Why Your Screenplay Won't Sell

jadorebellamore

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In your hands, the diamond in the rough: A spec script, better than hundreds of others, and maybe better than much of what you see being produced today.

Producers aren't interested.

Why?

A couple reasons.

1. The film industry wants to keep the money within its own ranks.
Everyone in Hollywood has connections and friends in the industry, that's how everyone gets everything done. They hook their friends up first. If a producer has a couple buddies waving scripts at them, and only enough bandwidth (and $$) for one or two, they're going to pick from what's in their face, from a trusted source, even if it's not as good as your work. Who has time for you? And with profits in the industry not what they once were, why would they spread a dwindling supply of cash to outsiders?

2. All Hollywood knows how to make these days are A) Remakes of previously successful films, and B) Comic book movies. Creativity doesn't seem to be rewarded anymore... And no producers have the stones to take risks on new ideas. But if it was a mega hit in the 80s, i.e., Total Recall, then it will certainly do well now. Right? So unless you're rehashing old work, or miraculously have rights to do an adaptation of a comic series, you're pretty much discounted right away -- even if you do have friends in the right places.

Plus, the idea of the studio reader is the most asinine concept in the industry. Most producers lack the ability to discern good work, so how is some gung ho recent college grad eager to pick something apart so he can flex his new found education going to pick something great? They are too focused on whether you're following "the book." If you doubt my statement that producers have no clue what good material is, get on Netflix and browse. Tell me there isn't a stunning pile of garbage floating everywhere... And that's not even all of the crap that gets green lit. Hallmark Channel. Lifetime. Straight to video. Look at everything out there and ask yourself, who the hell thought it would be a good idea to sink money and time into that junk?

The same people who might be reading your screenplay.
 

Filigree

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On the other hand, see this post: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287994

Yes, there are so many good scripts that never even get read. Hollywood has nepotism problems. These two facts have been a problem for a hundred years. They're not going to stop being a problem.

But consider the lackluster response to a lot of the current 'remakes'. Studios are still looking around for interesting scripts, otherwise we wouldn't have the free-for-all pitch meetings centered around Cannes, Sundance, etc.

The relative ease of production for new digital media means that companies not affiliated with the major studios may have a chance, if not parity, in the market. Those companies need scripts. This may be the Age of the Indie film, once we look back in a decade or so.

It's one thing to go into this business with a rational awareness of its pitfalls. It's another to be so negative you just want to curl up and quit.

I get it. I haven't written a script in so many years I've probably forgotten how. I'd certainly need to learn all over again. I've no real interest in writing directly for Hollywood right now, simply because I have friends who are doing it. Art and novel writing are stressful enough for me.

AW is a place for community, and for answers - good, bad, or indifferent, the aggregate responses help us all. If the purpose of your post is to vent frustration, that's fine. But if you want to start a stronger discussion, maybe we can talk about what screenwriters can do *in today's markets* to increase their chances of being read.
 

jadorebellamore

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Good response. And to answer you, both were goals... Also, wanted to see if anyone else would dare tarnish their name by agreeing with such scary observations.

On the other hand, see this post: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287994

Yes, there are so many good scripts that never even get read. Hollywood has nepotism problems. These two facts have been a problem for a hundred years. They're not going to stop being a problem.

But consider the lackluster response to a lot of the current 'remakes'. Studios are still looking around for interesting scripts, otherwise we wouldn't have the free-for-all pitch meetings centered around Cannes, Sundance, etc.

The relative ease of production for new digital media means that companies not affiliated with the major studios may have a chance, if not parity, in the market. Those companies need scripts. This may be the Age of the Indie film, once we look back in a decade or so.

It's one thing to go into this business with a rational awareness of its pitfalls. It's another to be so negative you just want to curl up and quit.

I get it. I haven't written a script in so many years I've probably forgotten how. I'd certainly need to learn all over again. I've no real interest in writing directly for Hollywood right now, simply because I have friends who are doing it. Art and novel writing are stressful enough for me.

AW is a place for community, and for answers - good, bad, or indifferent, the aggregate responses help us all. If the purpose of your post is to vent frustration, that's fine. But if you want to start a stronger discussion, maybe we can talk about what screenwriters can do *in today's markets* to increase their chances of being read.
 

Filigree

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There's no tarnishing here. Just discussion. While there are major agents, authors, and editors who do read AW posts, there's little chance that honest interaction will lead to any kind of industry blacklist. (Trolls are different, but that's why we have mods.)

One of the most-repeated messages I get from my 'friends in the biz' is to avoid Hollywood altogether and focus on the more media-savvy places to make a mark: Austin Film Festival (and South-By-Southwest) in general, major media conventions, and direct content/contest calls-for-entry from companies like Amazon and Netflicks. Yes, you're going to have to walk a fine line between promoting your brand or becoming a spambot, and the rampant commercial interests of the latter companies.

But that's something that any commercial artist or writer deals with on a daily basis.
 

Wilde_at_heart

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Trust me, nepotism is prevalent in many industries - Hollywood isn't at all unique in that regard.

If you think what's been Greenlit is drivel, God knows what's in their slush pile but I doubt it's the next Godfather or ET. I spent enough time on screenwriting forums and on logline.it to see why there are the gatekeepers that there are. Many screenplays simply aren't that good - to where it's worth risking $100M - and if a person is rejecting something through a 'friend' at least there's that buffer between said director or producer and the spurned writer, in case the latter turns out to be a bit of a nutjob, such as this example: http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2014/04/producers-submit-script.html

Even a lot of Indie films that have been made such as what are going to be showing at the upcoming Buffalo-Niagara Film festival don't seem that intriguing to me. I think there's two, maybe three out of about twenty-odd that I'm really keen to see. It's a hard business to break into even doing set dec or laying down cables, never mind being the screenwriter which is one of the top jobs. If you want to get there enough, you find a way. Loads of people have.

There are still occasionally big productions that are *really* good - Side Effects, for instance. Or Margin Call. There are only so many cinemas (which actually, I blame more than the Hollywood, or audiences who'll tolerate anything so long as whatever star they have the hots for gets enough screen-time), owned by a handful of chains and all showing the exact same thing. But yes, to get it anywhere you have be noticeably better than anything else in the pile.

However, I should point out that the #1 rule on this forum is to Respect Your Fellow Writer. Deriding others' work as 'junk' with such a broad brush isn't what I would generally call 'respectful'.
 
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Justin K

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Who says we're trying to sell a screenplay? I'll buy a Red or even a Canon 5D, hire some film school kids and produce that shiz myself, keeping all my rights and telling a better story. The screenplay is just a tool for cinema, which is an art that needs no industry. This thread needs to get with the times.
 

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It's a new thread from a new member, Justin K. I think most of us who have been playing in the screenwriting sandbox know the avenues open to us, and commercial production is only one of them.

But much like the rampaging 'us versus them' debates in self-publishing about whether commercially published folks are People Like Us, or Monsters From The Pits Of Hell, this argument is not quite as nuanced as reality.

A lot of artists and writers are going a saner, more-informed hybrid route, where they use commercial avenues for some projects, and DYI for others.
 

cornflake

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In your hands, the diamond in the rough: A spec script, better than hundreds of others, and maybe better than much of what you see being produced today.

Producers aren't interested.

Why?

A couple reasons.

1. The film industry wants to keep the money within its own ranks.
Everyone in Hollywood has connections and friends in the industry, that's how everyone gets everything done. They hook their friends up first. If a producer has a couple buddies waving scripts at them, and only enough bandwidth (and $$) for one or two, they're going to pick from what's in their face, from a trusted source, even if it's not as good as your work. Who has time for you? And with profits in the industry not what they once were, why would they spread a dwindling supply of cash to outsiders?

2. All Hollywood knows how to make these days are A) Remakes of previously successful films, and B) Comic book movies. Creativity doesn't seem to be rewarded anymore... And no producers have the stones to take risks on new ideas. But if it was a mega hit in the 80s, i.e., Total Recall, then it will certainly do well now. Right? So unless you're rehashing old work, or miraculously have rights to do an adaptation of a comic series, you're pretty much discounted right away -- even if you do have friends in the right places.

Plus, the idea of the studio reader is the most asinine concept in the industry. Most producers lack the ability to discern good work, so how is some gung ho recent college grad eager to pick something apart so he can flex his new found education going to pick something great? They are too focused on whether you're following "the book." If you doubt my statement that producers have no clue what good material is, get on Netflix and browse. Tell me there isn't a stunning pile of garbage floating everywhere... And that's not even all of the crap that gets green lit. Hallmark Channel. Lifetime. Straight to video. Look at everything out there and ask yourself, who the hell thought it would be a good idea to sink money and time into that junk?

The same people who might be reading your screenplay.

Uhm, ok, thanks for this rehashing of hackneyed complaints about Hollywood we've been hearing for decades. Is there a point besides that you've apparently missed a LOT of movies of late?
 
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Melville

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Unfortunately, I only have enough time to watch 5 movies a week so I haven't been able to get to the bad ones you describe. Too many terrific movies out there, from not only "Hollywood" but all over the Indie scene.

Are you a student? A recent grad? Your rant is pretty much a remake of one that's been going around for, oh, forty years or more.
 

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...The screenplay is just a tool for cinema, which is an art that needs no industry. This thread needs to get with the times.

This is a point that fits well with self-publishing analogies, too. While art can often transcend industry, especially with the new internet-based channels, it's not 100% successful. Art *does* need some forms of industry, or at least word of mouth, to grow a fan base. There are some brilliant YouTube videos that leave the major studios in the dust. And there are thousands more with single-digit (or no) screenviews, so badly done they are an embarrassment to their oblivious creators. Key & Peele produced an accurate send-up that's worth a look.

Same with self-published books. Authors must market themselves in lots of ways, through many different promotional channels - all without coming across as a spammer or a troll.

This is why a lot of artists, writers, and screenwriters still angle for some form of corporate sponsorship, just to take advantage of the marketing machinery already in place. It's easier to strike out on your own name when you've established some industry creds beforehand.

As for the ranty aspect of these posts, well, I last wrote a small screenplay in 1986. My fellow students had exactly the same complaints then.

We had a brute of a prof who offered this:

'You cannot control the reactions of a reader who just got served divorce papers, or got into an accident that day, or just got tapped by the IRS for tax fraud.

You can't predict that a studio just bought a screenplay with a premise similar to yours. Even though yours is better, and they said so, they've spent the money.

You could hang out in fancy Hollywood restaurants and parties every night, and still not make that personal connection that's going to bring you fame and fortune. You may even see fellow writers who seem to have found that magic formula. Stop fixating on them.

What you can do, right now, is make a promise that you're going to write the best goddamned screenplay you can. Because if it's really good, it's gonna get noticed. People will be talking about it, they'll remember it. Doors can open up for a great screenplay years after you started shopping it. So do the only thing you can: write well and keep writing.'

I didn't love screenwriting nearly enough to keep up at it, but I found that advice worthwhile when I began writing novels and short stories instead.
 
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Kfu3000

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Some of the points in the OP are valid. There is nepotism, originality isn't generally welcomed, executives are hesitant to take risks...

A couple things also need to be considered -- and I'm not applying them to anyone in this thread per se -- but many writers also overvalue their own work. It's easy to criticize the films and TV shows being made today as hackneyed drivel and say that your own work is much much better, but that is not generally the case. Most aspiring screenwriters think their writing is brilliant. Is it possible there are great undiscovered writers here or there? Sure. Is it likely in most cases? No, unfortunately not. Most screenplays, even the ones with writers who claim their work is Academy Award caliber, are garbage. Again, not pointing fingers at anyone here -- as far as I know, all of your writing actually IS amazing -- but most screenplays I've read (as a former studio story analyst and agency assistant) are terrible.

Additionally, often other screenwriters, filmmakers, and even actors and executives sometimes, are all pushing for rewrites on screenplays -- and the finished product doesn't always resemble much of the original script at all. So you're judging the final TV show or film on a script that has gone through 15 drafts and four different writers. Did you know that the WGA, will not award screen credit to a writer unless they have determined that unless a new writer hired to do a rewrite on a script changes more than 33% of the script (50% if it's an original script)? If a writer is hired to do a rewrite and wants a credit, what do you think they're going to do?

And while there are obviously cases of nepotism in Hollywood -- to deny that would be insane -- but a good portion of it isn't necessarily nepotism, but networking. Agents, managers, producers, executives all work via referral for a couple reasons and most of it has nothing to do with nepotism. Honestly, like stated above, most scripts are not good. In addition, writing being a personal and generally solitary profession, some writers can be, shall we say, introverts and/or super protective of their work. A referral is simply a way for industry types to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's someone in the industry vouching that your writing is good and that you're not a weirdo. It's much easier to take referrals than to deal with all the crummy scripts and odd ball writers that they are approached by -- and they're approached by dozens every week. It makes it harder for those great (and sane) writers who do not have an "in", but it makes their jobs easier and really - who can blame them?

As far as executives taking risks... where to start? This is absolutely true. Executives who don't greenlight many films can stay at the job for many years. Greenlight a bomb or two and you're out of a cushy, high paid, high profile job. So, why would you take risks? It's easy for us (as writers) to want them to take a chance on an unproven writer with an out-of-the-box screenplay, but that's because it's not our million dollar+ salary job on the line. And as stated above, there are also lots of great indie films and cable TV series that are fantastic, that do get made as well.

And as far as college intern readers, yes, that's a problem for aspiring screenwriters with no referrals. I once had a reader claim I didn't edit my screenplay and put the same scene in twice -- it was a flashback and shown from a different POV! The main problem is that there is less development money and many more aspiring screenwriters, so there's just a flood of scripts and the way they choose to deal with it is to try to filter out a majority of them in the cheapest and easiest way possible... the college intern. Not ideal, but the unfortunate reality. If you want your script read by agents and producers (and skip the intern) then get a referral. If you don't live in L.A. or have industry contacts, enter the Nicholl or Austin Screenplay competitions. Try to get an 8+ on the Black List. Enter all the TV fellowships (CBS, ABC, Nick, etc.) If a script doesn't do well after trying all those avenues, then it's probably not just an individual reader's subjective opinion that a screenplay isn't that great -- it's probably just not very good.

Going back to point 1 though, would a producer or exec prefer -- most things being equal -- to hire a close friend for a job? Sure. Wouldn't you? But at the same time, if a complete stranger had an absolutely amazing screenplay that they thought would make a ton of money, they would grab it, without hesitation. They won't buy a script from a friend just because he/she is a friend and pass on one that they think would be a blockbuster. They may be risk averse, but they're not stupid. Nepotism does exist, but ultimately, it comes down to if they think you (or your script) can make them money. That's the truth.

In addition, the reason you see a lot of the same people making films goes back to the nepotism/networking debate. Execs hire big name actors/directors/writers to make movies and IP's with a track record, not simply because they're all pals. They do it for insurance. If a exec greenlight's a film with a fresh new cast, with a first time director and a no-name writer and it bombs, that exec is probably out of a job. If they greenlight a film with an All-Star, A-List cast, directed by a billion dollar director (in Box Office terms) and written by an Academy Award winning screenwriter and it bombs, at least the exec has cover. They can blame the marketing department or something -- because with all that talent, it SHOULD have made money, right? So that's another reason it seems like Hollywood is just an insider's club. Again, nepotism does exist, but most business decisions are not solely based on it.

Finally, a lot of that "junk" on Netflix makes money. A lot of "bad" films from Sharknado to whatever cheesy big budget remake in the theaters that opens #1 at the box office, make boatloads of cash. If you want to blame anyone for that, blame the people who pay to see it. They wouldn't keep making them if people didn't pay to watch.

That being said, I encourage you to keep trying and forging ahead. If this was easy, everyone would be an Academy Award winning, multi-millionaire screenwriter/actor/filmmaker, etc. And heck, if Hollywood doesn't buy your script, do as Justin K said and make it yourself. :)

Good luck!
 
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Well said.

In my limited experience (reading novel and screenplay slushpiles, judging high-end regional art fairs), there are bargeloads of badly crafted stuff out there. Most of it from people who honestly don't know how bad their work really is.

I'd second the approach of aiming for notable contests and associations, because that can offer a more objective baseline. It also helps with networking - which is not nepotism.
 

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Well said.

In my limited experience (reading novel and screenplay slushpiles, judging high-end regional art fairs), there are bargeloads of badly crafted stuff out there. Most of it from people who honestly don't know how bad their work really is.

I'd second the approach of aiming for notable contests and associations, because that can offer a more objective baseline. It also helps with networking - which is not nepotism.

A long time ago I helped out a friend who did the music equivalent of going through slush (A&R assistant or something like that) and listened to a crapload of demo tapes back-do-back.

Most of it wasn't bad. It was dull. The same riffs, the same attempt to be 'catchy'. Genuinely BAD actually stood out more and could at least be entertaining. The majority was 'meh'. Out of, I dunno, at least twenty-five different acts, maybe one might have something if they worked at it a bit more.

At the same time, I've known some very talented artists who went nowhere because they didn't keep at it and stick it out long enough to get somewhere.
 
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Your script won't sell because it sucks. It has nothing to do with sequels or nepotism or interns or Hollywood. It's because you don't know how to write a screenplay. You know nothing about dramaturgy. Your passion is fueled by the misconception that you can do better than others. It's not conceived from talent and craft. You have no idea worthy of a film. Your script is not a movie anyone would want to see. Your script isn't dramatic or cinematic. It's shapeless, unstructured, has no tension, no emotion. It doesn't deserve to be read. It should never have been written. It will never sell.
 

Myrealana

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A post like this might as be titled "Why you will never get your dream job" or "Why your novel will never be published" or "Why you'll never make it on Broadway."

I don't think this kind of absolute really adds much to the discussion. It's tru that in many situations, opportunities go to those who are already on the inside, and that a lot of people are afraid of taking big risks, but it's far from an absolute. Good spec scripts are optioned every year from unknown screenwriters. It's not easy, and your product has to be outstanding, but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
 

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A post like this might as be titled "Why you will never get your dream job" or "Why your novel will never be published" or "Why you'll never make it on Broadway."

I don't think this kind of absolute really adds much to the discussion. It's tru that in many situations, opportunities go to those who are already on the inside, and that a lot of people are afraid of taking big risks, but it's far from an absolute. Good spec scripts are optioned every year from unknown screenwriters. It's not easy, and your product has to be outstanding, but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

I think that the most important observation was buried under too many (valid) points.

This:
Your passion is fueled by the misconception that you can do better than others.
THAT'S the recipe for failure in this business. And it's an all too common misconception. Gatekeepers are right to keep these fools from entering paradise. After thirty years in this business I've never come across ONE wannabe who thought they were better than "all those unoriginal Hollywood hacks" and were. Nobody likes a smug narcissist, especially not one whose scripts suck.

CE may be blunt, but he's telling it like it is.

Humility is necessary for both learning and collaboration.
 

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Your script won't sell because it sucks. It has nothing to do with sequels or nepotism or interns or Hollywood. It's because you don't know how to write a screenplay. You know nothing about dramaturgy. Your passion is fueled by the misconception that you can do better than others. It's not conceived from talent and craft. You have no idea worthy of a film. Your script is not a movie anyone would want to see. Your script isn't dramatic or cinematic. It's shapeless, unstructured, has no tension, no emotion. It doesn't deserve to be read. It should never have been written. It will never sell.

Quoted For (mostly) Truth.

Except the "It should never have been written" part. You gotta write those failures, and learn to sharpen your skills on those failures so you can raise your level of ability off all that work.

If you write a failure then whats gonna stop you from writing another failure if you don't study and understand what you did wrong with your first failure. You'll just keep pushing out boring, uninspired, insipid garbage and be forever lost in the process.

That being said.. I haven't seen one unproduced script posted online in almost 10 years of wandering the internet that I thought was worthy of production.
 

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Yes I don't know what to think about this. I've heard it said many times that you can't sell film scripts unless you "know people" but then all the vanity publishers spread that lie about novels, and we know it's not true there.

However most agents have a line on their website that says "no screen plays" so I don't know where you find screen play agents.
 

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Yes I don't know what to think about this. I've heard it said many times that you can't sell film scripts unless you "know people" but then all the vanity publishers spread that lie about novels, and we know it's not true there.

However most agents have a line on their website that says "no screen plays" so I don't know where you find screen play agents.

Knowing people might open doors, but you'd better have a very good script if you want to sell. Agents, managers and producers are always looking for great scripts, so if you've got one and you are are determined to get it into their hands, you have a shot.

I know a few writers - including a couple here in Australia - who have cold queried people in Hollywood, optioned or sold their scripts and are who are now building careers, so - despite the very long odds - it can be done. If you are good enough.

I've been trying for some years, but despite a couple of very close calls, my screenwriting skills haven't been good enough to get me over the line. Novel writing looks more promising for me!
 

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Knowing people might open doors, but you'd better have a very good script if you want to sell. Agents, managers and producers are always looking for great scripts, so if you've got one and you are are determined to get it into their hands, you have a shot.

I know a few writers - including a couple here in Australia - who have cold queried people in Hollywood, optioned or sold their scripts and are who are now building careers, so - despite the very long odds - it can be done. If you are good enough.

I've been trying for some years, but despite a couple of very close calls, my screenwriting skills haven't been good enough to get me over the line. Novel writing looks more promising for me!

A lot of people have also told me that they want 'high concept' and that getting the pitch right is critical. If you go spend some time over on logline.it, you'll see how many people don't get very far on that level either.
Sometimes it's because they just can't seem to boil their story down to the bare essentials but still keep it interesting, while for others, there is a story problem that comes through in any logline they try to draft.

I am working nights this week patching systems and decided to peruse other parts of the forum.

That email exchange made me cringe so hard.

A few on the screenplays SYW might make you as well. Maybe I'm the only one, but it does seem to me that novice screenwriters seem a lot more hostile to criticism than novelists or short-story writers for some reason.
I don't know whether there's a faulty perception that because of formatting and time rules screenplays should be 'easier' or what it is. I've seen a few on here who handled feedback very gracefully, though many others did not at all.
 

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I don't critique screenplays here, but I have elsewhere, and the hostile reception to valid criticism stated with tact and humor is almost universal. It may be worth noting that who the screenwriter is could be a factor. Those who tend to lash out the worst are always, 100% of the time, males between 18 and 32.

I had a guy call me a cunt, then ask me a few months later to read his newest effort. Uh, no.

Maryn, who won't critique scripts any more
 

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I don't critique screenplays here, but I have elsewhere, and the hostile reception to valid criticism stated with tact and humor is almost universal. It may be worth noting that who the screenwriter is could be a factor. Those who tend to lash out the worst are always, 100% of the time, males between 18 and 32.

I had a guy call me a cunt, then ask me a few months later to read his newest effort. Uh, no.

Maryn, who won't critique scripts any more

:facepalm:

I was on several different forums for screenwriting before finding a home here. Let's just say that the most valuable lesson I learned from it all was that Hollywood, etc., has gatekeepers for a very good reason and even a lot of the 'dreck' that gets produced is still most often far better than what stays in the slush piles.
 

calieber

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I can't speak to the accuracy of the original post -- though the rest of this thread has made me skeptical, to say the least -- but I think I can understand the underlying fear:
  • If I write a horrible screenplay, that is my fault.
  • If I write a brilliant screenplay, but it languishes unread on my hard drive, that too is my fault.
  • If I write a brilliant screenplay and it languishes unread on some industry professional's hard drive because I don't know the secret knock, that's not my fault, but I can't even begin to know how to address it.

But for some people it's not comforting to be told there is no secret knock, or at least the secret knock isn't as important as they think it is.