If you are independently wealthy, or doing a micro-budget film, you can produce your screenplays without additional funds from an outside source. I am not the former, and the latter almost caused me to go bankrupt.
So for my next film, I vowed (to myself & Janice) that I would find the money before I even started pre-production. To do that, I wanted to write a story in the vein of the Coen Brothers ( who’s quirky films I have admired since their first in 1984, BLOOD SIMPLE
. They interject their films with a wry bit of dark humor, and they are a fun romp all –around.
. They interject their films with a wry bit of dark humor, and they are a fun romp all –around.So I wanted to write a simple script that had that feel. By the time I was finished, I sink a Cadillac in a creek, blow up three more cars, knock the windows out of a small downtown, and destroy a bridge. Toss in a car chase, an actress tossed about in a moving truck bed, and dangling off the side of a bridge. So now I’ve got myself a load of stunts and practical effect elements that takes it into a big budget. Silly me.
As a director with one low-budget film under his belt, it is hard to attract money to something as chancy as movie-making, especially in this economy. So I have to resort to some other means.
I am talking marketing.
The novelization of the script helped me resolve some issues, but it also allows me a way to generate audience interest in the film. I am also entering the script into screenplay contests.
I am choosing the contests carefully:
From their site:
The Expo Screenplay Competition is one of the industry's most prestigious screenplay contests. Since its inception, it has offered some of the biggest cash prizes of any screenplay competition in the world. The Grand Prize includes $20,000 plus a publicity campaign and multiple forms of access to the industry. In all, the contest offers more than $33,000 in cash prizes.
However, the cash prizes have always been merely part -- and, we believe, the lesser part -- of the prizes and benefits this contest offers From its inception, the contest focused on giving its winners publicity, visibility, and prominence. We call these services the ACCESS PRIZES. The strongest focus of ths contest is on access to the industry -- getting winners' and seminalists' names and scripts past the gatekeepers to the movers and shakers who turn scripts into movies and TV shows.
However, the cash prizes have always been merely part -- and, we believe, the lesser part -- of the prizes and benefits this contest offers From its inception, the contest focused on giving its winners publicity, visibility, and prominence. We call these services the ACCESS PRIZES. The strongest focus of ths contest is on access to the industry -- getting winners' and seminalists' names and scripts past the gatekeepers to the movers and shakers who turn scripts into movies and TV shows.
From their site:
The contest's aim is to seek out and encourage compelling film narratives, and to introduce the next generation of great screenwriters to today's leading production companies and agencies.
The winner and top-ten finalists will be considered for representation by William Morris Independent, CAA, The Gersh Agency, Exile Entertainment, ICM, Oasis Media, UTA, The Radmin Company, Energy Entertainment, Dontanville/Frattaroli, and The Firm.
Their scripts will be considered for film option and development by leading production companies, including: American Zoetrope, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Entertainment, Paramount Classics, Lionsgate, Icon Pictures, Working Title, Dimension Films, Frelaine, Michael London Productions, Number 9 Films, Next Films, Pretty Pictures, This Is That, Roserock Films, Benderspink, Astrakan Films, Industry Entertainment, Nine Yards Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Jim Wedaa Productions, Robert Evans Company, Fortis Films, Jean Doumanian Productions, FX, and Ziskin Productions.
I encourage you to follow the links to learn more.
These both have deadlines that are fast approaching, and I will enter them after one last read-through.
So it’s a big step, going up against possibly thousands of other scripts. I think I’ve got a good, tight script with punchy dialog, engaging characters, and a satisfying conclusion.
By doing this, and hopefully placing well, it will lend credibility to the quality of the work. This could also generate the level of interest required to generate the funding to make my film.
I have a two year plan to get everything in place to make ROAD KILL
a reality. So this is the beginning of a series of horse races to get a shot at the big prize, the realization of my story.Mark E. Poole
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