A screenplay is writing intended to be turned into a film – just as a novel is written to be published, and plays are written to be staged. A screenplay is not a complete work. There is no point in writing a screenplay if it isn’t going to get produced. A screenplay is a part of the package, the first element in the movie business.
The screenplay is an element in the deal.
Film is a business. As a writer, you have to not only take ownership of your writing but have to invest in your writing
Every film project starts with a bit of commerce and a bit of art. The film process begins when someone working in development as a film studio or production company reads a wonderful screenplay.
You’ve heard it all before. “Selling a script is impossible. It just doesn’t happen. I don’t know anyone in the film business so I have no chance at all. It just isn’t fair. I’m just not a lucky person.”
Is your screenplay a viable package?
Screenplays get read, optioned, bought, rewritten, rewritten, rewritten. Once a deal is struck the production executive send the script to a director, who will hopefully agree to direct the script, then the script goes to stars and once a big enough star agrees to do the film, the studio agrees to fund the film, and words are turned into action.
Selling your screenplay is not about selling a screenplay, but taking ownership of what you have written and developing your screenplay to its full potential so that it is ready to shake the marketplace and be developed to its full potential as a film, or perhaps even a TV series.
Just as a homeowner takes ownership of selling a house, by making sure that it is ready to be sold and that it is ready for the right market, so must the screenwriter develop the screenplay and knock it into shape to satisfy producers and investors.
