The Business of Show Under a Microscope

Tom Benedek is one of the most well-connected screenwriters in Hollywood. It shows every time he offers his Network Hollywood course through Screenwriting Master Class. Top agents, managers, producers, screenwriters, he’s made them available to class participants in spades over the last year or so.

Starting next Monday, March 4, Tom will offer his next session of Network Hollywood. Here is what he has to say about this upcoming class:

Business practices are always evolving. But the same rules always apply. The script matters. Relationships matter. Things become hot. And then inevitably they go cold. The hotter they were. then usually the longer they may stay slightly warm — before they go cold. Great screenplays never go cold. Write something very good and it will emanate warmth in the business. Throw some personal warmth and reasonable emotional intuition into the mix and you can build a career for yourself. As long as the high quality of the writing continues. Understanding the business, giving it a clear look straight in the eyes once in a while is the way to help your scripts find a place in the industry. Our Network Hollywood class is a great way to familiarize yourself with the business, clock some real face time (via the internet) with Hollywood professionals who are in the mix.

Writing is never easy. Still, somehow for most of us, the other tasks of screenwriting are much more difficult. Pitching, making contacts, networking are challenges. Give me solitary confinement with my script pages any day. Yet I know it is important to set aside some time to work on career development and show business strategy regularly. We all have to navigate those waters so we must chart them with some intuitive accuracy.

Now — a word from our sponsor — We will have Oscar nominees Benh Zeitilin and Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild) participating in next week’s Network Hollywood class at Screenwritingmasterclass.com along with screenwriter Stanley Weiser (Wall Street, W), Lena’s Dunham’s Motion Picture Agent from UTA — Jenny Maryasis, producer Michael Shamberg (Django Unchained) and more.

We will also be featuring live online pitch sessions. You will have a chance to present youir script projects (in a few lines) in a live chatroom to UTA literary agent Charlie Ferraro to get his opinion/reaction/Hollywood wisdom. We will do the same thing with Chris Cook, literary manager from Madhouse Entertainment. As promised, there will be reality checks. Just remember, in Hollywood, nobody knows anything, as William has been quoted so many times.

How about that for access? Pitch online live to a top Hollywood agent and a top Hollywood manager. To learn about the class, go here.