16 Top Lit Managers – Our Biggest Panel Yet! We’re pretty stoked! This is a damn exciting panel. Killer motion picture and TV literary managers from some of the best management companies in town. And as we will see, a broad palette of tastes. Without further ado, we present to you… Now the eagle-eyed amongst you…
How do you deal with the gut punches? We’ve all been there. You spend months writing and rewriting a script. Then you send it into a contest… and it doesn’t even make the quarterfinals. You finally get your foot in the door: an introduction to a coveted manager. He reads your spec… and says “not…
We had a chat with two veteran contest readers/judges/coordinators to get their perspective on how to ace the major screenwriting competitions We’ve all been there. You spend real money submitting your script to screenwriting contests, only to wind up with nothing for your efforts except the thrill of being eliminated in round one. If you’re…
Taking notes and making adjustments is a non-negotiable skill for a working screenwriter You’ve probably gotten notes before–in your screenwriting class, your writers’ group, from contests or coverage services. And, be honest, how many times have you blown them off or just changed/added a couple of lines in response to several pages worth of notes?…
A 12-week working lab for filmmakers ready to build a clear path to festivals, impact, distribution, and funding Jon Fitzgerald is a writer, producer, director, festival and distribution consultant probably best known for co-founding Slamdance (watch our interview with him). On May 1st his company Cause Pictures launches a new Impact Lab based on the work he’s been developing around new models of…
Supporting Characters Samwise from LORD OF THE RINGS, Janis from MEAN GIRLS, Luna Lovegood from HARRY POTTER, Lisa from GIRL, INTERRUPTED–they all have something in common. They are supporting characters. Angelina Jolie won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for the latter. What else do they have in common? They are all three-dimensional, fascinating…
How do you strengthen your ANTAGONIST? Annie Wilkes in MISERY–she goes from fawning fan to your worst nightmare. She’s delusional, unstable, and sad. She’s also a capable nurse and an enthusiastic reader. Alonzo Harris in TRAINING DAY–smart, cunning, charming and convincing when he needs to be as well as completely ruthless. Terence Fletcher in WHIPLASH–he’s…
Your protagonist needs to be the driving force of your story. They can’t be a bystander. They can’t be reactive. They can’t have low stakes in the outcome. Yet all too often we find protagonists that exist in the story, even get quite a bit of screen time, but don’t carry the movie. How can…
Get Repped Now! As many of you already know, Get Repped Now is back and now it’s year-round. If you score a “consider for script” or better (appx the top 2-3% of submissions,) your screenplay will advance to our manager panel. We’ve got writers signed the last five years straight. Our First Consider Boom, right…
They can make you or break you Have you ever sent out a script and thought: “I hope they get to my midpoint twist” or “that reveal on page 25 will seal the deal“? The truth is, if your first few pages don’t hook them, they probably won’t get that far. Who is “they?” If your script is in to…
