The Concept Seller

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    Re: The Concept Seller

    The right answer is actually C. He just wants to see us squirming in agony, screaming in pain, trying to decide even though our brains are fried from overanalyzing.

    Slimy, but effective.

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: The Concept Seller

      Originally posted by falcon18 View Post
      I've got incredible down and dirty scripts dripping out of my a$$. I do that sh!t for fun. Tone, voice, originality, it's nothing for me. At least 95% of people are less skilled for sure.
      You can have this joke; The only thing dirty about your scripts is the dust on the cover pages.

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: The Concept Seller

        If there is no C, then I pick A... because there is all kinds of residual heat that will keep you going for a while. You pay that $1m so you can sleep with Demi or whatever, and make enough money off those other gigs that you pay rent for long enough to apply nose to grind stone and *learn* to be a better writer - one who has C before his money runs out.

        But dude, how'd you get $1m in debt? Despite what John August says, a million is a whole lotta money. The average American will never make a million in his entire lifetime! You got bigger problems than deciding A or B.

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

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: The Concept Seller

          Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
          If there is no C, then I pick A... because there is all kinds of residual heat that will keep you going for a while. You pay that $1m so you can sleep with Demi or whatever, and make enough money off those other gigs that you pay rent for long enough to apply nose to grind stone and *learn* to be a better writer - one who has C.

          But dude, how'd you get $1m in debt? Despite what John August says, a million is a whole lotta money. The average American will never make a million in his entire lifetime! You got bigger problems than deciding A or B.

          - Bill
          Coke is an expensive drug.

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: The Concept Seller

            Originally posted by prescribe22 View Post
            B) Mike Tyson
            When you throw up a human ear the next morning, you know you've been partying with Tyson.

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

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: The Concept Seller

              Originally posted by Craig Mazin View Post
              Pop quiz.

              You have a choice. You can either be:

              WRITER A: Just sold a BIG IDEA spec for TWO MILLION DOLLARS, but the writing is bad. You're just not very good. The movie is getting made. You will get sole credit, but you will be massively rewritten.

              or

              WRITER B: Just went out with a spec that was incredibly well-written. Unfortunately, the subject matter pretty much ensures that it's not going to be a hit movie. You sell it for $80,000. People think the writing is incredible. There's a near 100% chance the movie will never get made.


              Now, decide which you should be, but here's the twist. You're in debt for one million dollars.

              Make your choice, and show your work.

              C.
              I choose A. If we hold that writing is rewriting, and we understand that there will be rewriting after the sale of the screenplay, and that at any point in time the original writer can be overwritten...then why would I not?
              "All of us trying to be the camera behind the camera behind the camera. The last story in line. The Truth" Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: The Concept Seller

                Originally posted by nic
                I don't know what this means. I want to know. But I don't.
                It means you have to explain your choice.

                C.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: The Concept Seller

                  B

                  Though, frankly, at times when I should be writing and instead find myself lurking-- and I guess now posting-- on screenwriting message boards I'm tempted to say "I'll take whatever is left, as long as I'm getting something."

                  Ultimately, I feel like selling a BIG IDEA spec would put me even more out of touch with reality, furthering this idea that I really am one of that 5% and, I'm assuming, making all the ignored emails and "I'll read it next week"s even harder to swallow.

                  With that in mind, B sounds perfect. Especially, if I can swing that money into putting one of my other "incredibly well-written" scripts into production.

                  But, then again, I guess I'm a guy who has amassed a million dollars in debts so no one should listen to a thing I say.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: The Concept Seller

                    I'd much rather get the big spec sale, and then worry about generating work from the heat. That kind of problem I'd consider to be a luxury, as opposed to flogging some nicely written sample that everyone thought was 'too hard.'

                    So fvck it, I'll take A. But if I roll snake eyes, I'm blaming everyone on this board - and I'll be burning my DVD copy of Superhero Movie.
                    @TerranceMulloy

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: The Concept Seller

                      I'll take A.

                      My concepts are far better than the execution anyway. A fact that probably says more about my writing than my concepts.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: The Concept Seller

                        It's funny how Derek knew the answer was B, but then again, of course he knew the answer was B.

                        The answer isn't B because B is cool and indie and awesome and brilliant.

                        The answer is B because:

                        ...you guys ready for some amazing insider info into Hollywood...?

                        THERE ARE VERY FEW GOOD SCREENWRITERS OUT THERE.

                        Like, almost none.

                        For those of you who hate my guts and think I'm a talentless hack, I'm pretty sure my existence proves the point.

                        Anyway, the point is, if you're B... if you're really good, then you won't just work that year on that script. You'll work every year, year after year, for a really long time. And you will make so much more than two million dollars.

                        You will make millions and millions and millions.

                        You'll work on your own material. You'll work on other people's material. Sometimes you'll get credit. Sometimes you won't.

                        But you will get paid. Oh my God, will you get paid. That two million dollars will be dwarfed within a few of years, and then when you really hit your stride, you'll be clocking that amount per project, with a $200K/week rate on production rewrites... or more!

                        Ted Griffin wrote a tiny little script called "Ravenous."

                        In case you're unfamiliar with it, it's a period piece about cannibalism. It got made for $12M. Grossed $2. A big stinky bomb. And SMALL. And weird. It would never get made today. Not in a million years.

                        But man, everyone read that script and said, "FINALLY... someone who can frickin' WRITE."

                        He hasn't stopped working, and he gets paid. A lot.

                        (David Koepp... another good example... first script out of the gate was Apartment Zero...)

                        (Hey, I'm not a bad example... my first script sold for $110K back in '96... )

                        Meanwhile, the big splashy spec-sellers come and go. Anyone remember Lou Holtz, Jr?

                        Plenty of guys that came up writing brilliant scripts that either didn't sell or did sell for tiny bits of money now routinely get paid $200K a WEEK to fix everyone else's crap.

                        And do you know who the "everyone else" is of the "everyone else's crap?" The people that sell one thing once and then disappear, because it turns out they're not very good.

                        Okay, so... what's the point of this exercise?

                        In your quest to become professional screenwriters, don't overemphasize the notion of the big sale.

                        It's not about the big sale.

                        The big sale is exciting, but it's not the goal of the game.

                        The goal of the game is to have a career. Don't let yourself become obsessed with the commerce and the marketplace and the trends and the latest reports on what sold and what didn't.

                        You'll make more money by caring less about making money. Annoying, isn't it?

                        C.

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: The Concept Seller

                          Originally posted by Craig Mazin View Post
                          It means you have to explain your choice.

                          C.
                          Thank you. I'm not stupid. Just, um, Australian.


                          Problem is, I think I already chose:

                          as opposed to flogging some nicely written sample that everyone thought was 'too hard.'
                          A summary of my screenwriting career so far.
                          sigpic

                          Website
                          Tweets
                          Book

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: The Concept Seller

                            Thing is, I totally get Craig's post. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Option B is where I want to be someday. Ok so you don't land a credit all the time, but you get paid - and you have a fulltime career.

                            Problem is, as it stands now, I'm struggling to pay a mortgage and finding it increasingly difficult every day, so until then, I'm sticking with A.
                            @TerranceMulloy

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: The Concept Seller

                              Originally posted by Terrance Mulloy View Post
                              Thing is, I totally get Craig's post. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Option B is where I want to be someday. Ok so you don't land a credit all the time, but you get paid - and you have a fulltime career.

                              Problem is, as it stands now, I'm struggling to pay a mortgage and finding it increasingly difficult every day, so until then, I'm sticking with A.
                              I read your spec. You won't have to struggle for long.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: The Concept Seller

                                Originally posted by gravitas View Post
                                I read your spec. You won't have to struggle for long.
                                Thank you.
                                @TerranceMulloy

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X