John August

Film Industry

Three directors, no money for rent

Directors, Film Industry, QandA

questionmarkI have a good problem. Three of my scripts have found directors in the last two weeks, after about 18 months of development. But! I just lost my day job and my bank account is in dire straits.

Each director has given me comprehensive notes, enough to keep me working overtime if writing was my sole moneymaker. I want to show them what a quick, clean worker I am, but I also have to pay my bills, and eat. What the hell do I do?

— Ben
NYC

Most screenwriters are broke at some point. Better it happens at the start of your career than the end.

I had a gap between my last “real” job and my first paid screenwriting assignment. I watched what little money I had dribble away. I made a spreadsheet budget and figured I could make it two months. My mom helped pay my rent, and I made it five months until the first check came. During that time, I wasn’t going out a lot.

Cut your expenses as low as you can. Don’t buy Starbucks. Cook cheap things you can eat for a week. And cancel your cable — you’ll be too busy working to watch.

Desperation can be productive. You have a lot of incentive to work your ass off.

Don’t get evicted or ruin your credit. You probably have someone in your life who can loan you some money to see you through this stretch. Maybe it’s a parent. Maybe it’s a friend. So ask. Be honest about the good things that are happening, and the bad things.

How cool are the directors/producers you’re working with? If there’s one you really click with — and who doesn’t seem to be down to his last twenty — be candid about your situation and see if he’ll advance you some money. A director can’t get your best work if you’re fighting to stay afloat.

There’s no romance in being broke, and no shame either. Be smart and work through it.

Do novelists get more for successful adaptations?

Big Fish, Film Industry, QandA, Rights and Copyright

questionmarkWhen a novel is adapted into a film or television series, how does compensation to the writer of the original novel work?

Does a studio pay the writer in one lump sum and then is allowed to do whatever they want with the property? Or does the original writer still benefit in some form if the adapted film or series is successful? For example, in the case of the television show Dexter, does Jeff Lindsay receive any extra compensation because the show has lasted as long as it has? Or was he paid only once, and then the success of the series makes no impact on his checkbook?

— Corey

I don’t know the specific deal with Dexter. But as a general case, yes, both scenarios are possible.

The studio (or producers) might pay a lump sum for all theatrical and/or television rights, generally structured as an option agreement. (Some money now for an exclusive hold on the rights, more money later if we decide to make it.)

Particularly in the case of a best-selling novel, the writer’s deal could include some form of backend. For a television series, that would likely be a specific amount per episode produced, along with a piece of the show’s profits. For feature films, it could be anything from a percentage of net profits (which almost never actually occur) to staggered bonuses at certain thresholds of domestic or worldwide box office.

Studios often buy books as manuscripts before they’re published. (That was the case with Big Fish.) In that situation, there may be language in the contract stipulating additional fees if the book enters the New York Times bestseller list, or some other event after publication.

For a novelist, a successful film or television adaptation should result in more sales of her book, and that money is all hers. The studio doesn’t get any portion of Stephenie Meyer’s publishing money for the Twilight series, nor Lindsay’s for Dexter.

Why must we have board-game movies?

Adaptation, Film Industry, QandA

questionmarkSo, I understand the merits of re-making movies from the past, or making old TV shows into features. I also get it from a studios perspective inasmuch as it’s a known property that has a fanbase, or has made a profit in the past.

But when I see studios making adaptations of toys like “Magic 8 Ball” or “Battleship” or “Stretch Armstrong” it really bums out the aspiring writer in me. It makes me think Hollywood doesn’t want my original idea. Can you talk me down from the ledge?

— Logan
Los Angeles

Logan, I’m right there on the ledge with you. But when you look down past your shoelaces, you realize that it’s not rocks and crashing waves below. The ledge we’re standing on is about eight feet high. At the bottom is concrete.

Jump wrong, and it’s going to be painful. Jump carefully, and you’ll be fine.

Yes, I rolled my eyes when the “Battleship” movie was announced. But I’ll happily see a modern naval war movie, and if it has to be named after a Milton Bradley property, so be it. A hidden upside to writing a movie based on just a title is that the screenwriter has huge latitude, unlike a book or TV adaptation.

Pendulums swing. It was dumb to make a movie out of a theme park ride before Pirates of the Caribbean. This trend towards making movies out of properties with no inherent narrative will eventually end. (A big success from an original like Inception might help.) In the meantime, let’s root for the best versions of these projects.

Good movies are a blessing, regardless of the source.

Producers, managers and deals

Film Industry, QandA, WGA

questionmarkAfter a year of development with my managers/producers, my script just landed a director. But the “package” we’re putting together is still floating in the ether.

As we now enter another round of notes in an effort to find an actor for our film, I’m suddenly left with the real question of payment — when a studio eventually buys the script, package intact, how much can I hope to earn, and whom do I trust to negotiate the sale?

I have no agent at this point. My manager is very well-connected and on the up-and-up, but as he will take a producing credit for this film, I know he’s after his own interests as well as mine, and I want to make sure he’ll get me the highest possible paycheck for my efforts. Can I trust him to do so?

The line between manager and producer seems a blurry one. Assuming the film’s budget is around $15M and I’m a first-time writer, what can I expect?

— Lee
Los Angeles

Ready? The answer is $86,156.

That’s currently [WGA scale](http://wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/min2008.pdf) for an original screenplay. At $15 million, your movie would very likely be made for a company that’s a WGA signatory, and would fall in the “high” budget category. ((Movies with smaller budgets — and microbudgets — can be made under other WGA terms with different rates.)) All of the major studios are signatories, as are most of the production companies you’ve heard of. If you’re with one of these places, the least they can pay you is WGA scale, and you’re automatically a member of the guild. ((Some buyers have non-signatory divisions specifically to get around these requirements, enabling them to hire non-WGA writers for less. But if your producer-manager allows this to happen, he should be run out of town. Your director is probably DGA. Whatever actor you’re attaching will be SAG. You should be WGA.))

So that’s how much you should expect to earn. Should you hope to get more? Yes. And maybe you will, especially if you have multiple interested buyers. But I’d urge you to emotionally condition yourself for that number and be delighted with anything above it.

If a deal comes together quickly, use an entertainment attorney to negotiate on your behalf. You’re right to wonder whether what’s best for the producer-manager is necessarily best for you. It’s an uncomfortable conflict of interest at times. But your interests are absolutely aligned in one way: **you really, really want to get this movie made.** A slightly better offer from a place you don’t believe will make and distribute your movie isn’t a better offer at all.

Once your project starts getting attention — you sign an actor, some deals look possible — you’ll find it easier to start talking to agents. Your manager should be making introductions. Buyers and actors’ agents might have suggestions. Once you sign with an agent, he or she will start making deals on your behalf in concert with your manager and attorney. But it’s not an essential component right now.

It’s scary and exciting think about What Might Be, but far more important is the work in front of you.

Keep writing. I know far too many screenwriters who pinned all their hopes on one script that never quite found footing. The actual career is getting to paid to write, not selling specs.