Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

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  • #46
    Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

    Originally posted by GucciGhostXXX View Post
    Agreed.

    I've said before that on the same script from one producer I got "Disaster!!!", another producer "Amazing!!!" Guess which one offered me a job? You just never know how your stuff is gonna land or not and with whom or not. I've stopped trying to guess. Because I'm normally wrong.

    And btw - I have had experiences where someone I would've assumed would hate my sh!t liked it. Example: Ashton Kutcher's company. Never in a million years would I think to send something dark and fukked up to them. They ended up wanting to attach. And to my surprise I was turning down other prodcos known for dark material. I just vibed with them, I believed they GOT IT the most and were the most serious about trying to make it. And we got REALLY close. They tried.

    I think you always gotta go into each new submission with an open mind. Maybe no one likes it, or maybe you're surprised by who does.

    Yep, most scripts could be made better IMO as well. I've read exactly 1 script in my entire life that I didn't believe could be made better. And that script's name is... Juno.

    Did they change a word of it? Doubt it. Not that I believe it deserved an Oscar. But, it was definitely "DONE-DONE". Although, I did think, "how's this chick gonna write her way outta this? The voice is so specific, yet she's gotta move on from it. Does she actually know story yet, or is this luck?" She's done just fine obviously...
    For our own sanity I think it's always important to remind ourselves how wildly subjective this business is.

    I once entered a script into a big TV Network writing program. Didn't even progress past the first round. A month later that same sample got me a job interview because the producer really liked that piece of writing. And more recently, a pilot of mine found its way into the hands of a manager at a big company. He HATED it. A week later that same script got me a meeting with an agent.

    Point is, what one person hates another might love. And I think all we can do is put blinders on and just keep writing to the best of our abilities.

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    • #47
      Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

      Remember the poem graph from DEAD POETS SOCIETY?

      "'Understanding Poetry,' by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D. To fully understand poetry, we must first be fluent with its meter, rhyme and figures of speech, then ask two questions: 1) How artfully has the objective of the poem been rendered and 2) How important is that objective? Question 1 rates the poem's perfection; question 2 rates its importance. And once these questions have been answered, determining the poem's greatness becomes a relatively simple matter. If the poem's score for perfection is plotted on the horizontal of a graph and its importance is plotted on the vertical, then calculating the total area of the poem yields the measure of its greatness. A sonnet by Byron might score high on the vertical but only average on the horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on the other hand, would score high both horizontally and vertically, yielding a massive total area, thereby revealing the poem to be truly great. As you proceed through the poetry in this book, practice this rating method. As your ability to evaluate poems in this matter grows, so will, so will your enjoyment and understanding of poetry."

      Go and look back at all the Nicholl winners and see who is repped and beyond that, who looks like they have a full time writing career. Very few. There is no magic contest or score that will get you read or repped. Those things only put the logline into some kind of context. Great scores and wins but lacklustre logline? No read. Great logline AND a high score or placement, that's much harder to resist.

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      • #48
        Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

        Originally posted by JS90 View Post
        For our own sanity I think it's always important to remind ourselves how wildly subjective this business is.

        I once entered a script into a big TV Network writing program. Didn't even progress past the first round. A month later that same sample got me a job interview because the producer really liked that piece of writing. And more recently, a pilot of mine found its way into the hands of a manager at a big company. He HATED it. A week later that same script got me a meeting with an agent.

        Point is, what one person hates another might love. And I think all we can do is put blinders on and just keep writing to the best of our abilities.
        Yup. You just cannot predict who will or will not like it nor why. Not worth even trying to guess, because, agreed, the reads are usually all over the place.
        Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

          Originally posted by Northbank View Post

          Go and look back at all the Nicholl winners and see who is repped and beyond that, who looks like they have a full time writing career. Very few. There is no magic contest or score that will get you read or repped. Those things only put the logline into some kind of context. Great scores and wins but lacklustre logline? No read. Great logline AND a high score or placement, that's much harder to resist.
          Yup...

          Depends...

          I've mentioned before that my buddy was top 10 in PAGE. Zilch. No one called him. Querying with that. Zero read requests.

          Since then (a year ago) he's said fukk these people and gone off to directed some stuff including a dark Sci-fi music vid that is absolutely KILLER! Lots of VFX. Maybe this will help him get repped??

          It's harder than ever to get repped IMO.
          Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

            Originally posted by docgonzo View Post
            .

            All the other ones are horsesh!t.
            Yeah, I hear this a lot.

            But I know writers who have been signed off of lesser contests. Who are now on their second TV series. Hell, I was signed off of a "horsesh!t" contest. And I've made tens of thousands of dollars from them. And built relationships.

            People love to say that "all that matters is Nicholl and Austin", but it's factually untrue, and it's weird how unwilling people are to adjust their thinking beyond that often parroted line.

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

              Originally posted by GucciGhostXXX View Post
              Yup...

              Depends...

              I've mentioned before that my buddy was top 10 in PAGE. Zilch. No one called him. Querying with that. Zero read requests.

              It's harder than ever to get repped IMO.
              I said "much harder" to resist, not impossible.

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                Originally posted by Hernan Giaggio View Post
                But I know writers who have been signed off of lesser contests. Who are now on their second TV series. Hell, I was signed off of a "horsesh!t" contest. And I've made tens of thousands of dollars from them. And built relationships.

                People love to say that "all that matters is Nicholl and Austin", but it's factually untrue, and it's weird how unwilling people are to adjust their thinking beyond that often parroted line.
                This was my point, "Contest Winner" might get the query read, the logline will get the script read (or not) and the writing will get you signed (or not).

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                  Originally posted by kintnerboy View Post
                  But if you are one of those people who are good at writing scripts that readers respond to, and you can't make the jump from the top 350 to the top 50 in 10 years, you are like a career minor league baseball player.

                  Nothing wrong with that. It beats working in a hardware store, but you'll never be a pro.
                  It always strikes me as hilarious when non-pro writers lecture other non-pro writers about how they'll never be a pro writer.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                    If you afford it, enter the big contests. Try the Black List. And also send query letters. And also network. Get a job in the business if you can. Pretty much the only guaranteed waste of time is trying to game out the correct path to breaking in, because there isn't one.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                      Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                      Get a job in the business if you can.
                      Agreed.

                      IMO this is the absolute best way in (especially if the writer is young and can afford it. I could get political here but I'll save it). Be an intern, then an assistant. After a year or so you'll know a crap load of people who'll read your script... other assistants who may love it enough to give it to their boss. I know my ex would have read a script her assistant swore by, and I think it happens A LOT.

                      If a herd of assistants are buzzing about your script, higher ups will read it (jr Agents/Managers mostly, but so what, you want someone hungry) out of fear they'll miss out on the next best thing.

                      In fact, I wonder if they'd trust their assistant (who knows their taste) OVER a Nicholl place but non-win. Im'a say most likely.
                      Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                        Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                        If you afford it, enter the big contests. Try the Black List. And also send query letters. And also network. Get a job in the business if you can. Pretty much the only guaranteed waste of time is trying to game out the correct path to breaking in, because there isn't one.

                        In your opinion, how high do you have to place in these major contests (that are not Nicholl) to realistically garner the attention of the top managers?

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                          Originally posted by Hernan Giaggio View Post
                          ...
                          You are cold as ice, lol....
                          "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                            Originally posted by Friday View Post
                            In your opinion, how high do you have to place in these major contests (that are not Nicholl) to realistically garner the attention of the top managers?
                            This is going to sound snarky, but it's not meant to:


                            Who are the "top managers"? I feel like that means something different to each of us, depending on what we want. But maybe I just ain't in the loop on that.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                              Originally posted by Hernan Giaggio View Post
                              This is going to sound snarky, but it's not meant to:


                              Who are the "top managers"? I feel like that means something different to each of us, depending on what we want. But maybe I just ain't in the loop on that.

                              I am sure there will be differing opinions on this, but the names that keep appearing on the different lists like Hit lists, Black list....the managers with the huge star rosters and land deals that you drool over.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: Doing well in too many contests is a red flag for reps?

                                Originally posted by Friday View Post
                                In your opinion, how high do you have to place in these major contests (that are not Nicholl) to realistically garner the attention of the top managers?
                                If you place top 25 in the Tracking Board all of their execs they have as judges are at least going to give your logline a glance. So have a great logline.

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