Austin Film Festival -- Overview

[razormoney]

All,

Just returned from the Austin Film Festival and Conference. What an outstanding experience. I learned more in the last four days of meetings than I did in my last four years of writing.

The greatest thing about the AFF was it provided venues to speak with successful Hollywood screenwriters. I was able to speak face-to-face with Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), David Milch (NYPD Blue), Sydney Pollack, Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and IMHO, the coolest screenwriter alive today, Shane Black (for you newbies, he's the guy that wrote "Lethal Weapon" and "The Last Boy Scout" and was paid $4 mil for "The Long Kiss Goodnight."

To a person, the panelists made themselves as available to conference attendees as their time would allow. Even after speaking and answering questions for an hour and forty five minutes, they would stay after and speak with anyone who had more questions. Nothing like getting it "directly from the horse's mouth."

I highly suggest anyone interested in furthering their screenwriting career attend this festival next year. It is a bit pricey, especially if you live outside Texas. That said, I sincerely believe it would be much more worth your while than entering a whole bunch of meaningless screenplay competitions. I mean, what do you think will help you more, bouncing questions off Shane Black or winning the Northeast Ohio Kiwanis Club Screenplay Competition?

It would take me forever to write down all the nuggets I learned from this conference, but I will say one thing. There was one overriding theme that has been discussed time and time again in this forum -- it is almost imperative that you know someone in the industry if you hope to have a chance of getting your screenplay noticed (Shane Black was an actor first -- in movies like "Predator" -- and Christopher McQuarrie went to high school with Bryan Singer and Ethan Hawke). That's the bad news. The good news is, there are places like AFF where you can make contacts. I was able to join a writers group in my town and I even got a produced screenwriter to agree to read my screenplays.

AFF was the best decision I've made in a long while. If you have any questions about the conference, feel free to throw them up on this thread.

R

[Kwvillen]

Or you can place highly in a reputable contest like the Nicholl, which recently helped a finalist sell his sp "Armored" for 6 figures. ;)

KWV

[razormoney]

How many people submitted screenplays to the Nicholl and how many got specs sold? 1 out of 5,000 maybe.

The AFF did point out that some festivals do provide a direct line into the industry -- if you win or place high. A few other festivals were mentioned but Nicholl was the major player.

That being said, I was just stating that the AFF might be a better option for the other 4,999 people who entered the Nicholl to make contacts and network to get their screenplays read by industry professionals.

R

[dpaterso]

Glad you got something out of it, must have been a buzz talking to these writers. Not the first time I've seen positive feedback about the Austin Film Festival.

-Derek
My Web Page - sci-fi, fantasy, horror, cyborgs, AIs, dragons, vampyres. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
I hoped I'd get to nail you one more time. Didn't think it'd be literally.

[Kwvillen]

Razormoney: How many people submitted screenplays to the Nicholl and how many got specs sold? 1 out of 5,000 maybe.

I'll quote what Greg Beal stated when someone else asked the same question at another forum:

...13 out of 91 Nicholl Fellowship winning scripts have been produced. More than that have been sold or optioned.

razormoney:That said, I sincerely believe it would be much more worth your while than entering a whole bunch of meaningless screenplay competitions. I mean, what do you think will help you more, bouncing questions off Shane Black or winning the Northeast Ohio Kiwanis Club Screenplay Competition?


Apples and oranges. Bouncing questions off of a pro and entering a non-reputable contest are two different animals.

Anyway, I was merely stating a fact that it's not impossible selling a script or garnering industry notice by placing high or winning a contest - I only mentioned one example [among many]. There was also another very recent contest winner who is in the process of getting his script made into a movie. But that's neither here nor there, since regardless who you know or even if you do place in a contest most likely aren't going to sell a spec, but it may be a pretty good writing sample for assignment work.



razormoney: There was one overriding theme that has been discussed time and time again in this forum -- it is almost imperative that you know someone in the industry if you hope to have a chance of getting your screenplay noticed


razormoney: That's the bad news. The good news is, there are places like AFF where you can make contacts. I was able to join a writers group in my town and I even got a produced screenwriter to agree to read my screenplays.


I'm glad you had a great experience at the AFF, but disagree with your opinion that the vast majority of people who didn't place high in contests would fair any better if they did get an industry read.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience,

Edit: I just wanted to add that my post wasn't meant to take away from your experience, but to give hope to the thousands of others who aren't able to network in LA or make it to Austin - that there are other realistic/viable options.

KWV

[razormoney]

I understand where you are coming from.

Let me clarify what my point is here. I don't want to take anything away from the respected screenplay contests. I am merely suggesting that if you have the choice between spending your money on a screenplay contest and spending it on going to AFF or a Screenwriting Expo (like the one Creative Screenwriting mag puts on) carefully consider your options. Just think about the odds of winning a competition compared to the odds someone important might read your screenplay were you or a friend able to network with established writers or producers. I am by no means downplaying the opportunities that some very reputable contests provide. I'll be entering at least one screenplay into the Nicholl Fellowship contest next year.

Just trying to enlighten the folks in this forum to other opportunities to further their writing careers, should that be their desire.

By the way, Greg Beal was the very first professional at the conference to tell me (face-to-face) it is better to network with people and make contacts within the industry than it is to enter random screenplay contests.

You also make a good point about competitions that many people here may not know. 9 times out of 10, your screenplay is not going to get produced even if it wins a well known competition. It does, however, provide a sample of your writing abilities from which future jobs may be garnered.

R

[whistlelock]

Did Shane buy you a drink when you met him? He bought the lady I was with a drink when we met him.

[razormoney]

There were too many people around trying to pick his brain. He did seem like the type of guy to do that, though. Cool as the other side of the pillow.

R