Has anyone got more than just a sale?

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  • Has anyone got more than just a sale?

    I was wondering if anyone here negotiated terms to do more than just writing the screenplay that was sold. Such as, acting role, production role, even a coffe runner? Just wondering. I love to write, but would also like to get into other areas of the movie making biz. How hard is it really to get a different role if you're a nobody?

  • #2
    Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

    Originally posted by nathanq
    Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote Goodwill Hunting (but they were kinda established by then)

    It's tough because you could end up seeming unproffesional. So, if you've got something actually on your resume you could try, but otherwise it'd be kind of out of left field.

    Having said that Exec Producer credits are easy to get
    Nathan, are you following me? Everything I post, you're right there! All kidding aside, I really do appreciate the answers. Like I had said, I am very much interested in EVERYTHING that goes into making a film. From working the boom to editing and all the things between.

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    • #3
      Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

      Originally posted by nathanq
      No, I'm not following you. This just came up as a new post....
      LOL. Well, please don't stop answering questions. Thanks

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      • #4
        Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

        I work on movie crews, but I wouldn't want to work on anything I wrote. That would be weird. Except for directing, which would be perfectly normal.

        If you want to work on movies, nothing's stopping you. But getting in through something you've written would be unusual.

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        • #5
          Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

          That's why I'm asking. As a new writer, I want to know these things. Just that there is a lot of time and effort put into a script, and one can grow attached I guess. At least I did. I guess since it's my first finished piece maybe. Mybe it will change after I have a few under my belt.

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          • #6
            Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

            You know Jenny, you came up with part of a funny premise.

            Poor and destitute, you write a autobiographical script that a studio thinks is sure to be a hit. But in order to get paid, you'd have to be a PA on it and nothing more.

            When talent messes up your story, you can't butt in. You'll just watch your vision crumble in front of your eyes... and fetch coffee and clean up doggie do in between.
            "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
            - Screenwriting Friend

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            • #7
              Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

              Yes, exactly! Oh, it would be awful.

              I have a hard enough time keeping my big, bossy mouth shut on set. It would be torture with something I'd written.
              Last edited by Jenny; 11-18-2009, 07:40 PM.

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              • #8
                Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                Originally posted by nathanq

                Having said that Exec Producer credits are easy to get
                They are?
                "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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                • #9
                  Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                  Originally posted by nathanq
                  Yeah, many writers get exec Producer credits- Kaufman has E.P. credits beginning with Being John Malcovich when he was a nobody

                  Eszterhaus has said that it takes nothing to get one
                  Slow'er down.

                  EP credits are NOT easy to get, however associate producer credits are a dime a dozen and are given to writers all the time. EP credit implies you are either generating a % of the budget or contributing to it. You don't just hand these out to writers unless they were involved in the money. I don't know what the Kaufman deal was but I guarantee it wasn't just handed to him, unless he was directly involved in some part with the financing of that film.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                    Originally posted by nathanq
                    Yeah, many writers get exec Producer credits- Kaufman has E.P. credits beginning with Being John Malcovich when he was a nobody

                    Eszterhaus has said that it takes nothing to get one

                    !!!

                    surely you mean Associate producer?

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                    • #11
                      Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                      Originally posted by nathanq
                      But Kaufman did get Exec Producer creds from his first spec- Being John.

                      I don't know exactly what was behind that though... although he was unknown at the time.

                      unknown? how do you figure? the man had been writing for tv for at least a decade...

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                      • #12
                        Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                        EP credits are not 'easy' to get, no matter what Joe says. That Kaufman got an EP credit on Malkovich could've been for any number of reasons. Saying that was his first spec is a little like saying Michael Jordan's first pro game was when he played for the Birmingham Barons - OK, maybe not quite that, but you get my drift. Kaufman was a semi-accomplished TV writer by the time he wrote Malkovich. Reasons for his EP credit probably are known only by him, his agent, and the producers. From personal experience, an EP credit can sometimes be payback for giving up something else (like, say, directing).

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                        • #13
                          Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                          i like how Hitchcock is always in a scene somewhere and how M. Night always writes a small cameo part for himself... like how a dog marks his territory.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                            As even a beginning writer you can negotiate an EP credit by "investing" your script for a low option or by simply working with a smaller indie production company. I've been offered an actual producer credit and it's not like I've got much of a track record.

                            I think this is why you often see longer list of producer credits on tiny films. Because everyone -- line producer, sound engineer, FX company -- is working below their normal quote and thus getting the pot sweetened with titles and sometimes shares of the producers' net.
                            Steven Palmer Peterson

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                            • #15
                              Re: Has anyone got more than just a sale?

                              Originally posted by sppeterson View Post
                              As even a beginning writer you can negotiate an EP credit by "investing" your script for a low option or by simply working with a smaller indie production company. I've been offered an actual producer credit and it's not like I've got much of a track record.

                              I think this is why you often see longer list of producer credits on tiny films. Because everyone -- line producer, sound engineer, FX company -- is working below their normal quote and thus getting the pot sweetened with titles and sometimes shares of the producers' net.
                              Interesting.

                              I could have sworn that I had read a few years ago that executive producer credits were so easy to get that there were serious abuses going on...

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