• Home
  • About Emmy-Winning Blog
  • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
Turning Nightmares into Dreams »

What Happens After You Sell Your Screenplay?

March 26, 2011 by Scott W. Smith

“The sale gave me street cred. I was no longer some schmuck from Canada with a script and a dream. I was Mr. Professional Writer with a studio deal.”
Screenwriter James V. Simpson (Armored) on his first sale

Have you ever taken a script you’ve just finished and tossed it in the washing machine? And then put it in the clothes dryer? Yeah, me neither.

But that’s what the last week has felt like since finishing the script Shadows in Dark that I co-wrote. I’ve had hours of conversations going over my script with people turning the story inside out to make sure it can stand on its own. It is a little like watching your clothes tumble over and over in the dryer. Now I have to take it out and work on a new draft gathered with some of the notes. Someone asked me if I was worried about getting too many conflicting ideas. My short answer is, “no.”

I think the job of the writer is to act a filter with the notes you get and the story you are writing. If I had done it before the script was completed it would have been way too confusing. But I’m already on a new script so holding things loosely with the old script. (Even if it’s just two weeks old.) It helps that at this point in the game that everyone who has commented on the script wants Shadows in the Dark to be the best it can be. So I’m grateful that they’ve taken the their time to give me their two cents. (Actually, not even two cents since I haven’t paid anybody even one cent.)

Also, it’s been an interesting week to learn the Cedar Falls, Iowa area where I live is connected to a major movie star, an established producer with decades of hits, and an assistant with one of the major agencies in Los Angeles. On top of Mark Steines, the host of Entertainment Tonight having ties to Cedar Falls. Of course, that doesn’t mean the script has sold (or will even be read by those people) but interesting nonetheless.

But since this week I did write about marketing your script I thought it would be fun to find a quote from someone just after they sold their first script and what that experience was like. Adam Levenberg  pointed me in the direction of  the blog The Inside Pitch which as far as I know is the only blog written by someone inside one of the top agencies in L.A.—Christopher Lockhart who is the Story Editor with WME (formerly William Morris Endeavor). On his about me section of his blog it says his job is to look “for potential film projects for a small roster of “A” list clients including Denzel Washington and Steve Martin.”

That’s a nice gig. If you’re wondering how you get that kind of set-up, in Lockhart’s case he has an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and spent nine years at ICM where his duties included running the story department. He co-produced the feature film The Collector and was producer/writer on the recently released doc Most Valuable Players which was acquired by Oprah Winfrey. Lockhart has also taught at UCLA and given lectures around the country. He doesn’t blog on a regular basis, but he started back in 2006 so there is a wealth of information there.

Back on Novemeber 06 of 2006 Lockhart had a post where screenwriter James V. Simpson wrote about about selling his script Armored (which was released in theaters in 2009).  Here is a highlight from the post My First Script:

After the calls from my manager and lawyer congratulating me were finished, I told my wife. She cried and laughed and I told her to start looking for a car because it had been my promise to her that I would buy her a car with the money from my first sale to thank her for her support and tolerating me all these years.

Then I called my mother. She wept when I told her about the sale. For the first time in my life, my mother was proud of me. I don’t care how much money you get, there is nothing more important than your family and sharing this moment with them.

Since my deal had been done without an agent, I immediately had a lot of requests for meetings from agents as well as producers.

This is the victory lap and you have to take it if you want to start a career, so be prepared to be in LA for at least a week to begin with and for longer periods as your career develops.

So he went from writing for no money to writing for money. It reminded me of Stepehen King when his agent told him the paperback right to his first book sold for $400,000. In On Writing, king writes, “On that Mother’s Day in May of 1973 I was completely speechless. I stood there is the doorway, casting the same shadow as always, but I couldn’t talk.” Keep in mind that he was living in a an apartment in Bangor, Maine working as a school teacher making $4,000. a year. So it was a big moment.

How did King celebrate? He writes, “I suddenly felt that I had to buy Tabby (his wife) a Mother’s Day present, something wild and extravagant. I tried, but here’s one of life’s true facts: there’s nothing really wild and extravagant for sale at LaVerdiere’s (a drug store in Bangor). I did the best I could, I got her a hair dryer.” When he gave it too her along with the news she cried. You gotta love those moments. A hair dryer—if he made that up I never want to know.

In those times when you pull your script out of the dryer and it’s all crumpled and torn, it’s important to know that those breakthrough moments that happened to Simpson and King—though rare— do happen.

Scott W. Smith

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in screenwriting | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on March 26, 2011 at 2:35 pm Screenwriting From Iowa » What Happens After You Sell Your Screenplay?

    […] “The sale gave me street cred. I was no longer some schmuck from Canada with a script and a dream. I was Mr. Professional Writer with a studio deal.” Screenwriter James V. Simpson (Armored) on his first sale Have you ever taken a script you’ve just finished and tossed it in the washing machine and […] Original Source… […]



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,337 other followers

  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with @Casey Neistat wp.me/paP6U-kep https://t.co/6WckMlbgiD 1 week ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • Why Movie Stars Have Big Heads
    • The Perfect Logline
    • Protagonist = Struggle
    • The Major or Central Dramatic Question (Tip #101)
    • The Devil Speech by James L. Brooks
    • How an Oscar-winning Screenwriter Uses Index Cards
    • The Bomb Under the Table
    • Writing "Scent of a Woman"
    • ‘Hamilton’ and The Drama of a Good Love Triangle
    • "Star Wars"—The Logline
  • Recent Posts

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with Casey Neistat
    • ‘I Love L.A.’—Random Memories (and a Few Life Lessons) from Living in Southern California Back in the Day
    • Magic vs. Grit
    • ‘Hollywood in Your Pocket’ Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and Shot by Greig Fraser
    • The Importance of Learning Cinematography (or at Least Understanding Its Role in the Filmmaking Process)
  • Pages

    • About Emmy-Winning Blog
    • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)
  • Categories

    • Book Reviews
    • Film History
    • filmmaking
    • Filmmaking Quote of the Day
    • Miscellaneous
    • Most Viewed Posts
    • Movies
    • Off Screen Quotes
    • podcasting
    • Postcards
    • Quotes from the Road
    • Screenwriters
    • screenwriting
    • Screenwriting & Life
    • Screenwriting Biz
    • Screenwriting Quotes
    • Screenwriting Road Trips
    • screenwriting tips
    • Television
    • Video Blog
    • writing
    • Writing Quotes
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Digg!
  • Archives

    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • RSS Screenwriting from Iowa

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with Casey Neistat
      ”Seek out interestingness.”—Casey Neistat It’s not like Casey Neistat and I are hanging making films together, but yesterday I started his online filmmaking and storytelling class. It’s not a sponsored thing either. Just taking it to pick up how he does what he does so well. Part of his secret sauce is spontaneous filmmaking. Just […]
      Scott W. Smith
  • Blogroll—Favorite Posts from Others

    • ASPIRING TO ACT, WRITE, DIRECT—TomCruise.com
    • BURN IT DOWN—John August
    • CASE STUDIES IN FILM EDITING—Oliver Peters
    • DAVID MAMET'S MEMO— Movieline
    • EVERY SALE HAS A STORY—Blake Snyder
    • FILM FINACE OVERWHELM—Stacy Parks
    • IT'S THE CONCEPT STUPID—Max Adams
    • LISTEN TO A MOVIE—Scott Myers
    • MISHA GREEN INTERVIEW—Scriptshadow
    • QUERY LETTER SAMPLE — Michele Wallerstein
    • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK—Scriptsnotes, Ep 73:
    • THE 'RAIDERS' STORY CONFERENCE—Mystery Man on Film
    • THE "A" LIST—Christopher Lockhart
    • THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO MOVIE VILLAINS—Screenwriting Spark
    • THE TOTAL FILM-MAKER BY JERRY LEWIS—Cinephilla and Beyond
    • VINCENT LAFORET—chasejarvisLIVE

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Join 1,337 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: