Screenwriting Assignments

Everyone wants to get paid to write. But do you have what it takes to take on writing assignments? Working on your own spec scripts is exciting, but bringing that same excitement and creativity to the table when you are writing someone else’s idea isn’t always easy. Learn how to get writing assignments, how to work collaboratively, and how to maintain your professionalism in as a writer for hire.

Behind the Lines with DR: Writing a Sequel – Ten Little Indians, Part 2

By: Doug Richardson | January 20, 2014 | Comments 0

Part One of Behind the Lines with DR: Attaching an Actor – Ten Little Indians Though my deal hadn’t been closed, I was already writing the studio sequel I’d sold the movie star, Rodney Redux (name obviously changed to protect the guilty). The studio’s partner, the foreign financier I’ve coined El...

Behind the Lines with DR: Attaching an Actor – Ten Little Indians, Part 1

By: Doug Richardson | January 13, 2014 | Comments 2

Rodney Redux had, once again, balked at starring in the follow up to his biggest hit movie. Somehow, sequels didn’t live up to the tiffany image he had of himself. After all, Rodney Redux wasn’t just a movie star. He was an artist. Was it so wrong to expect the motion...

How to Actually Accomplish Your New Year’s Resolutions… for Success

By: Shawn Tolleson | January 6, 2014 | Comments 1

Ah, 2014… time for New Year’s resolutions. A clean slate. Excitement in the air! Have you noticed that some New Year’s resolutions are on the list every year? What makes this year different? Will you really be able to accomplish your career breakthrough goals? Read on for the five keys to...

Behind the Lines with DR: Screenwriting Assignments – Late for the Party, Part 3

By: Doug Richardson | December 23, 2013 | Comments 0

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of Late for the Party One of my screenwriting credos goes like this. Do you want it fast or do you want it good? I usually reserve this lightning bolt for pushy producers and execs who somehow hope I’ll cut a contractual delivery schedule in...

Behind the Lines with DR: Screenwriting Assignments – Late to the Party, Part 2

By: Doug Richardson | December 16, 2013 | Comments 0

Read Part 1 of Late to the Party So we’ve established that I hate being late. And on my studio rewrite, I was beyond late. Like a credit card bill long past due. Excused for each delay by my exec, Signor Veepi, due to both a conga-line of unforeseen family circumstances...

Behind the Lines with DR: Screenwriting Assignments – Late to the Party, Part 1

By: Doug Richardson | December 9, 2013 | Comments 1

I loathe being late. Be it a movie, a meeting, a flight or pretty much anything. I hate it so much that I get anxious and sweaty and snippy as hell. Just ask the War Department. My timeliness can be traced to a base fear instilled by my father. If he...

Behind the Lines with DR: Hard Promises

By: Doug Richardson | September 23, 2013 | Comments 0

I’ve written screenplays for all kinds of reasons. For love. For money. I’ve written them as favors. I’ve written them in order to get attention from the right people. Because I thought a particular script might get me to the next level. Because I had something to prove. I’ve written some...

Indievelopment: Taking Feedback Notes

By: Jeff Richards | August 30, 2013 | Comments 2

If you’re going to be a writer, you’re going to get feedback notes. And if you’re going to be a professional writer, you’re going to get some savage notes along the way which you’ll have to listen to and use to make your writing better. And it takes about the first...

Behind the Lines with DR: The Might to Remain Silent, Part 2

By: Doug Richardson | July 22, 2013 | Comments 0

by Doug Richardson Behind the Lines with DR: The Might to Remain Silent, Part 1 It’d been a disastrous pitch meeting at Paramount. The director, Señor Brit, had somehow decided the most important element of the presentation was for him to blather endlessly about how he would realize the story onto...

Writers on the Verge: Choosing Your Next Screenwriting Project

By: Lee Jessup | May 16, 2013 | Comments 1

Choosing your next project, be it a spec screenplay, a TV pilot or a television spec, should not only be a creative decision; it should, in a perfect, business-savvy world, represent a strategic decision as well. This is a choice that my clients contemplate on a regular basis, struggling to balance...

Navigate