One Woman's Writing Retreat: Interview
Alex Ross
Part II: How Novels and Scripts are Sold to Hollywood
by Catherine Tudor
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Alex Ross
Educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Cambridge and a Grande
Ecole in Paris, Alex Ross is fluent in four languages and has a
working knowledge of another three. He spent ten years as a Literary
Agent, then Manager in Los Angeles. He started off in the M.G.M
story department, then worked as a story analyst for Sally Field
and Dick Clark. Subsequently he became an agent at the Gray/Goodman
agency which represented Quentin Tarantino, Christopher De Vore
(Elephant Man) & Mardik Martin (Raging Bull).
He subsequently founded a management company,
and discovered Andrew Niccol who wrote and produced The Truman
Show and directed Gattaca. Sales of screenplays and books
by writers discovered by the company having reached $8 Million,
Alex sold his company in 1998. In 2000 he was asked to
become a consultant to the National Academy of Writing of Great
Britain, (headed by Lord Bragg). In addition to having been interviewed
on prime time network TV by Dateline N.B.C, his career
has been covered by: The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety,
The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Reuters,
Newsday, The London Times, Daily Mail and others.
Alex was recently featured as a panelist at the Las Vegas Screenwriting
Conference. He was also once invited to Buckingham Palace
where he was presented with an award by His Royal Highness, The Prince
Philip.
WriteMovies.com was
named one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's
Digest Magazine in May, 2003.
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CT: Describe what Hollywood is like today.
Are the big studios such as Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, and MGM still as
powerful as they once were during the classic era of the studio system? What
type of background does a writer need to get a job at one of those studios?
AR: It's a strange time to be answering this
question as the whole town is getting ready for a major strike that is all about
re-defining the old power boundaries. Writers are a lot more powerful than they
used to be, actors run the town. The studios are still very powerful, but they
are no longer about "film-making." Even in the '70s the executives would still
leave the directors and producers alone to do their thing. Now it's all about
"bankability," screenplays by committee and the "bottom line" i.e. keeping
shareholders happy. Also, companies like New Line and Miramax have long eclipsed
traditional ones such as MGM.
The notion of getting a studio job doesn't
really exist anymore. What happens is that you write a script or book that the
studio options. If you are lucky and have a good agent, you are attached to
write several drafts of the screenplay. Very rarely do they not bring in a big
hitter writer to re-write you. Often, this has less to do with the quality of
the script but more with insecurities and the constant need to make a project
sound more bankable i.e. a project that Steven Zaillian re-wrote has a better
chance of getting a greenlight than one "just" written by A.N.Other.
CT: Do you recommend a writer always work
with an agent? If so, how difficult is that to accomplish? How does the writer
go about finding an agent? Should the agent be located in L.A.?
AR: It's not necessary. You can do it on your
own, if you are really shrewd, or you can get a manager or lawyer to rep. you.
Others go straight to producers, directors, actors. . . . At the end of the day
it is always good to have somebody to play "good cop, bad cop" with and ALWAYS
have a lawyer go over any contracts.
Finding an agent . . . the enigma of the 21st
century. Enter a lot of writing contests, winning helps plus contact every one
of them that accepts query letters and send them your stuff. Get a manager or
lawyer, they have the right connections.
I recommend that your agent be located in L.A.
especially if you are not. Out of town agents are simply not going to have the
same level of relationships as locals.
CT: Describe a pitch session. Who is usually
involved, what happens, where does the pitch take place?
AR: In the studio or at the production
company. Depending on the power of your agent and your track record, you might
end up pitching to the head of the company or the eighteen-year-old who usually
makes the coffee. If you are not pitching to someone at the top of the food
chain, you are wasting your time. Lower echelon development people rarely can
get anything done and even more rarely, are prepared to fight for
you.
The rule of thumb is, give them an outline of
your project, some of your best scenes, be entertaining. If you see their eyes
glazing over, change tack. If they respond to one particular aspect of your
story, give them more. Usually ten minutes should do it, though I went on
several pitch meetings with Sharon Stone's brother who did a perfect rendition
of the entire screenplay in 50 minutes and never bored anyone!
CT: Do you ever recommend a writer cold call
a producer?
AR: Absolutely! The odds are in your favor.
Out of seven big shots you call, one will return your call. You only need one of
those people to say "yes" and you are in business. If they say they don't take
"unsolicited material" then explain to them that if they ask for it, it IS
solicited! If they need representation, find a cheap attorney to do it for you.
Be very careful about signing blanket release forms, if Hollywood does not have
to pay you, it won't.
CT: Does a novelist have a better chance
selling a published or self-published book to Hollywood or can an unpublished
manuscript do just as well?
AR: The more heat on the project, the better.
If you got published by one of the major houses and have a good story, they will
call you. One of my clients published his manuscript himself (see the Dean Barrett article); the fact that it went out to
people as an attractive hardback, made all the difference. Having said that, if
your story is good and you get it to the right people, it will still sell and
that will help you get a top of the line publishing deal.
CT: Why are articles sold to
Hollywood?
AR: Because they are usually about an idea
that can make a fascinating movie. Buying the rights to an article also means
that they are buying the journalist's research, it gives the buyer a tangible
hold on the material, hence discouraging others from jumping on the
bandwagon.
CT: How does a writer approach independent
film companies or off-Hollywood?
AR: Get a copy of the Hollywood Creative
Directory and CALL until you are blue in the face. Be sure that you are prepared
for the standard questions and have an interesting, brief and well worked out
pitch to give them.
CT: Do you recommend a writer ever try to
approach directors or actors with a script?
AR: Absolutely. Network until it hurts. Hang
out on movie sets, at parties, agencies, be a total pest until someone gives you
the time of day. Flatter people, make them think you care, remember their kids'
names, birthdays, when they had the flu, where they went on holiday . .
.
CT: Do writing contests work? How likely is a
contest winner to see their work produced? Does winning a contest help on a
writer's resume?
AR: Last time I checked, there must be over a
hundred of these things. In all honesty, anything but the top twenty are a total
waste of time and money. (Having said that, we do run one and yes, we are in the
top twenty, Whew!)
If the people involved do not have major
credits, just give you some prize money and nothing else, are based somewhere
where there is little or no film making activity, have a badly designed site,
have not been recommended by major entities (check Yahoo for instance, they list
only a dozen), run for the hills! Winning a contest no one has heard of makes no
difference whatsoever to your resume. Winning one of the bigger ones
does.
The odds are still against your work getting
made, but still, it will open doors, get you meetings maybe representation and
the next project you come up with will have a much better reception. Studio
executives love contests as they do all the hard work for them and present them
simply with the best.
CT: What is an option? How long does an
option last? Why would a writer get paid for an option if it never gets
produced? How much money can an option make for a writer?
AR: An option is a contract that gives a
producer the exclusive right to try to set up a project for a certain period of
time. The period of time is usually one year, though many contracts have clauses
that allow the contract to be extended by one or two years. Most times when you
hear that a studio has acquired a script/book for $250,000 against $750,000,
that means the $250,000 is the option money and the writer will only get the
full amount on the first day of principal photography. Usually, the initial sum
is considered deductible from the main, in other words, if you got the $250,000,
they will only ever pay you another $500,000 later on.
The essence with options is that they are
contract between the producer and writer that clearly define the parameters of
their agreement. The sale price and all other "compensation" for the writer
(points, re-write fees, credit, etc.) are clearly denoted, so that both parties
are protected. All contracts that involve WGA signatories have to adhere to
guidelines determined by the Guild.
(See: the Writers Guild of
America Site)
Non-members have a lot more flexibility in
their negotiations. For instance some producers are willing to put the time and
effort to set up a first time writer's work, but could not afford the minimum
10% option moneys they would need to pay the writer according to WGA mandates.
So both parties lose out if they had to stick to a guild contract. A lot of
writers also make a very good money simply out of option agreements. Things get
optioned over and over and they never get made. It must be one of the reasons
that film making has become so expensive.
CT: Log line. Define it. Any tips for writing
log lines?
AR: Log line, is basically more "development
speak" for reducing a script or book to a few lines. In as few words as
possible, reduce your script to a "genre" and try to highlight what makes your
project stand out from all the rest and warrant it getting made. The worst thing
you could do is to gush with a pile of hyperboly: "This is a really amazing
project, with great characters, a brilliant role for Mel Gibson . . ." I see
more of these than you would believe! Take the essence, the key idea of what
makes your story tick and express it simply. Let "them" decide it's "amazing,
brilliant" don't tell them, show them.
CT: Treatment. Define it. Who writes it, and
why?
AR: Two schools of thought: One, believes that
you should not start the screenplay without having worked out a very detailed
treatment, including every beat, scratching of a nose, etc. This school believes
that once this is in place, the screenplay writes itself. The other school
believes that such a treatment stifles the creative process. Create a handful of
unique characters, put them in an interesting situation and let them loose. If
you have to edit out 200 pages of screenplay to get to the essence, so be it.
The other use of treatments, is when a writer believes that he or she can get
somebody interested enough in a project to pay them to script it on the basis of
that treatment.
CT: What is the job of the story
analyst?
AR: To, hopefully, seriously look for good
material, prepare coverage (notes) on any he/she finds and have the guts to
convince those higher in the food chain, of the merits of the project and really
fight for it. Unfortunately, very often this is simply not the case. They tend
to be frustrated writers, who are extremely critical of others' works and
unwilling to see how something could be improved and made into a successful
movie. Their credo tends to be: "Turn it down!" If they recommend something and
upstairs does not like it, they could lose their job. If they don't recommend
anything . . . I still have a copy of an analyst's report, who turned down
Jurassic Park, claiming it had no hope of success. There should be a list
made of people like that so that they never work in the industry
again.
CT: Should a new writer try to stick to
writing low-budget films, or go for the blockbuster?
AR: One is not necessarily easier to get made
than the other. Go for the best idea that you come up with. The story itself
will determine what direction it will go. Do not write an essentially low-budget
story, then make it seem big, by adding a bunch of explosions. The last ten
years have proven that one of the best ways to break in to the biz as a writer
and director, is to make a micro budget movie and do it really well.
CT: How much does the format of a script
matter? Any advice on where to find out more about how to properly format a
screenplay?
AR: Very important. The tenet here is: "If it
doesn't look professional, it can't be." You immediately seem suspicious if you
use the wrong font, formatting, etc.
CT: Why do writers often collaborate on a
script?
AR: At times two writers complement each
other's weaknesses. For instance, one is good with story, the other with
dialogue. Other times, several writers are credited on a picture, but they were
just appointed one after the other by the studio and never talked to each other.
Remember, try not to team up with another writer just for one project, consider
it as a marriage. If you sell something, you get a "quote" i.e. a price for your
work (the going rate), that your agent will be able to leverage next time around
to get you more. If you split up, you are right back to zero.
CT: How long can it take for a film to be
made once production is underway?
AR: The studios really want production to be
completed as soon as possible, as they hemorrhage money during the process (90
days is good). But movies like Town & Country, Lawrence of
Arabia and Titanic still happen, whose production schedules have
become legendary.
Part I
Relevant Links:
WriteMovies.com was listed in Writer's Digest's Scriptwriting Secrets as one of the top competitions for
movie scripts.
- Relevant Links:
- WriteMovies.com was listed in Writer's Digest's Scriptwriting Secrets as one of the top competitions for
movie scripts.
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