“A third way to break into screenwriting”

An email from GITS reader Todd Wallinger:

Hey Scott,

Love the blog. Don’t know how you find the time to keep it going, but it is appreciated.

I thought your readers might like to know there’s another way to break into screenwriting besides the traditional methods of sending out query letters and entering contests. Become an investor.

I recently snagged a gig as one of the screenwriters for a feature-length documentary being produced in my hometown of Colorado Springs. The documentary is titled Creep! (www.creepfilm.com) and explores the making of the “real” worst film of all time, The Creeping Terror.

I met the director at a local film festival and got to see the hilarious trailer he’d already made. When I learned he needed funding to complete the film, I talked my wonderfully supportive (or wonderfully deluded) wife into parting with some of our nest egg so that we could invest in the film.

At that point, the director expected me to take an executive producer credit — something that looks cool on the big screen but means almost nothing in real life. Instead, I negotiated with him to let me contribute to the screenplay.

It turns out he was glad to get the help. Although he intended to write much of the screenplay, he wanted at least one additional writer credited so that it wouldn’t look like a one-man operation. We’re working on the treatment now and hope to have the screenplay finalized so that we can start shooting in the spring.

Yeah, this approach takes some cash, but the stock market’s not going anywhere for the next few years. Might as well invest some of your savings in yourself — and maybe make a little money back.

If one of the big problems being a screenwriter is convincing the buyer to hire you, then what about becoming the buyer and hiring you yourself? In a word: Brilliant!

Of course, it’s a bit like that old Steve Martin routine: “How to be a millionaire… and never pay taxes. First… get a million dollars.”

But if you’ve got some disposable funds lying around and you’re passionate about a project, why not? You only live once!

Todd, please stay in touch as your project moves forward. And best of luck to you!

Comment Archive