Screenplay submission- Include a DVD?

ShawnW · May 12, 2006

Hi. I'm a graphic novel author. I've recently had a friend in the movie industry offer to pass around a screen adaptation of my comic book. I'm working on the screenplay now, reading alot of guides and how to's. I'm a huge movie fan and I'd like to do this right.

My question:
As I have a great deal of artwork lying around from the comic book, I'm considering putting together a still image montage as a trailor and including it with the script submission. However everything I've read about successfully selling a screenplay says that including illustrations and pterry cover pages and such is very amature and to be avoided at all costs. I was wondering if this fell into that category.

What do you think?

Thanks.

icerose · May 12, 2006

Your's is kind of a unique situation with a personal friend passing it around.

Leave your script free from pictures, industry standard. Send your friend some of your pictures, your best ones, to go along with it, but not inside of or part of the script itself. It's for, if anyone asks, or if they move beyond the basic reading phase.

The reason being is you want to sell your script not give them pretty pictures. But if they are showing some interest he can offer to show them, but beyond that your script should stand on its own and the last thing you want o do is annoy them. That's my suggestion, I could be wrong.

scripter1 · May 12, 2006

Icerose's advice is sound.

Just submitt the screenplay but carry the pictures in reserve.

They may come in handy during a pitch.

dpaterso · May 12, 2006

If your friend is passing the screenplay around, maybe he should at least be armed with copies of your comic book in case anyone asks? Some form of sales demographic probably wouldn't hurt either, i.e. how many fans are guaranteed to queue up to see the film? If he has to stand up in a room and pitch the screenplay, maybe hanging some poster artwork samples (the rugged square-jawed lycra-clad hero, the fantasy heroine with exaggerated assets...) might add to the atmosphere, who knows? But a DVD? I'm just not sure. Use the Force, it will guide you.

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.
Stop reading this and get some writing done instead.

Chesher Cat · May 13, 2006

If the graphic novel was published you should include it. Or at least some pages of the art. It's hard to get anybody to read a script...in your case pictures are valid and may spur someone to actually open the script and give it a read.

zagoraz · May 15, 2006

Is the comic book in a completed form? Why not send it along with your script? As someone who drudges through 30-40 queries a day, I find that most that include photo montages or fake one sheets come across 99 percent of the time as amateurish and laughably bad. Obviously you don't want to send it out unsolicited, but if and when you do get requests it would be a good addition to your script.

English Dave · May 15, 2006

Is the proposed screen adaptation live action or animation?

ShawnW · May 19, 2006

Live action, though I would have no aversion to animation. The comic itself is live action.

Yes I have completed books. Self published. I used to work for Cho-Zen Entertainment, a mixed media company, before they folded. This is an independant project.

zeprosnepsid · May 22, 2006

I just read Gondry's script for Be Kind, Rewind and there were pictures in it. It's not unheard of. But it probably goes over better if you're established like he is (although that's his first screenplay isn't it? --too lazy to look that up right now...)

I don't think it'd be considered particularly unprofessional to send along a couple pictures with the script, but every one is different. One agent/production company will hate that sort of thing while it might spark someone else's imagination.

gromhard · Jul 5, 2006

Send as MANY pictures as you can. The sexier the better. I work in the tv/movie industry and let me tell you, those people are freakin illiterate idiots. Especially producers, who in the end are the ones who greenlight.
Sending them a script is like sending a caveman Shakespeare.
People in Hollywood aren't readers but they love DVDs and pictures. Especially if the picture is funny. You WANT them to want to show their friends your DVD.

And let's not forget that Sin City set this town on fire last year, along with X-Men, Batman and Superman the comic industry is hotter than hell and if some producer/agent/director thinks he might have his hands on the next big thing then rest assured you'll get called.

Winterchase · Jul 7, 2006

Gromhard

Gromhard, I don't know if your advice/suggestion about sending pictures along is sound or not, but your description of the H'wood mind-set is right on, and accurate to a fault! There's only two things producers can grasp - pretty pictures and spread sheets.

Screenplay submission- Include a DVD?

Include the DVD?

No. Horrible idea.

Maybe... but probably not.

Doesn't really matter.

Sure. Can't hurt.

Absolutly! Great idea!

ShawnW

icerose

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scripter1

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dpaterso

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Chesher Cat

zagoraz

English Dave

ShawnW

zeprosnepsid

gromhard

Winterchase