Franklin Leonard

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  • Re: Franklin Leonard

    so, i'm listening to a Scripts & Scribes podcast with John Zaozirny @Bellevue from June 2019. cool guy. sharp. great advice.

    he mentions a few ways he finds clients... but first, Bellevue 7 scripts on The Annual Black List tied with Kaplan/Peronne as #1 management company with the highest number of scripts on the black list.

    he has found clients off query letters but it's becoming less of a thing.

    his #1 suggestion is the black list website.
    and last August he found a woman on the black list website who wrote an amazing pilot that was recommended in an email from the black list. he read it. it was amazing. he reached out to her. she lived in new york but was moving to LA. met when she got into town. did work on the pilot.

    he was at a party in November for Variety "new leader" in and met an agent, mentioned her to him, he signed her. he met her, signed with him and went out with her and got her staffed on her first show in February. super talented. phenomenal in the room.

    he has found two clients from Austin Film Festival where he's a judge. one of his clients (Chris Thomas Devlin) his script COBWEB was on the 2018 Annual Black List and sold i think he said to Lionsgate.

    he had someone call him, email him, facebook messenger, and someone shows up with his mother in a wheelchair and he said, "i haven't been able to get in touch with you," yeah, no, don't do that. John took the address off his website to prevent this from happening again. his advice, don't be desperate.

    he looks for talent on the page and professionalism. NO ONE is going to reward bad behavior. he also admitted that he goes on Done Deal Pro sometimes.

    here's the link... https://www.scriptsandscribes.com/20...hn-zaozirny-2/

    props to Kevin.
    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

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    • Re: Franklin Leonard

      I like it the most when they have managers on that show. They seem to have the most interesting things to say about the business.

      Comment


      • Re: Franklin Leonard

        Originally posted by finalact4 View Post
        so, i'm listening to a Scripts & Scribes podcast with John Zaozirny @Bellevue from June 2019. cool guy. sharp. great advice.

        he mentions a few ways he finds clients... but first, Bellevue 7 scripts on The Annual Black List tied with Kaplan/Peronne as #1 management company with the highest number of scripts on the black list.

        he has found clients off query letters but it's becoming less of a thing.

        his #1 suggestion is the black list website.
        and last August he found a woman on the black list website who wrote an amazing pilot that was recommended in an email from the black list. he read it. it was amazing. he reached out to her. she lived in new york but was moving to LA. met when she got into town. did work on the pilot.

        he was at a party in November for Variety "new leader" in and met an agent, mentioned her to him, he signed her. he met her, signed with him and went out with her and got her staffed on her first show in February. super talented. phenomenal in the room.

        he has found two clients from Austin Film Festival where he's a judge. one of his clients (Chris Thomas Devlin) his script COBWEB was on the 2018 Annual Black List and sold i think he said to Lionsgate.

        he had someone call him, email him, facebook messenger, and someone shows up with his mother in a wheelchair and he said, "i haven't been able to get in touch with you," yeah, no, don't do that. John took the address off his website to prevent this from happening again. his advice, don't be desperate.

        he looks for talent on the page and professionalism. NO ONE is going to reward bad behavior. he also admitted that he goes on Done Deal Pro sometimes.

        here's the link... https://www.scriptsandscribes.com/20...hn-zaozirny-2/

        props to Kevin.
        Thank you! Def listening to this one.

        Comment


        • Re: Franklin Leonard

          Ha!

          Watching it.

          [LONG. SORRY]

          Notice when asked what script competitions matter to agents he's like "Austin... ummm... The Nicholl... ummm, shoot, ya know... [snip] Ummm... God, there's not a lot of competitions, honestly, that people pay a heck of a lotta attention to. And if I can't think of them off the top of my head...?"

          There's the answer.

          Like I've said. When my ex was an agent she read exactly ZERO competition scripts in 15 years. But, notice he did say that if HE tells the agent it's good the agent will read it, that it means something coming from him.

          Agents generally see it like this (especially nowadays): "If the winner of some competition is really that good, a manager will find them, develop the script so that it's finally in sellable shape... because I'm not interested in developing, that's the managers job... and THAT'S finally when I *MIGHT* read it if it sounds cool and this manager swears it's not a waste of my time."

          But, that's still no guarantee you get an agent. My manager on my last script (or was it 2 scripts ago, I forget) took it to a friend at a particular agency... agent passed. Not quite passionate ENOUGH about the material.

          This business is tough and only getting tougher.

          I also agree with his comment about being utterly professional. Yes, I'm an idiot on here, but put me in a room and I'm all business. It's kinda like (but not nearly to this degree, obviously) my ex used to rep Lebron (yeah, that one), during events he likes to clown around and have a good time (same). But, the second you bring up money. CLICK! He's immediately all business/100% professional.

          Time and a place... I say.

          If we're at the bar. Fukk it, we're gonna rage. If we're "in the room", I'm gonna get down to business (work hard/play hard). I think it helps to have both sides. That way people want to hang out with you off the clock too. Meaning: professional doesn't mean stiff and rigid. I've seen that a lot with writers. Comes across as desperate and needy, and somewhat creepy. Gotta be relaxed. Puts people at ease. It's actually our JOB to do that.

          I used to suck at meetings. But, after my mono y mono with a Rudin-Type at SoHo house with Chris Hemsworth eavesdropping (we'll pretend he was), I'm not scared to sit down with anyone. That was definitely my scariest meeting.

          Advice for people who haven't done meetings with people that high up (and I know a lot of us have, not puffing up like I'm the only one, I'm a loser), but my advice is: DON'T PANIC! BE FUN! BE INTERESTING! BE ENGAGED FOR REAL! And know that you're gonna go off script if the meeting is going well, don't let that scare you. If you go off script RAD! That's exactly what you want. I can't stress that enough. Because now you're building a RAPPORT. If they smile, if they laugh at your joke, if they go the full hour, if they say "Shoot, I gotta run" but THEY keep talking. You're doing good! If THEY go supper OFF TOPIC and tell you personal sh!t or sh!t where you're like "should they be admitting this insider intel to me???", you're doing fukkin GREAT!

          Who cares about talking about the project if they're opening up about problems with their wife, or whatever. So what if they've veered way off topic talking about some completely unrelated subject. PERFECT! This is a really good meeting! Rapport is #1.

          I think brand new writers friggin' PANIC! when that happens "Wait... fukk!... we're off topic... I need to steer the convo back to MY PRECIOUS SCRIPT!!!" Don't do it, bruh! Not in your best interest. Stay on the topic THEY are most interested in discussing. This way, on your way home you'll get this call from your rep "Just got off the phone with ____. Said it was one of his best meetings ever." This is a dude who's sat across the table from Sorkin. No pressure!

          Still... fukk it. Stay calm. Stay loose. Stay FUN!
          Last edited by GucciGhostXXX; 08-20-2019, 01:24 PM.
          Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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          • Re: Franklin Leonard

            Ps... correct date? Don't you mean June 2018 or did the link go to the wrong vid?
            Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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            • Re: Franklin Leonard

              Craig Mazin hates all contests. Scripts consultants. Final Draft software - which is fine really. I get it others are better customer service... anyway... 99.9% of that stuff. There was only 1 thing I recall him not making fun of on his podcast. And you can guess what service that is off this thread...

              I say that because sometimes we say things to help out our buddies... to be nice to people we see at kids birthday parties.

              So my point was, we you hear interviews with managers or agents or anyone be skeptical of all advice about the business given in a public way. Hell any interview from anyone. The truth is in the shadows. Ha ha ha ha ha.

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              • Re: Franklin Leonard

                BTW - I also want to point this out because it may seem like his advice conflicts with mine. I don't think so.

                He said up front to not ramble on about your personal life (agreed). But, later he says "if you have a compelling narrative, like, 'I was a Navy seal', cool that's great."

                Same thing I'm talking about with queries. I literally mean one short sentence essentially as a BIO logline. "I'm an ex-Navy seal." That's plenty. Different than rambling on with a full paragraph about it.

                It could be almost anything:

                "I was wrongly convicted of murder, did 20 years, pardoned." (Whoa, interesting!)

                "I'm an ex-stripper." (you know who I'm talking about).

                "I spent 10 years as a monk." (Hmmm, interesting.)

                "I'm an ex-homicide detective." (His friend, my ex's ex-client)

                "I was homeless and lived on the streets of LA for 10 years." (Wow, bet that dude's seen a lot!)

                "I ran a fortune 500 company for 10 years before the FBI raided it." (Cool. Bet this dude's seen some shady sh!t.)

                "I lived alone on an island in the South Pacific and didn't speak to another person for 5 years." (Holy sh!t, what was that like?)

                It can be almost anything. It's merely saying "this is an interesting fact about me that informs what I write." If it's interesting, and short, mention it in the query. People love unique stories, especially if they're one sentence. If it's not interesting "I went to film school." Don't waste their time. Because if it's not interesting enough you're outing yourself as not knowing WHAT qualifies as a great story.
                Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

                Comment


                • Re: Franklin Leonard

                  Originally posted by Bono View Post
                  Craig Mazin hates all contests. Scripts consultants. Final Draft software - which is fine really. I get it others are better customer service... anyway... 99.9% of that stuff. There was only 1 thing I recall him not making fun of on his podcast. And you can guess what service that is off this thread...

                  I say that because sometimes we say things to help out our buddies... to be nice to people we see at kids birthday parties.

                  So my point was, we you hear interviews with managers or agents or anyone be skeptical of all advice about the business given in a public way. Hell any interview from anyone. The truth is in the shadows. Ha ha ha ha ha.
                  Absofukkinlutely! And I know exactly what your cryptic post means. Agreed. (I do find Craig hilarious tho) But, yeah, interesting he's never gone at ____'s business model. I know he could shred it. *sideways glare* C'mon, bruh...

                  SHOWbusiness. Yup, it's fake AF.

                  Which kinda folds back into my post about meetings and people confiding in you. I honestly don't know, am I just one of those people who people feel comfortable divulging sh!t to, sometimes my meetings feel more like a therapy session than a meeting, like they need to get sh!t off their chest and be REAL for a sec in this fake-azz biz, or do they do this with everyone? (My fiancee says, "Dude... you get people to reveal sh!t. Complete strangers open up to you.") I talk to everyone. So IDK?

                  But, yeah, fascinating when you're doing a meeting and they're revealing sh!t where you're like "Wow... I would have assumed you were tight with _____." NOPE! "Yes, I made a movie with them, but they won't return my calls." For fukkin REAL, you? You're HUGE. "Oh and, btw, don't trust ___ over at ___, they screwed me by doing ___." Bruh, should you be telling me this?

                  Yup, behind closed doors is something else entirely.

                  Like I've said. The sh!t I've heard at say kid's birthday parties after they've had a glass or 3 of wine.

                  Example. Studio head. Party: "I don't know why we're making this movie. I hate the script. But whatever..." (It flopped... he was right.)
                  Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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                  • Re: Franklin Leonard

                    yup, 2018, my bad.

                    i think you're right about gauging a meeting on how off topic it can get. in my previous work, we'd get into meetings where they go on and on for hours on end. and by the end if they're talking personal stuff you know you're good. the meeting was good. i'm not talking about deep dark secrets, i'm talking about when people become "inclusive" in a conversation. that's how you know you're doing well. i think.

                    building relationships and having a rapport is so important, you don't have to be in Hollywood to know that, because when you have to spend a lot of time with someone, it's a hell of a lot easier when you really like them and respect them.

                    i will say, that i was a little surprised that the review process at The Black List can take "up to three weeks." what??
                    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                    Comment


                    • Re: Franklin Leonard

                      Originally posted by finalact4 View Post
                      yup, 2018, my bad.

                      i think you're right about gauging a meeting on how off topic it can get. in my previous work, we'd get into meetings where they go on and on for hours on end. and by the end if they're talking personal stuff you know you're good. the meeting was good. i'm not talking about deep dark secrets, i'm talking about when people become "inclusive" in a conversation. that's how you know you're doing well. i think.

                      building relationships and having a rapport is so important, you don't have to be in Hollywood to know that, because when you have to spend a lot of time with someone, it's a hell of a lot easier when you really like them and respect them.

                      i will say, that i was a little surprised that the review process at The Black List can take "up to three weeks." what??
                      No worries. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't looking at the wrong interview.

                      Ha! I get deep dark secrets outta people. But, agreed, inclusive is everything. If I'm suddenly not talking and they're pitching me ways it could be better. FANTASTIC! We've built rapport. Now we're in sync (Baby bye bye bye) and speaking a common language.

                      Silence is rarely a good sign.
                      Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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                      • Re: Franklin Leonard

                        My writing partner and I gave great meeting. They had fun. One guy said that was a top 3 meeting for him. And we are still friends. But it hasn't lead to any money or any sale, so might as well have stayed home!

                        So yeah, I think you call meetings because what else do they have to do all day and it's all a hassle for the person having to swing by their office.

                        And i'm not an LA guy but maybe if you're going to be a town that wants a meeting for everything, maybe be based in NYC a town that you can get from A to Z in under 3 days.

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                        • Re: Franklin Leonard

                          Building rapport is easier said than done. Many people have it in head their head all the right things to do, but when they are there, it's a different ball game. They might not even know the first thing of how to do that in the context of meetings and industry events.

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                          • Re: Franklin Leonard

                            Question: How do you say no in the business? As writers go up the ranks and deal with managers, agents, producers, actors, directors, etc., how do they say no without burning bridges? I am sure they will be put in a position where in order to say yes to someone, they have to say no to others.

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                            • Re: Franklin Leonard

                              Originally posted by Bono View Post
                              My writing partner and I gave great meeting. They had fun. One guy said that was a top 3 meeting for him. And we are still friends. But it hasn't lead to any money or any sale, so might as well have stayed home!

                              So yeah, I think you call meetings because what else do they have to do all day and it's all a hassle for the person having to swing by their office.

                              And i'm not an LA guy but maybe if you're going to be a town that wants a meeting for everything, maybe be based in NYC a town that you can get from A to Z in under 3 days.
                              Ha! Yup. Try to do 5 meetings in one day in LA... fukkin dare you. you! WILL! die! LOL

                              I've never had a general turn into anything.

                              ...Take that back. ONCE!
                              Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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                              • Re: Franklin Leonard

                                Originally posted by Friday View Post
                                Building rapport is easier said than done. Many people have it in head their head all the right things to do, but when they are there, it's a different ball game. They might not even know the first thing of how to do that in the context of meetings and industry events.
                                True.

                                It's hella hard to walk into these shops and feel confident. HBO is one of the most intimidating shops IMO. Their 50 foot HBO sign and they have you sit in the lobby directly under a 1,000,000 inch TV playing the absolute fukking best scenes of GoT right before you pitch. Awesome! THANKS! Just what I needed to see right this before I pitch. Nope, I don't feel insecure AT ALL! (My inner monolog "Fukk am I doing here pretending to know what the fukk I'm talking about??? I SHOULD RUN! NOW'S MY CHANCE. NO ONE'S LOOKING. BRO RUUUUN!")

                                You just gotta suck it up and act. And realize that these creators have been in your exact shoes.

                                Here's what I say to myself before every meeting: "If it's not me, it'll be someone else, so why not me?" I believe (hope I do) that I go into meetings strong. You hafta try to mentally get there or you'll freak them out, because they're scared too. They don't want to lose their job over your "dumb idea." Confidence is contagious.
                                Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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