As I attended a screen play writer's question and answer session in
Los Angeles, Daughter Darling and Little Boy Darling cruised the mall where it
was held. And guess who they saw? Betty
White.
You know that Betty White is much involved with animals, and
a Pet store in the mall was encouraging people to adopt from Animal Shelters. Daughter said the store had turned the pups
loose in the shop and they were running, chasing, careening around corners, and
generally having a ball, and there was Betty White in the midst of the chaos.
The Screen writing event was held in the inner sanctum of
the mall. The sign inside the glorious mall was clear enough, “Community Room B”
with an arrow. Okay, you open the door---creak---suddenly you’re outside. Okay, follow the arrows. You walk along a dreary
deck alongside a dreary long cement building. You step over puddles from a dripping
over hang. There’s a door—whoops it’s a storage room. Oh yes, there’s Community Room B. You step
into it, decent room, it’s okay. You wonder if this is what they think of screenwriters—poke
them into some obscure spot. One participant
commented that if you couldn’t find Community Room B, you didn’t deserve to be
a screenwriter.
The agent/manager presenter, who probably chose the room, was
illustrious enough, as was her moderator. The 20 or so attendees were a fun
lively group.
Here are some fun facts:
An agent is the one who wears a suit. His or her focus is on making money.
An agent is the one who wears a suit. His or her focus is on making money.
A manager wears jeans, will listen to you, wants to develop
your material, and is into a long-term relationship.
And some fun facts regarding whoever buys scripts:
“Can’t wait to read it,” is never going to happen.
It doesn’t matter if you are clever—that’s fluff.
If your query is more than 3 paragraphs, don’t bother.
Get to the point, don’t tell us how great you are.
Bottom line: Ask yourself, “Can I sell what I have and make
a lot of money?”
According to this agent, here is what Hollywood is buying:
1.
Thrillers
2.
Horror
3.
Drama
Romantic comedies, she said, are almost impossible to sell.
Comedy, don’t know about that—movies aren’t so funny anymore. (My comment.)
And why is Hollywood focusing on thrillers, horror and
drama? It’s what sells overseas. The oversea market is where the money is. Think
about it, how long is a movie in a theater in your town? A week? If they are lucky. After their glorious
week in US theaters, they go straight to the foreign markets.
Other fun facts: (Fun?)
If you are a minority and young—go for a staff position,
they will hire you in a heartbeat.
White female—Pfftt.
Build your network—Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in. Here we go again.
And after the discouragement comes this:
"There's a market for everything, it's just how you go about doing it."
Let's talk about the greats, who wrote the marvelous movies staring Merle Streep? Merle, I just love you, you are 63 years old, you
sang exquisitely in Momma Mia, was a
devil in The Devil Wears Prada, an
uptight nun in Doubt, played Julia
Childs in Julie & Julia, had two men
fighting over your in It’s Complicated, spiced up your love life with Tommy Lee Jones in Hope Springs, and won the Oscar in Iron Lady. Talent prevails.
Yes, and how about Dame Judi Dench? These women just keep
getting better and better. Doesn’t that give you hope? Oh, but these are the
actors, who wrote their screenplays?
If you haven't see Judi Dench in The
Exotic Marigold Hotel, rent it!
The following pictures have nothing to do with the content
here. I just love them. They were sent to me by a friend in Oregon. Love, love,
love.
Joyce
This Gypse Vanner horse lives in Oregon, and this is the first day of her baby's life. When the mother laid down, the foal trotted over and crawled into her lap.
