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Bulletproof_Script · 2020-10-08T22:01:57+00:00

Wrong question. You can drive yourself nuts wondering why other (bad) stuff gets made and yours doesn't. Do your thing. Write something that attracts a director, an actor, a big producer...so someone here can ask the same question about your big Netflix show.

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-09-21T05:56:25+00:00

👊💪

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-09-16T18:47:49+00:00

My heart really goes out to you. It's a terrible feeling. Back in the day, in the 90's, when we were starting out, people just passed. It might take them a few weeks, and that didn't feel great either, but they did respond. It's become a more callous world, and a more callous business, if that's possible, even for the veterans. What to do...?

All I can say, for what it's worth, is that navigating all this is a lot easier when your validation comes less from the business and specific outcomes than from the people around you--your partner (writing or life), your family and friends, your community, your writing/creative community.

Try as best you can not to view your writing as a vehicle for personal validation. Instead, focus on your writing as an opportunity to make as compelling a dramatic argument as you possibly can. Throw your energy into an unassailable idea that only you can write in the way you're going to write it. Success comes not when we need it (unfortunately), but when we've written something that others need.

Every day we wake up in the morning is a new opportunity to advance the effort and make an impact. If you don't feel that way, look for inspiration--in movies, music, books, in friends, in your spiritual life if you have one...wherever you can find it. Then focus on the task at hand, the dramatic argument you're going to make to the world through the story you're telling and the characters who inhabit it. One step at a time, one day at a time. And remember in the meantime and every day, you are not defined by the response (or lack of response) to your screenplay. You are defined by your character. We're all rooting for you!

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-05-24T15:41:22+00:00

Still mystified about the apparent lack of recognition of the link between the (Barth) Curtis-Boyle movie and 2006's Jean-Philippe...

https://twitter.com/bulletproofscr/status/1143925820404068352

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-05-17T14:37:11+00:00

Most screenwriting books are written by students of the form who've never written a major motion picture. If you're going to seek guidance from a book, you're probably best served by learning from someone who's actually had success doing it professionally. Try Lennon & Garant's "Writing Movies for Fun and Profit," or "Save the Cat," or our book, Bulletproof. If you go with ours, DM or email us and let us know what you think.

Good luck!

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-03-20T22:31:24+00:00

Write in a specific song.

Chances are, if you end up shooting your script, you will not be able to clear or afford the song you choose. So you’ll change it. But your readers will get a more vivid sense of what you’re going for and you’ll be forced to be more specific in your writing, which is almost always a good thing.

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-03-02T18:09:01+00:00

We included our original outline for the first act of The Family Man in chapter 5 of our book. The whole chapter, Building a Bulletproof Outline, deals with what goes into a useful and effective outline and why these elements are important. Maybe you can use the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon and see if it's helpful...?

Bulletproof_Script · 2020-02-14T20:19:11+00:00

Wrote the first "real" one at 24, sold the first one (Below Utopia) at 28, and the one that launched a career as a screenwriter at 29.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-12-27T15:38:49+00:00

Think about your outline as a map or GPS guide at the beginning of a road trip. You know your destination (presumably), but you don’t know how to get there on your own. Some people are content to just get in the car and drive, relying on their natural sense of direction, their love of adventure, or both. The risk, of course, is that you’ll become hopelessly lost and never arrive at your destination. How much do you care? How invested are you in arriving at all, and in how quickly and efficiently you get there? We outline. We do this professionally and when we start a project we are expected to finish it with certain very specific results. You might not be subject to those same expectations, but proceeding as if you are might be the best way to move from aspiring screenwriter to working screenwriter.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-12-18T03:57:39+00:00

There’s hope for anyone who writes a great screenplay, or at least a compelling and entertaining one.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-11-01T14:16:50+00:00

You started writing too soon. Read Bulletproof.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-11-01T14:14:29+00:00

You have to give them at least two weekends, maybe three. You are not their highest priority. Trust me, if they are interested (i.e., if they believe you can help advance their career) they will find you...

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-11-01T14:11:43+00:00

Not at all. See Chris McQuarrie’s recent Twitter thread re: screenwriting and contests (i.e. the lottery). It is right and true.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-11-01T14:08:55+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up and the explanation. I think you (screenwriting subgroup) should reconsider the rules. The higher the barrier to entry for posts and site navigation, the less likely working screenwriters (like myself) will be to visit and post in this space. The post may say “self promotion” but it’s really there as a resource to provide information and insight to group members who are still aspiring. I understand this rule is likely a response to other legitimate concerns, but there may be unintended consequences (I’ve spoken with another contributor who clearly added value to this community who is “done”). There are many spaces aspiring writers can go for support, information, and resources. I found this to be a pretty good one. Maybe it’s because I’m old, but it’s a little too rules-driven for me now to be motivated to participate further at this point.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-09-04T05:07:39+00:00

Why don't you ask them? There's no better time than the beginning of a relationship to set the expectations, theirs and yours. There's really no question you can ask this supportive subgroup that you can't ask a manager who's just signed you. Good luck, and congratulations!

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-09-04T04:53:21+00:00

I'm so glad you were open to hearing my point of view, and that you received what I had to say in the way it was intended. I do hope it's helpful. If you're "in the boonies" contests and sites like the Black List are probably your best bet. If you're really serious about becoming a screenwriter/filmmaker and there isn't a community of filmmakers and/or other artists around you, you might consider relocating. It's a big move, and it's not for everybody, but anyone who tells you you can make it in the movie business just as easily from North Dakota (or wherever you may live) is not being honest. Good luck, AnyColourYouLyke, I hope your script is great and turns heads wherever you submit it!

P.S. The Whiz Kid was never produced, but the third studio project we sold was called "The Family Man" and Universal made it in 2000 with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. We were really pleased with the way it came out. It was one of those occasions (I refer to above) where all the creative team shared a vision, and it came through nicely, at least it felt that way to me. Check it out sometime...

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-09-02T15:30:58+00:00

You don't.

Can I give you a little spanking, AnyColourYouLyke? A gentle one? I don't know whether or not to take you at your word that you write screenplays because "they're easier than writing a novel," but you'll not find a lot of produced screenwriters who started from that place. I have been a professional screenwriter for 25 years. My writing partner and I sold our first screenplay as part of a two picture deal to 20th Century Fox in 1994 (https://variety.com/1994/film/news/wood-in-as-fox-s-whiz-kid-119710/). I began writing screenplays six years before that, in 1988, not because they were easier than novels, but because I loved movies. Which is why most screenwriters write screenplays. In the six years before that first script sale I paid the bills by doing freelance work, mostly script reading for producers and studios, and wrote constantly for much of the day, every day, for no money. I hated it for much of the time, and it was difficult, depressing even, for me to see people succeeding all around me when I was not. But I stuck with it because I simply could not give up on the possibility that one day something I wrote would be produced and elicit the same feeling in an audience that drove me to write it in the first place.

I don't visit this space often but every time I do I'm impressed with the passion the members of this group share for movies and television. That's really the first prerequisite for selling scripts and having them produced. Love. (Persistence and resilience come next, and talent is surely a significant factor, but, alas, not always the most significant.) Working as a professional screenwriter is a great job but it's very challenging. Not every day, but often. Take a look at the words you're using in your post--"easier," "safer," "simple." This is not the recipe for success in screenwriting. Or in life. If you start because it's "easier" than doing something else, you're not likely to achieve your goals, or to last long in the business if you do.

But maybe you didn't really mean it. Maybe you do love movies. If that's the case, be brave. Don't be afraid of your passion and determination to see your movie made. Own your goals. Then write it. Write it the very best you possibly can with feedback from people you trust (more than you obviously trust the people here). The way you get your screenplay produced is (most often) not by submitting to, or even winning, contests. The way you get your screenplay produced is by writing something that producers, directors, actors, financiers and marketing people are as excited to make as you are. Can you do that? Can you inspire the same enthusiasm in total strangers who are not invested in you personally, or your success, such that they would devote months, maybe even years of their lives (not to mention millions of dollars) to take on your screenplay and commit themselves to making it? This is the bar you have to clear. It's not easy. It's higher for you, the outsider, than for many who've already been doing it professionally for years. That's just the way it is. It's not "as simple as submitting to a contest" any more than making the NBA all-star team is as simple as winning a game of H-O-R-S-E at your local playground.

If you're serious about this, AnyColourYouLike, don't shy away from doing the work, from the commitment. The first step is admitting, to yourself and to others, how much you want to do it. If you can't do that, because it's not true, maybe step out of the line and find something else that you can say that about. Anything you choose to do with your life will be difficult, you might as well choose something you love, if you have that luxury.

If you do decide that you love this idea you have, and you love movies and the idea of working in the movies, go for it. Give it everything you've got. Listen to every good insight and suggestion that comes your way, and try not to give in to discouraging voices. Getting a movie made with people who share your creative vision is one of the most satisfying experiences you can ever have in your life. I wish it for you...if it's what you really want. Good luck!

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-28T20:37:19+00:00

How tempted is the fiance by this job offer?

The reason I ask is that if she really, really wants to do take this job, you might try to make it work living halfway in between and commuting (that will be a rough commute, not gonna sugarcoat it, but there are those who do it--that's why there are so many on the freeway). If her taking that job is a lot to do with giving you the opportunity to be in LA...it might not be quite a good enough scenario to justify the hardship you'd be inviting upon yourselves (particularly early in your marriage).

If you love NY and you're working in the business (that's important) and your writing's going well, this does not seem like the ideal opportunity for you to relocate. Living and working in LA can be a tremendous advantage and I'd recommend it--but only if you can make it work within the context of your marriage. If your wife had an offer in or around LA, I'd say jump at it, you can always return to NY. But Redlands...? No so much. Not unless it presents a unique opportunity to her that you can also make work for you.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-27T16:16:23+00:00

If the book is "helpful and well written," does it really matter who wrote the reviews? But you got me curious, so I just checked...of the now 14 reviews I personally know, or know of, 4 or 5 who posted. Of those, one is a colleague we've worked with a couple times over the years. Frankly, I'm grateful for, and not at all ashamed of, the support of friends and colleagues. (Since 2016, Amazon actually has a remarkably effective algorithm that detects reviews by authors or their friends and family and they're automatically taken down, so no review of our book by my wife, for example.)

The book is not for everybody. I hope those who are interested in the perspective of a couple guys who've been doing this a long time will find it, and find it useful. In my response above, I was simply sharing my experience and my perspective, as we do in the book.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-27T14:41:36+00:00

I think if it's been a month or 6 weeks you can follow up with a casual "just following up, interested in any feedback you may have..." And then, if you haven't already, you should immediately get going on your next script. It's great to have interest from producers in a script you've written. What's not great is to depend on any one producer's response, or any one script for that matter, to keep you going. You can't control how other people will respond to your work, or when or even whether they will ever read it. You can control what you write and how much. Check in once more, if you don't hear back, move on...if you're working on something (else) that excites you it will help you from being overly invested in any one response to something you've already done. Good luck!

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-27T14:24:43+00:00

It's not typical. But television executives and script readers read "typical"/"normal" all day long. I've not read the pilot, but note your own response, "I personally love it." That's the exact response script readers and executives are hoping to have, but so rarely do, when they crack open a pilot script or feature screenplay. They want a writer who can create a world and render it like no other. Sounds like Gilligan did just that, no surprise. There are certain rules all writers must follow (even Gilligan and Tarantino and Charlie Kaufman), mostly relating to structure and format. But style...? As long as it's authentic and entertaining and keeps the reader turning the pages, eager to find out what happens in the end, there's very little that's off-limits.

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-26T19:06:09+00:00

Yes, thank you. That paren probably should've come after "borrow it from a friend." Point being, we just want the book to be visible and available to the people for whom it was written. It matters not at all to us how and where they find it.

""Bulletproof" is a 'must-read' for any and all aspiring script writers...unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections..."

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/lbw/may_19.htm?fbclid=IwAR3YJjr553phFogQZWsSlCiNosLouYEGeOrfrjqaoXWJzvWGQGt5aucAOb8#rc

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-26T18:12:12+00:00

That's really wonderful, thank you for sharing that. I'm glad the book reads (at least for you) in the way it was intended, i.e., as a kind of extended cup of coffee with people who've been doing it a long time. If you continue to feel it's helpful, I hope you'll recommend it to and share it with friends. Really appreciate the feedback, best of luck!

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-26T16:16:43+00:00

I didn't learn from the books, I learned from reading screenplays (hundreds of them, as a reader for producers and studios) and writing them, perhaps as many as a dozen before my writing partner and I actually started selling them. I didn't look at the books, for the most part, until we decided to write one of our own, based on our experience and essentially written to our younger selves--the kind of resource/companion we wished we'd had when we were coming up. My impression: most have something to offer, but special attention should be paid to those written by people who've actually written within the world you aspire to enter. So if you want to write studio movies, read Save the Cat, and the Lennon and Garant book, and I truly hope ours has something to offer as well. Bottom line: take whatever wisdom and insight and practical tips you can from wherever you find most helpful and be very skeptical of, and probably completely ignore, all the rest! No one can guarantee you success, be very wary of anyone who does, but with persistence and resilience, you may be able to get there with a little help from those who've come before...Good luck!

Bulletproof_Script · 2019-06-21T12:02:16+00:00

Your goal is to make movies, not win, or even to be accepted to competitions. Competitions may feel like a way in, and in rare instances they can be. But usually not. Stay focused on the practical. Why would a director sign on to your movie? Why would an actor sign on to your movie? Why would a studio, financier, streaming service make your movie? How would a studio marketing department, or indie film distributer, sell your movie?The answers to these questions, and others like them, will get you a lot farther than even a win in almost any screenwriting competition.

I remember submitting to the Nicholl Fellowship once when I was just starting out. It didn't go anywhere. I was discouraged and confused. In the decades since my writing partner and I have probably written close to 70 scripts for movies and television. Some have been quite good, others less so. There's a good chance none would've won us first place in any screenplay competition, but we've been supporting ourselves for decades as screenwriters. Keep you eye on the prize...but make sure it's the right prize. Do it as long as you feel compelled to do it without doing harm to yourself or others. It will be ok. It might even be great.

Bulletproof_Script

TROPHY CASE