Script Selling in Goodluckland: How to sell your script in Hollywood

Everyone has at least once in his life thought he had a great idea he could turn into a blockbuster. But screenwriting and making a living out of screenwriting can be compared to the twelve tasks of Hercules. Many books will tell you how to write a script but none will tell you how hard it is to sell it. Script Selling in Goodluckland will spare you a lot of time and disillusion. Read it before you even type FADE IN. This is a unique insider s perspective on the Hollywood film industry and the business surrounding filmmaking from someone who started out just like you Anything you need to know about what happens when you wrote your first movie screenplay and want to sell it. Avoid the pitfalls and the scams, the disappointments and the false promises. Everything you will find in this book has been experienced on my own skin and the one of people I have met along the way. TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION Why did I write this book? Why breaking into the film business is so tough? ANDREA WHO? A chapter about how I ended up writing screenplays in English and shopping them around in Hollywood. THE SCREENWRITER Why the screenwriter is a masochistic species. MONEY How money is the key to everything in this business. BOOKS On how books can teach you the craft but not the way you will sell your screenplay. FILM SCHOOLS How film schools can give you quality teaching but no industry introduction. SCREENWRITING SEMINARS AND PITCH MARKETS Why seminars are only a good occasion to collect information, but not an opportunity to sell your work. SCRIPT CONSULTANTS How working with a script consultant can help you to write a higher quality screenplay but not to sell it. WEBSITES Why websites are a good place to find information but will not help you to make a striking breakthrough in the business. SCREENWRITING CONTESTS On how screenwriting contests don t deliver their promises and my personal experience with winning first prize at a contest that didn t get me anywhere. FILM FESTIVALS My personal experience as a screenwriter at the Cannes Film Festival. AGENTS, MANAGERS AND LAWYERS How agents, managers and lawyers are blessed people who don t need clients. INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS How independent producers are producers without money. READERS Why it is easier to pass on your script than to recommend it. STARS Why having a specific star interested in your script is the best way to get your film made. L.A. FAUNA Do you need to live in L.A? HELP I NEED SOMEBODY HELP How screenwriters think they need help but they don t. WHAT TO DO THEN? A recap of ten important points for selling a screenplay. GLOSSARY A fun dictionary of the most commonly used terms.