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

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The 99% Focus Rule (Tip #70)
Insane Screenwriting »

Commitment in the Face of Failure

March 20, 2013 by Scott W. Smith

“I made this commitment to myself that I was going to be a writer. I figured, ‘Well I’m going to be a writer for the rest of my life.’ I had a book I got just out of film school that was a writer’s guide and it was interesting because they listed the produced credits of a writer but they also listed all the unproduced scripts the writers had written. So you’d get this many produced credits (indicates a small number) and this many unproduced credits (indicates a larger number). So you see even top writers write way more scripts then ever get made, and these are people who get paid a million bucks a script. So I just thought realistically film is a capital intensive medium. It cost now $50—100 million to make a movie. It’s  a little like architecture. Even someone like Frank Gehry will design 10 buildings and maybe one or two of them will get made. I think as a screenwriter you just have to assume that there’s going to be a 90% failure rate. As so I just thought, ‘Well, okay, I’m a screenwriter—I’m going to write one screenplay a year for the next 50 years so I’ll write 50 scripts. And if I assume a 90% failure maybe five of those scripts will get made and maybe two of them will be good movies.’ That’s just realistic. That’s not being overly pessimistic, that’s just what everyone else goes through. I wrote five scripts, then I wrote Little Miss Sunshine and then I wrote four more before I finally sold Little Miss Sunshine. It’s an endurance race.” 
Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt 
2007 talk at Cody’s Books (at the 38:00 mark of the FORA.tv video)

P.S. It’s worth nothing that it not only took Arndt ten screenplays before he sold one, it took that screenplay more than five years to get made and release into theaters. If you like these post I’d appreciate it if you’d “like” the Facebook page—Screenwriting from Iowa & Other Unlikely Places— I finally set up this week. Seeing faces helps inspire me to keep digging these kinds of quotes up.

Related posts:

How Much Do Screenwriters Make? (This is the most viewed post of everything I’ve written on this blog. Some have said what I wrote there was pessimistic, but in light of Arndt’s quote—and the other produced screenwriters I quoted—I do think it’s realistic.)
How to Be a Successful Screenwriter (Tip #41) “When you’re starting out, it’s hard to imagine how you’ll ever ‘succeed.’”—Michael Arndt
Frank Gehry on Creativity “Every artist confronts a series of issues that are constraints.”—Frank Gehry

Scott W. Smith

Share this:

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

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Screenwriting Biz | Tagged Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt, screenwriting | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on March 20, 2013 at 8:00 am ambertesia

    Commitment and temerity are key traits for any screenwriter worth their salt. Love your blog Scott, keep them coming! 🙂


  2. on March 20, 2013 at 8:02 am ambertesia

    Reblogged this on Writer. Editor. Culture vulture and commented:
    Great post by Scott. Michael #Arndt #Screenwriter


  3. on March 20, 2013 at 11:00 am Scott W. Smith

    Thanks, Ambertesia. I friend sent me that 2007 video of Arndt’s talk and I was surprised I’d never seen it. I’ve listened to it twice and think it’s just a solid hour of information. Glad to transcribe and pass the info on to others.



Comments are closed.

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

    Join 1,349 other followers
  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • “It actually is one of the more realistic movies about a drug deal gone wrong I think I’ve ever seen.” Quentin Tara… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 weeks ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • Why Movie Stars Have Big Heads
    • David McCullough (1933-2022)...Making History Human
    • Inside the ‘Breaking Bad’ Writers' Room & How Bad Ideas Can Lead to Good Ideas
    • The Major or Central Dramatic Question (Tip #101)
    • The Devil Speech by James L. Brooks
    • Holland, Michigan—The Screenplay
    • How an Oscar-winning Screenwriter Uses Index Cards
    • Average Length of a Movie Scene (tip #21)
    • Nostalgia: The Pain from an Old Wound
    • The Perfect ‘Mad Men’ Monologue
  • Recent Posts

    • David McCullough (1933-2022)…Making History Human
    • Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022)
    • The Struggle Between Screenwriters and Directors (According to Raymond Chandler)
    • What Christopher Nolan Did When He Couldn’t Get Into Film School
    • The ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ Mini-Film School
  • 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

    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • 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

    • David McCullough (1933-2022)…Making History Human
      “[David McCullough] has had a profound influence on all that I’ve done because he’s taught me so much on how you tell a story.” —Filmmaker Ken Burns Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner writer David McCullough was known for making history human. When he died this week, America lost a national treasure. Thankfully he left behind books […]
      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 1,349 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
%d bloggers like this: