The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

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  • The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

    I had previously posted about the idea of hiring a witer to write the first draft of a script because I felt I had way too many good ideas and limited time. I got a lot of helpful comments and the takeaway was that it wasn't a great idea because I would always be paired with the co-writer for any future projects and unless you are Ron Bass or James Patterson this set up doesn't really work.

    I guess I am looking to see what I want to be. Don't worry it will get less confusing. I have 10 idea and enough money to pay writers to turn them into screenplays, but I want a hand in the writing process and I have no connections. I always thought of producers as being the ones with conections and funding who took and existing screenplay and got it going. I almost want to be a middle man producer who pays writers to write my hopefully great ideas or adaptations and then sell the completed scripts on to a traditional producer for a profit. Is there such a thing? In a way it sort of sounds like a manager or agent and I have no desire to get sucked into that world.

    Perhaps it is just something I do and see what happens, but any guidance would be nice. I have got the money, time, and ideas now I just need to figure out how to do it.

  • #2
    Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

    Originally posted by Sandro_9 View Post
    I had previously posted about the idea of hiring a witer to write the first draft of a script because I felt I had way too many good ideas and limited time. I got a lot of helpful comments and the takeaway was that it wasn't a great idea because I would always be paired with the co-writer for any future projects and unless you are Ron Bass or James Patterson this set up doesn't really work.

    I guess I am looking to see what I want to be. Don't worry it will get less confusing. I have 10 idea and enough money to pay writers to turn them into screenplays, but I want a hand in the writing process and I have no connections. I always thought of producers as being the ones with conections and funding who took and existing screenplay and got it going. I almost want to be a middle man producer who pays writers to write my hopefully great ideas or adaptations and then sell the completed scripts on to a traditional producer for a profit. Is there such a thing? In a way it sort of sounds like a manager or agent and I have no desire to get sucked into that world.

    Perhaps it is just something I do and see what happens, but any guidance would be nice. I have got the money, time, and ideas now I just need to figure out how to do it.

    I don't understand - why would you be paired with that writer on any future projects? One and done, no problem.

    If you want to pay writers to write your ideas, feel free. You'll need to use non-union writers, but I'm sure someone will be happy to take your money and write you a script. My first paid gig was exactly that - a rich guy had an idea, and I wrote it for him. Nothing ever happened with it because neither of us had any connections at the time. You're sort of in the same boat. Will you be relying on their agent to sell it? Because once the script is done, that writer is probably gone, and it'll be up to you to figure out what to do with the script. If you have no connections to sell it, you just paid a sh*load for a PDF you can't do much with.
    https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

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    • #3
      Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

      Originally posted by ProfessorChomp View Post
      I don't understand - why would you be paired with that writer on any future projects? One and done, no problem.

      If you want to pay writers to write your ideas, feel free. You'll need to use non-union writers, but I'm sure someone will be happy to take your money and write you a script. My first paid gig was exactly that - a rich guy had an idea, and I wrote it for him. Nothing ever happened with it because neither of us had any connections at the time. You're sort of in the same boat. Will you be relying on their agent to sell it? Because once the script is done, that writer is probably gone, and it'll be up to you to figure out what to do with the script. If you have no connections to sell it, you just paid a sh*load for a PDF you can't do much with.
      I've been approached for this kind of thing a couple of times. Pretty good money (nowhere near WGA minimum), but still, not bad. I've scuttled the deals, intentionally, because I couldn't understand why they'd do it. I told them, I'm not a professional, so chances are, the script won't be professional. One guy was OK with that. I suppose he was just interested in someone who could sort of put a story together in screenplay format. I didn't feel right doing it, but if he knew what he getting going in, it probably shouldn't have mattered to me.

      I'm guessing this would most likely be ghost writing (work for hire) and when you're done with it, you walk away and the buyer puts his name on it?
      "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

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      • #4
        Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

        You would have no problem finding dozens of good, bad and in between writers to hire.


        JD

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        • #5
          Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

          in my experience, doing a work-for-hire with a "producer" (it was his "great idea" and he paid me a nominal amount, but i was also pretty green so i think he got his money's worth), the arrangement you are proposing is unlikely to attract the level of talent you'll need to then take the scripts out to "real" producers or studios. maybe you'll hit the lottery and find an unrepped or newly repped writer who can hit it out of the park. but unless you're paying WGA money, the WGA-level writers you probably want/need to do the job right already have plenty of their own great ideas that they are trying to set up on their own, or are already hired by the studios and "real" producers for OWAs

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          • #6
            Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

            Originally posted by Sandro_9 View Post
            I almost want to be a middle man producer who pays writers to write my hopefully great ideas or adaptations and then sell the completed scripts on to a traditional producer for a profit. Is there such a thing?
            Sure! PM me.

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            • #7
              Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

              I am really surprised by these responses. In my previous posts I was hearing that "When a script is written by a team of writers, Hollywood wants that same team to keep working together to give them that "Barton Fink feeling." They want the both of you or the three of you, or whatever."

              I relish editing and re-writing, it is what I am good at so I am not afraid if the script I get is not perfect I can take it there.

              So the follow up question is what is the best way to find writers who are not wga, but promising. Do all the contests post there scripts for people looking for talent to check out. I will lock down a good entertainment lawyer to make sure it is all on the up and up.

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              • #8
                Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

                Yes, if a script by a writing team sets the town on fire, the town will be expecting that pair to keep working together. If it doesn't set the town on fire, it's a moot point. You can go your separate ways and no one will think twice about it.

                As for finding non-WGA writers, I suspect you're in the right place already. Post in the Opportunities section with an honest breakdown of what your process would be, ask for samples and read anything someone sends you.
                https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

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                • #9
                  Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

                  I sent you a DM

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                  • #10
                    Re: The intersection of producers, writers, and agents--finding my career path

                    Sandro, of those 10 ideas, do you intend to write any of them yourself? I've never heard of something like this. When you say you'd be a sort of middle man, I guess it kind of makes sense in that it would basically turn you into a holding company with rights to a bunch of screenplays.

                    But, like the others said, those screenplays would be written by amateurs; and even professionals have trouble selling specs, so I don't know how feasible that sounds. Have you thought of pitching the ideas as an alternative? If you were the writer or producer, then you could build a brand on your work. But to me, what you're describing sounds like just a pitch. There are lots of specs, but there are even more pitches. Maybe if you hammered out one or a few of your ideas into screenplays, sold them, and built a brand, then you could flesh out the rest as an indie producer? Or if you've got the money, why not write and produce the first and best of those 10 ideas?

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