what if i dont want to work in hollywood?

scarletkitten · Jun 29, 2011

I read a lot of blogs and info on script/screen writing online and for the most part its people trying to break hollywood.

I am based in the UK and I dont really see the TV series I (and my partner) have written as being a hollywood kind of deal, its more of a low key, low budget kind of deal with a good story and great characters.

So what about those of us who arent interested in making a pile of cash and just want the satisfaction of seeing our work on screen? I'm not trying to belittle anyone elses dreams or anything. i am just curious if the Hollywood advice applies to everyone or should I be taking a different approach entirely?

and while I am on the subject... have any of you guys ever had work made? anywhere?

Trying to get the attention of even the small companies is proving difficult, so far only one has agreed to read our pilot and they didnt like it. the rest just say no no no no without knowing what we have written. infuriating!

Goldenleaves · Jun 29, 2011

No-one has to work in Hollywood. There are companies using scripts all over the world. You could even think about producing it yourself.

Maryn · Jun 29, 2011

Hollywood is the apex for a certain kind of screenwriting. If that's what you were interested in, it would make sense to be near it. But since you're not, it makes sense to be near where the work you are interested in is produced.

I have a few screenwriter friends (on another board, before I knew AW existed) who've had work produced. One lives in Los Angeles. The other lives in San Francisco and is available to fly to L.A. if they want to talk with him face to face. They're both working, and making sales, doing rewrites, etc. as their sole source of income.

There's also at least one man there in the UK whose work is now under production for the first time. Apparently the film industry (including the BBC) works very differently than in the US, and is easier to break into if you have quality, marketable work for sale.

Based on that, maybe you need to be right where you are, so long as you're able to get to London on request.

Maryn, pleased to meet you

scarletkitten · Jun 29, 2011

thanks for the advice,

yes I can get to London pretty easily if need be I am only an hour away, my writing partner is in Australia so she might find it a bit tricky

So far we arent having much luck with it but we are just going to keep plugging away until someone reads it, i know if the right person reads it they will love it, but because its a little... alternative... we are aware it wont appeal to everyone.

Im Kat, nice to meet you too

Hillgate · Jun 29, 2011

I'll give you my answer when I do my first studio deal

BrassStotch · Jun 29, 2011

scarletkitten said:
I read a lot of blogs and info on script/screen writing online and for the most part its people trying to break hollywood.

I am based in the UK and I dont really see the TV series I (and my partner) have written as being a hollywood kind of deal, its more of a low key, low budget kind of deal with a good story and great characters.

So what about those of us who arent interested in making a pile of cash and just want the satisfaction of seeing our work on screen? I'm not trying to belittle anyone elses dreams or anything. i am just curious if the Hollywood advice applies to everyone or should I be taking a different approach entirely?

and while I am on the subject... have any of you guys ever had work made? anywhere?

Trying to get the attention of even the small companies is proving difficult, so far only one has agreed to read our pilot and they didnt like it. the rest just say no no no no without knowing what we have written. infuriating!

If you are planning writing solely on spec, than I can imagine a living could be made living outside of Hollywood or New York. It would be hard, no doubt, but I know of a couple writers that have wrangled it.

As for writing on assignment, I think it's damn near impossible as writing on assignment needs some amount of trust that is almost impossible to build with out daily and personal interactions.

But that's a total newbs two cents. Take from it what you will.

Hillgate · Jun 30, 2011

You can sell a movie on spec and watch it get made and get to the screen wherever you live, but it is amazingly difficult. Even when you do sell one, you may not sell another one for another 5 or 10 or 20 years or ever and the actual money you earn from a first screenplay is unlikely to be high enough to sustain you for much longer than a year.

Being close to the action (LA, London, Paris etc) stands you in good stead in terms of being in the loop on a lot more stuff than would be the case if you lived in Santiago. However, I know - from a recent visit - that Australia is crying out for good screenwriters: just tell your friend to go and talk to Ausfilm and Screen Australia at Fox Studios if they haven't already done so. It's fun and they're extremely friendly and helpful.

icerose · Jun 30, 2011

From someone who has tried it's extremely difficult. I've backed off for now because my responses went from no/not interested to "When you're in LA".

The logical thing to do would be to move to LA and follow up on those "When you're here" but I can't do that. My husband refuses to live in California and I don't really want to live in an area where the lines in red are the dividing sections of controlling gangs. Not to mention the school system is in shambles and the government there is heavily in debt and unemployment is through the roof.

These were personal decisions and it meant giving up on any realistic chance of breaking into the industry. Doesn't mean I've stopped writing, I've just stopped writing scripts. It's actually quite depressing when your rejections stop being about your work and are all about your zipcode.

With you being in the UK, I definitely echo the above of working with the BBC and companies there. The UK has it's own movie scene to tap into.

Good luck.

MikTal · Jun 30, 2011

what if i dont want to work in hollywood?

Good for you I say. Writing for Hollywood is a total delusion, you really may as well just do the lottery. First thing I decided when I started writing four years a go, is NOT to buy into that nonsense.
Fact of the matter is, if you are good enough, opportunities will come to you. Regardless of how exensive or cheap your script is to produce. If you have written something low budget, then try and have your series produced over the Internet first, and not TV; many other have.

Start small, get recognition, then move from there.

I wrote and worked with my cousins production team, when we did our first short.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYIAQwcWAQ

We got a lot of excellent response from that, which encouraged me to write a full length mini-budget feature, which we are seeking funding. We have all chipped in, but are a little short to get it all done.
Never ceases to amaze me to see the blood drain from a "writer`s" body, when it`s suggested that they financially invest in their own work.

M. Scott · Jun 30, 2011

The entire entertainment industry is a crapshoot. Chances of your first work/release going somewhere huge is rare. Start small and build a reputation. The way I see it, most won't risk anything on your work unless you already have a profitable project (or more) under your belt.

scarletkitten · Jun 30, 2011

Thanks for the positive responses.

This is like the 3rd or 4th script i have written, but the first with a partner, and I love it. I never had the courage to send my previous work anywhere but the work we have just undertaken took over our lives so there is no way we are not going to be pursuing it.

Her husband as actually directing a short film at the moment and has worked on many small films, she is very knowledgable about the aussie film industry. He wants us to write him a short film when we finish this, so thats our next project, they have actors who have already volunteered to donate their time to do it, really australia are a lot more amenable to the arts

I guess we just keep plugging away and see if we can annoy anyone enough to want to read it

whacko · Jun 30, 2011

Hey SK,

Have a look at the BBC's writers' room. Apparently they're always looking for fresh new talent, even though they told me to bugger off and stop annoying them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

Regards

Whacko

scarletkitten · Jun 30, 2011

thanks whacko. yeah they are the ones that had our script for 4 months, that was our first port of call actually, it seemed like a relatively easy process just because they accepted anything.

we already kind of had an idea that our SP would be a bit too...erm.... alternative for BBC,

creativexec · Jul 1, 2011

scarletkitten said:
So what about those of us who arent interested in making a pile of cash and just want the satisfaction of seeing our work on screen?

This is actually a good approach, because the truth is you probably won't have any success in Hollywood - not an iota.

I'm saying this in a general manner, of course. 98% of all people who come to Hollywood never make a dime, let alone a pile of cash. Even those who don't come to Hollywood and write scrips from a remote location will never have any professional satisfaction either.

While it's hard to get a movie made in the Hollywood system, it's just as difficult to have success out of it too. There are thousands of independent films made a year and just a few are ever distributed or seen (let alone seen on a big screen) - other than by family at the holidays.

It's all a big crap shoot, so I'd suggest you remain open-minded. Write, write, write your projects and go wherever the momentum takes you.

Hopefully, one day you'll be in the position to turn down piles of Hollywood cash.

But don't count on it.

scarletkitten · Jul 1, 2011

Im not precious about the things I have written, I am very accepting of the fact that even if someone likes our work they may not like every single aspect of it, and yes there are certain things that i am attached to but other things that Im not attached to so much in terms of plot.

I'm not even knocking the Hollywood thing, I have had plenty of ideas that would be suited to big actors, with big budgets and all that Jazz and I am a huge fan of movies, of any sort.

What I would like more than anything is for someone to watch our show and see something of themselves in there, beause thats all we have tried to do, reflect real people, people that we felt are very often misrepresented on TV.

Hillgate · Jul 1, 2011

scarletkitten said:
Im not precious about the things I have written, I am very accepting of the fact that even if someone likes our work they may not like every single aspect of it, and yes there are certain things that i am attached to but other things that Im not attached to so much in terms of plot.

I'm not even knocking the Hollywood thing, I have had plenty of ideas that would be suited to big actors, with big budgets and all that Jazz and I am a huge fan of movies, of any sort.

What I would like more than anything is for someone to watch our show and see something of themselves in there, beause thats all we have tried to do, reflect real people, people that we felt are very often misrepresented on TV.

It sounds to me like you need to go and make a pilot yourselves. Why not? Do it for as little as you can and if writing's good then even if the budget's low you may get somewhere with TV.

scarletkitten · Jul 1, 2011

its pretty tempting as I am a complete control freak and would really love it to be made the way we envisioned it. maybe I should look at funding hmmm

Hillgate · Jul 1, 2011

scarletkitten said:
its pretty tempting as I am a complete control freak and would really love it to be made the way we envisioned it. maybe I should look at funding hmmm

Just do it!

frimble3 · Jul 1, 2011

scarletkitten said:
Her husband as actually directing a short film at the moment and has worked on many small films, she is very knowledgable about the aussie film industry. He wants us to write him a short film when we finish this, so thats our next project, they have actors who have already volunteered to donate their time to do it, really australia are a lot more amenable to the arts

If they've already got on-the-scene knowledge and contacts, I'd suggest looking at Australia first.

LIVIN · Jul 2, 2011

scarletkitten said:
its pretty tempting as I am a complete control freak and would really love it to be made the way we envisioned it. maybe I should look at funding hmmm

Or maybe you should look into getting over being a control freak. Afterall, a little input from others can be helpful. :idea:

Stylo · Jul 5, 2011

I'm also UK based and have in the past had a sitcom considered by the (then) commissioning editor for comedy at Channel 4 (who didn't like it). Thing is, an indie prod co showed it to C4 for me - you really need a prod co interested enough in your writing to shop it around. Unfortunately a lot of prod co's won't even accept submissions any more as they simply don't have the resources to trawl through crap looking for the elusive golden nugget. However, don't let that stop you trying! A simple polite e-mail with a brief synopsis has created a request to read the full script many times for me. Also, keep your eyes on the BBC writersroom site and enter any competitions that are posted there. Often the prizes are masterclasses or residential workshops - a wonderful opportunity to network your ass off!

Best of Luck

GRAHAMdotter · Jul 5, 2011

Hollywood or TV

scarletkitten said:
I read a lot of blogs and info on script/screen writing online and for the most part its people trying to break hollywood.

I am based in the UK and I dont really see the TV series I (and my partner) have written as being a hollywood kind of deal, its more of a low key, low budget kind of deal with a good story and great characters.

So what about those of us who arent interested in making a pile of cash and just want the satisfaction of seeing our work on screen? I'm not trying to belittle anyone elses dreams or anything. i am just curious if the Hollywood advice applies to everyone or should I be taking a different approach entirely?

and while I am on the subject... have any of you guys ever had work made? anywhere?

Trying to get the attention of even the small companies is proving difficult, so far only one has agreed to read our pilot and they didnt like it. the rest just say no no no no without knowing what we have written. infuriating!

Well....I think it's the same thing, more or less....Hollywood or TV. You still have to get used to story structure....and writing....local TV maybe easier to get into just because you're there...local...hence easier to establish a network..but that doesn't seem to be your experience.

I wouldn't demonize Hollywood...they produce tons of stories every year and many are great with great characters.

screenscope · Jul 5, 2011

I've been trying to break into Hollywood with feature scripts from Australia for about eight years, with various adventures and near misses. More recently I've teamed up with a director friend and we're about to shoot our second short. The plan is to get a few more under our belt and then apply for funding for a low budget feature, which is a realistic option in this country.

We've also recently come up with a concept for a long running TV drama series, which immediately caught the interest of the first three production companies I approached. TV seems to be booming and the constant demand for new shows means there's a much bigger market than for movies. This positive reaction has given us a lot of food for thought.

what if i dont want to work in hollywood?

scarletkitten

Goldenleaves

Benefactor Member

Maryn

I Tried

scarletkitten

Hillgate

On location

BrassStotch

Hillgate

On location

icerose

Lost in School Work

MikTal

M. Scott

2024 will be my year!

scarletkitten

whacko

Keeping up with the class

scarletkitten

creativexec

New kid, be gentle!

scarletkitten

Hillgate

On location

scarletkitten

Hillgate

On location

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

LIVIN

Stylo

wall gazer extraordinaire

GRAHAMdotter

screenscope