Jerm said:
"So you're saying there's a chance?" - Dumb and Dumber
Well I appreciate the blunt and brutal truth. Everything I have read and researched pretty much indicated exactly as you said.
MrJayVee has given you some good advice.
The thing about agencies is that few will accept unsollicited queries. There's a list of agencies at
www.wga.org that's coded to indicate which of them will, and I've watched as that number has shrunk down over the past several years to almost nothing.
You're better off, methinks, to query prodcos, and if you get a bite and that's followed by some serious interest, they can recommend an agent to you, cause they don't usually wanna sell to an unrepped writer.
If you could afford it, the HCD on-line would be a great resource for finding prodcos and their contact information, but it's $275 a year for a subscription. What I've done is recruit several other writers and we share the cost so that it works out to be only about $25 apiece. One of us gets the registration and password, then shares the password so we can all get in.
HCD is "Hollywood Creative Directory," they have several different databases of industry folks: prodcos, agents, directors, and the like. There are some 3,000 prodcos in the prodco database. They provide the names of the key staff, projects that are in work, and pictures they have produced. Plus emails, addresses and phone numbers.
It is absolutely imperative that you get your script vetted by some knowledgable movie persona before submitting it. You may have stuff in it that's a sure mark of an amateur, and that stuff simply cannot be there. As Mr.JayVee said, you only get one shot at making an impression, which means your job is to leave no stone unturned in assuring that your script isn't going to turn anyone off.
Agents want writers who have three or more solid screenplays for a variety of good reasons, including, 1) it shows commitment, 2) shows perseverence, 3) illustrates talent and skill, 4) indicates that the writer might produce a string of scripts of which the agent might sell one or two; and, finally, shows that the writer might be able to handle an assignment or do some television.
Jerm said:
So I guess the million dollar question is what makes a great script to you? or to the agent's or to the prod's? I mean everyone has to start somewhere right? So there must be some thing or things that are specifically looked for in scripts?
Entertaining story;compelling story; page turners; compliant with the conventions of genre; not excessively expensive to produce; no rehashes; meaty roles actors will be attracted to; fresh and unique tale; sufficiently theatrical; not too long, not too short, i.e., 100-110 pages; not overly complex.
Jerm said:
I've read plenty of horror stories about agents and their stacks of scripts. So I no a script can be passed over for it having 3 brads instead of two. It can be virtually anything to give the reader a bad day. But still movies are getting made so there has to be something out there that is "Written in stone" or something specifically they look for?
See above. The best possible world is a script nobody can put down once they start reading it, otherwise known as a "page turner."
Jerm said:
I thought I read somewhere where most screenwriters don't get but more then 1 or 2 screenplays that will ever be turned into a movie? So if that's the case and it's more common then one screenwriter who gets 5 or 10 screenplays made into movies then what does a agent or prod care if you only have 1 good screenplay knowing that most won't make more than 2? Hope that made sense..
Again, see the reasons noted above.
Also, keep this stat in mind: most first time sales involve writers who have written nine screenplays, on average. I'm kinda sorta living proof of that rule-of-thumb because I've written ten, just finished number 11, and although I've come close to making a sale it has yet to happen (but it will
).
Get your work vetted, figure out a way to get into the HCD, make a list of prodcos to query, and query away. And, have a great logline plus a one page synopsis ready, cause that's the first thing they'll ask to see.
Jerm said:
Another question or questions I have to MrJayVee and whoever else would like to give some feedback is how do you feel about the
http://www.screenwritingexpo.com/ in LA? I see that screenwriters are given a chance to PITCH their stories? I have never been but that is my goal for next year. I didn't feel like I had enough artillery ready yet this year so decided to wait until next october when I had a few solid scripts and learned how to pitch a script. Yes I research...
I am not sure how the expo works and wonder if it's just a easy way to take cash from wouldbe writers? Are they worth the $25 dollar pitch fee for 5 mins? Are they pitching to actual prods or agents at these things? The way I look at it is being from Oklahoma I am probably at a distinct disadvantage because how many movie stars and screenwriters are from Oklahoma? You can probably count them on both hands. So right away I have that going against me. I don't have any big contacts or anything of that nature, what I do have is a good script that I want everyone to be able to see.
A good friend of mine attended the recent expo in LA and came away with some very good contacts and requests to see material from top agencies in the botique ranks. I think it's a good venue in which to expose your work to industry folks, including agents. But, ya gotta know how to pitch, which my friend does. Bring along some one-page synops of your work to leave with people. Doesn't hurt to have a business card either. My friend later met with an agency and enjoyed a very productive meeting; they are reading her now. I'll be surprised if they don't decide to rep her.
Keep charging!
to everyone who has given me valuable info when I needed it, very much appreciated. Proud to say that I received my WGA registration cert which is pretty cool. Also will be mailing my script off today at noon for Copyright! 
