Screenwriting Should Come With a Twelve-Step Program

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Sgt Spanky

My name is Capt. Jack Zodiac...and I am a screenwriter.

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Okay, maybe screenwriting isn't that bad but, damn, there should be a pill to help ya cope with the stress. I'm gonna do a little Spring cleaning of my emotional baggage here so indulge me a little.

I took up screenwriting on a lark about 12 years ago and found I had a pretty good knack for it. I've written a half dozen scripts and, of those, the two screenplays I aggresively marketed both got great reviews from industry pros: agents, readers, etc... and, long story short, I got an agent and eventually a signed contract for $100,000 payable upon commencement of principal photography for one of my scripts. I was dating another talented screenwriter at the time (she was sexy too) and I was a professional freelance reader for the American Film Institute. It was my job to read screenplays from writers who'd paid for the critiquing service and write up a comprehensive critique of their submitted scripts. It wasn't bad work and it provided extra money on the side.

Today, I'm unagented, unproduced and I haven't written a screenplay in 5 years.

Why?

Burnout! Major burnout with the standard crapola of dealing with the Hollywood machine. My agent wasn't working nearly as hard to sell my work as I was working to write it so we parted, the people who'd optioned my script decided they knew better how to write my movie than I did and their suggestions, at first, were reasonable but then grew progressively more stupid and inane until the deal imploded, my screenwriter girlfriend dumped me for her ex, and I got so tired of reading so many awful screenplays for the AFI that I resigned. At least that one was by choice.

It took me a hundred tries to land an agent and a option. I loved my girlfriend and then to have everything go kablooie overnight, well, I decided "screw this" and I went into the graphic arts instead. It's been a comfortable and easy life without any of the Hollywood crap making me old before my time so I set screenwriting aside.

But, now, after 5 years, the urge to re-enter the ring and try again is getting pretty overwhelming so, that's partially why I'm now seeking out the company of other writers online - to draw from your strength and enthusiasm to re-energize my own.

None of this means crap on a cracker to anyone but I've found it to be therapeutic to vent. If you've read all this, Bless you. You are truly a patient soul.

At any rate, I'm now actively preparing to send my work out again and developing my first new screenwriting project in 5 years. Take a lesson from my experience and try not to let it get to you.

It feels good to be back. :D

(((Group Hug)))
 

Optimus Maximus

What happened to the sexy chick you were dating and what's her number?

:p
 

Sgt Spanky

You Can Do Better

She married the ex and got knocked up...or vice-versa. You don't want her. Take my word for this.
 

JustinoXV

bad deal

"I got an agent and eventually a signed contract for $100,000 payable upon commencement of prinicpal photography for one of my scripts."

That right there was a sign that the deal is bad. You've mentioned you upfront money. That was a lemon of an agent, because even if the movie happens, principal photography maybe years away.

I do hope you feel better overall, and welcome to the group.
 

Writing Again

What about enjoyment?

Do you enjoy writing? Is it fun for you?

Have you ever considered writing anything besides screenplays?
 

kojled

ss

you do have the gift. i never read posts that long. give up after the second or third poorly composed sentence. best

zilla
 

Sgt Spanky

In Response...

Justino: "That right there was a sign that the deal is bad. You've mentioned you upfront money. That was a lemon of an agent, because even if the movie happens, principal photography maybe years away."

It was a standard option deal; a percentage of the sale price up front against the full $100K once the cameras roll. Not all scripts get purchased outright, sometimes you get an option deal. That's what this was. I got $5000 against $100K. This was additional proof to me my agent was a @#%$; $5K was 5% of the sale price, the standard for an option is 10%.

"I do hope you feel better overall, and welcome to the group. "

Thanks man.

dpaterso: "Man, what an heroic name! Not difficult to imagine you sitting at the controls of an X-wing fighter with a naked cadet officer sitting on your knee."

That was a mistake. My screenname everywhere else online is Capt. Jack Zodiac and it has been for years. I had to come up with a different one here because of a problem I was having so, by force of habit, I refer to myself as Capt. Jack.

I like it too.

"Interesting story, with Godfather-ish echoes. You wanted out, but it PULLED YOU BACK IN!"

Exactly! I feel so Al Pacino...ish.

"Better luck this time!"

Thanks to you too, man.

Writing Again: "What about enjoyment? Do you enjoy writing? Is it fun for you?"

I love writing screenplays. I've missed it very much. I just haven't missed the all the bullsh*t that goes with it. It's exhausting.

"Have you ever considered writing anything besides screenplays?"

Yeah, I've considered writing a novel but the same crap that makes screenwriting stressful goes for novelists as well. You still have to try and market yourself to uncaring agents who have huge slushpiles to wade through and you're just another wanna-be writer looking for a break. So, I figure, I may as well stick with screenplays since I must write and I'm more familiar with the screenplay format.

kojled: "you do have the gift. i never read posts that long. give up after the second or third poorly composed sentence. best

zilla"


Thanks, zilla. Best back.
 

DoubleIT

Ha

Great post, interesting to hear from someone who was oh so close. What was the screen play about? Its time to take these thoughts and feelings and use them as motovation for your next script. Oh and be sure to make fun of your ex in there somewhere.
 

Sgt Spanky

Re: Ha

The script is a sort of modern fairytale like Big or Splash and the story revolves around three characters: a 143 yr old Gypsy, a deformed woman, and the man she's secretly been in love with since childhood but he doesn't know she exists. Their lives become permanantly interwoven as the result of one miraculous night. The story is a journey of discovery for the man years later as he struggles to discover who these people are and what part they played in the miracle that rescued him from a lifetime as a vegetable after a terrible accident in his youth. The story is structured so that the audience learns the missing bits and pieces of the story at the same time the main character learns them. This makes the main character sort of an audience surrogate.

The script has a truly magical feel to it. That's what people responded to so consistently. It also compels you to keep reading so you can find out what all these missing details are. It's sort of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle until eventually the whole picture is formed. It's also funny throughout and spectacular in several places with some very cool eye candy.

I really hope I can recapture the joy I used to have writing before all the horsesh*t drained all my energy.

Make fun of my ex, hmmm....

Okay, she also had a signed contract for a script she wrote and, to this day, it's never been made either.

Pfffffffft!! :p

Between you and me though, it was a very cute and clever children's Xmas story.
 
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