ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years ago - Jamie Baker

Thank you for all your advice Dan and for sharing your knowledge. Really great stuff to know.

"Backend money is bullshit" - I'll keep this in mind as this is exactly what I wasn't sure of. And all your advice about being careful and getting representation -- really good to know.

Interesting to hear the royalties have shrunk considerably since pirating. I thought this would be likely, but didn't realise it was having such a strong affect.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question.

10 years ago - Dan Selakovich

Thanks for asking the question, Jamie! Yeah, people are really unaware about piracy. Writers and actors and directors depend on royalties to live in-between projects. A friend of mine was in the first Spiderman movie--released just before piracy got out of control. His first DVD royalty check was enough to live on for about 5 months. Then Spiderman ended up on a pirate site, and his next check was 8 dollars. My book was pirated, and within a month, sales plummeted. What I sold in a day before piracy became what I sold in a month after it hit Piratebay if I was lucky. I used to be able to live off sales. That went away overnight. It's crazy how quickly it happens.

9 years, 12 months ago - Jamie Baker

Hi Dan.

That really is quite shocking. I didn't realise it was having such an affect, and certainly not on books as well. Sorry to hear that. That must have been such a nasty surprise for it to change so quickly.

10 years ago - Jamie Baker

Hi Wozy.

Thank you very much for your reply.

I have written a few short film scripts and a TV pilot. I would not know how to best go about getting them optioned or sold.

In general, I'm not focused on the £££ at all. I guess my query was the first part of a 'how the hell do I make a career out of screenwriting' (if I'm good enough, of course) series of questions.

I am constantly trying to elevate the quality of my writing. Do you have any suggestions on how I may go about building credibility in the eyes of producers.

To be honest, I'm just not sure what my best steps would be after/while completing screenplays and posting them on Shooting People/looking out for people looking for scripts on here.

Again, many thanks for you reply.

Jamie.

10 years ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

IM me if you would prefer not to answer publicly...

10 years ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

What training/courses/mentoring have you taken to learn the craft of writing? Have they been focused on TV or film? If not, how have you learnt to write thus far?

Have you ever sent any scripts out on spec to producers? If yes, then what response have you had?

Have you had any industry feedback on your scripts and what were the results?

Have you submitted to any competitions and if so what were the results?

It's hard to give you any specific next steps without knowing what your writing skills are. However, I would certainly get some assessment from a producer or a feedback service (of repute) to see where you are in right now.

Wozy

10 years ago - Dan Selakovich

On a first film, take what you can get. If it's a huge hit, that brings in more writing jobs, not more money from that production.. Backend money is bullshit. The very best you can probably hope for is 2.5% of the budget, paid in 1/3 installments. In America, once you are in the union, you'll get a small percentage of DVD sales. That used to be quite a lot of money. Now that people download from pirate sites, those royalties have shrunk massively.

TV writers here have a much better deal, especially if you have a show that goes into syndication.

The goal of a first script is to get representation, get into the union, and get more work. Just make sure that if you are ever in the position of selling a script, that you read the contract carefully. Don't sign away TV rights. Make sure that you are the one and only writer for the first re-write. (Don't be stupid and try to negotiate for more than one re-write. It won't happen). Best to have a literary attorney go over the contract. And if you do happen to get the interest of a studio that wants to buy your script, your first call should be to a top agent before you sign anything. It's easy to get representation once somebody big wants to buy.

10 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Bizarrely, this site has hidden the name of the film, but it was one of the big 80's films, and a common phrase entered the English language as a result!

10 years ago - Jamie Baker

Hi Paddy, thank you very much for the great advice. That's good information to know - I'm not expecting to get paid anything at the moment, but it's good to know the typical path as I (hopefully) progress.. I'm very new to this so I'll keep writing and hopefully get something produced along the way.

10 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Story rights for a feature, estimate 2.5% of gross budget and 2.5% of net producers profits - BUT frankly a script is worth what someone will pay at this stage in your career, and if you haven't had a feature produced or book published, your value is still currently low.

True story - a friend's brother wrote <>. He got his front fee, then didn't see another penny for over 7 years! Net profit means after every other cost they can imagine has come out, including the printing cost of cinema quads and posters, etc. Assume the back-end to be nil, then it's a plus if it isn't - but the credit will get you the next feature, then the next one, with your fee growing each time.

10 years ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

How many scripts have you written? Tv or film? Had any optioned or sold?

If... if, you're writing was exceptional and highly outstanding, you may get a sale or an option on a spec. You may get offered a writing assignment based upon the quality of your work. You may get an agent or a manager interested. If it's a 'budgeted' film that actually goes into production, then you'll probably get scale. Minimum fee or about 2% (ish) of the budget. But you won't get any backend.

But let's say that you smooth talked the producer into give you a few points. They would be Net Points and not Gross Points. So you still wouldn't see any return as films rarely make a net return. After distributor, sales, investor, etc fees have been taken into account, there wont be anything left. I read a story recently about one of the 'above the lines' from one of the Star Wars films, possibly ROTJ, who had Net Points and still hadn't received a penny in royalties. Creative accounting!!!

Filmmaking is a tough life. As a writer you will have to get used to probably not making any backend, ever! Unless you make it to the A-List of course. But that's not to say that you wont make a good living - if you're an exceptional talent. Writing assignments will make up the bulk of your work most probably. And if you do 3-4 of these a year you'll have a successful career. Or get onto the writing staff of a popular TV show.

But I would recommend forgetting about £££ right now and focus on 1) elevating the quality of your writing 2) building your credibility in the eyes of producers. Nothing kills a career quicker than being focused on £££.

Hope some of that helps.

Best

Wozy