I agree. And at the panel, so did the panel of execs. They openly admitted there were too many cooks in the studio development system, but I felt clear that none of them felt they could individually change how its done. People leave things broken if they don’t need it to move forward (just look at our cars), and the studio people admitted it will stay broken until the audience stops coming. Only audiences and shareholders make them change their practices, and the shareholers had a very good morning in Hollwyood today. Deep down, I am hoping nobody has to fail for us all to succeed and create a better (and most importantly, a more productive) work environment in which all of us can work and function better.

WGA Guy

Exactly. Seeing what lines don’t translate without the right actor, what scenes or bits end up being cut, and what parts feel off-pace or fall flat on their face can teach so, so much. It may not directly help you get a writing deal, but if it’s truly strengthening your writing skills, it’s a help.

Execs are pretty savvy. But the fact that we all know we produce crap is even more tragic. It means what we are doing isn’t making dreams come true, it means we’re just living life. There’s nothing wrong with living life, but I think a little piece of all of us wants to inspire and to dream. I think Hollywood needs more dreamers and less worker bees (drones who do what they’re told until they die). If we stop dreaming, I’m afraid, Hollywood will go the way of the auto industry. This is the land where dreams come true after all, we just have to start dreaming again.

Directing shorts has been my film school. Dealing with actors, DPs, producers, editors, etc. taught me how filmmaking works. Even addressing issues of location and blocking on set forced me to think about the writing. But, the editing, especially, taught me a lot about writing.

Paula:

Thank you again for the words of encouragement.

Sadly, the things not mentioned in the summation was the people who created the event, and specifically the WGA writer who brought in all the panelists, put together all the questions, moderated, and made an entire panel of evasive Hollywood types to stand up there and admit their own system was broken. Too many cooks in the kitchen… And they copped to it.

Then, coming from a place of understanding that the system is busted, he got many panelists also to actually admit their own studio practices of focusing on brand titles has badly affected the quality of modern cinema (doh!). It was so refreshing to hear them say it… It almost made it okay. As if, hey, as long as they know it…

Then they dug into the economy and how it is cutting the lines further. He then ventured to find out straight answers on how to get through the system. They always say a great piece of material, but we got them to break down the kinds of budgets they’d approve. This should be said here for everyone’s benefit, how the $40-70M USD features are not getting the studio support. It’s around $25/35M or $100M+ films – small and large. Alas, the middle class is always the first to shrink.

It was one of the more frank panels I have ever seen or heard, whether we like the facts or not. And it made me fans of the panelists because of their candor, openness and honesty, which is the total opposite of my normal reaction – to leave a panel thinking, “Oh what a politically correct waste of time.” I actually leanred a thing or two from this one. The panelists were awesome, but there is also talent in selecting those big shots and getting them to be honest up there. His name was Michael Tabb.

Thank you, Michael Tabb and the Writer’s Education Committee of the WGA.

Thought this info should be covered. If it was, and I missed it… I appologize.

Matt, you took better notes than I did. I just wanted to fill in the blanks I remembered.

Best, Just another WGA Guy.

An original voice still gets people interested in you as a writer, even if they then ask you to write Candyland the Movie (that was funny). Also, you can even do something original with a franchise, I’d argue. I think the Nolans have done it with Batman, though admittedly it’s a very commercial kind of originality. I’m betting they wouldn’t have been given the latitude if they hadn’t done movies like The Prestige, Memento, etc.

I agree, by the way, that the marketing-driven approach is out of control. I’m still heartened, however, by the movies that continue to get made that aren’t formulaic — though after the demise of so many major-indies last year, it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I suspect that the handful that did it well — Focus, Sony Pictures Classics, etc. — will keep at it.

You should be fine. It’s a tough business for anyone, so adding anything else to your list of worries will only psyche you out and make you less effective. I think of it the way I thought of it when my high school guidance counselor told me not to apply to Harvard, Brown and Duke out of fear that I would be disappointed (despite a high GPA, and being student body president and a National Merit Scholar). I ignored him, and when I got in, he was thrilled. Will some people be like my guidance counselor and fixate on your race? Maybe. But there are plenty of people who won’t, and all you need in this business are a few allies.

Marketing folks have brought this industry down with their stats and desperate pathological need to “brand” everything. It’s time to stop.

And as for free rewrites, I just walked from a project because the producer tried to break our contract and get a free unpaid draft. It hurt, but you have to put your foot down. Like somebody else pointed else here, we are the creators. Time to act like that. Viva la revolucion!

End of line.

In a moment of weakness, I thought about the odds of a black writer suceeding after what John wrote about the industry. I am happy that I came back to read your advice about ignoring the odds. This seems to make the most sense, or, I will drive my self insane.

Paula- my writing, at least so far, is 1 black lead and 3 white leads. One is a comedy, one is a violent satire, one is a thriller and one is a comic tragedy. I wrote other things. But, these are the first 4 that I am willing to admit to have written.

When you get in the room, let the best things about your story speak for themselves. Visuals help these days when you are pitching. People don’t read anymore. They have to see it to believe in it.