 The tenth-annual Big Break Screenwriting Contest helps aspiring screenwriters get their scripts into the hands of industry professionals. As Final Draft, Inc. gets ready to reveal the top-20 scripts in this year's crop, we thought we'd talk to those industry
professionals tasked with choosing the best of the bunch. Among them is president of Zero Gravity Management, Eric
Williams. Here Williams outlines what he expects from a winning screenplay, as both a manager and a judge in the competition. Continue reading ...
What's the best advice you can give to writer wanting to do well in the contest?
When you settle on a concept you like, read the scripts
that are selling right now. There’s something about these scripts that
stand apart from everything else out there. Study those writers’
techniques and use your own voice to get in there and come up with
something new, different and great.
What are you looking for in a winning script?
A unique voice. I’m looking for something I haven’t seen
before in a writing style. It should feel very quick. Every single page
I flip to, I should want to go quickly to the next one. When you find a
unique voice that you’re not used to reading every single day, you want
to see what’s next.
How important is proper screenplay format to you as a judge?
A huge deal. Screenwriting is a craft and I value a
writer who takes the craft seriously. If I see on page one that the
script is formatted incorrectly, I’ll put it down. The same goes with
typos. If I see a few typos, it’s an indication this writer hasn’t
studied the craft.
Do you read specifically from an actor, a producer, or a director's point-of-view, or all of the above?
When I read a script, I think about the concept and
where I can sell this concept. Can I sell it to a studio or a
mini-major or an independent production company? I immediately place it
in a category. But also, it’s so important to be able to attach actors
to the material. I take a sharp eye to the characters. If one of the
main characters or smaller characters is a “down the middle role,” no
one is going to want to take that role. The characters have to pop off
the page.
What other advice do you have for aspiring screenwriters?
In this marketplace, your time as a writer should be
spent on finding the right idea, the high-concept idea. I have plenty
of writers who can execute a draft, but if the concept isn’t high, we
can’t sell it. Spend 70 percent of your time finding that idea. Don’t
just write the first thing that comes to mind. If you have that high
concept, and apply your writing skills to that concept, then you’ve got
something special.
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Jenna Milly, after a decade of writing news for CNN and The Los Angeles Times,
decided r-e-e-l life was more interesting. She has been writing
screenplays for six years and recently directed her first short film, A Peacock-Feathered Blue. She teaches dramatic writing at Emory University and runs her own script-consulting service.
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a) Copy and paste the script text into a word file, rewrite it as a novel by adding a few hundred more pages. Instant second market to attract possible publishers.
b) Or do the same but revise the screenplay into comic format if it has a franchise/toy and merchandise capability. I did this with Galactic Gladiators and it added value to the whole project - got me an agent too!
c) Have an artist create the poster for the movie (even if it is still just words on paper. The large movie poster has opened doors that were shut and is a visual aid to your pitch.
d) Retain the best entertainment lawyer you can even if you already have an agent. Read all the contracts that are put in front of you but also ensure you get guidance from your legal counsel, accountant, manager and agent if you are reprsented.
By diversifying you project you increase your chances of gaining a beach head in one or several markets, which in turn, will help you achieve your goals in the other areas you want to be in.
Persistence is Ominipotent!
To your success!
Sandford Tuey
www.Playdigm.com
A Shift in Entertainment