This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

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  • #16
    Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

    Originally posted by Kermet Key View Post
    I mean, if you don't know how to write a screenplay after reading 25? 50? 100? what good would reading 500 or 1,000 do for you?
    I'd venture to guess the pros read other pros scripts constantly. You always want to see what others in your arena are doing.

    As far as monetizing the sale of scripts as a revnue source for writers - fine, I'm on board. But will the writer get a cut from scripts owned by the studios? Or will the WGA have to negotiate this too?

    Lastly - how big is the market that would actually purchase each individual script? In the 10s of 1000s?
    Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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    • #17
      Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

      Originally posted by Kermet Key View Post
      Also, how many scripts does one need to read before they "get it"? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know we're always supposed to be growing, learning, but at some point aren't you supposed to "get it" and then, by "getting it" get repped? and then get whatever "educational tools" you need from your reps? Or am I way off base here? I mean, if you don't know how to write a screenplay after reading 25? 50? 100? what good would reading 500 or 1,000 do for you?
      It's really kind of hard to say. Do aspiring novelists stop reading books after a certain number while searching for an agent?

      Also, even moreso than prose fiction, "styles" and "trends" change with the times, and it's good to keep up to date on that sort of thing as well (if you want to make a living, anyway)... To point out an extreme example (talking marketable form and not story quality), the page layout standards you learn reading PSYCHO aren't going to help you much if you hope to write the latest SCREAM sequel. Half-page blocks of 20 sentence paragraphs just isn't done anymore.

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      • #18
        Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

        Originally posted by Kermet Key View Post
        As for educational purposes - people who want to write "How To" books can insert their own specs.
        I own my unsold scripts, but do not own my sold scripts. So any produced examples I can not legally use (this does not stop me from using them anyway... but I haven't been handed a C&D letter).

        I really don't see studios printing and selling scripts - no real money in it.

        - Bill
        Free Script Tips:
        http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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        • #19
          Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

          Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
          I own my unsold scripts, but do not own my sold scripts. So any produced examples I can not legally use (this does not stop me from using them anyway... but I haven't been handed a C&D letter).

          I really don't see studios printing and selling scripts - no real money in it.

          - Bill
          Yeah, pure conjecture on my part but I was talking more about pdfs for e-readers.

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          • #20
            Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

            Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
            I own my unsold scripts, but do not own my sold scripts. So any produced examples I can not legally use (this does not stop me from using them anyway... but I haven't been handed a C&D letter).

            I really don't see studios printing and selling scripts - no real money in it.

            - Bill
            Exactly. The underlying problem is:

            The writer of the original work should not lose copyright ownership. Why give away rights to one's story simply because of format? It's an original literary work whether it's intended for the screen, Youtube or any other published medium.

            Am I repeating myself?

            Uh. Yeah.
            Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

            Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!

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            • #21
              Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

              and in a few years when Hollywood get's even shtty, and when companies lose money, they can blame themselves for taking away great resources for an aspiring writer. How the hell am I suppose to know and feel how a script really works, to gain varies knowledge of many great writers we're I seek guidance. Not no cheap book.

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              • #22
                Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                The writer of the original work should not lose copyright ownership. Why give away rights to one's story simply because of format?
                FWIW, I've never given away the rights to one of my scripts.

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                • #23
                  Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                  Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                  FWIW, I've never given away the rights to one of my scripts.
                  Fascinating. So I guess your sold scripts won't show up on any studio-owned list.

                  Lucky you. You can re-sell your script all over again. Or post it on the internet. Or sell the script to wannabe writers. Or re-produce it as an indie, etc.
                  Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

                  Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                    Oh, the studios own my produced scripts. But I didn't give them away. I sold them for a truckload of cash.

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                    • #25
                      Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                      Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                      Oh, the studios own my produced scripts. But I didn't give them away. I sold them for a truckload of cash.
                      You should consider getting a direct deposit account.

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                      • #26
                        Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                        It was a Tonka truck. But still!

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                        • #27
                          Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                          Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                          Oh, the studios own my produced scripts. But I didn't give them away. I sold them for a truckload of cash.
                          Good for you, J-Low!

                          If you play your cards right, you might someday make as much money as J-Lo.

                          Pun intended.
                          Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

                          Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                            Originally posted by sc111 View Post
                            I'd venture to guess the pros read other pros scripts constantly. You always want to see what others in your arena are doing.
                            I'd guess that working writers don't have much time to read other scripts "constantly". They might read a friend's script or might read for research or read other things like novels but I think for the most part they are not constantly reading scripts.

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                            • #29
                              Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                              Originally posted by Gillyflower Cooms View Post
                              I'd guess that working writers don't have much time to read other scripts "constantly". They might read a friend's script or might read for research or read other things like novels but I think for the most part they are not constantly reading scripts.
                              Well - I've been schooled.
                              Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: This is really depressing (but not unexpected)....

                                I finally drifted over to mypdfs.com and read that list of titles Warner Brothers demanded Sheridan take down from his site. One of them:

                                Gone With The Wind.

                                Besides being an ironic tagline for the entire practice of script trading online ...

                                Seriously? They're asserting their copyright on Gone With The Wind? They're threatening legal action on circulating PDFs of Gone With The wind?

                                Has their legal department really thought this through? Or is this one big knee-jerk reaction to in-dev scripts being traded.
                                Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                                Comment

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