How To Find And Hire The Right Screenwriter To Turn Your Movie Idea Into Gold
Posted: Sunday, June 06, 2010
by Sid Kali
Slice of Americana Films
A movie idea without a screenwriter to shape it is like jumping out of a plane naked without any gear. SPALT! Not every movie director and producer can write a screenplay. There are many that have no interest in writing one. They know their own entertainment strengths and focus on those skills. So a movie idea needs a scribe to breathe life into it. CREATION!
The movie idea you have could be that career making writing gig that gets a writer noticed or at the very least they will have earned a writing credit on a released film that gets seen by viewers and career makers. Earning a writing credit on a movie that is eventually released is not easy at all. There are thousands upon thousands of scripts that never are produced into a full-length feature film. These scripts quietly collect dust in a writer’s closets. I freely admit I have two earlier scripts I wrote on spec that are slowly decaying in a closet never to be heard of again. Damn The Roach!
Damn Land Pirates!
This is where a motivated person with a great movie idea finds a way to move from idea to finished screenplay. It’s strange for me to write this for readers, but movie producers are greatly underrated in what they bring to a film. There are so many producer credits that are given it’s diluted what the role of a kick-ass movie producer is. Some people get a producer credit on a movie because they are a friend of the star, the director, or niece of one the money backers.
But there are always those producers in the trenches that have to find and hire a screenwriter to make movie successful. Depending on size of a production budget a producer can reach out to A List screenwriters through agents and managers. Movie producers dealing with an independent movie budget can go a different path. They can visit local colleges that have writing programs for film or cinema.
Meet with professors to ask if they could recommend the brightest from their program to turn a movie idea into a screenplay based on certain budget. Colleges like their students to gain real world experience. That's why internships exist in the first place. Who would work free if not to gain experience?
Present the movie idea along with your production plans. It's possible your screenwriting gig will be offered to students as a way for them to earn credits instead of pay. It could be like an internship on writing a movie. You can always offer to pay a little bit of money in this situation, but experience for a student is worth more.
Craigslist ( www.craigslist.com) can be used to post a call for a screenwriter. I suggest that you keep the headline simple when posting. “Screenwriter Wanted: $100." In the description of your post you can outline what your movie project is all about.
" Shoestring budget movie shoot based on a great idea needs a screenwriter that can deliver a script. We have limited locations, limited characters, and limited scenes. Must be creative enough to write with those restrictions. Is $100 more than you made on your last writing gig? If so contact us. We are going to make a movie. Maybe a movie you write!"
I used $100 as a starting point. If you're comfortable paying more put that amount in your post. There are other websites that allow filmmakers to post a call for a screenwriter. You can do an Internet search by typing "Screenwriter Wanted" to see what sites pop up. Whenever posting on the Internet be prepared for a wide variety of people to contact you.
Sign up for a free email account as your contact. When you've found your screenwriter you can shut down that email address for good or deal with SPAM.
Film producers that can find and hire the right screenwriter that can turn a movie idea into gold are the backbone of a financially successful creative business venture. If you need a screenwriting ass-kicker then hire one. This indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing SMASH CUT:
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I agree, screen-writers should be hired more often! But please, offer more than $100! Without the screen-writer you won't have a film to produce. Grumble.Please log in to respond to this comment.
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