Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

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  • #76
    Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

    Originally posted by vstm10 View Post
    are you sure?
    Looked to me like catcon didn't know. Let's move on and get back to the thread, yes?

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    • #77
      Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

      Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
      Not to call you out SB, but do you ever look for writers who demonstrate a truly original voice in a spec -- the type of voice you could use to help that writer land assignment work if you can't get the spec made -- or do you stick strictly to the Esola model of being a rep in terms of new writers?
      I can think of a couple of things that I have taken out in the last two years that were not obvious slam dunks but were really well written and which I could stand behind as samples if they didn't sell. There are a couple of examples below. I'm not looking for someone with a vanilla voice, I am looking for people who write BOTH dramatically and cinematically. The projects below were all well written and none of them was an obvious conceptual slam dunk like Vehicle 19 or Foreign Exchange. But, all of them led to rounds of meetings for the writers and putting them into competition for assignments. I truly believe that a great writer who is committed to screenwriting and consistently produces new material will eventually sell a script and/or get work.

      Red Rover. A small and dark horror script about a sixteen year old boy who falls under the sway of a killer.

      The Olympian. An epic tale of a slave fighting for his life in the first olympics.

      The Fly Fisher. Very freaky and intense little horror-thriller about a kidnapped son who comes home with a dark secret.

      Caliburn. A post Arthurian tale about the return of Launcelot.

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      • #78
        Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

        Esola model? Is that the one where he finds scripts he thinks he can sell and then sells them? I like that model.
        http://twitter.com/JohnSwetnam

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        • #79
          Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

          FYI, I did the 5-second check on "Esola" on DDP sales before posting. The "subtext" in my post is usually called "sarcasm".

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          • #80
            Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

            Mike Esola.

            Sells a lot of scripts.
            Guy's a fvckin machine.

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            • #81
              Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

              Esola is a pretty big reason why being a finalist in the Trackingb contest this year would be so sweet.

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              • #82
                Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                Originally posted by Telly View Post
                Mike Esola.

                Sells a lot of scripts.
                I met Mike Esola at the Santa Fe Screenwriter's Conference a couple of years ago. That dude is young!

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                • #83
                  Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                  FWIW, I'd condense the two paragraphs about your current film to this:

                  My script "House of the Rising Sun" is in post-production and is being distributed by Lionsgate/Grindstone.

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                  • #84
                    Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                    Originally posted by chuckhustmyre
                    Since Friday, I've had three managers respond to my query (despite it's shortcomings) and they requested my new book and a couple of scripts (HORS and Dirty Money).

                    Got my fingers crossed.
                    Nice one! Well done.

                    "Artificial Intelligence will never match the efficiency of Natural Stupidity"

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                    • #85
                      Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                      Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                      FWIW, I'd condense the two paragraphs about your current film to this:
                      Oh, okay, it took a while, but I'm finally convinced this is the way to go, though I still think the cast list is great.

                      At the very least, if one is trying to blow away the reader with a cast list, you probably shouldn't have to write what they've been in. The names should be all it takes, and the reader may have hated one of the flicks you choose, anyway.

                      For your IMDB page, it's appropriate, but I do like JL's punchier version. You just go "wow, Lionsgate".

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                      • #86
                        Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                        Originally posted by chuckhustmyre
                        After taking in all the advice from this forum, I've revised my query. What do you think of the new version:

                        Dear [agent]:

                        My new crime novel, "A Killer Like Me," is set for nationwide release by Leisure Books in August 2011.

                        I am looking for an agent to represent the film rights.

                        In "A Killer Like Me," a detective discovers that the serial killer he has been hunting has learned a secret about him that will land him in prison.

                        My script "House of the Rising Sun" is in post-production and stars David Batista (Scorpion King), Amy Smart (Crank, The Butterfly Effect), Dominic Purcell (Prison Break), Craig Fairbrass (The Bank Job), and Danny Trejo (Machete).

                        Lionsgate/Grindstone is the U.S. distributor.

                        Can I send you a synopsis or proof copy of my new novel "A Killer Like Me"?
                        I still don't see anything here about a script in hand. This is still all about your film and being a novelist. I thought you were going to stop the query process until you had a script to sell.

                        I do wish you luck though, it's clear this is what you want to do, and you should continue to pursue what's important to you, sincerely. However, I do not think you'll land an agent with this query. But that's just my 2 cents.

                        Good luck, man.

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                        • #87
                          Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                          Originally posted by chuckhustmyre
                          I am going to write the script before querying any agents.

                          I'm just practicing writing a clean, concise Q letter.

                          As soon as I finish the rewrite of the script under option, I'm getting to work on adapting KILLER. The book doesn't come out until August, so I have time.
                          So then your query would not mention film rights to a book, it would mention a screenplay. So it wouldn't be the same query you posted here. Yes?

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                          • #88
                            Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                            But Rantanplan's right. You're stronger querying with a completed script.
                            Chicks Who Script podcast

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                            • #89
                              Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                              Originally posted by chuckhustmyre
                              For some reason, every time I come on here, I'm left with the impression I have no idea what I'm doing.

                              I have to keep reminding myself, I just sold a script and had it produced and have an option on a second.
                              And most of us on this board are nowhere near that. BUT! We may have knocked on some doors that you haven't, and we're usually happy to pass that along to save you the time. There's a little bit of teacher (and critic) in every one of us, and places like this Board give us a chance to get those talents off our chests in between dialogue polishes.

                              Send me Amy Smart's autograph if you ever get it, BTW!

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                              • #90
                                Re: Sold script, movie in post-prod., can't get agent...

                                Originally posted by chuckhustmyre
                                For some reason, every time I come on here, I'm left with the impression I have no idea what I'm doing.

                                I have to keep reminding myself, I just sold a script and had it produced and have an option on a second.
                                Don't panic. You're doing fine I think the main thing is that you're confusing two different kinds of literary agents:

                                -Book agents, who sell book rights, including the film rights to their clients' novels,

                                -Agents who are called lit reps in Hollywood but who sell screenplays, not books.
                                They represent screenwriters, as well as actors and directors in most cases. These are the people everybody on this board queries.

                                So basically:

                                -if you want to sell the film rights to your up-coming novel, find a book agent (most likely in NY), who specializes in film rights. Your own agent should be able to help you with this.

                                -If you decide you want to write the script yourself, when it's finished you will query Hollywood literary agents, who represent screenwriters, and who will read your query, sign you immediately, sell it for a 1 million dollars to Brad and Angelina, and make you rich and famous and invite you to fabulous parties.

                                So you need to decide which approach you want to take. Plan A or Plan B.

                                Hang in there

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