The Rough Draft

A big part of your writing life as a screenwriter is the waiting game. It’s certainly not for the impatient. The reasons are simple. Development, Time, and Money.

When you sell your story to a production company they usually tell you three things.

1.) It was your originality that drew them to the script.

2.) It was a great read.

3.) Here’s what will make it better.

Don’t be offended. That’s the Development Exec’s job. He finds the script that turns him on and then he helps you put the Prodco’s stamp on the story. Otherwise he’d just be a buyer and what’s artistic about that? This process can take anywhere from weeks to years. You should be paid every step of the way, no writer gives his work away for free. They want your fingers to move? The cheque had better have cleared at the bank.

Next is Time. You may have the best story in the world. You may have sold it to the best prodco on the planet but if you can’t get the talent you want attached to the project, you can pretty much be dead in the water or worse, settling for talent you don’t want. Not that it’s your choice, you’re just the writer. It’s really about how the Director feels. Bottom line, if you don’t get to camera, you don’t get paid and if your option agreement runs out and they don’t renew, you’re back to square one.

And last but by no means least, there’s the money. When you write a book (and sell it), the publishing company will work out a distribution model and based on market research will figure out how many copies to run for the first printing. This whole process including advertising is realatively cheap, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. You on the other hand are asking somebody to invest millions in making your film. Now speaking as somebody who hates to lend out twenty bucks, that can be a bit daunting. They want to make sure you’re not going to screw up. What they really want is a track record and an assured earning potential. Which explains the majority of Hollywood remakes right now. This is also why the independent films are driving the market, we still want fresh and we’re don’t mind dissing Hollywood to get it. But you’re still asking for a hell of a lot of cash and it takes time to pry that sort of coin loose from those tight fingers.

It all adds up to a long wait. How do you handle it? You harrass your friends. You bug your producers. You stare into space dreaming of bigger cheques, and then reality kicks in and you write your next outline, and then you write the script.

Writers write otherwise you’ve got nothing to sell.

Steve Abbott

Sabot Productions

“Who Dares Wins”

Welcome to the site’s new section. Here I’ll discuss the business side as well as the artistic obstacles and other problems that crop up during the course of production.

I will almost exclusively be talking about DV production and film making here. Now I know the web is rife with the film vs. DV arguments. Basically the deal here is I love film and shooting on film but the base of my experience is in DV and BetaSP production. I know how to get those projects off the ground. Film is a whole other kettle of fish and unless you want to discuss the inner workings of a 35mm feature, I’m not the guy to discuss it. However, there may come along somebody who can answer your questions, and rather than just having me throw my voice out into the void of the web, ask me stuff and I’ll see if I can answer.

In the meantime, here are some basic rules to successful film making.

1.) It starts with the script.

2.) If a Director tells you he want’s to realize his vision… he didn’t understand your script.

3.) Film is a collaborative medium, everybody matters to the success of the project.

4.) Beg, borrow, and steal before you offer to pay.

5.) Rental houses usually offer certain kits for free (if you ask nice).

6. Sound and Catering always expect to be paid.

7.) If you aren’t paying anybody, you have to feed them well.

8.) A good DP can save you tons of aggravation.

9.) Coverage, coverage, coverage.

10.) Storyboards are your friend.

Happy shooting.

Steve Abbott

There is an entire section of the book store dedicated to screenwriting. There used to be four, maybe five books. What does that tell you about how many people are writing screenplays? you turn on the TV and there are at least eight channels with somebody telling you in varying degrees how to be, richer, happier, slimmer or how their food prep impliment will make your life easier.

Well, the majority of all of that is crap. Including the various books on screenwriting. Not all of the books, just most of them. The one’s I’d recommend you read are; “The Hero’s Journey, “By Chris Vogler, “Story,” By Robert McKee and anything by William Goldman. The two most essential books in your library should be, “The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats Part 1,” By Cole & Haag and, “Elements of Style for Screenwriters,” By Paul Argentini. That you should have a copy of Strunk and Whites should go without saying.

With that all out of the way. There is no Magic Bullet for you to sell a script. So quit looking for one. Focus on telling Stories you want to tell, in ways you find exciting and interesting. Create well rounded characters living in a concrete world whose rules you follow to the letter. Put them in conflict with that world, themselves, and others. Make the reader care. Make him care to page 120. I’ve just read four scripts, written by writers with agents. Two of them, I stopped caring at the end of page 1. The best of them got me through to the end but I hated his third act. If that was a script I was going to option, I’d ask for a third act rewrite before I ever excercised the right to option. There is no garuantee, that would improve the story.

Understand that even if you are bought, they are going to change your story, in fundamental ways. It’s how a producer justifies his existence. Even purchased, the chances your script will see the light of day are slim. You have sent your child into the belly of the beast. If you are a pragmatist, you will say, “Okay, I can make more kids.” If you aren’t a pragmatist, get out now and save your soul. If you can handle the paycheck regardless of all of this then press on my friend, press on.

But above all quit thinking there’s some magic formulae to get your script to the top of the buyer’s list. There is only good story and savvy business sense. Do waht is right for you and don’t be afraid to turn to people you trust for help along the way.

The closest thing to a formulae is in Vogler’s book, and once you read that you’ll realize that you’ve been doing it all along anyway. He’s just put a face to the name. I’ve met Chris, he’s a nice guy and he’s got the miles on his name to give his book credit.

Keep writing well and good luck.

Steve Abbott

Sabot Productions

“Who Dares Wins”

Well I’m having a bit of trouble with the server right now, it refuses to recognize me. I guess it thinks it’s a producer. It’s been an interesting month. I met up with my producers to discuss K******, the mystical 8 day script.

“Loved it! A great read. So multi layered.” Ah, the buttering up. “Here’s our notes.” Followed by the inevitable left hook. Still, the cokes were free. The notes were pretty basic, nothing too much to worry about. Bring out the characters baser natures and completely rewrite the third act. As usual, I said sure. I mean they’re paying me right?

Like I said, it was a good meeting. I figured i’d have time to go back and fix the mistakes make in the first pass, only this time I wouldn’t have to puke blood to get it done. The haymaker came two weeks later.

“Steve, hows the rewrite coming?”

“Pretty good, you know I’m having some trouble with the second to third act transistion, taking out the phone stuff really hamstrung me.”

“We know you’ll come through. How long do you figure?”

“Well, at least three weeks.”

A long pause at the other end of the phone. “Could you get it done sooner?”

“You know I can but is that what yu want me to do?”

“Well, we’ve got a sort of situation. There’s a producer in LA whose hot for the idea of K******. He’s willing to fund us to the tune of…” And then my producer said an amount that totally got my attention. “If he likes the script he’s going to pass it on to some people at…” And then he named an incredible agency who really only handles top talent. “No pressure but if you could finish the script as soon as possible it could be the break the company is looking for.”

Pressure? What pressure, it’s only the theatrical fate of the whole company. No wonder they gave me money on the back end. If the script is well received, the wonder agency could pick me up as a client, how cool would that be? Pressure? Not at all. Sign me up, I’ll handle this don’t you worry.

Right after I go and impersonate Gene Simmons in my bathroom.

I’m Steve Abbott and I’m waiting to sell out.

Blame the Greeks. Our accepted form of telling a story in three distinctive parts or acts goes all the way back to them. More than likely it goes back to the beginning of man’s time when Thag wanted to really beef up his how I killed the mamoth story.

In screenwriting, these three acts and their components are critical to your success as a writer. Some writers call the structure archaic and cliche, formulaic gets bandied about quite a bit too. We have a name for these writers, “Unproduced.”

I never wanted to be a starving artist, it’s why my other column is called, “Waiting to sell out.” I believe in writing to sell. how else can you keep score if not by the size of your paycheck? Are you and artist? Sure but more importantly, you’re a craftsman. This is a job just like any other, you just build story instead of stories. Bad pun and I appologize. but the analogy fits. What good is a house with out a roof or front door. How does it work if the bedrooms are onthe main floor and the kithcen and living room upstairs. It’s functional but you wouldn’t want to live there.

Lately though it seems there have been many films made that leave the roof off or miss the front door so we never get into the story. You have to learn from these mistakes.

At its basic, three act structure is Setup, consequence, and resolution. The first act (at least in film) is twenty two to twenty five pages long. You go longer and your story wil lag. Go to short and it will feel rushed and incomplete. Also in this act you need to establish all of your main characters within the first ten pages. There should also be an inciting incident to drive the character into the first plot point atthat import end of act sequence. The first plot point is the event that throws our lead character into a situation he is ill prepared for. He should be at odds, and I can’t say this too much…. In conflict!

In the second act, he should suffer and fail and succeed. Gain allies, make enemies, lose hope, get it back, win the girl and lose her and his heart. The Second act is the longest stretch almost a dessert of words. many a writer is broken by the second act blues. Because in the middle of that act is the midpoint. The big climax that send our lead on to their just rewards or doom. It happens around page fifty to fifty five for those of you interested. In the latter part of the second act our lead should be trying to get back to what he was, or the place he needs to be. Everything will be against him so the fight will be every bit as hard as the ascent to the mid point. This brings us to the dreaded and horrible second to third act transition. The rocky shoals that have broken many a story’s back on their black teeth.

This transition moves the hero onto the resolutiontrack. It brings them to that final showdown, the fight to the death, both spiritually or figuratively. If this transition is not handled well, the story falls flat with a weak ending. The secret is truth. You must stay true to the world you have created. It doesn’t have to make sense except within the confines of that framework. The Matrix is an excellent example of this.

This is the basics folks, for deeper insight I recommend, Chris Vogler’s, “The Hero’s Journey,” and Robert McKee’s, “Story.

Many would read this and say I’m full of shit, that I’m just feeding the machine with unoriginal crap but then I’m produced and they’re not and all of my cheques cleared at the bank.

Good Luck

Steve Abbott