Execution Needs Work

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  • Execution Needs Work

    Well, I've got a bit of a head scratcher here. Perhaps others can give me their opinions...

    This last spring, I was a top-three finalist in a genre-oriented screenplay contest -- not a huge one, but one with over 1200 entries, so not bad.

    The prizes were nice -- software, a small cash prize, free services -- I was delighted. However, the reason I entered in the first place was because finalists would receive a read, along with one page of development notes and a fifteen minute phone call from one of their judging panel production companies and the finalist got to choose!

    I chose, of course, the company I have no contact information for (and can't find anywhere) -- a company whose work I admire and would have LOVED to get a read request from.

    After the contest, I was given a choice of not only the company but also what form of contact I preferred -- phone or Skype. And as they had my email, as it was one the title page, I happily waited... and waited.

    After a month I emailed the contest coordinator who promised to look into it. He got back to me saying they would get to my script soon. I said that that was good as I was waiting to revise the script (though I think it's pretty good as is) based on whatever notes they gave me. And, yes, I was secretly hoping that if I revised it accordingly, they might give me an open door to submit.

    (By the way, I have no issue with the contest folks -- they have been wonderful.)

    Another month went by, and another. At the five month mark, I wrote to the contest coordinator again and he apologized and said he would contact the prod co.

    Last week I got an email from the contest coordinator with his apologies, saying the prod co didn't want to email me directly as they don't want people replying.

    This is what my "one page" of development notes said.

    PASS. Execution needs work.

    Huh? I didn't submit it as a query -- I won a page of development notes!

    I just talked to the (extremely nice) contest coordinator on the phone. He said he spoke to the prod co. They said their notes constitute a page. They further passed on my (winning) fifteen minute phone call, saying that a Pass was a Pass and, basically, I should move along.

    The embarrassed contest coordinator offered me a consolation prize (software), which I declined, saying he'd done enough and that I was extremely appreciative of his efforts on my behalf.

    So I'm back to my three word prize.

    Execution needs work? Can't that be said for just about everything? In what way -- where? -- that's what I wanted to know. Which is why I entered the contest in the first place.

    Then I got to thinking about it... since the comment is so generic (though usually it's preceded by the phrase "Concept is good but the...", do you think they even read the script at all? Or did they read the script and then decided it wasn't worth commenting on?

    I certainly don't know how to go about fixing my script, that's for sure. Reworking the blanket "execution"? Where do I start?

    Maybe I'm just venting but, quite honestly, this whole experience -- other than my contact with the lovely contest coordinator -- has been disheartening.

  • #2
    Re: Execution Needs Work

    Ask some folks on here to give it a read and see what they say? Forget about the contest aside from the feel good. I would have demanded a refund myself. They failed to deliver on their promise and I would out them if they didn't refund it, but that's just me.

    I'll give it a read and see if anything jumps out at me. See your mailbox.
    Eric
    www.scriptreadguaranteed.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Execution Needs Work

      The contest people are not wonderful. They are cheats and should be named. I wonder if the prodco you chose even read your script.

      Very nice of harbak to help out so you can just move on.

      Don't be surprised when the contest crooks/incompetents try to take credit for your future success, though.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Execution Needs Work

        This is utterly ridiculous. You were cheated, pure and simple.

        Offering software that anyone can buy in place of a rightfully won page of notes and a 15-minute call from a producer is frankly an insult.

        They should not be allowed to get away clean with this, and you shouldn't let them. You sound like a nice person, but maybe you are being too nice. I would consider getting back on the phone with the contest-runners, saying that you've had some time to think about the whole thing, and saying you'd like the following as recompense for their broken promise:

        1) A page of notes and a call with one of the other judging producers (or another producer in their network who is of interest to you). They can request it as a favor to the winning writer who got burned.

        2) If they say they can't do the above/are not willing, request a full refund stat. Alternatively, request free entry into next year's contest (although I don't know why you'd even consider entering again, given this experience).

        3) If they don't agree to the above, let them know you are willing to publicize your experience on a variety of influential screenwriting contest forums/sites, including DDP, Moviebytes, ScriptMag.com, etc., so that any writers who are considering entering will be forewarned. You can say that you will mention them by name.

        I understand there might be a reluctance to rock the boat, but what has happened here is really egregious. People take advantage of writers like this because they think they can get away with it. I'm more disgusted with the production company than the organizers, although they both share blame. Would be great if you could name one or both, but get it if you'd prefer not to.
        "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Execution Needs Work

          So obviously, there's a huge problem here with the contest, who didn't make the proper agreements with the producers to get them to actually do what he was promising they were going to do. It's no different from offering a cash prize and then at the end of the contest saying, "whoops, we don't have the money we thought we had. Sorry."

          It's interesting that you seem willing to not blame the person who seems most responsible for this problem.

          That being said, let's talk about what that note could mean:

          Execution needs work? Can't that be said for just about everything? In what way -- where? -- that's what I wanted to know. Which is why I entered the contest in the first place.

          Then I got to thinking about it... since the comment is so generic (though usually it's preceded by the phrase "Concept is good but the...", do you think they even read the script at all? Or did they read the script and then decided it wasn't worth commenting on?

          I certainly don't know how to go about fixing my script, that's for sure. Reworking the blanket "execution"? Where do I start?
          My guess is that the producer or their exec or whomever read the first couple of pages, thought it wasn't up to professional snuff, and was done with it.

          Which is not cool if they told the contest promoter they were going to give you a page of notes - but generally people who are looking for scripts to produce don't waste much time on scripts once they realize "this isn't very good/up to professional standards/what I'm looking for."

          Which doesn't help you any. But I have to assume that this person's attitude is basically, "This is crap, I don't want to read more of this, I don't want to deal with a writer who thinks this is good enough, this whole thing is a waste of my time and I have real work to do."

          I think it's much wiser to start developing relationships with your peers. Form a writing group. As you get better, you'll find your peer group growing to contain better and better writers, helping you push yourself further. Use stuff like the script pages forum here to start a conversation about your work.

          Of course, peer writing groups have their own traps (it can be the blind leading the blind) which is why i say it's about having a discussion about your own work. It's not about anybody telling you what's wrong and what to fix, it's about you hearing how people react to your work and figuring out what that means to you.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Execution Needs Work

            Sure the coordinator is nice, but everyone should know the name of this contest so they can avoid it. They clearly can't deliver on what they promised and their relationship with the producer is suspect. Who *exactly* read it? An exec or their assistant? I wouldn't read too much into the pass. Passes come in various forms. Some are nice about it, some are dicks. Get feedback from a number of legit sources before you start questioning your script. It's one opinion. That's it.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Execution Needs Work

              Originally posted by Cooper View Post
              Well, I've got a bit of a head scratcher here. Perhaps others can give me their opinions...

              This last spring, I was a top-three finalist in a genre-oriented screenplay contest -- not a huge one, but one with over 1200 entries, so not bad.

              The prizes were nice -- software, a small cash prize, free services -- I was delighted. However, the reason I entered in the first place was because finalists would receive a read, along with one page of development notes and a fifteen minute phone call from one of their judging panel production companies and the finalist got to choose!

              I chose, of course, the company I have no contact information for (and can't find anywhere) -- a company whose work I admire and would have LOVED to get a read request from.

              After the contest, I was given a choice of not only the company but also what form of contact I preferred -- phone or Skype. And as they had my email, as it was one the title page, I happily waited... and waited.

              After a month I emailed the contest coordinator who promised to look into it. He got back to me saying they would get to my script soon. I said that that was good as I was waiting to revise the script (though I think it's pretty good as is) based on whatever notes they gave me. And, yes, I was secretly hoping that if I revised it accordingly, they might give me an open door to submit.

              (By the way, I have no issue with the contest folks -- they have been wonderful.)

              Another month went by, and another. At the five month mark, I wrote to the contest coordinator again and he apologized and said he would contact the prod co.

              Last week I got an email from the contest coordinator with his apologies, saying the prod co didn't want to email me directly as they don't want people replying.

              This is what my "one page" of development notes said.

              PASS. Execution needs work.

              Huh? I didn't submit it as a query -- I won a page of development notes!

              I just talked to the (extremely nice) contest coordinator on the phone. He said he spoke to the prod co. They said their notes constitute a page. They further passed on my (winning) fifteen minute phone call, saying that a Pass was a Pass and, basically, I should move along.

              The embarrassed contest coordinator offered me a consolation prize (software), which I declined, saying he'd done enough and that I was extremely appreciative of his efforts on my behalf.

              So I'm back to my three word prize.

              Execution needs work? Can't that be said for just about everything? In what way -- where? -- that's what I wanted to know. Which is why I entered the contest in the first place.

              Then I got to thinking about it... since the comment is so generic (though usually it's preceded by the phrase "Concept is good but the...", do you think they even read the script at all? Or did they read the script and then decided it wasn't worth commenting on?

              I certainly don't know how to go about fixing my script, that's for sure. Reworking the blanket "execution"? Where do I start?

              Maybe I'm just venting but, quite honestly, this whole experience -- other than my contact with the lovely contest coordinator -- has been disheartening.
              The responsibility for this mess can be laid at the feet of the contest. They promised you this prize and didn't deliver. My guess is that they didn't communicate well with the production company in the first place.

              You do need to name the contest as a warning to others to avoid these people.

              As for your pass... A reader or an assistant probably read it or skimmed it after it was turfed off to them with a "Read this. I don't want to see it again unless it's best damn script you ever read." And the reader passed. Thus the three word "notes". And whoever made the contest arrangement for the production company got chewed out or fired. Production companies who are working don't have time or patience for this kind of thing.

              Honestly, unless it's one of the 2 or 3 majors, these contests don't mean anything.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Execution Needs Work

                Yeah, you need to name the contest. It ripped you off. They did not accurately represent their prizes. They can be a jerk about the 1-page thing but they can't literally get out of their meeting.

                Also, even if your contest was lame, and even if it seems like all the scripts I see winning things seem like stupid ideas and are really overrated, anything that makes the finals of a contest is still above a certain quality. Multiple people had to agree, unless the contest truly is awful.

                Was your script in someway morally offensive? That's the only thing I can think of. And if they run their script reads that lazily and chew out anyone who's diligent, frankly I don't want to work with that prodco anyway.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Execution Needs Work

                  This isn't right.

                  You don't have to put up a major stink about it .. but you do need to be responsible to other writers and give honest information to others so that they can choose whether to enter it or not.

                  The production company didn't even get an unpaid intern to write a page of notes? Sheesh.

                  The competition promised something that they couldn't deliver.

                  Don't ask for a refund in lieu of protecting others - it's a bit of a shady thing to be part of. And it just turns the competition into a Dead Donkey auction:

                  A farmer sells a donkey to his neighbor for fifty dollars. But no sooner has the neighbor paid the money when the donkey drops dead.

                  The neighbor pleads for his money back. “Deal's a deal, not my problem”, says the farmer.
                  The next week, the farmer sees his neighbor wearing some fancy clothes. “So where’d you get the money for that suit?” “Oh - I made $999 from the donkey” replied the man.

                  “$999 for a dead donkey?” “Sure - I raffled off the donkey. I sold a thousand tickets for $1 each”

                  “Well, what’d the winner have to say about it when he found out the donkey was dead?” “Oh, he got very upset. So I refunded him his dollar.”
                  -- Mac
                  New blogposts:
                  *Followup - Seeking Investors in all the wrong places
                  *Preselling your film - Learning from the Experts
                  *Getting your indie film onto iTunes
                  *Case Study - Estimating Film profits

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Execution Needs Work

                    I think you should name the contest and the prod co. If you can get a read from one of the other producers, then I think that's the way to go. If they don't give you the new (legit) read, then you should demand a refund.

                    As for getting some other pro feedback, the Blacklist isn't a bad way to go.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Execution Needs Work

                      They didn't read your script. They didn't even have an intern write coverage. Their comments mean nothing, and the contest is a scam. I'm so sorry.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Execution Needs Work

                        Really sorry to hear about this, but I'd really like to know which contest this was.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Execution Needs Work

                          Take their "coverage" with a grain of salt. They clearly didn't even read your work, and if they did, it wasn't with an open mind. Whistle and walk, my friend.
                          Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Execution Needs Work

                            That sucks.

                            There are two take-aways from their note. And neither has anything to do with your script.

                            1. Someone at that company is being a dick.
                            Even internal notes, culled from skimming 5 pages, require more detail. To me, this sounds like an intern or assistant who's either overworked or drunk with power. This contest has probably badgered them, and they're saying "FU" to it. Which brings me to point #2-

                            2. Hollywood does not respect this competition.
                            NO ONE in Hollywood would disrespect Nicholl like this. And if it happened, I'm sure Greg Beal would set the situation right. Whatever competition you entered managed to con some producers into attaching their name to the judging process, but this competition does not have Hollywood's ear.


                            The biggest lesson? Avoid these little competitions. Unless you're in it for their $500 grand prize, they offer nothing for your career.

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