You Need To Know This!
Yes! Get Repped Now is now live! If your screenplay or pilot scores a “consider” or better for script it will be elevated to our manager panel and open the door to representation for you.
Once you walk through that door, there are several ways you can shoot yourself in the foot. Since we want you to succeed, here is our first installment in our series:
HOW NOT TO SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT
Part One: TEN TERMS WRITERS NEED TO KNOW
Want to break into Hollywood? Then you need to know the lingo. Here are ten Hollywood terms screenwriters should know:
10) Busted. A busted script is a spec that did not sell. That script may land you meetings or get you work down the line, but for the time being it’s considered dead in the water. Most reps won’t keep pushing a busted script.
9) Baby or Young Writer. Both mean the same thing – an emerging, new writer on the come with no experience. However, “Young” is a more loaded and honest term, because it betrays what the industry is actually looking for. Yes, ageism is real.
8) Set and a polish. Also called a 2-step deal. When you sell a script, this generally includes a rewrite — the set — and a polish (minor revisions.) If that doesn’t get the job done, they may hire you for another draft, or more commonly, ask you to make the changes for free. If you don’t, they will probably hire someone else. Lately however, those 2-step deals have become 1-step.
7) Contained. This means limited sets, limited cast, affordable budget. Your movie with 10,000 rampaging zombie aliens – not contained.
6) Naked. This is a script that gets sent out with zero attachments – no actors, director, or producers. Far more common in the old days, it still happens occasionally when an agent or manager wants to introduce a writer to the town. But nowadays it’s all about:
5) The Package. Buyers love it when you come to them with a director they like, a producer they have a relationship with, and best of all – a piece of talent who can get a movie greenlit. A package is almost essential to getting a script set up nowadays.
4) Soft pass. A script that isn’t there yet but has merit might receive a “soft pass” from a rep or producer. Or maybe they like it but they need more elements attached to pull the trigger – elements is another word for “the package.”
3) General. A general is a meeting that writers get with development types after the agent or manager sends their script out. Whether it sells or not, you’ll often land these “get to know ya” meetings. Hopefully, these lead to connections and writing assignments.
2) Baggage. Attachments that are of limited value. For example, if you have three producers and a mid-level actor with no heat attached to your script, these are no help in getting your project set up. Better a naked spec than one with baggage.
And number one:
1) CEs. Hollywood-speak for Creative Executive. The creative force behind most companies, CEs read everything – books, scripts, comic books, articles, in the hopes of finding that one killer project. They work with writers to develop the scripts they acquire. They also have all the relationships and will one day run their own prodcos — ooh, bonus word — that means production company.
