. People are less likely to wait for DVD on an event film... so studios want to make all event films all the time. That is the current trend... but like everything else, it is subject to change, and if you are reading the trades you will know when that change begins.

EXECS ON THE MOVE

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There isn't much job security in Hollywood - greenlight a couple of flops and they show you the door... and some new guy or gal takes your job and has their own agenda. It's good to know who just got canned, who's the new sheriff in town, and what executive just got demoted to a production deal on the lot... and may instantly need a bunch of scripts to develop. Maybe even yours. Development people also move around, and you may have a great relationship with a Devo who is now working at some other company. Good to know where the people who like your work are working - if they move up, maybe you can follow them. Hollywood Reporter has a whole section on Execs On The Move, and Variety has something similar. It's also great to know who got promoted - an Agent's Assistant at and Agency gets promoted and now needs clients... maybe you.

And look for Dead Executives - not actually dead, but being squeezed out or coming to the end of the contracts which will not be renewed. When a new executive comes in the first thing they do is get rid of all of the old exec's projects... and you don't want to set up projects with a lame duck exec. I have had this bite me on the butt *three times* at Lifetime with the *same script*! Old exec loved the project and wanted to make it, new exec says "we aren't making that kind of movie anymore" and shelves the project or allows the option to lapse.

Another thing to look for is personal information on executives. Are they new fathers? Did they just get married? All of these things may provide you with background information that might help you in a meeting. In the Guerrilla Marketing Class I talk about "Flashcards" - file cards with information about an executive on one side and their photo on the other, so if you spot one at the grocery store, you'll know it and know enough about them to start a conversation. But the great little gems of info on execs are often buried in other stories - maybe they went to a Basketball teams away games? Maybe they go to Formula One races? Things that give you a personal connection with that exec. The real gold is the "home town" connection - people in Hollywood are really from all over the place, and if you can find someone that comes from your home town and maybe even went to your school, that might be a way in.

NEW INCENTIVES & COMPANIES

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My friend Jeff is a genius when it comes to reading the trades to find new companies and incentives. He has sold scripts just by paying attention to what is going on with film incentives worldwide. Because every state and every country wants producers to make their movies there - and spend all of that production money in their state or country and hire their crews and then have their crews spend their paychecks there - they come up with financial incentives for producers. Tax rebates, sometimes even funding for the film! When this happens, producers start looking for scripts they can film in these states or countries. Jeff read about a country that had just begun a program to co-fund films shot in their country... and wrote (or maybe rewrote) a script that took place in that country - and sold it. The spec I'm finishing up right now takes place in Michigan because they have a great film incentive program - some producer will read that script and realize they can make the film for much much less that it would normally cost them because the story takes place in Michigan.

When you read about some country that is creating an incentive program, look at how that program works and how that country's film industry works. Your best bet might be selling a script to a company in that country. Another thing you can find in these articles and others are start up companies around the world. If Kafiristan suddenly decides they want a film industry and offers incentives, there will be new production companies popping up in that country to make those movies or to help US companies make their movies. The same thing happens in states with incentive programs - new companies blossom. New companies need new scripts.

NEW MARKETS

Did you know Paramount has a new division making $100k ultra-low budget films? Did you know LionsGate has a similar new division aimed at making low budget comedy films? So, what kind of market is there for an internet serial? Is there still a market for DVD sequels to theatrical originals? Would making a film Direct To Red Box be a good idea? Is there any company currently making movies for the new 3D TV sets? Now that HULU charges a fee, will they also be looking for original movies? Are studios looking to make more 3D movies? What about 3D dramas? Will smell-o-vision make a comeback? Is there a market for direct-to-PSP movies? How about a movie/video game hybrid? What about movies for iPads? Because technology changes every day, the entertainment industry changes every day and you might see something happening that matches a script or project you are working on. That new technology might be perfect for your new screenplay! Right now, someone is watching a movie on their phone - is that a new market for your screenplay?

IN PRODUCTION

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Weekly Variety and Tuesday's Hollywood Reporter have great charts of what is in pre-production, production, and post production. The Hollywood Reporter charts list company, director, writer, cast, key crew members and contact information including phone numbers. One of the reasons why this is a great resource is that it shows you want is in the pipeline - and you can spot any trends and also be warned of any film that seems to have a similar story as yours. I used to look at the charts to see what actors were working in lower budget movies, and sometimes what actors I have never heard of who suddenly popped up in a bunch of big studio films. Think of Sam Worthington - that guy seemed to come out of nowhere and star in a bunch of big films all released in the same summer. But the producers are the real info, here, and the indie films that are made all over the USA are listed along with contact info. What if you found a couple of companies making movies in the nearest city to where you live right now? Why not call them, introduce yourself, ask if you can send them a script and if they need any rewrite work... or, if you have the time, ask if they need some good set P.A.s when they go into production?

AVERTS

You can learn a lot from looking at the adverts in the trades. Who is kissing whose butt, who has a bunch of money to promote their films to Academy voters, who wants to show that they are players, etc. Also - studios and service companies advertize, and sometimes those are interesting doorways into the biz. In another Script Tip I mention an employment company for film crew members that had an advert once a week in Hollywood Reporter, so I tracked them down, talked to the boss, mentioned that I had some great scripts and if he ever heard of any producer who was looking for scripts, to send them my way. Nothing ever happened from that (actually, I did have a couple of meetings) but it was a good chance. I know a writer who followed up on an advert for a start up special effects company with a nice big advert in the trades... and optioned a screenplay to them. I like to consider the adverts a puzzle - there is a hidden meaning in them and I need to figure out what it is. There is some reason why they spent the money for the advert, and knowing what that reason is can give me information that may help me sell a screenplay.

10 TO WATCH

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Last - Hollywood Reporter does special issues with Ten To Watch - up and coming directors and producers and agents and film executives. This is great information to have, because it is about people moving *up* who are now not very powerful (which means you might be able to get them to read a screenplay) but will soon be very powerful.

If you can get one of these Ten To Watch people on your side, as a fan of your writing or just someone who knows that you exist, when they go up maybe you can go up with them. I have to admit that I have never done this, and came up with the idea while jotting down good reasons to read the trades - so it's wide open. As far as I know, nobody else is doing it. You can be the first.

So there are a bunch of reasons to read the trades, and as I said - often you can read them online for free (free being my favorite price), and here are some links for that:

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

VARIETY

DEADLINE: HOLLYWOOD

Also, when one or both of the trades are in that "You must subscribe online" mode, check the wire services like AP and Reuters for some of the information - you can usually find those stories on Yahoo News, which is free. Reading the trades is a great way to stay on top of the business side of screenwriting, and even use some of that information to create scripts with a better chance of selling or landing you an assignment. Knowledge is power.

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Tips FAQ

My New Script Secrets Newsletter!




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*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Kindle!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Nook!

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


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I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)


Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

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DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

Only $4.99 and no postage!


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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


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WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


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SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)


Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


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ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS *** - For Kindle!


Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


BRAND NEW!!

All About Rewrites!

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Rewriting In Waves?

*** REWRITES Blue Book! - For Kindle!


The end is just the beginning! You’ve finished your story, but now the rewriting begins! This 405 page book shows you how to rewrite your screenplay or novel to perfection. Everything from Character Consistency to Shoeboxing to How To Give And Receive Notes to 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Long! and 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Short! to Finding The Cause Of A Story Problem to Good Notes Vs. Bad Notes to Finding Beta Readers to Avoiding Predictability to Learning To Be Objective About Your Work to Script Killer Notes and Notes From Idiots to Production Rewrites and What The Page Colors Mean? and a Complete Rewrite Checklist! The complete book on Rewriting Your Story!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


All About Endings!

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GRAND FINALES Blue Book!

The Perfect Ending For Your Story!

The First Ten Pages Of Your Screenplay Are Critical,
But What About The Last 10 Pages?

Creating the perfect ending to your story! This 100,000 word book shows you how to end your story with a bang, rather than a whimper. Everything from Resolution Order to Act Three Tools to Happy or Sad Endings? to How The Beginning Of Your Story Has Clues To The Ending (in case you were having trouble figuring out how the story should end) to Falling Action to How To Avoid Bad Endings to Writing The Perfect Twist Ending to Setting Up Sequels & Series to Emotional Resolutions to How To Write Post Credit Sequences to Avoiding Deus Ex Machinas, to 20 Different Types Of Ends (and how to write them) and much more! Everything about endings for your screenplay or novel!

Only: $4.99


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

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LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! Blue Book!

Distilling Your Screenplay!

Loglines, Treatments, Pitching, Look Books, Pitch Decks, One Pagers, Rip-O-Matics?

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

272 Pages - ONLY $4.99!


READY TO BREAK IN? bluebook

THE BUISINESS SIDE

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK *** - For Kindle!


Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 400 pages!

$4.99 - and no postage!




hcd

MOVIE MAGIC SOFTWARE

Movie Magic Screenwriter is the best selling screenplay formatting software and the choice of Hollywood professionals. Screenwriter automatically formats while you write so you can focus on what you're writing, not where it goes on the page. It also formats for television, stage, novels and comic book scripts so you've got an all in one package for any story you want to write. Academy Award Tech Winner!

* * * Buy It!

copyright 2023 by William C. Martell


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E BOOKS PAGE

bluebook E BOOKS: New Blue Books and Novelettes!
I am expanding all of the Blue Books from around 44 pages of text to around 200 pages! Some are over 250 pages! See what is availabale and what is coming soon!Also, I've been writing Novelletes and there will soon be novels.
E BOOKS: BLUE BOOKS & NOVELLETES

ONLINE CLASSES
Furious Action Class
MY OTHER SITES

B MOVIE WORLD
Cult Films, Exploitation, Bikers & Women In Prison, Monster Movies.

FIRST STRIKE PRODUCTIONS
Producing my own scripts, investment possibilities, pipe dreams.

NAKED SCREENWRITING CDs

Naked Class The NAKED SCREENWRITING CLASS ON CD! The 2001 London Class on 8 CDs! Recorded *live* the morning after the Raindance Film Festival wrapped. The two day class on 8CDs, plus a workbook, plus a bonus CD with PDFs.
The 2 Day Class on CD!

BOOKSTORE

Every screenwriting book in the world!
SCREENWRITER'S BOOKSTORE
In Association With Amazon.com
From the latest screenwriting book to guides for finding agents and producers... all with at the Amazon.com discount!

BOOKLETS & PRODUCTS

bluebook FIRST STRIKE BLUE BOOKS
Each Blue Book is 48 pages and focuses on a different aspect of screenwriting. Dialogue. Visual Storytelling. Your First Ten Pages. Act 2 Booster. Protagonists. Great Endings.
Seventeen Blue Books now available!

THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING The Best Nuts & Bolts Screenwriting Book On The Market!

BILL'S CORNER

My nineteen produced films, interviews with me in magazines, several sample scripts, my available scripts list... And MORE!
...............................BILL'S CORNER


Available Scripts

CLASSES ON CD

Class CDs CLASSES ON CD! Take a class on CD! GUERRILLA MARKETING - NO AGENT? NO PROBLEM! and WRITING THRILLERS (2 CDs). Full length classes on CD. Now Available: IDEAS & CREATIVITY, WRITING HORROR, WRITING INDIE FILMS, more!
Take classes on CD!