John August

QandA

Optioning a novel, and the golden age of television

Episode - 25

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Books, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

For their 25th podcast, John and Craig tackle listener questions.

How does a screenwriter option a novel he wants to adapt? John has optioned two novels — one through a studio, and one on his own — while Craig recently optioned his first. In each of these cases, we found the psychological aspects to be just as important as the legal ones.

When can a writer say he “wrote” a movie — particularly if there are other credited writers? John and Craig disagree a bit here, with John trying to draw the distinction between “worked on” and “wrote.”

Finally, should an aspiring writer focus on television or features? The answer from two feature writers may surprise you. Or not: television is pretty damn good these day.

Links:

* [Finding out if a book has been optioned](http://johnaugust.com/2007/book-optioned)
* [The Hero from Otherwhere](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1838431.Hero_from_Otherwhere) by Jay Williams
* [What’s That Book?](http://www.whatsthatbook.com/)
* [Big Fish, a Novel of Mythical Proportions](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616201649/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1616201649) by Daniel Wallace
* [Summer of the Monkeys](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0440415802/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Wilson Rawls
* [How I Became a Famous Novelist](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802170609/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0802170609) by Steve Hely
* INTRO: [The Gary Coleman Show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZQSPfTq42M) opening credits
* OUTRO: [I Wanna Dance with Somebody](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weBTm5pH3rw) by Adrian Glynn

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_25.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-22-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-25-optioning-a-novel-and-the-golden-age-of-television-transcript).

The downside of TV’s golden age

Television

Ryan McGee argues that the success of HBO’s drama series has come with an [unexpected cost](http://www.avclub.com/articles/did-the-sopranos-do-more-harm-than-good-hbo-and-th,69596/?mobile=true):

> The Sopranos took a patient approach that rewarded sustained viewing. The promise that payoffs down the line would be that much sweeter for the journey didn’t originate with the HBO mob drama, but the series turned into the boilerplate for what passes as critically relevant television.

> But is this a good thing? The Sopranos opened up what was possible on television. But it also limited it. It seems silly to state that the addition of ambition to the medium has somehow hindered its growth, but making HBO the gold standard against which quality programming is judged has hurt television more than it’s helped it.

By focussing on series arcs rather than individual episodes, today’s acclaimed series don’t reward the traditional once-a-week viewer. Any given hour — McGee calls them “installments” rather than “episodes” — is judged primarily on how it moves along the bigger storyline.

> The single episode has taken a backseat in importance to the season, which itself is subservient to the series. Rather than take stock of what has just transpired, eyes get cast immediately toward that which is still unseen. In other words, what just aired gets mixed into what we’ve already seen in order to formulate opinions about the unknown future. After all, if we measure quality by the gold standard of HBO, then by definition, the best element of the show has yet to actually air.

McGee’s thesis is that by focussing so much attention and praise on the long-arc sagas, we’re discounting and discouraging the goal of writing great episodes every week.

I share his opinion, up to a point. Finding the balance between long-arc saga and the needs of any given episode is tricky. Few series do it well.

But on the whole, I’m happy with our current crop of ambitious dramas that spill beyond the margins of their assigned hours.

If I’m going to watch a show, I’m going to watch every episode. Yes, that means there are certain shows I still haven’t watched because I haven’t been able to commit to watching the whole thing. But that’s okay.

These series are out there waiting for me when or if I have time. They exist as unified pieces of entertainment the way CBS procedurals never will.

I can’t blame showrunners for writing novels rather than short stories.

(Speaking of which, thanks to [@Josh_Friedman](https://twitter.com/#!/josh_friedman) for the link.)

All the easy answers

QandA

Sometimes I worry that my site has gotten too inside-baseball with its discussions of esoteric screenwriting terms, software tools and film industry economics.

Is this stuff even accessible to a newbie?

A quick visit to the mailbag is reassuring. Newcomers don’t seem intimidated. For example, this email came just moments ago:

> Dear John August,

> or whomever will read this,

> I have a few questions, I have come up with a great idea for a movie and I am wondering how to get the idea out there.

> I want to write a script for the movie. I can vision it so perfectly in my mind. How much do I need to type up? How can I get it copyrighted? Where do I go from there?

> My idea is to send it straight to the movie companies but is that the best choice? I need some info on it. If something could be set up how long would it take and how fast would this screenplay/script need to be written.

> I am looking forward to a response.

You’ve got the movie in your head, so just write as much as feel like writing. Spelling doesn’t matter, but illustrations will help the director see what you want.

When you’re finished, put your script/screenplay in an envelope addressed to Hollywood. You don’t need an address. It’s like sending a letter to Santa at the North Pole — the post office knows where to deliver it.

You’ll get your check in about three weeks.

Hollywood by the numbers

Film Industry, Geek Alert

Give Horace Dediu a bunch of Hollywood data and he’ll make [some great charts](http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/07/hollywood-by-the-numbers/) that test your hunches.

For example, it’s very unlikely to have a $200 million blockbuster outside the summer or Christmas windows:

blockbuster seasons

(That outlier from 2004 is [The Passion of the Christ](http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm).)

Deidu asks a question I’d never considered: How feasible is it for an outside company to become a major distributor?

> The top five [studios] were earning 64% of revenues in 1975 and the top five were earning 60% in 2011. One of the top five from 1975 is no longer in the running this year (MGM) and one new major was added (Buena Vista, owned by Disney).

> There has been one other notable change: Columbia was acquired by Sony but stayed out of the top 5. Beside Disney there is one new significant entrant in Dreamworks gaining share in the last decade.

> But the prevailing impression from the data is that the incumbents remained as such during the last four decades. There are many small studios but they have not “disrupted” the market by shifting significant revenues out of the hands of the majors.

The same big studios have been dominating the business for *forty years.* That’s remarkable stability for an industry that feels so tumultuous.

Dediu’s [whole analysis](http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/07/hollywood-by-the-numbers/) is worth a look. Or a semester’s study.