Creative Screenwriting -- Production Company Profiles

[E J Pennypacker]

Would anyone here be nice enough/ or bothered enough, to let me know what Production Company Profiles have taken place in the last three publications of CS. You know, the section by Daniel Argent (pages 71-72 normally).

Thank you,

EJ

[DanielArgent]

EJ, the last three issues of Creative Screenwriting featured prodco pieces on:

May/June
Dexterity Pictures
Energy Entertainment
Robert Greenwald Productions
Permut Presentations

March/April
Josephson Entertainment
Interview with Barry Josephson
USA Network - Original Movies division

January/February
Casey Silver Productions
Homemade Films
Intermedia Films
Phoenix Pictures

CS is redesigning, and Production Company Profiles are giving way to some interesting new features. It was a fun run, though, and thanks for reading.

Rock on,

DA

[E J Pennypacker]

Hi Daniel --

I forgot you surfed this site! Thanks for the response. I have to admit I am disapointed that CS isn't contiuning with the Production Companies section. IMO it was one of the reasons why I bought the publication.

Have CS ever thought about doing a special one off publication with all the Production Companies listed in all their issues? I think it would be something many people would be interested in. As not only does it provide contact information, but almost as importantly, provides info on what the company likes, dislikes, and tips on submitting.

Many thanks again on the response,

EJ

[DanielArgent]

EJ, thanks for the kind words. I've passed your Production Company Profile idea on to CS's editor for review. Don't know the back stage logistics and finances of putting out a special issue, but it's a great idea. If that doesn't work for some reason, maybe we could put the profiles on the new CS web site.

I surf DD, but not as often as I like, so feel free to shoot any other thoughts and comments to me at argentspen@aol.com.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for contributing!

DA

[theturnaround]

I love the prodco's section, not because I query them, but because there is so much to learn. I would be hugely disappointed to see them go - I have learned so much about the submission process by reading those profiles. Execs give great insight into the innerworkings of the hollywood machinations... Please keep 'em coming... I actually think it was the most informative learning experience I've had in a magazine in recent memory.

theturnaround

[UserName]

Ditto what turnaround said.

[E J Pennypacker]

Has anyone the latest copy of CS? Because I cruised by their website, and it said they have a section on Production Companies?!... So did they SAVE this section from being dropped then?

Honestly, as writes we all need breaks, and even if we all have to rely on a magazine's help like CS, and the ensuing poor producers thousand emails in one week syndrome, then it's worth the subscription alone.

It's like subscribing to a magazine to saving un-fed animals and not having a system in place to donate money to them...

*Here's hoping*

EJ

[UserName]

I just flipped through the latest copy, didn't see anything resembling the prodco pages. What's up with that? Dumb move to remove it, if it's true they did.

[E J Pennypacker]

Shame that it finally made way for other sections in the magazine. Maybe we should get a petition together or something. People power? Or Subscriber power?

EJ

[E J Pennypacker]

Ah-ha!

So I get through my *new* copy of CS and low and behold, they have a *new* production company section. And they have the nerve to lable it as *new*!

Anyway, they review 12 companies/agents/ mangers per issue now. Only not in as much detail as they did before. So it's good and bad.

EJ

[BadHairDaze]

Yes, and the bad part is the 12 companies listed only accept queries by referral, and, of those, 9 say they'll accept e-queries but thru scriptpimp only. :|

As fax numbers were given, methinks these places best expect a flood of unsolicited letters anyway. :)

P.S. Scary article on the script stolen and sent out under a pseudonym (not the true scribe's name) after competition! I sure as heck wish they'd named the contest/company so the rest of us could beware. Then again, for legal reasons, I can suspect why they didn't.

[E J Pennypacker]

Yeah, I'd give it a while before sending any querys off to those companies listed. Thats what I do. But what do you have to lose. They practically list the emails 'cause of the website address, so it's all a fair game to me...

Havent read the compeition horror story yet. Although I enjoyed the article on D2V.

EJ

[BadHairDaze]

Personally, I won't be sending any fax queries, as I've had zero luck in that dept., but that doesn't mean the companies in question won't get them--by the boat load. Which is why you're exactly right in saying anyone planning to query might be wise to wait awhile so as to stand out from the crowd.

Haven't gotten to the D2V piece yet. My reading pile grows daily. Thank goodness we've got a holiday weekend coming soon. Tons of catching up to do. :)

[BadHairDaze]

EJ--You piqued my curiosity so I put aside something else and went and read the D2V article. Now, here's my question. The scribes quoted therein allude to the fact that they make pretty good money. The figure I've heard bantered about regarding the genre is in the 10K range for a first-timer. But my only personal experience with a D2V producer came in at an offer of only 2K. Even with guaranteed production, I was stunned at the low amount, and, because the script in question is garnering other interest, I turned him down. All this has me wondering where the real truth lies? If there really are tyroscribes working for as little as 2K on D2V's out there, then it's gonna make it that much harder for the rest of us to make too much more. I mean perhaps 2K is better than nothing and a credit is a credit, but this has me wondering if a writer might not essentially shoot himself/herself in the foot by starting out accepting such low pay. Won't that only make the next guy want to pay him just a smidgen more? Like, holy cow, a whopping sum of 2.5?! Forgive my skepticism. It's been a long day.

[E J Pennypacker]

Im a big fan of getting your first break in the D2V market. Yes, the pay ain't like the major studios. But there are bonus's the majors dont have. They can't produce the ammount of material the D2V market does. They dont have as quick a turn around as the D2V market does. There is normally only one or two writers on a D2V project, how many are there on a "normal" production.

The pay thing can vary. Sure, 2k isn't a lot. Infact, it's kinda insulting. But as someone posted recently, the writing monkeys over at Nu Image (behind A LOT of D2V material) are aparently making 8k a script. There are some D2V companies who honor WGA min standards, so that's 65k there on the door. So it can vary. I think the offer of 20k is about right. But the more research I do on the D2V market, the more I want to be part of it. It pays well. It pays frequently. And most importantly, it makes *your* scripts in about 2 weeks. What more do you want from life?

PS: Can I ask Bad what company it was that offered the 2k?

EJ

[32piecesflair]

Just bought this issue tonight - greatly enjoyed the article in Writer Beware! and 'Why is Your Script Special'.

[BadHairDaze]

Don't want to post it here, but send me a PM and I'll look up the name & email.