Is There A Path Forward For My Expensive Period Piece?

Often we’ll get emails from writers wondering about the marketability of their project. Let’s face it, we all think our projects are marketable because we are passionate about them. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t have put months of blood, sweat, and tears into a story.

So when somebody asks us about their high-budget period piece, we know how important it is to them and that they want to see it on the silver screen. That’s why it’s difficult to give them an answer they don’t really want to hear. 

This week we received this question from screenwriter Jack E.:

Is there a way forward for my big-budget period war movie script?

Unfortunately, the answer is pretty much… nope.

And when we say there’s NO way, we mean, there is a way… but it’s very difficult.

But then again, the best creative projects are often the hardest and most rewarding.

Hollywood. Well, apart from no one really being interested in history, and in particular, period pieces or expensive war movie scripts from unknown, unproven writers–that is key–if the story is engaging and unique enough, it could get some interest with the right director or cast attachment. Awards bait much? So: who do you know? Can you get it to anyone “real”? If so, you might have a shot.

Another possibility is if you score a major contest or festival win, like Sundance or Nicholl, then the town will take note–but that’s right up there with hitting the Powerball, only with worse odds. But that would give you the heat and independent 3rd party validation needed for the town to take the project seriously.

Otherwise, if you’re going in cold to agents and managers as a spec… tough sledding ahead. The sad reality is that no one wants projects like this. They’re considered to be too expensive, and generally speaking, they are not rewarded at the box office. Agents and managers consider them “difficult” and assume that even if they eventually get them set up, the commission won’t be worth the two years it took. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Now of course there are exceptions. But this is the mindset when it comes to a period spec from an emerging/unknown writer in general in Hollywood.

Non-Hollywood. Big-budget period war movies are too big for most indies, but you may be able to find financing via a film fund or even someplace like Netflix with the right producer. This needs to be someone well-connected or with a proven track record who’s willing to go to bat for you. Again, super difficult to pull this off without connex. Not impossible though. It took 17 years to get HACKSAW RIDGE made, but it did eventually get made.

There are indie film funds both inside the US and out that use a variety of incentives and grants and so forth to get more important, period and prestige projects done. In fact this is MUCH easier in the EU, where they loooove period. It’s a lot easier to get anything period done there — especially if it takes place in Europe, of course. Unlike the US, many other countries have arts grants and film funds, and in the EU you can sometimes combine tax incentives from multiple countries, not to mention the EU-wide arts support fund Eurimage. 

And once you get a little piece of financing or interest from anywhere, it becomes much easier to find the rest of the financing.

And when we say much easier, we still mean it will take years.

Source Material. Another possibility is to create your own IP (intellectual property.) Write this story as a book, find a prestige publisher, sell 50,000 copies, and boom  — suddenly the material no one wanted as a spec script is now a hot property.

A lot of work? You bet! But no one can argue with best-seller.

Every week, Hollywood gets a list of all the new books coming to market and decides whether to option them right then or wait to see how they do. If the book does well, doors will open.

Again, another lottery ticket.

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All this may seem daunting or even impossible – yet the sheer willpower of the person driving it must be taken into account, along with the quality of the work of course. If people see a moving train, they either jump on board – or get out of the way. Sheer force of will is often the difference.

Absent connections and being independently wealthy, it’s often all we’ve got.

Now go get ’em.