John August

Film Industry

To live and die in LA

Film Industry, QandA

In your opinion, does a feature scriptwriter need to live in the Los Angeles
area to be fairly active in the business and sell work?

–K. Strom

Yes. As much as I want to believe that a fledgling screenwriter in Scranton,
PA, can take the industry by storm, the majority of writers working in studio feature films live and work in Los Angeles, at least in the early stages of
their career.

Could you do it in London? Sure. New York? Probably. Could you just commute
back and forth to LA, spending most of your time somewhere else? Maybe.

The real question is should you, K. Strom, move from wherever you live to
Los Angeles? That’s the $1000 question, and one that’s been raised at least
half a dozen times in the three years I’ve been writing this column. Basically,
if your life’s dream is to become a giant Hollywood screenwriter, then you
need to live in Hollywood. If you have different goals — indie films, for
example — your options are much more open.

Does a Brit have a chance?

Film Industry, QandA

questionmarkI’m a 20-year old university student from London, currently studying film and creative writing at Buckinghamshire University. I’ve got a few questions that I would really appreciate you answering:

  1. Coming from England and being a wannabe film writer, would you suggest moving to America or at least selling to America? To me the English movie scene is pretty dull and lifeless. Apart from the odd Guy Ritchie film, there’s not a lot to offer in England unless you want grim reality films of how poor the North of England is.
  2. Do you think being from England will affect my chances of selling to America in terms of dialogue etc?

–Scott Macinnes

answer icon(Scott actually had five questions, but other columns probably answered the other three. So let’s address the England question.)

While your assessment of the British film industry is funny, I also think it’s a little unfair. Considering its size, the U.K. has a pretty substantial film business, with a wider variety of genres than you’d admit. True, if you want non-James Bond big summer popcorn movies, you’re out of luck. But you can find good examples of almost every other kind of movie.

Unless you’re dying to leave England, my advice is to stay put and see what you can learn there, at least for a year or two. It’s much easier to make the transition to Hollywood if you have something to show for yourself.

For instance, Christopher Nolan went from the tiny-budgeted FOLLOWING (shot in the UK), to the small-budgeted MEMENTO (shot in the U.S.) to the studio feature INSOMNIA.

But if you’re sure it’s L.A.-or-nothing, then by all means come. But make sure you’re going to be able to get some kind of work or educational visa that will let you stay in the country for a few years.

MPAA numbers

Film Industry, QandA

I know about WGA and Library of Congress copyright registration, but someone
told me that films also get MPAA numbers on the scripts? Is this true?

–V. Thomas

You don’t need to worry about this. Really. Ever. At all. I’ve made a couple
of big studio movies, and I’ve never seen an MPAA number on anything.
But since you’re curious, I’ll tell you a bit about the the magic numbers.

The MPAA is a trade organization made up of
the seven major film studios: Fox, Warner Bros., Sony, MGM, Disney, Universal
and Paramount. While these studios compete fiercely with each other, they work
together through the MPAA on issues of common interest, such as preventing
piracy, maintaining copyright, and establishing ratings. The MPAA — specifically
its president, Jack Valenti — is the "face" of the film industry
to Congress.

Way down on the list of MPAA responsibilities is the job of keeping track
of its members’ movies, for all sorts of internal reasons. That’s when a movie
is assigned a number, which is probably the same "MPAA number" your
friend saw on a script.

It’s nothing a screenwriter ever needs to worry about, but now you know.

Do I show my scripts or my short?

Film Industry, QandA

I have just finished my first feature APPLESEED LAKE which
I wrote/directed/produced on a very low budget. I am now at the stage where
I am preparing
to show it to people whilst at the same time writing my follow up script. Would
it help me get (writing) representation by showing agents the finished film?
Or should I just stick to showing prospective agents scripts that I have written?

–Peter

If you’re interested in both writing and directing, you’ll obviously want
to find an agent who handles both fields. Both your screenplay and your feature
will be important at some stage.

Because of the time commitment involved, not many agents are apt to pop in
a videotape to check out a low-budget movie from someone they’ve never heard
of. The odds of suckage are just too high. They are, however, more likely to
crack open a script. Your instincts are right.

If your film gets into some festivals, however, that can be a great way to
get the process started. Say an agent sees your film and introduces herself.
That’s a tremendous opportunity to talk about the scripts you’ve written and
offer one to read. Most writer/directors at a film festival don’t have representation
going in, and smart agents will always be looking for new talent.