Screenwriting Crew

[Mr.PissShivers]

Anyone have any input on how one would get an agent?
For those who are not in the industry, is this basically impossible?

Just trying to brainstorm ways to have a script read/looked at.
From my understanding, unless you have an agent or some connection into the industry, you're basically S.O.L.

Toledous could help, but he's abandoned this thread.

[Mr.PissShivers]

Anyone have a favorite genre to write in?

[viennafat]

I'm primarily into crime dramas and comedy. Kind of weird I guess that those are my 2 go-to genres.

Although I have an idea for a straight up family drama/tragedy.
Not sure how appealing a tragedy would be to produce, but the story is still in my head. People would walk out the theater depressed as fack.

[Mr.PissShivers]

I'm primarily into crime dramas and comedy. Kind of weird I guess that those are my 2 go-to genres.

Although I have an idea for a straight up family drama/tragedy.
Not sure how appealing a tragedy would be to produce, but the story is still in my head. People would walk out the theater depressed as fack.

You should at least write it.

[viennafat]

That's true.

What genres are you into writing?

[Mr.PissShivers]

That's true.

What genres are you into writing?

Well what interests me most are Twilight Zone type stories, crime fiction mostly.

Don't have any ideas currently though.

[Toledous]

Toledous, you still around bro?

Still here. Just been busy lately. Went to the premiere of the new X Factor tonight and it was actually really ****ing good. Britney Spears stole the show when she walked in though. People lost it...and she actually is pretty stunning in person.

[Mr.PissShivers]

Still here. Just been busy lately. Went to the premiere of the new X Factor tonight and it was actually really ****ing good. Britney Spears stole the show when she walked in though. People lost it...and she actually is pretty stunning in person.

I'd want bang her if I wasn't so sure she had herpes.



On a side note, I finally booked my next trip to LA. Glad there will be a few movies I want to see in theaters while I'm there.

[BeefyMcNasty]

Still here. Just been busy lately. Went to the premiere of the new X Factor tonight and it was actually really ****ing good. Britney Spears stole the show when she walked in though. People lost it...and she actually is pretty stunning in person.

I feel hurt by this post. Betrayed even...

[Toledous]

I'd want bang her if I wasn't so sure she had herpes.



On a side note, I finally booked my next trip to LA. Glad there will be a few movies I want to see in theaters while I'm there.

Let me know when you're out here. At the very least we could grab drinks or something. The W Hotel is a nice place to go, but we can do a low key bar/club scene if you want.

I feel hurt by this post. Betrayed even...

Why's that lol? Because of X Factor or Britney? They changed the way the show is shot and it creates a crazy deep connection with the contestants. You'll be laughing your ass off one minute and almost in tears the next...really well done.

Britney on the show itself looks old and her make-up was done horribly. Didn't look like she had eyebrows either, but in person...sheet.

[PjzBoozer]

some ideas.

Absolute Zero - A man that works at a morgue. Becomes obsessed with the female body. Begins to talk to family and friends of the deceased to form a close relationship with them. Plans on marrying one of them. Even attempts to at one point have sex with one of the bodies. He is caught in the act and flees.
He loses hope in his future life and story ends with him contemplating suicide or leaving town.

Social Breakdown - A newly hired male English teacher. Depressed and aside from one brother in jail for GTA, no family at all. Has a growing fascination with one of his female students. One afternoon after class she comes onto him and is persuaded to have sex. The student later blackmails him into giving her a free ride the rest of the year for not telling on him. It gets to the point of paying her off in money. The teacher blows up once he realizes that she has told her friends about them and even one of her male friends who is gay and comes onto him. Unable to find a way out he later resigns from his job after paying her off one last time with a paid for summer vacation for her and her boyfriend.

[BeefyMcNasty]

Why's that lol? Because of X Factor or Britney?

Both! Nothing involving art has ever reared it's head in something resembling "X Factor." I'm certainly not one to tell you your place in the industry...but for ****s sake, you're the one person I respected in this thread. Remember the Alamo. The closest I've ever come to reality TV was when my roommate was on a show called Man vs. Vegas - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484805/

Just saying. In a world full of Michael Bay's....we need some people to hold the ground of.... well decent movies at a minimum.

[mcbrainlegend]

I've been writing a dark comedy about this nutjob guy who has spiralling emotions for his former manageress.

I have my own equipment so usually make my own ideas into short films myself.

[Toledous]

Both! Nothing involving art has ever reared it's head in something resembling "X Factor." I'm certainly not one to tell you your place in the industry...but for ****s sake, you're the one person I respected in this thread. Remember the Alamo. The closest I've ever come to reality TV was when my roommate was on a show called Man vs. Vegas - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484805/

Just saying. In a world full of Michael Bay's....we need some people to hold the ground of.... well decent movies at a minimum.

Allow me to shed a little more perspective on survival in LA. Everything is about entertainment value. How do we get viewers to pay to see our stuff? True art, unless made on an independent level, is dead. Even if something phenomenal is made on the independent level is extremely successful and garners attention (director gets noticed, etc...), that person will soon conform to what the industry wants because it is both the only way to work and the only way to make money.

The thing is, people love "reality" television. I have no idea why this became a thing with our culture, but it did and people enjoy it. I'm an entertainment guy and I dabble in multiple mediums. Today you have to be well rounded in all facets to really get anything accomplished. Not only do I have a day job at a production company on the Disney lot, I also do freelance gigs with people I went to college with. This includes commercials, music videos, etc.

I'm not going to turn down a job just because it is for reality television. Work is work and its a way to get your name on more material...plus if you keep turning down jobs because you don't like the material, the offers will stop trickling in. After awhile it gets to a point where if you're not working on a creative level, how good the series is doesn't really matter. A grip or PA isn't going to approach the director and be like, "Hey, this is a terrible idea." He'd get fired on the spot and could potentially get blacklisted. If you're not on the creative level, just go with the flow and get your check at the end of the week.

I could take a great script to the studio and sell it, or attempt to have it funded by the studio...but they won't greenlight until everything they think they want is in the film. There has to be the right actors, the right gimmicks, effects, and most importantly, the right market. It's all about who you can sell to, which usually ends up being the lowest common denominator unless you have creative control like Scorcese with Shutter Island and Nolan with Inception.

Working in the entertainment industry allows you to focus on one niche or demographic at a time. You can't make everyone happy. Just because it doesn't apply to you or me, doesn't mean it won't apply to 10 million other people a week. That's just the way it is man.

[Mr.PissShivers]

Let me know when you're out here. At the very least we could grab drinks or something. The W Hotel is a nice place to go, but we can do a low key bar/club scene if you want.

Sounds cool, I be out there the beginning of November.

Also you said there was a tour on the lot where you work, do you know what there is to see on that tour?

[Toledous]

Sounds cool, I be out there the beginning of November.

Also you said there was a tour on the lot where you work, do you know what there is to see on that tour?

I'm sure its similar to the other tours. I've seen them walking all over the place and I'm sure you get a history of the lot and Disney itself. I pretty much stick to the few buildings I travel to regularly so I honestly don't know.

[BeefyMcNasty]

Allow me to shed a little more perspective on survival in LA. Everything is about entertainment value. How do we get viewers to pay to see our stuff? True art, unless made on an independent level, is dead. Even if something phenomenal is made on the independent level is extremely successful and garners attention (director gets noticed, etc...), that person will soon conform to what the industry wants because it is both the only way to work and the only way to make money.

*snip*

Working in the entertainment industry allows you to focus on one niche or demographic at a time. You can't make everyone happy. Just because it doesn't apply to you or me, doesn't mean it won't apply to 10 million other people a week. That's just the way it is man.

I certainly meant no disrespect. I guess as a budding writer I get this sense of hopelessness that people simply want circular pan shots of explosions and nothing more. It sucks. Great movies get lost in the fray and pure absolute **** like Transformers rise to the top. I understand the market dictates what gets produced...I guess I'm just sad that the market demands pure ****.









And if you see Micheal Bay/Peter Berg...give him/her/it a nice death blow for me. Him/her/it needs to die a slow and horrible death.

[Toledous]

I certainly meant no disrespect. I guess as a budding writer I get this sense of hopelessness that people simply want circular pan shots of explosions and nothing more. It sucks. Great movies get lost in the fray and pure absolute **** like Transformers rise to the top. I understand the market dictates what gets produced...I guess I'm just sad that the market demands pure ****.









And if you see Micheal Bay/Peter Berg...give him/her/it a nice death blow for me. Him/her/it needs to die a slow and horrible death.

I didn't take as disrespect my man. I was just providing an inside perspective on how things are right now. It bothers me as well that the really solid 30-60 million dollar movies aren't being made anymore. Best thing you can do as a budding writer is to write what you want, just make sure it's mind blowingly good. If you accomplish that and get it seen, you'll probably be able to get an agent based off that alone...whether or not the script is bought. If it is bought, most likely it will be by somebody like Drew Barrymore who will make it on a $5 million budget.

BUT, you take the phenomenal script, get signed, let the script go...and then get paid to rewrite other people's work. Think of it this way. Even though you might not like the project as a whole, as a writer you have the opportunity to add your own voice/flair to the project. A little bit of you will make it in and that's what is important.

[Mr.PissShivers]

I'm sure its similar to the other tours. I've seen them walking all over the place and I'm sure you get a history of the lot and Disney itself. I pretty much stick to the few buildings I travel to regularly so I honestly don't know.

thanks...


Do you know about extra work? I was thinking about trying to do it again if I got the chance.

[Toledous]

thanks...


Do you know about extra work? I was thinking about trying to do it again if I got the chance.

Go to Central Casting. They have open sessions weekly. Enroll as a non-union background actor (extra). You will be paid. The pay sucks, but it is pay and they feed you.

[Mr.PissShivers]

Go to Central Casting. They have open sessions weekly. Enroll as a non-union background actor (extra). You will be paid. The pay sucks, but it is pay and they feed you.

Thanks, although I have to say sneaking on the set was an easier process.

[BeefyMcNasty]

BUT, you take the phenomenal script, get signed, let the script go...and then get paid to rewrite other people's work. Think of it this way. Even though you might not like the project as a whole, as a writer you have the opportunity to add your own voice/flair to the project. A little bit of you will make it in and that's what is important.

That's almost what I've been shooting for. My wife asked me the other day. Would I be willing to give up control over an idea just to get my foot in the door. I know I'm smart. I know I have some really good original ideas. Some are better than others. I would write and sell what I thought to be a mediocre script just to get my name out there while keeping what I think to be the good stuff in my back pocket. But who knows. Odds are I'm just another schmuck lost in a world of soon to be broken dreams. But I like to write. I like to create unseen worlds.

[Mr.PissShivers]

Have you completed any screenplays Beefy?

[GalvanizedPail]

When I was little, I would write stories similiar to frankenstein. My cousin was big into making/writing shorts with his friends but I don't know if he still does that.

[BeefyMcNasty]

Have you completed any screenplays Beefy?

YesNoMaybe....

I'm in a perpetual state of "it's not good enough." I have an idea that has yet to be done/seen by anyone. So I'm reluctant to share until I have something that can be legally protected.

[Mr.PissShivers]

YesNoMaybe....

I'm in a perpetual state of "it's not good enough." I have an idea that has yet to be done/seen by anyone. So I'm reluctant to share until I have something that can be legally protected.

Cool, I wasn't trying to steal from you, just curious.


The rule that I run across most frequently, is "Always finish it, no matter what." Probably one of the hardest to follow, but perhaps the most worthwhile.

[SameSongandDanc]

in. not sure whether to make it a book or a movie. also a big dilema is that i am writing multiple stories and they kinda overlap and are similar even though they are both really good as stand alones. what do i do?

[GalvanizedPail]

in. not sure whether to make it a book or a movie. also a big dilema is that i am writing multiple stories and they kinda overlap and are similar even though they are both really good as stand alones. what do i do?

Put them in a book and call them short stories collection?

[SameSongandDanc]

Put them in a book and call them short stories collection?

nah man theyre big standalone setpieces that deserve their own stories in either standalone books or movies

[Toledous]

in. not sure whether to make it a book or a movie. also a big dilema is that i am writing multiple stories and they kinda overlap and are similar even though they are both really good as stand alones. what do i do?

It's called television. You can have several stories intertwined each season. Episodic material lets you explore this moreso than film.