You've just finished your script, now what?  My first question is, "What draft is it?"  The usual answer is, "It's my first draft."  In reality, it's your rough draft and in no way ready for anybody to look at yet.  You're going to go through at least five to seven drafts at the rough stage before you share it with anybody in a professional capacity.  You don't achieve first draft status until you are going to camera.  That draft is the first draft, subsequent rewrites during the filming process generate the second, third, fourth drafts etc.

But lets for argument's sake say you've got a rough draft ready to go to the next stage.  Do you try to get an agent, a manager?  Can you show it to a producer, without either of these?  Well it depends.  How many agents, managers, producers do you know personally?  None?  Well that's going to make it difficult.  Got any friends who can introduce you?  No?  More obstacles.  It's starting to sound a lot like what your character went through in act one.  Don't worry.  Like the man said, "The first test of getting into the film business, is getting into the film business."  It took my wife two years to get into the industry and she's below the line (accounting / film services).  You're trying to come in above the line (creative).  Our gatekeepers are serious bastards indeed.  So, you need to meet some of these elusive creatures, how do we do that?

Which brings us to why I'm on a plane at 39,000 feet.  The Vancouver International Film Festival.  The Toronto International Film Festival just ended last week, and having milked it for all it was worth, I'm now winging my way to Vancouver to try and consolidate on gains made during my Leo Award bid.  Bottom line, I'm after some hard and fast contacts on the West Coast and in Toronto for that matter.  Because as we all know it really is who you know.  My point being, Film Events are where you meet film people.  Get their contact info and then contact them.

All very interesting but what about who I go to first you ask?  Well I'll be blunt (as always).  Your chances of getting an agent right out of the gate are almost nil.  Much like anybody else in the industry they're going to want to know what you've done, and how that did.  Cause even though they're going to be taking a bite out of your earnings, they need to know if you're a worthwhile investment, and frankly so do you.

It is at this point that you need to really think about what the future of your feature script is going to be.  Is it a forty million dollar big budget Hollywood Studio piece or os it a one milion dollar guerilla style story full of grit and piss, that can be shot with no name actors and a miniscule payday for you.  We all want the forty million dollar studio piece but our careers are often better served by the low budget gritty piece.  See the thing they never tell you in the screenwriting classes is that we're always working towards the next deal.  You eat a bit on this one to get closer to the next one.  It sucks but it's pretty much the way it works.  Of course there are exceptions to the rule but they are few and far between. 

So my advice is you go to the producers of low budget films and show them your wares.  You get a couple of low budget sales under your belt to show that you can sell.  You go to film festivals and talk yourself up to any who will listen.  Hook up with any agent who will give you five minutes of their time, and get them interested in you on a personal level.  They'll be much more interested in you when they find out that you've actually sold something.  More than likely, they will hip pocket you, which means that they will rep you but you're not ready to be signed with them yet.  Again, don't worry, this is the way it's done and is just one more step on the journey.

What it really means is that you are doing everything right, and growing as an artist and a writer.

Too often as writers we want instant gratification for our work.  Unfortunately instant is not a word that is readily associated with the film industry.  And if your suffering under the present Canadian model of how film is created, then instant doesn't even exist in your universe.

The only animal that we haven't touched on is the manager.  To understand what they can do for you, you need to understand why they came about.  Under California law, Agents are not allowed to be producers of the films they represent.  They are also only receive ten percent on any sale of the writer's work  Managers can take fifteen percent and can attach themselves as a producer to the writer's work.  So right of the bat, they're taking a bigger piece of your pie but they're also much more attached to your project and will receive n even bigger payday through their producer's fee.  It's sort of extreme double dipping but hey you get your film shot and a screen credit and that's  more money in the bank for your next film.  The jury is still out on the possible benefits / downfalls of managers.  No doubt it will all come out in the wash in the next ten years or so.

I hope some of this helps you make a decison that's right for you.  Just remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  No it's not a train.

Good luck and good writitng.

Steve Abbott

Sabot Productions

"Who Dares Wins"