January 2020

A Screenwriter’s Guide to the Sundance Film Festival: Maximizing the Bang for Your Buck [#11]

The Sundance Film Festival is one of the great movie meccas. About 120,000 people (1/3 from Utah)  attended all or part of the 11-day event in 2019, and many indie filmmakers dream about having their films selected by the Festival.

The competition is fierce. For the 2019 Festival, 14,200 submissions — a record high – vied for slots, including those for 112 feature films.

Many films (and some future Oscar-winners) got a turbo boost from Sundance buzz, including (as the Festival website notes):

Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Eighth Grade, Get Out , The Big Sick, Mudbound, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth , Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs and sex, lies, and videotape. 

If you have a film accepted to Sundance, then attending is a no-brainer. Of course you’ll want to be on hand when Amazon, Apple, and other streaming services are conducting bidding wars for Festival favorites.

But what if you’re “just” a screenwriter – and maybe one without any credits? Is it still worth it?

Well…. maybe.

Unlike, for example, the Austin Film Festival, Sundance isn’t especially oriented toward screenwriting. You’re not likely to pick up any great screenwriting advice or even meet any other screenwriters.

But Sundance is fun – if your idea of fun is:

  • shivering in the ticket-holders’ line so you can tell your friends about movies that won’t be in theaters for 10 months,
  • marveling at the perfection of Lupita Nyong’o as she talks about how she learned to play the ukulele for the zombie film Little Monsters,
  • strategizing about how to get into parties you haven’t actually been invited to, and
  • watching Jeff Goldblum get mobbed by paparazzi outside the Hollywood Reporter

So it’s maybe not for everyone.

But if you decide it’s for you, here are some ways to save money and maximize the value of the experience.

Book Everything Early

 Sundance is hella expensive, and things can sell out fast.

Tickets, Passes, and Packages

Passes and packages for the 2020 Festival go on sale October 17, 2019. One important thing to know is that the Festival is divided into the “first half” (January 23-28, 2020) and the “second half” (January 29-February 2). The first half is where most of the action is, and the town of Park City, Utah, where most of the Festival takes place, really clears out by the second half.

An express pass to the first half is – gulp — $4,000. But you can get a more limited pass for as little as $300.

A 10-ticket package runs $700 for the first half; but a package of six shorts tickets is only $100.

Utah natives get special deals, and individual film tickets are available for $25.

“Ignite” is a special package for people age 18-25 that costs $250 and gets you 10 movie tickets, five wait-list vouchers, access to special panels, and an official credential – which is the golden ticket for getting into many events.

If you don’t care so much about watching movies, but just want to get into the non-ticketed events (like panels), an official credential costs $300 for the entire festival.  That might be your best option if you’re just going to Sundance for the schmoozing and star-spotting potential and don’t qualify for an Ignite pass.

Boston screenwriter Adam Pachter has been to Sundance three years in a row. The first time, he saw a lot of movies and went to few parties. In 2019, he saw one film and went to a lot of parties. As he says,

This may be Sundance heresy, but for me a movie represents 2-3 hours when I can’t meet anyone. As a screenwriter based outside of Hollywood, networking is essential. And I can meet more people at one Sundance party than in a week or two in LA . . . because in LA, those people aren’t ever at the same event!

At just one event this year, I met an accomplished director, a best-selling author, the founder of a TV festival, and the head of lit at a major management company.

Overall I attended more than 20 events in three days, and almost every one was worthwhile. Sundance is a great place to meet filmmakers and learn about their work and your shared areas of interest. Then I go home and watch the films later.

You can pick up a few individual tickets for films, just so you have something to talk about with the people you meet at venues like the Filmmaker’s Lodge.

Airfare

The cost of airfare depends, of course, on where you’re coming from. For US tickets, it’s considered wise to shop for tickets between three months and 30 days before departure; for international flights, the window is five and a half months to one and a half months. But with 120,000 people coming into town, some flights (especially from places like LA and New York) will book up early. Look for flights into Salt Lake City – the nearest major airport.

Lodging

As of mid-October, 26% of the Airbnb listing for Park City for the first week of the Festival have been booked. If you want to stay in the middle of things, even a dorm bed in a hostel will run about $120 per night.  You can get a studio condo for $399 per night.  If you want to splurge and stay at the Park City Waldorf, a junior suite will cost $1248 per night.

It’s much cheaper to stay outside of Park City, and drive in for the Festival every day, but it’s also less convenient. The savings on accommodations may be eaten up by the cost of a rental car and gas, you have to be comfortable driving on potentially treacherous mountain roads, and of course you can’t drive yourself back to your motel if you’ve been drinking at a party.

You don’t really need to stay near Main Street in Park City, since Festival venues are all over town and frequent shuttle busses run between them. Unless you like long, cold walks or want to pay for a lot of ride-shares, pick a location that’s close to a shuttle route.

Pro tip: The temperature will usually be around freezing, so dress warmly. This means a parka, long underwear, hat, gloves, and waterproof boots with good tread that can handle icy sidewalks. Sundance isn’t about being fashionable, and even movie stars mostly dress casually.

Bring Friends

One of the best ways to save money on lodging is to share with friends. For example, you can get an eight-bed condo on Airbnb for $995 per night, making the per-person cost “only” a little more than $100 per night. Having a real kitchen will also let you save money on food once you get sick of the free granola bars (see below).

Attending with friends also gives you a posse to hang out with, and potentially expands your networking opportunities (assuming you all try to meet OTHER people and don’t just hang out together).

Eat the Free Food

As soon as you arrive in Park City, it becomes obvious that Sundance isn’t just about the cinematic art. It’s a trade show.

Everything that CAN be sponsored WILL be sponsored. Main Street is lined with “lounges” sponsored by brands: clothes, liquor, cars, banking, etc.

Food can appear in unexpected ways. You may be waiting in line when Postmates starts hurling donuts around.

Swag is ubiquitous and varied. You may even be handed a free DNA test from Ancestry.com (a $99 value) and discover (as I did) that you’re 36% Norwegian and have a far more interesting family history than you ever imagined.

In exchange for your attention, vendors will ply you with free food and drink. If you can live on lattes, chai-flavored caramel corn, beef jerky, and granola bars, you’re golden.

If you do have to break down and actually PAY for food, some of the cheapest options are in the concession tents next to the main film venues.

Pro tip: Stay hydrated! You’ll be high in the mountains and it’s dry. You may get a free water bottle as part of your Festival package, or you may get one as swag. If all else fails, you can buy an official one as a useful souvenir at one of the many Festival shops.

Win a Contest

There are several ways that you can go to Sundance for free.

By becoming a Sundance Institute Member (starting at $65) by November 3, 2019 you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip that includes airfare, lodging, passes, party invites, dinner, and a goody bag. You can also enter the content without becoming a member.

The Black List sponsors the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, which awards one screenwriter each year an all-expenses paid trip to the Festival and an opportunity to meet with producer Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Dallas Buyers Club).

Unrepresented feature writers with an “independent sensibility” who have made less than $5,000 in their film or television writing careers can opt into consideration via the Black List website until November 8, 2019.

Volunteer

Sundance is run by more than 2,400 volunteers from around the world. Applications are open from July to November. Benefits include access to non-ticketed venues as space permits, volunteer screenings, a winter jacket with the Sundance logo, a party, and snacks.

Get a Journalism Gig

 If you’ve ever covered a film festival in the past (and have the clips to prove it), you can apply for a press pass that will get you a credential and 10 free tickets for screenings.

The initial press accreditation application window is open until November 15.

Don’t Stare at Your Phone

 If you’re going to Sundance to network, you’ll need to make an effort to actually meet people. You’ll have lots of opportunities, because a lot of the Sundance experience involves waiting in line – to get into movies, to get on the shuttle buses, etc. Keep your phone in your parka pocket and strike up conversations with the people next to you.

“What have you seen?” is the standard conversation-starter. Asking “What brings you to the Festival?” can be an efficient way to find out what role other people play in the industry.

Pro tip:  bring one or more portable phone batteries and an assortment of charging cables, and you can be the hero of your stand-by line.

Bring Business Cards

 If you want to stay in touch with the people you meet, it’s a good idea to have business cards. Don’t scatter these like seed corn on every flat surface; no one’s going to email you randomly. But if you hit it off with someone you meet in line and want to keep the conversation going, a card can be useful.

When you collect cards from others, it’s smart to follow up with an email after you get home, mentioning that you enjoyed meeting them and wishing them good results with their filmmaking projects.

Try to Get into Parties

If you can get into them, Sundance parties offer prime networking potential.

The problem is getting into them.

Big names obviously get proper invitations to big parties sponsored by studios, streamers, and Hollywood agencies. Those are pretty much impossible to crash unless you’re buddies with someone in the business.

But there are plenty of other parties that you can get into with only a Festival credential.  Some of these are listed in the Festival brochure under “Offscreen.”

Often, information about parties circulates by word-of-mouth – another reason to talk to people in line and on shuttle busses.

To find parties, you can also:

  • haunt social media (#sundance), and ask your #FilmTwitter buddies to help you out,
  • Google Sundance + party + 2020,
  • call/email anyone you know who has any connection to the movie industry and ask them to forward invites,
  • check Eventbrite and other event sites, and
  • follow the crowd from any party you get into to the next one.

If you do get invited to a party, be sure to Rsvp, or you may be left off the list at the door.

Come Early and Leave Early

If you can only afford to attend part of Sundance, it’s best to arrive by January 22 so you’re ready to schmooze by the 23d. As noted above, things ramp down quickly after January 28.

Another reason to come early is that Park City is a ski resort – so there’s a risk of being snowed out and missing some of the fun.

It’s impossible to predict whether attending the Sundance Film Festival will be useful to your screenwriting career. But if you love movies (and the people who make them), Sundance is well-worth adding to your bucket list.

 

A Screenwriter’s Guide to the Sundance Film Festival: Maximizing the Bang for Your Buck [#11] Read More »

Feedback on the First Page of Your Script [#10]

I looked at the first pages of some scripts recently posted for feedback on reddit, to see if I could spot any common issues. Turns out I could.

 1.  Character intros are over-written.

Original:

INT. KENNEDY’S ROOM – DAY
A woman by the name of KENNEDY, a short blonde girl, is sitting within her bedroom staring out of the window.

Suggested revision:

INT. KENNEDY’S ROOM – DAY
KENNEDY (16, short and blonde) stares out the window.

a. You don’t need to say that she’s a woman if you’re using the pronoun “she” for the character.

b. You don’t need to call her both a woman and a girl.

c. If the slugline says that the scene is in her room, you don’t need to repeat in the action line that she’s sitting in her room.

2. Action lines are over-written.

Original:

HIDEO (mid 30’s Japanese male, glasses, well dressed, chubby build with a kind face) is walking through a large industrial, harshly lit room. Hideo is walking through rows of mature marijuana plants, with his shoulders brushing against the leaves as he passes. He can be seen counting a large bundle of CASH.

Suggested revision:

HIDEO (mid 30’s, Japanese) walks between rows of mature marijuana plants, counting a large bundle of CASH.

This also has issues with #1, #5, and #11.

3. There are things in the action lines that the audience can’t see or know.

“They both work for the same boss.”

How do we KNOW they work for the same boss, just by looking at them?

“TESS (25, sleep deprived) sits upright on her bed, facing her tightly locked door.”

How can we SEE that it’s tightly locked (as opposed to simply CLOSED) unless you show us that there are multiple bolts or something?

4. There are basic mistakes in grammar, word usage, and punctuation.

“Shes” should be “she’s.”

“Its fine” should be “it’s fine.”

“Hi mom” should be “Hi, mom.”

“I already talked to her, it’s okay” should be “I already talked to her. It’s okay.”

Sentences should start with capital letters. They should end with punctuation – usually a period.

Don’t ignore the little squiggles. Fix your mistakes when they’re flagged.

5. There are too many present continuous (“-ing”) forms of verbs rather than simple present.

Simple present (walks, talks, eats, hits, etc.) is the default for screenplays.

Original:

HIDEO (mid 30’s Japanese male, glasses, well dressed, chubby build with a kind face) is walking through a large industrial, harshly lit room. Hideo is walking through rows of mature marijuana plants, with his shoulders brushing against the leaves as he passes. He can be seen counting a large bundle of CASH.

Suggested revision:

HIDEO (mid 30’s, Japanese) walks between rows of mature marijuana plants, counting a large bundle of CASH.

That’s not to say you can never use an “-ing” form. In the revised example above, “counting” works because he’s counting as he walks.

6. Major characters are introduced with no description at all.

“A MAN rinses his BLOODY hands into a rusty looking sink.”

Is this guy 19 or 90? Asian or Caucasian? Clean or grubby? Is he wearing a business suit or cargo shorts?

Give us SOME kind of a picture if this is the main character.

See this podcast about character intros in general.

7.  “We see” is used when it’s really not needed.

I’m not totally against “we see,” but it should be reserved for when it’s the best way to convey something to the reader.

“We see Peter tinkering with his web shooters” can be just “Peter tinkers with his web-shooters.”

8. Action/description lines are too long.

Keep them to no more than four lines (NOT four sentences) except in very rare situations.

Long blocs of text tend to make the reader tune out and skim.

Think of each action bloc as a single shot. Many/most can be just one or two lines.

9. There are TOO MANY CAPS.

Suddenly, it BURSTS open, and a group of six ARMED MEN flood into the room. They’re dressed like soldiers, but their EQUIPMENT and CAMOUFLAGE OUTFITS are more than well-worn. ASSAULT RIFLES raised, they quickly spread out and search the room.…

Vivian opens it and EXITS the bathroom.

Pools of green waste dot the wild, moon-like landscape. TOXIC, LIME- COLORED RAIN eats away at the sign. It hangs high above the entrance to a MINING BAY that is steeped in billowing SMOKE – as white and as striking as the SHOWER OF LIGHT coming from a nearby star.

Reserve caps for character intros, non-human sounds, and REALLY important props and actions, or it feels like YOU’RE SHOUTING YOUR SCRIPT AT US.

10. There’s no description after the slugline.

Give us at least one sentence of description to tell us what we’re looking at before a character starts talking.

11. Scene descriptions are over-written.

Original:

Outside the window of the hotel room is rows and rows of tall buildings located in Downtown Chicago.

Cars honk, the occassional ambulance can be heard, and smoke comes out of the chimneys visible on top of the shorter buildings.

You could just say “The window looks out on downtown Chicago.”

(Also, that’s not how you spell “occasional,” and “downtown” doesn’t need to be capitalized…)

 

Yeah, you could say that a lot of this is trivia. But it’s the kind of trivia that can get you off on the wrong foot with a reader, and it’s easy enough to fix — so why not make an effort to make a better first impression?

Feedback on the First Page of Your Script [#10] Read More »

How to find an agent, sell a script, and “break in” as a screenwriter [#9]

When people ask questions on reddit/Quora/etc. like:

  • “how do I sell my script?”

  • “how can I find an agent/manager?”

  • how do I get a screenwriting job?”

They’re likely to get short and simple answers like:

The truth is, there is no “one” way or “best” way. There are hundreds of different things you can try — most of which will fail.

To maximize your opportunities, you need to do some homework to learn about those hundreds of ways. Then you need to invest significant time, effort and (sometimes) money in pursuing them.

It’s about Relationships

The single most effective path to a writing career is finding someone who likes you and/or your work and can get your script to someone who can help you.

This is why writers are always being told to move to Hollywood and get crappy industry (or industry-adjacent) jobs.

There are a million jokes about slipping a script to your brother’s pool boy’s sister’s hairdresser’s dry cleaner, who slips it to Brad Pitt. That’s not a relationship.

Stalking a pro writer at a screenwriting conference (or DM’ing them on Twitter) and asking if they can read your script — or give it to their agent — isn’t the path to a relationship. It’s just rude, an imposition, and cringe-worthy.

So how do you build real relationships?

Connect

You can “meet” people (in person and virtually):

Focus on Your Peers

Don’t worry about getting your script to Brad Pitt. Focus on building relationships with writers who are around your own level. Hopefully, you can all help each other rise.

Go Slowly

Don’t expect someone you’ve just met to champion you or do you a favor. When they recommend your work, they’re also recommending YOU, so they want to make sure you’re sane and nice.

Give More than You Ask For

Be helpful, not needy. Offer to give someone notes on a script. Tell someone about a gig or a fellowship they might be interested in. Crew on a friend’s short film.

Don’t Be an Asshole

Don’t insult others or publicly trash their work, in person or on social media. You can mention your own contest wins or whatever, but don’t boast about your own brilliance.  Celebrate others’ wins.

Books about how to sell a script and “break in”

  • Breakfast with Sharks by Michael Lent
  • Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge
  • The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters by Karl Iglesias
  • Getting it Write and Breaking In by Lee Jessup
  • The New Screenwriter’s Survival Guide by Max Adams

Books about the screenwriting life (including breaking-in stories)

Websites

HOW TO GET A SCREENWRITING AGENT AND MANAGER IN 10 STEPS

A Screenwriter’s Guide to Getting (and Keeping) an Agent

You Finished Your Screenplay — Now What?

How to get a “finished” script in front of people

WGA Writer Explains How To Become A Pro Screenwriter

Dominic Morgan (aka “Scriptfella”) has a series of entertaining and helpful YouTube videos.

Just google “screenplay marketing” or “how do I get a screenwriting agent” or “how do I sell my screenplay” or similar to get tens of thousands of more links like this one.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Most screenwriters think about marketing LONG before they have anything worth selling.

How do you know if you’re ready?

You may be ready when:

  • you have at least two very good features or pilots,
  • people who know what they’re talking about (not your buddies, not your mom) say they’re good,
  • you start placing in contests like the Nicholl and Austin,
  • you get into programs like the ones listed here, and/or
  • you get 8s and up on The Black List.

Being “ready” doesn’t mean that you’re likely to sell a script or get a writing gig, however. The odds of that happening are incredibly low.

But waiting until your work is ready, and doing your homework (see resources above) before hitting the market can save you from wasting time and effort and potentially burning bridges you may later want to cross.

How to find an agent, sell a script, and “break in” as a screenwriter [#9] Read More »