Transcript of our Q&A with Writer/Producer and Script Analyst Peter Myers
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Q&A with Writer/Producer and Script Analyst Peter Myers?
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Dear Writers,
It's been a pleasure to answer your question in this Q and A.
Let me know if you need any further help in the area of scripts.
You can always contact me at peterdavidmyers@gmail.com.
My services are:
Analysis---2-3 page synopses $75.00
---10-20 page treatments $150.00
---full scripts $250.00
Consulting is $50.00/hour charged against a retainer fee.
subjects for consulting: How do I get representation formy writing? How do I get started in screenwriting?How do I meet producers, directors and stars? etc.
Testimonials from my screenwriter clients can be viewed at:
www.storylink.com/profile/peterdavidmyers
Happy writing!
Best,
Peter Myers
Our Q&A with Writer/Producer and Script Analyst Peter Myers Transcript
What is a 'high concept' and how do we make sure to add it to our script?
WHAT DOES "HIGH CONCEPT" MEAN IN HOLLYWOOD?A high concept script has four key elements:A great title,a fascinating subject,a strong hook,and it appeals to a broad audience.In addition to these four elements, the story can be described in one short,simple sentence.But you don't "add it in" to your script. You START with it. As George Lucaspointed out, a film project lives or dies by its original conception. You haveto BUILD the script around a high concept. Not add it in. Build it from theground up with that.
How important is the formatting of the script? I'm still figuring all the rules out.
Formatting is pretty darned important. If they think you're a new writer, thescript reader, producer, whatever, may not even read the script. One of thefirst ways they determine this is flipping through the script pages looking athow long the script is and how the format looks. You will unfairly prejudicethem against you if your format is not standard. The script might go to thebottom of the "to read" pile, or not get read at all. Dave Trottier's book THE SCREENWRITER'S BIBLE is good for learning format. but also look at the scripts you admire online. google "read screenplays online" and check out those sites.
Is writing a script for television the same as writing a script for the theatres? or movie scripts?
Two very different crafts, due to various factors: time constraints, wanderingaudience attetion span in TV (they can change channels), sponsors in TV, etc.
But you should focus on which medium you, personally, enjoy the most. Basically,do what you love doing. If you can't get enough of television, write fortelevision. If you can't get enough of theatrical feature films, write those.
Once you pick your passion, read books about that specific craft. Read thescripts of shows or movies you admire and see how the writers put them together.
Join writers groups in that specific area- TV or film, etc.
I haven't written a script yet but I do have several books on it and have always wanted to get started. Before I do though I like to research the field and find out what type of genre I should consider.
Are there any type of scripts out there that's already overly done? I don't want to write something that'salready saturating the market. Any type of scripts producers are looking for right now?
Horror scripts have glutted the marketplace, so if you pick horror as a genre,make it very very unique.Other than that, producers are mainly looking for "great scripts". And how do you write a great script? Learn the craft and write from you passions, becausenot doing or, or the other, or both, will lessen the chances of it selling.
They can tell when your heart's not in a script, believe me. Trying to write "for the marketplace" is kind of a losing proposition, becauseby the time your movie gets made, the marketplace will have moved on from whereit was when you started writing your script.
I have several questions, my first is, do you have any script writing softwares you recommend? why/why not?
I recommend Screenwriter 6 by Moviemagic, the software company. It's simple touse.
Best,Peter
Hello again, I would like to study good scripts to see how the good writers wrote them.
Where can I find good scripts that have already been turned into a movie? Is there a resource online where I can get them for free?
Do you have any suggestions on how I should analyze the script?
I copied and pasted in some online sources for scripts from my database, but these are at least a couple of years old and may not exist anymore. If thesedon't pan out, just google "read screenplays online for free" or some such thingand the sites will come up. Or screenplays online. But they are definitely out there and that's the easiest way to access them.
As far as analyzing the script, do you mean analyzing it to see how it works? What made it successful? Well, the ideal scene for a screenplay, as painted bya number of good screenwriting books, would tell you that. If it's a goodscript, it should be in alignment with the better books on screenwriting.
The Writers Store in L.A. can recommend those to you, or see the postings herebecause I rattled off 4 books to one fo the writers, books I recommend to new screenwriters.
My final question is about taking classes. I feel I should take some scriptwriting classes.
Do you have any suggestions on a script writing class? Onlinewould be best for me and the cheaper the better.
I'm not familiar with the online classes. I always recommend UCLA, either themajor screenwriting program they have there, or the extension courses. I heargood things about both. Richard Walter is a professor in the screenwritingprogram and is a great guy. He can give you more info on that, as can UCLAExtension.
Online classes: go online and google "online screenwriting classes". You can google just about anything these days.
You should be reading good books about screenwriting and The Writers Store inLos Angeles can recommend the best ones to you.
What is selling right now? What's the best way to find out what's selling?
There is a publication which shows what's selling and I forget the name, BUT don't write based on what's selling, because by the time you're done developing and polishing your material, the fad will have changed.
I will tell you that it's now harder to sell a spec script than in previous years. Now, you must find a producer who packages in a director and star, inorder for it to sell. Just write what you're passionate about and learn the craft so that what you turn in is a really good script. Don't worry about the marketplace. If you're not writing your passion, it will show in the quality of the material and it won't sell.
I'm watching the news, like the Octomom event seem to catch people'sattention.
So, should I put someone like the Octomom in my script? How can weturn what is selling on TV and the news into something part of our script?
Be careful if you're putting someone's true life story in a script withoutgetting the rights from them to do that. If what you're using is ONLY public domain material, stuff you've seen on TV or in the papers, that's likely to besafe to use, but when you start using other things you're finding out about themwhich are not publicly known, you leave yourself open for an invasion of privacylawuit from the person you're writing about.
The bottom line is:Write what you're passionate about and learn your craft. If you just do thosetwo things, you stand a better chance of selling, than if you only do one, ornone, of those two things.So, at the end of the day, if you're passionate about some subject which hasreally caught the public's attention, and there are no rights issues you can'tdeal with, then you're ahead of the game by writing a script on that subjectmatter.
Best,Peter www.storylink.com/profile/peterdavidmyers
Peter,
I'm getting started a little late in life with my script writing but I feel its better late than never. I'm in my 60s with a lot of life experinces I can put into my characters.
I am writing a Dirty Harry script with an eye forClint Eastwood starring in it. I know its a long shot but I wrote somethingwhere I can imagine the lead character doing the actions.
What do you think I should look out for as I write it?
Any possible pitfalls you can think of? Any books you suggest I look at? Its my first script Ive ever worked on and I'mstill in the dark with a lot of things.
Better late than never!
Forget Dirty Harry. Clint doesn't want to do any moreof those. I checked a few years ago and was told that by his asassistant.
If you look at his work the last ten years you'll see he's on a completely different wavelength now.
Pitfalls? Don't write a bad script! How not to write a bad script? Write agood one! How to write a good one? Read the following books and apply what'sin them:
Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc by Dara Marks
Story by Robert McKee
The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lagos Egri.
And write what you're passionate about. If A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL can get made,just about anything can get made if it has integrity and emotion.Now, if you need further help, I do consult screenwriters on an hourly basis,and I do analyze their material for them as they develop their projects from synopsis to treatment to script.
If you need further help, feel free to contact me at mailto:peterdavidmyers@gmail.com.
And have fun writing!
Peter,
Let's say you found a good book, it's a bestseller, it's a commercial successand you want to turn it into a script, how would you go about it? How do you adapt a book to a movie?
You would need to contact the writer's agent to see if film rights were includedin the publishing deal. Don't trust the publisher to tell you the truth! If thefilm rights still belong to the author, then you negotiate with the agent forthe rights. Agents are all about money, and are not going to be friendly tooffers of film rights options for $1.00 for a year, so, if you find out theauthor still has the film rights, try to find a way to go to the author direct,sell him/her on your vision for the film and get them to option it to you for abuck.However, the more successful the book is, the harder it will be to get a onedollar option. On a book that's a commercial success, be prepared to spend moneyto get the option. Unless you're a real good saleswoman!As for adapting books to movies. I had a director ask me that one time, and it's 2 phases.
1) decide what your take is on the book. Yes, you can bring YOUR OWN point of view to the adaptation, even if it varies slightly from the author's. I would only do this is the author wrote a book that is not eminentlyadaptable to the screen, but has something in it that attracts you to adaptingit. At that point, you're going to have to solve the problem the author of thebook gave you. And in doing that, you'll need to find out own vision within his/her vision. Let's say you've done that. Next, go through the book and pick out the parts of the book that conform to your vision of a film version of the book. You may only use half of the book. Don't worry. The author didn't give you something easilytranslatable to the screen. It's your job to fix that problem. Or if they did give you a very translatable book, you're in luck. Maybe most ofwhat's in the book belongs in the film. But remember, you've only got 120 pagesof script that the book has to fit in, so you may find yourself going through,picking and choosing anyway.Have fun with it. But don't spend a lot of time on such a project unless you'vesecured at LEAST a year option on the film rights to the book. Otherwise, youcould be wasting your time.Best,Peter
As I am writing my novel I sometimes use lyrics of songs. I use older songsfrom the early 2oth century (1940's or earlier), would there be a problem withthis? Would I have to pay for copyright? How do I check?>> I also mentioned stores like Kmart, banks like Bank of America and sometimesmake jokes (nothing horrible, only sarcastic jokes) about them. Is this okay?Or can they sue me?>>> What do I have to watch out for in terms of copyright?
Thanks, you too. Don't use those songs unless they're really critical as it's more headaches forthe publisher to negotiate the rights to use those lyrics. Make up some lyricsunless it's story-critical to use the ones you want.The publisher of the book will have to pay. Or in a film, the producer of thefilm pays. Speaking of which, don't give the film producer any extra headacheseither. He/she may want to hire a songwriter to make up a 40's style song fortwo grand, much cheaper than paying 50 grand for some Sinatra tune, or whatever.On your other question about mentioning stores, etc., that one you'd have tocheck with an attorney on. I have no idea where the boundaries are.Bottom line, don't give YOURSELF extra headaches. Only put things in like that if you really HAVE to. Best,Peter
Do you look for a book to turn into a movie?
I don't as I don't need the extra complication of dealing with film rights to abook. A producer is negotiating with my literary manager now about hiring me towrite a script from a book, but I don't go looking for books myself. I have abacklog of spec scripts I haven't gotten to because I keep getting hired byother people to write scripts they want written! Tough problem.If a writer is plumb out of ideas, certainly, he/she can go looking for a bookto adapt, but they have to make sure they own the film rights to it before theyspend any time writing the script! Otherwise, it can be wasted effort.
Best, Peter
There's more Questions and more Answers with Writer/Producer and Script Analyst Peter Myers at The ShallaDeGuzman Writers Group
*read more (Go to Messages #1734 to 1798)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShalladeGuzman/
By Elaine Radford
You've plotted your story, developed your characters, and written a scene-by-scene outline of your story. Now you're ready to write it in professional screenplay format.
Keep in mind that a screenplay is visual and your characters' actions move the story forward from scene to scene. Actions show the audience what it needs to know. Your characters' dialogue supports the actions. Seeing a character do something is far more powerful than having him or her talk about it.
Think of a scene as a unit of action. In each scene, define who (character or characters), what (situation), when (time of day), where (place of action), and why (purpose of the action).
Scene Headings: Each time your characters move to a different setting, a new scene heading is required.
Scene headings are typed on one line with some words abbreviated and all words capitalized.
Authors Hillis R. Cole, Jr. and Judith H. Haag say in their book, "The Complete Guide To Standard Script Formats," that "the various elements of a scene heading must be arranged in a specific order."
Specifically, the location of a scene is listed before the time of day when the scene takes place.
Labels: Transcript of our QandA with Writer/Producer and Script Analyst Peter Myers
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