Tweetstorm: Zack Stentz on Being ‘Good in a Room’

Screenwriting is not just about what’s on the page. You have to sell yourself.

Zack Stentz has carved out a 15 year career both as a screenwriter and TV writer-producer. His writing credits include the movies Agent Cody Banks, Thor, and X-Men: First Class , (co-written with Ashley Edward Miller) and TV series “Andromeda,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” and “Fringe”.

Recently Zack went on posted a tweetstorm with some solid advice about the importance of being ‘good in a room’. Reprinted here by permission:

I’ve been professionally screenwriting for 15 years & I still am learning things from people who are superlatively good at selling ideas.

A very, very few screenwriters can get away being with “talented but difficult.” Don’t think you’re one of them. Be “talented & delightful.”

Note: none of what I’m saying about being good in the room means “say yes to every note.” It means be prepared, engaged, & a collaborator.

We have a saying re: notes meetings:”A good note can come from anywhere.” The dumbest junior exec can say something that unlocks your story!

There’s a type of screenwriter/director who thinks it’s clever/powerful to essentially run “game” on execs. Negging, etc. DON’T DO IT.

“Game” is bad for writers for the same reason it’s bad for romance — it’s predicated on the assumption every human interaction is zero sum.

Real talk: my worst meetings as a writer haven’t come from being hostile or a jerk, but simply going into the room unprepared.

Thinking you can walk in & win the room simply by being glib, clever & quick on your feet occasionally works but can be disastrous, too.

An addendum from this morning:

When taking a note & listening to criticism it’s important to find out if they didn’t like your idea or just your execution of your idea.

It never hurts in a meeting to say “this is what I was trying to do here. Did that come through?”

They might respond “Yes, we got it. We just didn’t like it.” But often it turns out you didn’t convey your idea as well as you could have.

Zack’s series of tweets is a reminder: It’s not just about the script. To have any chance of carving out a career as a writer in Hollywood, you have to learn how to work with execs, producers, and talent. Zack provides some excellent advice on that front.

You may follow Zack on Twitter: @MuseZack.

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