Quite a few writers lately have asked me if typos and grammatical mistakes are a big enough reason for me to pass on a project. My quick answer is YES. I then ask them: “Why do you ask? Do you intend on writing something with lots of typos?”  It almost seems like a silly question for a writer to ask. Are you worried that you can’t spell? Many of history’s greatest writers have stated publicly that they are horrible spellers or never passed a grammar class. Well, that’s okay because guess what – there’s a program that can help you with that.

One of my biggest personal pet peeves is spelling and grammar. Maybe part of that is because my mother is an English teacher and when I used bad grammar, she’d give me the eye. But the real reason is two-fold:

1. It distracts me. It takes me out of the story and the writing because now I’m counting and correcting spelling instead of connecting to your characters or trying to figure out the big picture of your script.

2. It tells me that you are a lazy and sloppy writer, and I don’t like to work with lazy writers. It takes so very little time to run a spell check or grammar check and you, the writer, should be going over every word of your script with a fine-toothed comb before you submit it anywhere – even to a script consultant.

However, never in the history of screenwriting has a script been passed on because it had one or two misspelled words. Okay, maybe Scott Rudin did it once, but it was a busy day. So when I say typos, I don’t mean a couple. I mean if there are one or two typos on EVERY page (or every 5 pages)…then yeah, I might pass because I don’t think you worked hard enough to make it look professional.

The bottom line is – with the myriad of reasons executives and analysts have to pass on your script, why would you want to give them one more? Especially something you have full control over. You can’t control what else they have in development or what genre they are looking for, but you can make sure that your script looks professional. If I find two scripts in the same genre that I love equally, which script do you think I’m going to want to read again and again – the one with typos and mis-wordings and grammatical mistakes on every page (which also tells me they will be there in all subsequent drafts), or the one that reads clean and easy and keeps my head in the story?

Do yourself a favor…never ask an exec the question about typos again and instead, ask the following question of yourself: “Is my script the best representation of my ability as a writer?” And then make sure you spelled the question right.

Writers always ask me how they can protect themselves from having their ideas stolen. I’ve even met a few at different events that refuse to pitch their project because they think it’s so brilliant, that we, the producers, will have no choice but to steal it. What I tell these writers is two-fold: first, chances are – your idea isn’t THAT great, and even if it is, it’s probably not COMPLETELY original; secondly – if you’re not willing to tell anyone else about your script or pitch it to companies – what the hell did you write it for?

You can’t sell a script without telling someone what your story is! So, forget about your fears and take that next step! But first – be smart and protect yourself. There are some obvious steps one can take, which I will cite in a moment, but the biggest issue in writers thinking their ideas have been stolen is the fact that there are very few original ideas out there. I can’t tell you how many writers at a pitchfest or conference are SHOCKED when I tell them that I had thee other writers pitch me the same concept or story that day.  So newsflash – we don’t need your idea! There are so many projects out there, and if your idea is good but your writing stinks, we can find another writer who already wrote the same script, but better. We don’t have to steal anything. Plus, that’s not the reason producers go to these events. We’re not there to be unethical and it would reflect badly upon us if we were, so don’t worry about that.

Now, here’s the quick and easy way to ensure your confidentiality and property. Before pitching, querying, sending or selling your script, make sure you register your material – even if it’s just a rough first draft or treatment – with the Writers Guild.  It’s pretty cheap to register your script and it will be well worth it to all parties. You can do so by going to the following websites: www.wga.org  OR www.wgaeast.org, for those on the East Coast. You can also copyright your script through the U.S. Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov.
Good luck and keep writing!

So for a writer, dealing with an executive is often a bit more like dating than business. And in a courtship, sometimes less is more. And much like in dating, making the wrong move at the wrong time, or sending the wrong message, can often end a relationship. One of the biggest concerns of writers – and understandably one of their biggest frustrations – is what to do after they’ve actually submitted their script. You’ve gotten the okay to send the script, you’ve made sure it’s professional and ready, and you’ve sent it with a lovely cover letter. And now…you wait. Sound familiar?

How long do you wait? Do you make contact first? Is there a three week rule the same way there’s a three day rule before calling a girl back? The honest answer is – in general, you wait until they get back to you. But this all depends on the situation. If you are represented, you should have your agent or manager get in touch with the exec in about 2-3 week’s time. If you are unrepresented but had an actual in-person meeting with the exec, during which they gave you his or her card, then you should follow up yourself in about three week’s time. Now, if the exec promised to get back to you in a couple of days, then maybe follow up in two weeks instead of three. If your submission resulted from a pitchfest or cold query, then I would probably wait about a month to contact the exec you sent the script to.

So, let’s say hypothetically, you met with an exec, but you’re not represented. It’s been three weeks and they have not gotten back to you (and by the way, holidays are not counted in that time so if you submitted your script the Monday of Thanksgiving week – don’t even bother counting it). What should you do? Write them a very short and sweet email with the subject line being your script’s title and maybe something quick like “Checking in.” And in the email, all you need is one succinct and respectful line that goes something like:

“Dear So and So,
Just wanted to drop you a line and see if you’ve had a chance to read ‘my script.’ I look forward to your thoughts.
Best regards,
Your Name.”

That’s it. Do NOT point out that you submitted it over a month ago. Do not point out that the exec had promised to get back to you in a week or two. Do NOT reiterate what your story was, how great it is, or how perfect it would be for their company. You already made your pitch – that’s why they’re reading the script. All you need to do is gently remind them that they haven’t responded yet, and that one line will do that.

Here’s what NOT to do:

“Dear So and So,
I submitted my script ‘Called This’ over a month ago and I haven’t heard back from you yet. You had given me your card and thought it was a great pitch. I really think that ‘Called This’ is the perfect script for you. It’s incredibly original with great characters and blah blah blah. I hope you get back to me soon.
Sincerely,
Your name”

Writing something like this shows a lack of professionalism and tact and your script will probably be tossed in the pass pile. And even more importantly than not writing something like this, is not writing more than ONE follow up email. So, keep it short, sweet and professional…and then wait. Patience is a virtue. Execs read anywhere from seven to 25 scripts a week so you just don’t know if you’ve caught them on a busy week or not. Don’t think that just because he hasn’t gotten back to you, that he’s not interested or didn’t like your writing. Now if it’s been over three months, then chances are your writing was so bad that the exec didn’t feel he needed to waste time responding, but don’t get paranoid if it’s only been a few weeks.

Getting a second “date” with an exec isn’t hard – you just have to make a good first impression.

And maybe wear something low cut. No not you, sir. Just kidding.

Best of luck and keep writing!

Some notes for the beginning writer on “feelings”: 

Here are some things I hope to never see in scripts again:

1) Characters named Slade, Jake, or Cassidy.

2) Spelling and grammar errors.

3) Page counts over 120.

4) Thick cover and back sheets.

5) Title pages with WGA registration info and/or copywrite info.

6) Brads that aren’t 1 1/4 inches.

7) Stories that involve a middle-eastern terrorist.

8) Scenes that belong in movies rated “X.”

9) Flashbacks seen by characters who never saw the flashbacks in “present” time.

10) Artwork on cover pages.

QUESTION:  Why would I want to take six weeks to write a screenplay?
ANSWER:  Practice!

Yes, you too can write a screenplay in six weeks!  I’m not talking about an adaptation of a novel, a rewrite of an existing work, or a short subject.  What I mean is one original feature film screenplay starting with nothing, no idea, nothing.  All it takes is commitment, patience, and maybe a drollop of imagination.  Here we go.

WEEK ONE: GET A CLUE
Come up with an idea.  It could be anything, set anywhere of whatever genre you want it to be.  Come up with a simple conflict.  A conflict between two people, a conflict between a person and an animal, a conflict between a person and a chair.  Any conflict.  One person wants one thing and the other person wants the opposite.  That conflict is your movie.  Without it, you may never finish this script.

WEEK TWO: THE ENDING
Come up with an ending.  How does the conflict resolve itself?  Who wins, who loses?  Who dies, who escapes death?  However you resolve the conflict will show what you want to say with this script.  Guess what?  You just did the hard part.  The rest is just like skiing.

WEEK THREE: STORY TIME
White a scene for scene story outline.  Put it on three-by-five cards, write it on your arm, draw it in the sand.  No matter the medium.  Get it down and learn it.

WEEK FOUR: GET BACK TO WORK!
Take another week with the story because you need to spend more time with it.  Do this part right.  No unnecessary scenes.  Every scene should deal with the central conflict in some way.  Know what way

WEEK FIVE: WRITE THE THING
Make it a goal: fifteen pages a day.  You have everything figured out, so why not?

WEEK SIX: ROUNDING THE BEND
Okay, so you didn’t get fifteen whole pages a day, but you’ve got another week, so stay at it!

At the end of that six week period, if you do not have a good draft, it’s because you didn’t do the first two steps right.  Know what you have to say.  Without your point of view, the writing will not happen.  Once you know what you have to say, just say it.

The end of the year is always a strange time of reflection for me. I like to take stock of what the past year has been, what I’ve accomplished (or not accomplished, and what the next year will hopefully bring (or not bring).

This was an insanely hard year for the entertainment business, in both TV and Film. There was the writers’ strike and the threat of a SAG strike. Many specialty arms of studios and independent companies shut down, the economy caused hedge funds to run screaming from Hollywood, and frankly, there just wasn’t an abundance of great movies. If you disagree, let me remind you that for two whole weeks, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” led the American box office.

Before the rash (and take that anyway you want to) of “awards” movies started being released in November, I can’t even think of ten movies I really enjoyed this year. “WALL-E,” “Iron Man,” “Dark Knight,” “Towelhead,” “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” “Sex and the City,” and “Tropic Thunder.” That’s about it. And by the way, other than Heath Ledger’s nomination-worthy performance, I didn’t think “The Dark Knight” was that great.

So while I’ll get to my favorite picks of the year in a moment, let’s talk about the crap first.  This year, comedy took a nosedive. Even the biggest comedies of the year were far from good. “The Love Guru,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Hamlet 2,” and “Burn After Reading” (the most overrated movie this year), were all marginal at best. And “Guru” was almost unwatchable. My personal picks for favorite comedies of the year are “Towelhead” (one of the best movies I’ve seen this year), “Tropic Thunder,” “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” “Vicky Christina Barcelona,” and “Role Models.” With “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” “Bolt,” and “Mamma Mia!: as close runner-ups.

On the drama side, the biggest trend this year was the prevalence of disappointing movies by solid writers or directors. “Blindness”, “Body of Lies,” “W,” “Choke,” “Flash of Genius,” and “Miracle at St. Anna” were all not as good as they should have been.

Did I mention “Burn After Reading”?

But in the last few weeks, a number of solid movies have been released. And this is why no one cares about the Golden Globes and the Oscars anymore. No one outside of L.A. and NY gets to see these movies because they’re only released here for three weeks to qualify, and then only some get wider releases in January. So, unlike “Titanic,” which played in theaters for almost eight months, with everyone seeing it at least twice, none of the movies in contention this year have that kind of name value. Sorry nerds, “The Dark Knight” is NOT in contention. The closest film that might be is “WALL-E.”

Let me say that the Golden Globe nominations have proven once again that the Foreign Press is nothing more than a bunch of star-fuckers. What other reason could there be to leave performances like Melissa Leo’s in “Frozen River,” Peter MacDissi’s in “Towelhead,” or Rosemarie DeWitt’s in “Rachel Getting Married” off the list? Yet Tom Cruise, James Franco, Frances McDormand and Colin Farrell get noms? Really?

The only category I thought was right on was for Best male lead in a drama. Thank God Clint Eastwood wasn’t nominated. Sorry gramps but you’re no longer audible. “The Reader” over “Milk” or “The Wrestler” or “Defiance”? Really? “In Bruges” over “Tropic Thunder”? Really?

I’m not thrilled with the other nominations, but other than the few I mentioned above, I couldn’t think of many snubs or replacements that deserved the spots.

So, my picks for best dramatic feature of the year are “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and “Changeling.” However, let me say that, like many of you, I have not seen “Frost/Nixon,” “Revolutionary Road,” or “The Reader” yet. So, I’m leaving that final slot open for whichever one or two of those I feel deserving. And if none of them are , I’m filling the slot with “The Wrestler.”

And for all you fellow TV whores out there – I didn’t forget about you. I think the Globe nomiantions for TV this year are horrible. We get it – the Foreign Press only watches three stations and none of them are Networks. Now, I love “Dexter,” and “Mad Men” is a good show. But “True Blood” and “In Treatment” over the final and outrageously powerful last season of “The Shield”? Or what was arguably the best season of “Lost” since its first season? And no series noms for “The Closer” or “Saving Grace”? If I ran the world, my picks for drama would have been “House,” “Mad Men,” “Lost,” “The Closer,” and “The Shield.” And for the love of all that is holy, can’t “How I Met Your Mother” get a nomination please? I’m not saying the comedy shows recognized aren’t equally deserving, but “Weeds” and “Entourage” haven’t been on point in a while. Whew, now I feel better.

Once the Globes are over, I’m sure we’ll all make our Oscar picks. But as the year comes to an end, let’s all hope that 2009 brings us more luck, more joy, more riches, and more movies that make us happy and proud to work in this business. Hell, it’s gotta be better than this year right?

If you don’t believe me, I’ll leave you with these two words: “Meet Dave.” Happy Holidays everyone!

What is it that would propel a writer to jot down one hundred and thirty pages about the one-legged woman who married the inventor of the soybean? Or a story about the quadriplegic midget who falls in love with a gold miner in 1886? Or a nice sentimental drama about a man who was raped be a seal?

The answer - bad instincts. That thing every writer has inside of them that basically serves as their navigation tool – their story compass – that points their script in a certain direction. They can kill a writer’s career long before it ever starts. If your instincts drive you to a completely uncommercial, ridiculous, boring, inappropriate, or confusing place – there’s not much we can do for you. And by the way, I have been pitched at least ONE of the stories in the first paragraph.

The most common remark you’ll overhear an executive say at a pitchfest, is “we can tell the writer just has bad instincts.” We can usually tell if you have the right instincts, but often bad instincts can be disguised by a great pitch. I’ve had pitches that blew me away but when I started reading the script, the characters were downright despicable and the story went into odd, random directions that were never even discussed in the pitch.

It’s THE dreaded comment really, because most other things can be fixed or improved upon with a little hard work and dedication, but we can’t change a writer’s instincts. Sure, we can change the story your instincts have driven you to write, but to change a writer’s instincts is like pushing a 10 ton truck up a hill. It’s just too hard to try. There’s too much resistance and not enough upside, because a writer with bad instincts is like dead weight on the page. It’s also the most frustrating comment for us to give, because we can see that you have a spark of a good idea or something that COULD work – if it were in another writer’s hands. And we want to take that idea from you and make it what it SHOULD be – and sometimes we are tempted. But we know that giving you notes to change your whole story is only going to anger you and waste our time. There’s nothing we can do but show you alternate directions for which to take your story, but ultimately, if a writer wants to write a story about a quadriplegic midget who buys a horse, nothing we say is going to make him reconsider.

There are a number of things that go into shaping a writer’s instincts. Much like how one’s upbringing and relationships growing up affect their future relationships, it also affects their writing. If you were born on a hippy commune, your first script might be an anti-government conspiracy tale. If you come from a home with divorced parents, your first script might be an “American Beauty” wannabe (as my first script was. This is because when you start your writing career, everyone tells you to write what you know. I always tell people to write what is in them to write – and then put it aside and write something that can sell.

I have one writer I have given notes to on a number of projects and every single script was that EXACT SAME STORY. Even if the setup for each script was different, in the eyes of an executive – they are all the same. If your instincts only lead you to ONE place, then you are going to be seen as a one note writer. That’s not to say you can’t stick to one genre (comedy, drama, etc.), it’s just that sticking one STORY will ensure that you only work in this town once.

How do you know if you have good instincts? Well, let’s say you have a great general set up but you’re not sure what direction to take your story in. For example, your set-up is 1 guy falls in love with his lifelong best friend’s girl. Common enough right? What’s going to show us you have good instincts is your set-up for how this occurs, why this occurs, and where it goes once it has occurred. If you have poor instincts, you go to the same place everyone else goes – the men fight over the girl trying to best each other being nice until she gets sick of both and they learn that friendship is more important.

Someone with better instincts will put a different twist on that story. Perhaps instead of the girl realizing she doesn’t love them, THEY discover they don’t love her, but neither wants to lose, so they keep dating her trying to drive her to the other guy. That’s a new twist on a really old concept. I’m not saying it’s a great idea, but it’s a new twist. There are a hundred ways to go with this kind of concept, so I suggest a writer sit down and list 10 different directions you COULD go with your story – even if you have your whole story figured out. Give yourself options. Because invariably, some studio exec is going to give you the note, “we love the set-up, but is there another direction this story could go in?” And you will already have 9 more ideas to pitch them.

Everyone says that a person’s first instinct is usually the right one – that is not the case with writing. Often it takes the rewriting and editing process for a writer to realize his or her story’s true potential!

How do you know if it’s your concept that isn’t working or your story instincts? Pitch your story two different ways. First, pitch your project as just a high-concept logline. Then pitch your project more in depth with more of your story. If you get bites for your concept, but your story gets you rejected, then your story instincts have led you astray.

How do you know if your instincts are commercial? Step one is know the marketplace. Know what is selling and know what is succeeding. So many people have been pitching R-rated teen sex comedies but if you pay attention to the marketplace, you’d know that the last 3 teen sex comedies bombed. Also, if you can’t name another project like yours, there’s probably a reason for it. If the only movies you can use to compare yours to were produced forty years ago, then your instincts might not be the most commercial. Also, alternatively, if you see a hundred projects that are exactly the same as yours, then your instincts aren’t that original.

Improving ones instincts is a great deal harder than just rewriting a script or improving your dialogue, because it goes deeper. It’s not just a line on a page, it’s what you feel in your heart. However, in order to get past your writer’s block, repeated rejection, or repetitive story rut, it’s your instincts that you’re going to have to examine.

Dear Writers,

Here are are some recent VPF news items:

-VPF client Michael Eging’s script “Song of Roland” was recently optioned by VPF’s Cine L.A.

-Rebel Entertainment is now seeking scripts with a built-in, existing market, and those with mass commercial potential for 16-24-year-olds.

-Spring Creek Productions has added “Blood Diamond” and “Recount” to their list of recent credits.

-Seth Lockhart Presents has changed their name to “Cinematic Instinct.”

-Velocity Management is in development on John Grisham’s “The Partner,” and are now looking for Comedies, Thrillers, and TV projects.

-VPF has added both WhiteBread Films and NYC Entertainment to its list of Producers.

-VPF client Nevada Grey has launched a funny web-series called “The Other Normal.” You can view episodes of the show on:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NevadaGrey2010. Check them out!

Good luck pitching!