SHORTIES - Screenwriting News, Tidbits and Disinformation

 

THE LIBERATION IS UNDERWAY. Coverage Ink's new short film LIBERATOR is Hulk-raging to a festival or comic-con near you (this weekend: Wizard World Comic-Con Austin.) LIBERATOR stars Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) as a washed-up ex-superhero trying to get his life back on the rails, and features an all-star geek cast: Peta Wilson (La Femme Nikita), Michael Dorn (better known as Worf, son of Mogh), Don "The Dragon" Wilson (Bloodfist) and the legendary Ed Asner (Up) as President Whitlock. Directed and co-written by Aaron Pope and exec produced and co-written by Jim Cirile, the film recently screened at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo to enthusiastic crowds. It blew us away when producer Tom DeSanto implored the audience to take to the social media and do everything they could to help promote LIBERATOR. Almost as cool as Stan Lee interviewing Lou about LIBERATOR on Cocktails With Stan. Please like Liberator on Facebook to find out when and where the next screening will be.

WRITERS ON THE STORM EARLY DEADLINE COMING FAST 10/29.  Whoa, is it really the WOTS early deadline? Heck yeah, and this is your last chance to get in cheap. As of 10/30 the early entry period ends and the price goes up. Writers on the Storm is our own big-money, big opportunity contest ($25K cash and prizes, including a $10K first prize for features and $2.5K first prize for TV pilots.) Plus we've got some really killer, unique prizes this year -- fancy a meeting with the producer of the upcoming sci-fi tent pole Ender's Game (starring Harrison Ford)? Or with staff writers from Sons of Anarchy and Burn Notice, or with the Co-Executive Producer from How I Met Your Mother? We got all that and way more. And entry into Writers on the Storm is FREE with any screenplay submission to coverageink.com during the contest. Jump on this now! http://writerstorm.com.

TRACKING B - LAST CHANCE TO ENTER. One of the few contests out there worth the money is the Tracking B feature film screenplay contest. This revolutionary contest offers no prize money or prizes. Seriously. They merely offer insane levels of access. See, Tracking B is an industry tracking board with a pretty bad-ass selection of industry heavyweights as judges. More often than not they get people signed and launch careers. The final deadline is Sunday 10/28, so get in before it's too late. And every writer who submits two scripts scores a complimentary 1-year subscription to Tracking B.com ($89 value.) Enter now at www.trackingb.com.

DID YOU WATCH THE DEBATE? No, not the one where the two military industrial complex-owned candidates bragged about how much they plan to drill, kill and further increase the bloated "defense" budget. No, I'm talking about the third party candidate debate, hosted by Larry King. These four excellent candidates -- Green Party's Jill Stein, Justice Party's Rocky Anderson, Constitution Party's Virgil Goode and Libertarian Gary Johnson, may not have a chance of winning in 2012, but here's hoping that changes sometime soon or we are in deep doo-doo. Over 90 million people say the country is heading in the wrong direction and identify themselves as independents. Check out what the third partiers have to say -- you won't regret it.

HORRIBLE SING-ALONG. Looking for a fun vaguely-related Halloween event in Hollywood 10/27? Why not check out the big-screen bouncing-ball sing-along version of Joss Whedon's 2008 camp musical epic Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? Includes episodes of Dr. Horrible star Felicia Day's The Guild and Husbands. It's all a benefit for Best Friends Animal Society (bring canned food for the food drive as well.) There are a whole passel of announced guests, and it's a pretty safe bet that Joss Whedon and some of the cast (Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day) will be there as well. More info and tix on whedonopolis.com. 

MIDWAY THROUGH THE FALL SPEC SEASON... Every year, a glut of new material hits the market in September/October, one of the times when the industry is traditionally fully engaged and not in summer vacation/Sundance/Toronto/holiday mode. In other words, there's a 2-month window that occurs twice a year when specs flood the market--right after Sundance, and right after Labor Day. Last year's numbers were pretty fantastic, with 20 specs selling (out of 53 that went out) in October 2011. This year the numbers aren't quite as strong, with only two specs selling so far this month -- but the market remains hungry, the doom n' gloom from a few years ago (when no one was buying jack squat) at least temporarily abated. In short, all is well, but as usual the bull's-eye continues to shrink. High concept remains king, and industry staples action/thriller, comedy, and horror rule the day. Best part: Paramount seems to be trying to tell people they really are still in business. They're releasing 8 movies by year's end and have gobbled up 11 specs so far this year. Not a bad time to be a writer! 

TOTAL MOGUL HOLLYWOOD POWER WEEKEND POSTPONED. We were really psyched for this one, but we've had to bump it to spring 2013. Producer and event coordinator Steve Longi recently left Permut Presentations where he's worked on many of their hits over the past 15 years (like Face/Off) to launch his own shingle Longitude Entertainment. He's been acquiring material and making deals and, well, being a busy little mogul. Which means unfortunately we have not had the time to build this into the world-class event it needs to be -- so we're pulling it for now. We've notified the attendees and will announce a new date in the next few months. In the meantime if you're interested in finding out about this all-new, premium event, where you get to hang poolside and schmooze and booze with agents, managers and producers, please visit the site at mogulweekend.com and drop us a line if you're interested in participating.

COUNTING YOUR NICHOLLS. On Weds 10/24 the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the five winners of the the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship for 2012. These fellows become Nicholl Fellows and get s $35K prize, with the proviso they are to complete a screenplay in the next year with tutelage from their heavy-duty mentors. Congrats to New Yorkers Nikole Beckwith and James DiLapo, Louisiana's Allen Durand, Sean Robert Daniels from South Africa and Michael Werwie from Los Angeles. The Nicholl Fellowship is the most prestigious of all screenwriting contests, and winners often go on to prestigious careers in the industry. In 2012 they received a record 7,197 submissions, so if you didn't win, don't feel too bad. In the meantime, set your sites on honing your craft and try your hand at this short list of contests worth the money: Scriptapalooza, Tracking B, Script Pipeline and Writers on the Storm.

HANKS HOUSE GRAND SLAM. Okay, no question slam poetry is a pretty easy gimme and a go-to for comedy routines, but this one from Cloud Atlas star Tom Hanks, about the uber-cheesy '80s sitcom Full House, takes the proverbial cake. By way of retribution, I fully expect John Stamos to bust a gangsta rap about Bosom Buddies on Letterman within the week. You heard it here first!

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Continue on to Should I Get an Agent, Manager or Attorney? below

Should You Get an Agent, Manager or Attorney?

By Steve Kaire

Getting a good agent these days is almost an impossible dream for writers.  The reason is that they’re just not taking on new writers unless the writer somehow managed to make a big sale on his own.

There are distinct differences and some similarities between what literary agents, managers and entertainment attorneys do.  Agents are registered with the state and can only charge ten percent for their services.  They send out their client’s material, get them meetings and writing assignments as well as negotiating deals.  The top three agencies are William Morris/Endeavor, International Creative Management (ICM), and Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Managers also send out material and try to get their clients writing assignments.  What managers can not legally do is negotiate a deal so they work with entertainment attorneys for that.  Managers can charge whatever fees they want and they range from ten to fifty percent with the average being fifteen percent.  A manager can be anyone from a former agent to your cousin and will often act as one of the producers on the project as well.

The trend these days is for writers to hire an entertainment attorney to negotiate a deal for them.  They charge an average of three hundred dollars an hour for their services or five to ten percent of the entire deal. They don’t usually send out material or get their client assignments.  They can also acquire rights, litigate, and deal with all legal and contractual issues.

If you're thinking about which to go after, well, agents likely won't be interested unless you've managed to create some heat on your own, or you have a personal relationship with a manager or producer who recommends you. Most "real" entertainment attorneys will also not be interested unless you have a deal (with real money--five figures or higher) on the table (beware the shysters who will charge a fee to send our screenplay to, say, ten companies.) 

That leaves managers, and that's a great place to start. It's their job to read scripts and cultivate new talent. While finding a manager isn't easy by any means, it's possible. As with all things, it will take work and perseverance. But don't waste your time until you are 100% certain your material is worth their time. Take writing classes and workshop your script. Get coverage from reputable companies like Coverage Ink. Get into a writing group and really listen to the feedback. It will be clear when you're ready to go, because your friends will be volunteering to help you. Go get 'em!

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Steve Kaire (HighConceptScreenwriting.com) is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. His top-rated CD, “High Concept--How to Create, Pitch and Sell to Hollywood” is available on his website along with original articles and national screenwriting contests.

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Continue on to Relationships, Relationships, Relationships below

Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

Guest blog by Barri Evins

In real estate they say the most important thing is location, location, location.  In the film business it’s relationships, relationships, relationships.

Absolutely everyone in the industry who is doing well is succeeding in large part because of their relationships. 

We’re good at cultivating relationships because we have to be.  Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.  In fact, if you do it right, it’s fun.

Writers, for the most part, suck at building relationships.  I don’t know a nicer way to say it.  Writers have lots of other important skills, but I can’t tell you how many times a writer has said to me, “Yeah, I just had a great meeting.  Some guy named, Mike or maybe Mark, over at Paramount.”

Actually, I can usually figure out who they met with because my job is to know who the buyers are.  But clearly the part of the brain that is devoted to remembering these kinds of details in writers is crowded out by the ability to create authentic dialogue, understand structure or by writing in their heads all the time. 

There’s a lot more to it than just remembering who you met with – just keep a log – seriously, that’s what I do – it’s meeting people in the first place.  And then knowing how to build the relationship and keep in contact. 

I know that’s not easy.  In fact, when I started out as an assistant I was afraid I was no good at it.  But once I started looking at it differently, everything changed.  While I felt as if I had nothing to offer, I realized that actually it was a two way street.  I saw it as challenge to meet as many interesting people as I could.  It became fun for me. 

So here’s the big secret that should change everything for you – we need to know good writers as much as you need to build relationships with execs, agents and managers.  You may have been focused on how you can’t succeed without us, but look at it from our point of view.  We can’t succeed without you!

 

Networking is a terrifying word, so let’s not even use it. 

It’s a jungle out there right?  So think of yourself like Tarzan, swinging through the forest with vines.  Every time you see a vine grab it and see where it takes you.  Don’t let go until you can grab another vine.  Before you know it, you’ll be building momentum and moving fast.

Here’s how to swing, whether it’s on social media or in a social situation:

Focus on what you can give not just what you can get.  As Marvin Acuna, producer and networking maestro is fond of saying, “Give before you get.”  How?  Take an authentic interest in the other person as a person, not as a vehicle to get you where you want to go.  When online, don’t just hit a single button or send a form request.  Take some time to research the person you’d like to connect with.  Then lead with something authentic based on what you’ve learned.  Maybe you liked their website, an article they wrote, or a movie they worked on.  A genuine compliment goes a long way.  The same thing goes in person.  Starting with “Hi would you read my script?” would be like hitting on someone in a bar by asking them to sleep with you instead of saying “You look great in that outfit!” “Can I buy you a drink?” or even “Come here often?”  So try, “I enjoyed your panel.”  “Your book was really helpful to me.”  “How did you get involved with that film?”  Build some rapport first.  A writer who feels she is “not good at the schmooze” recently asked me for pointers about networking at the Austin Film Festival.  Here’s what I had to say:  Meet everyone you can and everyone they can introduce you to.  There are a lot of significant people from all areas of the industry just walking around the halls.  Hard to know who's who if you don't recognize them, but get out there and meet everyone you can.  Ask them who they’ve met and ask them to introduce you.  Hang out.  Be outgoing.  Be professional and polite.  Be honest and authentic and you will stand out from the rest.  Collect business cards and names.  Follow up as appropriate after a reasonable interval.

Recognize an opportunity when it’s staring you in the face.  I was recently chatting with a screenwriter who was interested in bringing my seminar to her hometown.  He had recently done well in a major contest and was getting some inquiries from execs about his spec.  I told him how terrific it was that he was building relationships only to find out that he was simply forwarding the emails straight to his manager.  A manager he had never met and had no formal paperwork with.  I flipped.  How could he pass up on all these opportunities to build relationships with film industry professionals by not taking the time to write each of them a gracious note thanking them for their interest in his material, at the very least?  Not to mention doing some homework on them and the company they worked to find something personal to add.  He had passed up on an awesome vine, one that most writers would kill for.  Nothing wrong with having the manager send the material, but what if he and the manager parted ways someday?  The writer wouldn’t have a relationship with the exec – the manager would.  He sat down that very day and wrote each person a letter.  And opened a door to building a working industry relationship.

Remember it’s not just about who you know, but about who you know knows.  You really don’t know who you know till you ask, so leave no stone unturned.  Here’s my all-time favorite story about this.  When I was running producer Debra Hill’s company, Debra’s assistant’s mother’s friend had a son who wanted to break into the movie business.  To make her mom happy, Debra’s assistant had lunch with the guy.  After lunch, because he seemed like a good kid and was earnest and willing to work hard, she dragged me over, reluctantly, to meet Jeff.  I gave him a few minutes that he used to ask practical questions, and I gave him good advice.  He indeed did seem like a good kid, so I offered him an internship.  He did a bang-up job that first day.  Then we got a call that the movie Debra was in pre-production on needed an office PA right away.  Jeff was the only one who volunteered, as all the other interns were learning a heck of a lot right where they were.  Jeff did well as an office PA.  He went on to become King of the PAs working on the movie, to being last PA to stay on the film, at which point Debra’s assistant moved on, he took her job, worked hard and ultimately became our Story Editor.  He helped supervise the interns including a beautiful and bright young woman I hired.  When Jeff used his relationships with us to get an informational interview at the company of his dreams, he had been working at this so long that he’d done coverage for me on a script that just happened to be one of the exec’s favorites as well as his.  He was ready to speak articulately and passionately about the material.  Through this Jeff wound up working at his dream company as an executive.  When he began writing, I played matchmaker with him and his agent.  Win-win for me.  And now Jeff is a screenwriter working at his dream company and writing a big project.  And he married the pretty intern.  I think he owes me a project!  That’s how the game is played, boys and girls.

Keep up the momentum. Once you’ve managed to grab a vine, keep moving through the jungle.  It can be as simple as saying, “I’d like to stay in touch.  What’s the best way to connect with you?”  This will likely get you a business card and email address.  When you use that email address, have a specific reason.  Don’t write just to say “hi.”  Start with a reminder; after all, we meet a lot of people.  “Great meeting you after your class at Screenwriters World.”  A smart young woman who met me at a talk to a group of summer interns from my alma mater wrote, “I was the one wearing red lipstick if that helps.”  It did.  Imparting information is always great.  “I just learned my script is a Nicholl Semi-Finalist.”  “I am now working with the terrific folks at WOTS.”  When you meet someone you think is terrific, tell them, “I really enjoyed meeting you.  Is there someone you think is terrific that I should get to know?”  Wash, rinse, repeat. 

Looking forward to meeting you!

A working film producer who’s sold pitches and specs to all the majors, Barri Evins created BIG IDEAS to give aspiring screenwriters what it takes to break into the business, teaching them techniques she uses with highly paid professionals on big league projects and giving them the tools to achieve their dreams.

Barri’s Big Ideas Screenwriting Seminar is offered across the country.  This intimate and interactive weekend, gives you an insider’s perspective on the business and shows you how to put that knowledge to work creating stories that ignite industry interest, powered by your strengths and passions.  The intensive revolutionizes the way you create, giving you powerful new tools to develop successful screenplays faster than ever before.  The seminar includes Barri’s mentorship for a year. 

Learn about upcoming seminars including Albuquerque and Los Angeles in November, and bringing Big Ideas to your hometown at www.bigbigideas.com.  

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"Lone Wolf" McQuaide Nabs the Prize

We love it when our clients and readers write in to share some good news. Lord knows as struggling writers, we all need some! This weekend we heard from our pal Colleen McQuaide, who sent along a really well-done, all-official-like press release trumpeting her recent film festival screenwriting award win. So we'll let her tell ya all about it... 

Hey, that's a cool award!

Colleen J. McQuaide took a major comedy honor in an international screenwriting competition for her romantic comedy script Kat’s Mystique. The actress, screenwriter and producer won the Write Brothers Excellence in Comedy Award in the Action on Film (AOF) Festival Aug. 23 in Los Angeles.

In keeping with today’s trend toward strong female lead characters, Kat’s Mystique follows a woman as she takes a sabbatical from a prominent job in Philadelphia to return to her hometown after the death of her mother. Once back home, she has contentious run-ins with a man who had been a high school classmate of Kat’s, who now heads up the town council and seeks to develop land next to Kat’s homestead. As the two do battle over the land, they find they have more common ground than they had imagined.

McQuaide herself had to battle strong male-dominated odds in taking the prestigious screenwriting honor. Of 155 scripts accepted by the AOF Festival, only 35 were penned by females. Eight women were among the 34 writers who received honors at the annual screenwriting event. Kat’s Mystique was given top comedy honors after being chosen by representatives from Write Brothers, an Academy Award®-winning maker of screenwriting software who was a sponsor of the festival.

As an actress, McQuaide is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in films such as The Sixth Sense. Her production company, Hedge Jumper Pictures, recently wrapped production of a promotional trailer for another of her comedy scripts, Happy Acres. For the trailer, McQuaide drew on actors and crew from the shooting locale in rural Pennsylvania as well as Hollywood professionals such as costume designer Mimi Matsumoto (Code Name: Geronimo). McQuaide’s Happy Acres script is in keeping with her mission of providing family-friendly scripts to the film and television industry.

Related links:
http://www.hedgejumperpictures.com
www.imdb.me/colleenjunemcquaide

Writers on the Storm begins NOW!

It's finally here! Writers on the Storm VI, Coverage Ink's very own big money/big opportunity contest, is back and it's on right now. And this year we are accepting not only feature screenplays but also pilots -- 1/2 hours as well as 1 hours. The early entry period has begun, so if you enter early you could save some money, and if you're like me saving every dime is pretty important. So what are you waiting for?

And remember, as always, there are two ways you can enter WOTS. You can either submit directly to the contest at writerstorm.com, or if you send your script to coverageink.com for coverage, then contest entry is included at no extra charge! This is a great way to make sure your script is ship-shape before locking it down, since we contest judges will actually be telling you what we think of your script (and giving you detailed notes on how to fix it) in advance.

This is my first year coordinating this contest (Portia J. has moved back to Texas) so wish me luck, LOL! But with Jim and the great team behind me I am confident everything is going to go smooth as silk. We've got a really amazing crew of readers who really know their stuff -- no 22-year-old interns here, and in fact I trust them to help me develop my material too.  If you have any q's please feel free to e-mail me at writerstorm [@] gmail.com. Thanks everybody, and now let's get this party started!

Sincerely,

Julie Connor
WOTS Contest Coordinator

PS We still have a few more companies and more prizes to add so please bear with us!

PPS Oh yes, we are working with Without a Box and will be adding them as another way to enter soon. We know it's nice to not have to fill out those forms over and over! That said, our entry forms on our site are pretty simple as well :)

Save the Cat! Literally :)

Hi folks, here's an appeal from our pal, screenwriter teacher/coach Barri Evins. She's looking for someone to care for her little cutie kitty until December. In exchange she's willing to offer a $350 screenplay consultation. Not a bad deal, plus you get to save the cat! Blake Snyder would approve :) Here's Barri:

Help! My cat is desperately in need of foster care from now until December. Kiki is a very quiet, (doesn't meow unless to convey urgent info like "hey, there's no water in my bowl.") doesn't go where she doesn't belong (never on the bed) and loves having people around as she was abandoned. She's a people-a-holic. In fact, she adopted me!

She cannot be with other cats as they intimidate her, but is fine with a mellow dog. I'm willing to sweeten the deal for a screenwriter willing to help out. Thanks!

If you're interested please email us at info [@] coverageink.com. Good luck, Barri!

 

Tip of the Year: Manager Jake Wagner

Just caught up with our buddy Jake Wagner, one of the hottest young managers in the biz, formerly from FilmEngine (Jake is about to land elsewhere but we cannot disclose where just yet.) As always, Jake fired off a flurry of great advice, and we just had to share this bit:

Jake's the one on the left.

If you’re in LA, most likely you know some people in the industry, even if they’re just assistants. Get some assistants who read a lot of scripts to read (your screenplay). That’s always the best way, because if an assistant likes it, they’ll start circulating it within the industry and to their boss, because they get kudos for finding a good script. 

As a manager, I always ask the assistants, have you read anything good lately? A lot of times tomorrow’s next big writers are the friend of an assistant or the actual assistant themselves. Assistants read a lot of scripts and they know the actual flow, so they know if something is good or not nine times out of ten. 

So I would say get to know some assistants, ‘cause those are forgivable reads too. If they pass on your script, who cares? Those aren’t the hands you want to get into eventually anyway. It’s just a way to move it up the ladder. So if they don’t like it, it’s no harm, no foul. But if they do like it, then they’re slipping it to me, they’re slipping it to people to impress them and earn their stripes. That’s where a lot of new writers come from – roomies of assistants.

Coverage Ink/Writers on the Storm Newsletter

COVERAGE INK'S BIGGEST SALE EVER. In celebration of the launch of Writers on the Storm VI, we are launching one monstrous sale. From now until 9/23/12, our standard analysis (for features) is 99 BUCKS. That's a $30 discount! TV writers, you'll receive a flat $20 off our already ridiculously low TV coverage prices. And to sweeten the deal, all orders will receive a FREE copy of our 80-page 2012 Coverage Ink Spec Format & Style Guide, the craft bible used in screenwriting classes throughout the US. So now you have no excuse not to get your material ship-shape before the storm hits. To claim your discount, submit your script at www.coverageink.com and use the code CIPRESTORMSALE! in the text box.

WRITERS ON THE STORM RETURNS 9/24. WOTS is back and bigger and badder than ever!

• Over $25,000 cash and prizes. 
• 150-plus companies. 
• $10,000 cash money for the winner. 
• New TV pilot category with a $2500 top prize. 
• Consultations and mentoring from top producers in TV and film. 

Sounds good? Yeah, we thought so!

As always, there are two ways to enter -- directly into the contest (at http://writerstorm.com,) in which case you will receive feedback at the end of the contest; or if you submit your script to Coverage Ink for analysis during the contest period (9/24/12-1/1/13), your entry into Writers on the Storm is FREE. ('Consider with Reservations' or better for script advance to the QF round.) Last year's winners Brooks Elms + Glenn Sanders have been hip-pocketed by a major agency and their new comedy is out on the spec market as we speak! And WOTS 4's runner-up Jeremy Shipp was signed by UTA and is now staffed on ABC's Family Tools. Get ready: Storm season is upon us!

LIBERATOR DOUBLE WHAMMY AT STAN LEE'S COMIKAZE EXPO. Coverage Ink Films' new 18-minute short film LIBERATOR is slated to screen not once but twice at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles (aka "Comic-Con LA.") On Saturday 9/15 LIBERATOR opens for WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY, at the Downtown Independent Theater, with panel featuring filmmakers of both movies and special guests Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno; and we are also screening at Comikaze Sunday 9/16 at 5PM, with a panel afterwards again featuring Lou.

LIBERATOR stars a bunch of genre icons -- Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk,) Peta Wilson (La Femme Nikita), Michael Dorn (Mr. Worf from Star Trek) and the legendary Ed Asner (Up). Ferrigno portrays a disgraced, washed-up ex superhero whose secret black ops past comes back to haunt him as he tries to put his life back together. LIBERATOR premiered last month at Holly Shorts (out of competition) to tumultuous response. Get your tickets now at http://www.liberatormovie.com!

COVERAGE INK PRESENTS: THE TOTAL MOGUL HOLLYWOOD POWER WEEKEND. How do you end up hobnobbing poolside with Hollywood's power players? By hobnobbing poolside with Hollywood's power players. The Total Mogul Hollywood Power Weekend is a totally new kind of premium event brought to you by Coverage Ink and producer Steve Longi, whose credits include Face/Off and Struck By Lightning (Glee's Chris Colfer's new movie.). It is not a seminar. It is not a pitch fest. It is three days of education, schmoozing, empowerment and access, poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It's glitz and glamour, but most importantly it is opportunity. We'll bring the industry and take care of everything. You bring yourself, your projects and your desire to get your inner mogul on. The Total Mogul Hollywood Power Weekend begins October 19, 2012 and we are limiting it to ten participants. Read all about it at http://www.mogulweekend.com.

MOXHAM GETS ENTREPRENEURIAL. We love this! Writer Paul Moxham, the honorary mention from Writers on the Storm 4 who got signed by manager Kathy Muraviov (who sold a spec this year! But not one of Paul's,) has decided that instead of sitting around waiting to hear back from various people on his projects, he'd create his own source material. Moxham has taken several of his screenplays and rewritten them as e-books and is now selling them on Amazon.com. Now, when a producer expresses interest in one of his projects, he can say, see, it originiated from a book (which incredibly carries more cachet than simply the screenplay by itself.) Plus he might even make a couple bucks for his efforts. Moxham's efforts look slick and pro, so we wish him the best of luck! You can see all of Paul's books on Amazon right here.

TRACKING B: FINAL DEADLINE! We've been remiss on letting you guys know about the deadlines for our favorite non-Writers on the Storm contest this year -- but it's not too late. The Tracking B Feature Script Contest is one of the top contests out there -- WAY better than many of the big name contests you all know. Why? Because TrackingB.com is a real-life, honest-to-Jehosaphat movie industry tracking board, subscribed to by agents, managers and producers. The industry panel who reads the winners is jaw-dropping. And pretty much every year, one or more of the winners gets signed, produced, etc. Plus every double contest entry receives a free 1-year subscription to trackingB.com, an absolutely indispensible resource for any writer serious about marketing themselves and understanding how the biz works. Hurry! You have until 10/28. Enter online at www.trackingB.com.

CI CLIENT MAKES SUNDANCE LAB. Prashant Nair, the director of award-winning feature film Delhi in a Day (developed with CI analyst Billy Fox, credited) has been named one of five people accepted into the Mumbai Mantra-Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab. The lab is a result of an agreement announced earlier this year between Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and leading Indian business group Mahindra + Mahindra, a $7 billion company. The participants will be mentored by a spectacular list of talent, including Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me), Anjum Rajabali (Rajneeti), Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace), Malia Scotch-Marmo (Hook), and Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun.) Way to go, Prashant! And by the way, CI client Nilesh Patel is also short-listed for the group. Kick butt, guys!

Agent's Hot Sheet - Wither Indies?

By Jim Cirile

Yep, it’s hard as heck to break into Hollywood. But it’s even harder for someone with indie sensibilities. Come with us as we investigate how an indie-minded writer can make a living in the film business nowadays.

Wither indies? The answer, sadly, is yes. Indies, as we’ve always understood them, are not only withering, they’re pretty much gone. Over the past ten years, many of the major indie production companies and distributors have shuttered. This leaves fewer and fewer opportunities for writers with a penchant for more provocative, out of the box, non-Hollywood studio system material. The path in is now longer and bumpier than ever -- but opportunities still exist for the savvy indie writer.

To begin, the big indie production companies have largely gone the way of the dodo. In the ‘90s, we had Miramax, Paramount Classics, Fine Line… every major studio had an indie division. But as the studios were swallowed up into corporate media behemoths, these specialty divisions, that maybe only returned a paltry few million in profit each year, were eradicated. The last two standing: Fox Searchlight and Sony Classics. “It was about business, not art,” says Adam Leipzig, former CEO of National Geographic Films (March of the Penguins.) “When specialty division dollars were not (deemed profitable enough,) the studios started to abandon smaller movies and force their larger product onto the screens that were once available for indie films.” At the same time, exhibition chains took over independently owned theatres. Thus the number of screens available for indie movies shrank precipitously. And according to Leipzig, only about 1% of the 3,800-plus features submitted to Sundance this year will get any significant form of distribution, including Netflix. So while there is no shortage of indie filmmakers out there, getting those films seen is another thing entirely.

Because of these factors, most agents and managers don’t want anything to do with indie scripts. At some point, pretty much every rep has invested years of his or her life championing a brilliant little gem they truly believed in, a Sisyphean task with often little or no reward. Few are keen to repeat that experience. “It is the more difficult, if not most difficult path (to break into the business,)” says manager Mike Goldberg from New Wave. He advises that indie writers need to manage expectations “as far as how difficult the path will be as well as how long it will take. Patience is absolutely key.”

Manager Jeff Belkin from Zero Gravity Management tells us about one client, a multi-contest winner, whose period piece drama was so great he couldn’t not represent her. “I said, this is the most amazing writing. I love this script,” Belkin recalls. “I’m a movie popcorn guy. I like summer movies, so for me to get involved in a period biopic -- ridiculous! But if something spectacular crosses my desk, I want to get involved. So the next step was, who the hell do I give it to?” One person he gave it to was producer J. Todd Harris, whose credits range from Dudley Do-Right to The Kids Are Alright. “He and his partner Mark Marcum just flipped over it. It’s been long process of trying to get the financiers, the agencies, the talent, what have you. They’re still very much passionate about the project, and we’re hoping, fingers crossed, that it will happen very soon.” Even so, Belkin has spent three years so far, ever so slowly moving that ball downfield with no end in sight.

Despite that, Goldberg agrees with the battle plan. “You have to (partner with) a very talented, well connected, hardworking producer who (has a hand in) the more independent arena. That producer has the know-how and the contacts and the diligence to help put the pieces together to move your project forward.” He cautions that whether it’s a $30 million dollar project or a $300K project, “it’s going to take the same amount of work, just the people involved are going to get a lot less money. You have to find those producers who do it not to make money, but do it for the love of film and good film, that are willing to roll up their sleeves and put the projects together.”

So how does one’s indie script get the attention of Hollywood? With great difficulty, of course. One good way is by getting validation from an outside source. High-profile contests like the Nicholl Fellowship remain a great way for indie voices to get exposure. “(Actor/writer/director) Tom McCarthy wrote and directed a tiny little indie movie in The Station Agent,” says The Arlook Group’s Richard Arlook, “that he wrote in his trailer while he was making the first Meet the Parents or something, and he made that movie for under half a million dollars. It won the Waldo Salt writing award at Sundance. As a result of that, it sold to Miramax and launched him as a real filmmaker (Win Win.) You don’t hear about it, but he works consistently, and gets compensated very fairly, to fix up studio scripts.”

Indeed, it’s a fairly open secret that some successful indie filmmakers pay the rent as script doctors for studio films. Says Leipzig, “To do that, that screenwriter has to write sample scripts that really show that he or she understands the commercial requirements of the business, so the writer can get an agent and get submitted for (that) work. I think that there is a potential business model for this writer to kind of do one for them, one for me, one for them, one for me.” Arlook adds, “John Sayles probably made more money over the years writing and fixing studio scripts than he ever did as an independent writer.”

This could be a really splendid solution for indie-minded writers -- the crossover. “There are definitely some writers who can do both independent and commercial films,” says Belkin. “I have some clients that do and some that very much do not. In a perfect world, it’s wonderful to introduce yourself to Hollywood in a more commercial way, because you have more chance of exposure and being read by an agency.” Leipzig feels that screenwriters need to determine if they are writing to try to get movies made that they deeply care about, even if they are not going to be very commercial -- or if they view writing as a business. “Let’s assume this is an (indie-minded) person who still wants to pay the rent by writing. I think that this person now has to think about bifurcating their work. There is not a great business for independent screenplays. Even if the movie gets made, the writer does not get paid that much, so that’s not really (the best way) to make a living. But there is a potential business for a screenwriter with really good character sensibilities to do studio rewrite and assignment work.” To do that, you will need to generate a sample script that really shows that you understand the commercial requirements of the business. “There’s still a lot of assignment work out there,” says Leipzig.

Mike Goldberg

Another way to get the attention of the biz is to DIY. Don’t wait for someone to come along and give you money. Unless it’s a big-budget period piece, chances are you can shoot your script yourself on HD. “Get the money through friends and family, through credit card debt, through loans,” says Goldberg. “It’s been done in the past; it’s done every day. The most important thing is trying to get your film made, and if you can do it by yourself, great. If you can’t, try and find the right people that can do it with you or for you.” And if it comes out good enough, a few festival awards later and you may very well have a calling card.

But if one hasn’t won an award or gotten their film onto the festival circuit, you can still act as your own representative. “When I was a writer, coming out of film school, nobody told me how to find people,” said Belkin, who started out as a writer. “Nobody told me about the Hollywood Creative Directory or IMDBPro. I went through the usual query letter course and all that stuff. But the HCD is great in terms of finding companies, and IMDBPro is invaluable when it comes to finding producers with similar sensibilities (to your own.)”

The path in remains an uphill one to say the least. “To assemble a feature film from idea to execution takes an average of seven and a half years,” says Goldberg. “An independent film may take even longer.” So gird yourself for a long, tough battle, and consider, if you can, bending a little bit towards the commercial side. Above all, hang in there and keep working at your craft. Concludes Arlook, “Every once in a while, (a script comes along) that is just so wonderful that it’s undeniable that the writer has talent. Those scripts get passed around, those scripts get represented, those people get in rooms and book jobs. It’s very few and far between, but it can happen. The bottom line is that if you write something that’s great, doors will eventually open.”

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Should You Option Your Script?

by Steve Kaire

Since most screenplays get optioned rather than sold outright, writers need to know how options work. In general, options are a bad deal for writers.

Writers are basically renting their material out for a fixed period of time, usually from six months to two years. Option prices vary from no money up to a high of $25,000. And during the option period, writers cannot show or market their material to anyone else.

To illustrate how options work, we’ll use this example: an option price of $5,000 on the front end against $50,000 on the back end, for a period of one year. That means the writer is paid $5,000 up front at the time the option begins.

After one year, several possible situations arise. What happens most often is that the optioner passes on the script, having failed to generate interest from a studio or financiers. The writer keeps the $5,000 paid to him and all rights revert back to the writer, who is now free to shop his script around again.

A second possibility is the optioner asks to renew the option for another year, in which case the writer is paid another $5,000 (or whatever amount is agreed upon for renewal.) After that second year is up, the optioner can pass again on the script, or exercise the option, which is of course the best outcome of all. It means the option reverts to a sale, and the writer will be paid the back end money agreed to. In our example, the writer was paid $5,000 initially, followed by another $5,000 to renew, then will receive another $40,000 for a total of $50,000.

Doesn't sound terrible, right? The reason why options are generally a bad deal is because writers are usually offered nothing, or a couple of hundred dollars for a one or two-year period. (Technically, an option needs to be for at least $1, to show "good and valuable consideration" and make the contract legal.) During that time you have given up the rights to your material and you are prisoner to the person who holds the option. After that time is up, the optioner usually passes and the writer has nothing to show for it.

My advice is never accept a free option. If a company is seriously interested in your script, they should pay you five to ten thousand dollars as a show of good faith for the option. If they don't have that, but they do have something -- let's say $500 -- then the writer needs to weigh how much juice the optioner really has. Are they "real"? Have they produced successful movies similar in genre/tone to your project?  $500 might sound great when you're broke, but who knows what you might be able to make happen on your own during that option period.

Editor's Note: Another strategy you can try is a "non-exclusive option" or a shopping agreement. Producers like to tie up material with cheap or free options so that they don't have the rug pulled out from under them or waste their time. A non-exclusive option gives them the right to shop the screenplay, and in return, you promise to notify them of any submissions you make so that you're not working at cross-purposes. This protects the writer because you give up none of your rights and can sell the script to someone else. Please consult an entertainment attorney before entering into any sort of arrangement!-- JC

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Steve Kaire (HighConceptScreenwriting.com) is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. His top-rated CD, “High Concept--How to Create, Pitch and Sell to Hollywood” is available on his website along with original articles and national screenwriting contests.

Review: The Top 10 Reasons Why It's a Great Time to be a Filmmaker

By Tanya Klein

We’ve come across a little e-book, The Top 10 Reasons Why It’s a Great Time to Be a Filmmaker (2012, 124 pp., Michael Wiese Productions www.mwp.com). It’s a compilation of essays by industry professionals and, best of all, it’s free.

If you’re looking for a how-to book, this certainly is NOT it. If, however, you’re suffering from the dog days of summer syndrome, then it’s well-worth checking out because it might just lift you out of your funk. How can you tell if you’re afflicted with the aforementioned symptom? Nobody’s bothered to read one of your scripts in ages; therefore, you haven’t bothered to write one. The person you proudly called “my manager” hasn’t returned your emails in a year. Facebook just clued you into the fact that the dude who cheated off of you all the way through high school recently bought his second mansion while you’re subsisting off of Ramen. In other words, if you’re reading this right now while taking a break from contemplating suicide (or a career in Law) then this book is for you. What you need is a good talking to and, most of all, a reminder that these can be great times to make your own movie. (Editor's Note: we, too, have covered this topic in several articles for both Script and Creative Screenwriting magazines. Click here for one of them.)

The overarching theme of The Top 10 Reasons Why It’s a Great Time to be a Filmmaker is the dissolution of entry barriers. Most of the essayists agree that in the olden days, you’d write your script and wait and hope and wait and quit hoping you’d ever see it made. Enter the advent of new technology and DIY. The Internet has created a paradigm shift. Firstly, you have access to a wide and diverse knowledge base, as well as collaborators next door and two continents over. Secondly, the digital revolution has made moviemaking affordable. The ubiquity and affordability of DSLR’s and home editing software make it possible for everyone with the right drive to get his or her movie made without winning the lottery. Thirdly, fundraising has taken on a whole new dimension with sites like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and Crowdrise. As a storyteller you have new and exciting ways to find and communicate with your potential audience through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Once your movie is finished, you can elect to self-distribute via global online distribution platforms like YouTube or iTunes and with any luck – and a lot of Internet savvy – go viral. This technological revolution has also created the fringe benefits of whole new avenues of employment opening up: Webisodes, mobisodes, games – they all need content, they all need storytellers. In other words, they all need you.

So if you’re feeling sluggish, wondering if you’ve made the right choices in life while you’re sharing your last can of dog food with Fido, then this book is for you. And hey, it’s free with sign-up for MWP’s mailing list. 

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Tanya Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer/director and story analyst for Coverage Ink. 

                          

Coverage Ink's "Liberator" Premiere

Coverage Ink Films' second short, LIBERATOR, premieres Saturday 8/11 at Grauman Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, at the Holly Shorts Film Festival. LIBERATOR stars Lou Ferrigno as a disgraced, washed-up ex-superhero whose secret black ops past comes back to haunt him as he tries to put his life back together. Like the LIBERATOR character, the heat is also on Ferrigno, as he was recently on NBC’s “The Apprentice,” he also helped voice “The Hulk” in this summer’s box office smash “The Avengers,” and continues to pack them in at fan conventions around the world.

 

LIBERATOR features an all-star genre cast including: the stunning Peta Wilson (“La Femme Nikita”) as CIA spook Marla Criswell, Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as General Augustus Pollard, Jessica Jade Andres as Liberator’s estranged daughter Sonya, martial arts star Don “The Dragon” Wilson as Sidewinder, Tara Cardinal as Gaia, Darwin Harris as Duke, and the legendary Edward Asner (“Up”) as President Whitlock.

“After months of anticipation the fans will get what they’ve been waiting for, the world premiere of LIBERATOR,” said Jim Cirile, the film’s co-writer and Executive Producer. “LIBERATOR is a superhero geek’s dream come true, grounded in a reality we’ll all recognize -- our own. This is a very real world and a very real, and all-too-human, man. It’s the performance of Ferrigno’s lifetime. I think everyone will be impressed by the performance.”

Added Director Aaron Pope: "Launching a new superhero franchise without a comic label behind us and without money is a nearly impossible task, but from the amazing cast to the dedicated crew, no one blinked, no one wavered.  They put everything they had out there, especially our incredible cast. It's extremely satisfying to finally be able to show everyone the fruits of our labor."

Jim Cirile is the film’s co-writer and Executive Producer. Aaron Pope is co-writer and Director. Former Marvel Comics Art Director Darren Auck created the film’s comic art prologue and graphic novel artist Gerry Kissell ("Code Word: Geronimo") illustrated the film's closing sequence. SyFy Channel’s “Hollywood Treasure” co-host Jesse D’Angelo designed the Liberator suit. The film features an original orchestral score by Tim Wynn, perhaps best known for scoring the hit video game “Red Faction: Guerrilla.”

Follow the latest news on LIBERATOR by visiting:

www.liberatormovie.com

www.facebook.com/liberatormovie

www.twitter.com/liberatormovie

www.youtube.com/liberatormovie

CI Consultant Sells A Pitch to Disney

Meet CI story analyst Alex Cramer, better known to some of you as AC. Alex has been on a roll lately, and has just set up one of his projects at Disney Channel -- "Pants on Fire." That makes two CI consultants (joining Kevin O'Hare, who sold two pilots to Universal) to sell TV projects in the last year. We had a quick chat with Alex about the project and how he pulled it off.  

Jim Cirile (JC): Tell us a little about you, Alex.  

You can't tell here, but Cramer's pants are indeed on fire.

Alex Cramer (AC): I’m from Los Angeles. I started writing my senior year of high school because I was bored in class. I went to film school at LMU (Loyola Marymount University) and got my Masters in screenwriting. I’ve been writing for about 10 or 12 years now.  

JC: So while the rest of us were doodling in high school, you were already writing scripts?  

AC: Yeah, on a legal pad!

 JC: What genres do you like to write?  

AC: I do a lot of comedy, but I’m interested in everything. I have a drama script that’s done pretty well for me, and I enjoy action as well. I would say in general I enjoy genre filmmaking. Something that’s big and exciting, whether that’s comedy or action or whatever.

 JC: When you say the drama script did well for you, what does that mean? Did you get representation off it?  

AC: The drama script got me my first job, which was a small thing rewriting a religious film. It got me meetings and people enjoyed it. In fact, it’s in the quarterfinals of the Page contest right now. It’s gotten me some decent exposure.  

JC: Tell us about your project at Disney Channel.

AC: It was a pitch. I was working with an executive over there for about six months on different ideas, and we kind of developed this together. It was originally my concept, but he took a liking to it and he helped me shape it for what Disney Channel would like.  

JC: That's the best way to do it -- have a champion on the inside. How did you hook up with this person?  

AC: There an executive at Disney. I won’t mention their name. I’m represented by (management company) Circle of Confusion. I had a high school comedy script that they sent over. Disney Channel is trying to do more movies now, so they’ve been looking for a lot of writers, not just one. So (my managers) sent over that comedy script and Disney really liked it. They brought me in for a meeting. I (pitched them) a bunch of ideas, but none of them were that good. I was sort of out of sync with what they wanted. But the good thing was that the executive who was in charge of the project was willing to talk to me and work with me. So I was able to come back to him and think of some concepts and customize them more to specifically what they were looking for.  

JC: What's the name of the project?  

AC: Pants on Fire. I can’t give out the logline yet, but it's a high-concept kid’s comedy. 

 JC: Excellent. I assume you are developing the script with your exec?  

AC:Yeah, I’m working on it right now. We just settled up the contracts. I’m doing an outline first. So I imagine I’ll be going in there for a meeting to develop the outline a little bit and then we start in on the script.  

JC: Very exciting! Thanks so much for telling us a little bit about this, and please keep us updated!  

AC: Will do, thanks! 

  
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Writers on the Storm Returns 9-24-12

Hi everyone, just a quick note to let everyone know that Writers on the Storm Screenwriting Competition 6 is a GO. We launch September 24th and will continue until 1/1/13 (a nice, easy to remember final deadline!) We're still putting the prize packages together so we'll have plenty to say about that in the next few months. In the meantime, feel free to LIKE us at our Facebook page and visit the website at http://www.writerstorm.com.

As always, you can enter the contest directly at writerstorm.com, in which case you'll receive feedback at the end of the contest; or you if you submit your script to www.coverageink.com for coverage during the contest period (9/24 - 1/1/13) then you are entered in Writers on the Storm automatically at no extra charge! The is mondo cool, because apart from getting a free chance at $10K grand prize, you also are getting your feedback in advance. In other words, we are telling you what we think of your script in advance of the deadline. You can then fix any issues and resubmit. In theory, this should give you a crucial leg up. In previous years, we've had some folks submit three, four, even five drafts of a script for coverage during the contest period, rewriting and resubmitting every time.

Much more to come as WOTS rolls ahead into year 6. Be there. Aloha.

Jim C.

Top Ten Biggest Mistakes for Screenwriters

This was a piece I wrote last year published in Script magazine (just before they threw in the towel.) Eddie Gonzalez, from San Antonio Screenwriters Meetup group, asked if I could send them over a piece for their group to publish on their Meetup site, and I said of course. I always liked this piece, since it has a solid volume of advice and a fair helping of snarky attitude. No fancy graphics or anything, just text... but then again, we are writers, so theoretically that's okay, right?

Check it out right here...

http://www.meetup.com/screenwriters-278/messages/38132892/

Recharging the Batteries

Suffering the Glockenspiel in Munich.

We've all been there -- "O.O.G. Out of gas, baby, out of gas," to quote trainer Tony Horton. For writers, that means we're in a funk; we're unmotivated; we just don't frickin' feel like writing. Tarnation, there are so many other things that we can do more easily, such as waste another half hour clicking 'like' on all your friends' Farmville achievements (guilty as charged. Hey, when are they going to make Monsanto Farmville, where the farmers are wearing Hazmat garb? But I digress.)

What I'm going to recommend here is pretty stupid/obvious. Yet it's so easy for us to forget we have this option available to us, so here it is: get the hell out! And I don't mean to the local overpriced coffee shop with your latest digital toy. I mean, actually go someplace and do something. Yep, stupid/obvious! But there is a method to my madness. I like to call it "passive research."

What that means, in a proverbial nutshell, is exploring places you might not ordinarily go, for the specific purpose of stumbling upon something that might spark ideas for your writing. For example, a decade ago I flew to Seattle for five days. Why Seattle? Well, why the hell not? I'd never been; sounded like an interesting place. I was working on a script for a Canadian company and heck, Vancouver, BC, always doubles for Seattle in the movies. So let's check it out, I thought. Well, that trip yielded so much awesomeness that not only did that Canadian project wind up referencing key locations and details about Seattle, but I wrote a whole nother action script set there, designing the four major action set pieces around interesting locations I discovered while there -- Pike Place Market, the Chittenden Locks, and so forth. Sure, I could have read up on the place or watched YouTube videos about it, but it's another thing entirely to be there, to feel the pulse of it all, to check out the nooks and crannies and crooks and nannies. Because that's where the verisimilitude, or believable level of detail, comes from.

The escape cage: a fun place to spend the night.

I recently returned from Germany, where once again my "vacation" became fodder for who knows how many future screenplays. One of the highlights was the island of Neuwerk (Noi-virk) in the Wattenmeer (North Sea.) This little sanctuary is accessible only by foot and horse-drawn carriage by day -- because the entire North Sea recedes 14 miles when the tide is out. We're talking a 90-minute voyage by good ol' fashioned animal power across the soggy floor of the North Sea. Incredible. In the afternoon, the whole thing floods again, and the only way off the island is by ferry. God help you if you're hiking across the Wattenmeer when the tide comes in. Then you have to race through the mud to one of the very few 25' tall rescue cages and, if you make it, shiver through a cold and wet night while hoping for rescue. If you're thinking that if you add a killer stalking an innocent tourist through this, that this could be a really cool plot for a movie -- hey, hands off, I thought of it first.

Of course there was so much more -- the electricity in the air as tens of thousands of Berliners jammed the Brandenburger Tor for a public showing of the Euro Cup semifinal, which gave way to stoic despair as Italy gave them a massive drubbing; the subtle but gut-wrenching Dodger's Alley memorial in Munich; the white-knuckle, overloaded cable car ride to the frozen peak of Zugspitze, 10,000 feet in the Alps (note: just enough room atop the car for two people to battle it out); and the odd lack of screens on the windows, proper double beds or ice in the drinks. All these little details may well inform the next few things I write, and furthermore, they have sparked several story ideas.

So if you're feeling in a rut, heck, give yourself a little break and take your show on the road. It certainly doesn't have to be a trip overseas either. Challenge yourself with a day trip to someplace maybe a bit out of your comfort zone in your city or down the road apiece. Here in Los Angeles, there's all kinds of crazy stuff you can do for relatively cheap. Kayaking through some caves. Exploring the new transit system and historic ethnic areas of the city. Rappelling off Point Dume. My pal Saul Rubin wrote a great book full of cheap, fun and bizarre SoCal adventures which you can get for 6 bucks on Amazon -- grab a copy. The best part of allowing yourself the little recharge is, you'll be improving your writing without actually writing! And that should appeal to the professional crastinator in all of us ;)

--Jim C.

**The Total Mogul Hollywood Power Weekend**

Every now and again an idea comes along that just knocks our socks off. Last week I got a call from Steve Longi, long-time producer from Permut Presentations (Face/Off). I first came across Steve about 12 years ago when he read a comedy spec of mine. Steve's recent credits include Struck by Lightning, starring Glee's Chris Colfer (which was just picked up for distribution by Tribeca,) Prayers for Bobby, which stars Sigourney Weaver and was nominated for two Emmy awards, and the upcoming The C.O. for Walden Media, to be directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart.)

Earlier this year I'd sent Steve our Writers on the Storm top ten scripts (alas, he passed). But then he called to pitch me an idea: The Total Mogul Hollywood Power Weekend. It's not a pitch fest. It's not a seminar or a panel discussion or Q + A. What it is is 3 days of immersion into full-on HOLLYWOOD, the way the big boys roll. Needless to say, I was hooked.

We're going to check in to the ultra-swanky Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel -- the hottest industry hub in town -- for three days of education, history, partying, power lunching and connecting. Steve's Rolodex is about a yard thick; we're anticipating a steady stream of industry friends coming by all weekend long to hang with us. Mimosas poolside with producers? Check. Dinner at the legendary Musso and Frank's and then mingling with industry at the Roosevelt Spare Room? Yup. We'll also be filling all that out with tons of Hollywood lore, useful and practical knowledge and no-BS strategies from me, Steve, and our guests.

This literally just dropped into my lap. So what could I say but hell to the yes?

Anyway, we're still working out the deets (it will likely go down in September.) We're limiting the number of seats to ten. And this will be a premium event, so it won't be cheap. But for writers, producers and other creatives looking to bust down that door lickety-split and get a taste of the Hollywood dream and how to make it reality, well, here it is.

Website coming soon, but until then, if you want to be on the very short list, just shoot me an e-mail at info (at) coverageink.com.

--Jim C.