THE HOLLYWOOD AGENTS: THE BIG 6

Yes you need an agent…an agent that gets phone calls returned, that believes in you and specializes in the specific craft or industry that you or your projects are in such as… Talent, Literary, Packaging, Movie, TV, Non-Scripted, Music, Culinary, Sport, Speaker, Comics, Lecture, Commercial Agent

But first, let me cut-to-the-chase and give you a list of the leading agencies in Hollywood that are nicknamed the “Big 6”

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3,000 FILM FESTIVALS.

30-40 years ago I bet you couldn’t name 10 Film Festivals in the entire world.

Go ahead… try.

Yeah, Cannes existed, Sundance just started, I’m sure there was something at Lincoln Center in New York, something in Los Angeles, likely London, Chicago (?), Hong Kong (?), Toronto (?), Sydney (?) …

Running out of cities with festivals…aren’t you?

Admit it…In the ’70s & ’80s it’s hard to name just ten festivals in the world that programmed independent films.

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THE $10,000 MOVIE CREW: 4-5 Crew Keys

Need a Film Crew… a Low-Budget Film Crew… Of course you do.

OK, so how do you, with so little money ($10,000?), get the best crew possible?

And please, I beg you never ever hire a kid (18-25) for a key position out of a theory laden film school until 5-6 years after he/she graduated.

Yes, he/she is knowledgeable, energetic and loaded with a great education that is based on Hollywood Mega-Budget (Studio Features) &

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MOVIE DIRECTING: THE NUTS & BOLTS?

You’re a first-timer and want to be a director. You have so many great film ideas but are totally stumped with how to be accepted by this Hollywood maze and be allowed to direct.

You’ve done the first-step. You’ve written the scripts. They’re done with Final Draft 10.0 and regsieterd with the WGA. You are sure will launch your career but must make sure your idea-story-scripts are not dumbed-down or bastardized and the only way to ensure that,

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PITCH-PITCH-PITCH LOW-BUDGET

OK. You have this great idea. You even have the script and a budget. Plus, you heard a studio executive say that “Low-budget at studios is now $15-20 Million.”

“Damn…Low-Budget $15-20 Mill” you ponder and your mind goes directly to “$15-20 Million. Sheeeyit. If I say I can make a movie for only $3-5, $2-3 or even $1-2 Million they should throw the money at me…it ain’t $15-20 Mill!”

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FILM FESTIVAL SECRETS

For a filmmaker, with an independent film, the purpose of a Film Festival, other than social validation, is to demonstrate to distributors (assuming their Acquisition Executives are in attendance) that your film is (A) Marketable, (B) Sells Out screenings, (C) Makes Money & (D) has “Buzz”….

Why?

So you make-a-deal with a distributor that gets you some cash to (E) pay back your investors and (F) launches your career.

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SELL YOUR SCRIPT… BUT TO WHO BUYS!

NO-BULL: Want to Produce a Movie? Want to Sell your Script? Want to Finance your Idea/Treatment?

Then, stop calling Movie Studios. Stop pitching nobodies at cocktail parties. Stop thinking you’re getting an agent-who-believes-in-you. Stop hustling Bankers and Venture Capitalists. Stop buying $25 tickets for 10-minute pitches at pitchathons to secretaries. Stop spending hard earned money fantasizing Crowd Funding.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

Pitch and Sell your script to the only people that buy.

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Five Characteristics of a Good Scene, and Eight Signs of a Bad One

There are probably many more features that could be listed to describe scenes that “work” or “don’t work,” but here are some essentials as written by “Sreenwriters University” at the site (www.WritersStore.com) which is the best resource for Screenwriters as well as Writers, Poets, Journalists and Lyricists.

(“Always remember, “Nothing is Written… It’s Re-Written.”)

FIRST: 5 GOOD SCENE TRAITS

1. The scene connects to the main character’s problem/goal for that story.

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THE 7 MOVIE BUDGETS FOR INDEPENDENTS

Want to Produce or Direct even Write or Act in a Feature Film? If “Yes” then you absolutely must realize, upon preparing a budget, what is a realistic and what is an unrealistic for independents.

First, let’s look at the 7 basic Independent Movie Budgets.

1st: NO-BUDGET Budget ($10,000-$40,000); a 1-week or a 4 weekend (4 months) shoot, with a 5-7 person Non-Union crew, shot in real time with 2 iPhones,

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WANT TO DIRECT?

Don’t make it difficult… Get a script. Get a Camera. Use a Wide-Angle Lens. Cast Actors. Hit the On-Button. Say “Talk” (OK: say “Action”). Wait 90-minutes. Say “Shaddup” (OK: say “Cut”).

Voilla. You got a movie… Why make it difficult?

(“Who doesn’t have a script? Cameras are cheap. Actors are everywhere. So, if you want to direct…then direct.)

Yes, of course there is more and there are two film school methods (Traditional and Alternative) to master the craft of directing…Pick one.

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