Screenplays

[delboy]

Anyone here ever written a screenplay?

I was watching the Southbank Special with William Goldman over the weekend, I mean, I wasn't watching it with him, he was on it, and it suddenly struck me that for someone who enjoys dialogue a lot and would quite happily write "EXT. PRISON YARD" to cover the description why have I never tried a screenplay?

I think it's because (a) I have no idea of the structure or standards, but I'm sure within a few days of studying I could find those out, and (b) because I have absolutely no idea what I'd do with a screenplay once written. I mean, do you just stick it in a big envelope and mail it to "Hollywood, CA."?

I watched The Getaway over the weekend, a film I love, even if it's full of plot holes and 'things unlikely to happen' and just by chance I then found the screenplay online. Reading the words so soon after seeing the book really made me think about how you can create a massive vision in simple language and dialogue. And, once the current project is done, I fancy a go.

I have no illusions about this being easy or even the likelihood of success. I mean, I have no illusions about placing a short story at the moment. But from an enjoyment perspective I reckon it would be a hoot. Plus, with all the remakes coming out of Hollywood there's obviously a dearth of new stories...

And, of course, there's the TV. I don't know. I've just always concentrated on prose and have never got anywhere. Maybe it's time to stop doing what I've always done and stop keeping getting the results I've always got...

Derek

[Pharosian]

I've never written a screenplay, either. Partly for your reason (a), partly because I enjoy writing the descriptions and doing the world building, and mostly because however little chance of success I think I'd have in publishing, I think my chances of success in the realm of stage and screen would plummet into the negative territory.

Regarding what to do with your finished screenplay, my advice would be to FIND AN AGENT. Do NOT send unsolicited screenplays to any studio in Hollywood, Bollywood, New York, or anywhere else. My best guess is that you'd never see it again--either because they're simply inundated with unsolicited screenplays by people wanting to be the Next Big Thing, or because someone would "lose" the cover page with your contact information. One evening you'd go to see a new movie that looked promising and get the uncomfortable feeling that the dialogue sounded awfully familiar. And good luck proving you were the author at that point. You don't have the means to sue on an international level. Besides, enough of the details would have been changed that it would be too hard to prove.

And however much you would need a reputable agent helping you negotiate a good contract in publishing, I would think that would go double for screenplays. You simply don't know enough about the business to look out for your own best interests, so you need an agent, anyway. Let him or her do the legwork, so to speak, and find the right studio for you.

Writers Digest publishes an online version of their Writers Market Guide, and you can get a 30-day free trial. The online version is updated regularly. I believe they have a section with listings for agents that deal with screenplays. You may be able to find a hardcopy at your library.

Good luck!

[evilthing69]

A close friend and I have been collaborating on a script for about a year.  We have a camera and really just want to try and make it ourselves.  Of course we really don't have the money for such things.  So we shoot odd "practice" films with friends and whatnot.

But the actual act of writing the script is different.  I don't know if this makes any sense, but even with dialog you sort of have to think through the eyes of the camera.  Dialog is crucial (in most cases, though you can say a lot through silences/sounds, angles, shades, and backing score, etc.), but you need to build an overall atmosphere.  You want it to look good, essentially.  To be "aesthetically pleasing", or unpleasing, depending on what you are going for.  I am a fan of exploitation/horror/art films, which usually involve working on the cheap, and tend to be a bit more confrontational in content.

[Woody]

.

[Ed]

Making films with your friends sounds like really good fun. I thought about doing something like that with my kids, but that's as far as I ever got with it. They're both really good little actors, though, judging by the roles they've had in school plays and stuff like that.

Del - I've got a plugin for MS Word somewhere, especially for script writing. I had a go at it a few years ago, but never really got into it. I'll see if I can find it for you. Got a feeling I downloaded it from the BBC site - Get Writing - or summat. They used to have regular screenwriting competitions, and the winners got their stuff produced by the BBC.

[Ed]

Yeah - here you go: http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scriptsmart/

More info on submitting scripts to the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/submissions.shtml

And there's - http://www.freefilmsoftware.co.uk/ - as well

[delboy]

Cool! Cheers.

I'll delve a little deeper as soon as I've finished the draft of the piece I'm working on. Trying very hard to finish this thing whilst motivation still breathes.

The only "screenplay" I ever wrote was a ten-page scene for a guy at work who fancied his hand at a bit of film making. Just three characters (one who doesn't speak) in a single room. I quite liked it, and the guy in question thought it was great. But one thing and another (work, mainly) has so far got in the way.

I did rework the idea to try and fit it into Hotel Guignol, but I was never happy enough with the ending to submit it. Must have another look sometime, though I don't know if the Hotel is still looking for scripts. Last time I went to their webpage they were getting like 300 scripts a day!

It looks like the world of short film-making is as alive and well as that of fiction. Check this out:

http://www.blogcatalog.com/search.frame.php?term=hotel+guignol&id=9efffffb50de03fff2463b2de4551f96

Derek

[Rev. Austin]

I've got a degree in Film & Video, but unfortunately, the way scripts/screenplays are written is almost completely different to the way I was taught!  Arghh.
I found this blog a while ago, which is pretty handy:

http://johnaugust.com/