You Can't Get There From Here

Now that the strike is over, I was putting together a post to explain the two main projects I'm working on, and that explanation included noting that we have a Big Time Actor/Comedian attached to one of the projects and...

I started thinking about prosthetic limbs.

And trailer hitches.

And leeches.

And press-on nails.

And I seriously don't even know if they make press-on nails anymore, but the point is that all of the above get "attached".

The word "attached" is a Hollywood term. Because Hollywood feels the need to have its own language.

And this got me thinking that -- hang on, I'm getting to the important part -- if you're an aspiring screenwriter you need to understand the act of screenwriting, but you also need to understand the business of being a screenwriter.

You don't need me to talk about the act of screenwriting, because there are plenty of far more eloquent blogs doing just that. There are enough books on screenwriting to fill your library. And you can read screenplays until your eyes bleed at sites like drew's script-o-rama.

Twenty years ago you probably needed a secret handshake and a map to get some insight into the act and physical process of screenwriting. Twenty years ago, unless you could find a xeroxed copy of a script, the documents themselves probably seemed like extended haikus written in morse code -- strange, other worldly seeming glowing fish in black waters because they were so specialized and industry specific. Twenty years ago, all you probably had in terms of books was Syd Field (not sure about that and too lazy to fact check, but you get the idea).

But that's all changed.

Today there is no mystery to what scripts look like and how they're written. But there is still mystery as to what goes on in the room. And "the room" is another term (hint: you want to be "good" in there).

So this is where I'm going to focus: shining a light on the business of screenwriting. Because outside of possibly USC and UCLA, I don't know of any other sources for inside instruction on the business of being a screenwriter.

More to come...