John August

QandA

Is film school necessary?

Education, QandA

Is it necessary to have a film-related degree/course in order
to break into screenwriting?

–A. Plange

No. The truth is, no great screenplay has ever sat unsold because the writer
didn’t go through an acclaimed program. No writer has ever been denied the
Oscar because he didn’t finish his master’s thesis.

Frankly, a film degree isn’t a prerequisite for any job in Hollywood, from
actor to gaffer to studio chief. The Industry is one of the last bastions of
apprenticeship, perseverence and pure dumb luck. All that really matters is
whether you can do the job.

That said, I personally went through USC Film School. And before I get dropped
from the alumni rolls, let me retrench a bit and give two reasons why film
school might be right for some people, and why it was right for me.

First, there’s a hell of lot to learn about filmmaking, and while you can
learn the specifics of any trade on-the-job, film school can give you a broader
perpective. In making GO, I was surprised to find myself dealing with budgets,
lenses, preview screenings and TV spots. It went way beyond my "writer" function,
but the breadth of my education in film school paid off.

Second, film school is a place to make contact with peers, experts and people
who can ultimately hire you. I got my first job, my first agent, and my first
paid writing assignment all with the help of friends I made in film school.
To this day I work with many of them. This isn’t cheesy, gross let’s-swap-business-cards "networking," but
simple reality. You tend to help people you like, and people with whom you
share a common experience. The "boot camp" aspect of film school
can be important.

Is film school right for you? It depends on your circumstances. If you’re
still an undergrad, by all means switch to film. Follow your bliss. If you’re
recently out of college, a two-or-three-year grad program could be great. Pretend
it’s an MBA or law school. Beyond that, the benefits are harder to calculate.
Because the truth is, it’s not an MBA or law school. There’s no guarantee you’re
going to make any money. You might be better off learning film along the way.
Take a course or two, read a lot of books, go to seminars when you can.

And most of all, if you want to write, just write. One hundred and twenty
pages of quality screenplay are worth more than one page of diploma.

Writing a biography

QandA, So-Called Experts

I’m submitting a script to a screenplay competition and to an agent that accepts unsolicited material. Both ask for a biography. Common sense says to keep it short and sweet–and spell everything correctly. But I’m finding it very hard to write anything other than a two or three sentence summation of my education and career (none of which is entertainment related and all of which is surely boring). I suppose I could add something about my interests or goals as a writer, but does anyone care? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

–MA

Answer is here.

Naomi Foner on How I Got My Agent

Film Industry, First Person

naomi fonerfirst personI was a producer at Sesame Street. And then The Electric Company. And then I spent a year in the UK researching an American version of Upstairs Downstairs. It got funded but they dumped me for a more experienced producer. (In those days age meant wisdom. Now it means dinosaur.)

I spent a lot of time working with writers during those years, but was afraid to pen anything myself because I didn’t want to find out that I couldn’t do it. Finally, a friend insisted and since it coincided with the birth of my daughter, I tried. It was produced on PBS Visions series.

Set in the NYC blackout, it was, of course, filmed in LA. That producer introduced me to an agent. Sent her my Vision’s script and I soon had representation and more work. Seems too easy, but I did spend many years working with writers first.

Naomi
Foner’s screenwriting credits include RUNNING
ON EMPTY, A DANGEROUS
WOMAN and LOSING ISIAH.
She was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best
Original Screenplay for RUNNING ON EMPTY.

Tom Smith on How I Got My Agent

Film Industry, First Person

first personACT I

I went to a book signing at Samuel French, a Hollywood bookstore. Three writers were there with their screenwriting books. I had them sign my books and I talked to all of them. I read their books and wrote a fawning fan letter to two of them, Linda Seger and Carl Sautter. Hidden amongst the gushing I asked them the same question, how do I get an agent?

Carl Sautter read my stuff, said he liked it and suggested I send it to his agent. I did. She was…well, really rather cunty about it. But he and I continued to correspond, and proved to be a good source of advice and encouragement.

Linda Seger read my script. Of course, I paid her to do it. Script analysis. Which sounds like a rip-off, but it was actually quite helpful. Her notes and her insight helped make the script better and she passed the script onto several agents and some development people. And that’s how I got my first agent.

Moral: Get to know people who have agents.

ACT II

My agent wasn’t getting me any work. I entered a new spec script in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship competition – a script my agent didn’t like, a script that had gotten an insulting pass on at Universal. (The executive was looking for something more like BIRD ON A WIRE!) I won the Nicholl, firing my first agent as soon as I became a finalist. I got over fifty phone calls the week I won and one of those was my new agent.

Moral: Enter any (reputable) contest.

ACT III

My second agent became a manager. The next agent I got was through someone I ran into at a New Years’ party. We’d met years earlier. She was in development and had luckily attended the party with her ex-boyfriend. I listened to her heartache and she listened to me talk about a script I was writing. Later, she read it and recommended me to my next agent.

Moral: Be nice to people who can be nice to you later.

Tom
C. Smith wrote BEVERLY
HILLS FAMILY ROBINSON and the infamous short
ERNEST & BERTRAM. He has also developed several television projects.