Last month we discussed what can (and should) happen once your screenplay leaves your hands. In the best-case scenario, you have landed an agent and a company is interested in your script.
To some extent, every writer’s experience is unique. However, there are events that might typically occur next.
As mentioned in the previous essay, a company may ask you to make changes “on spec.” They like the idea but don’t think the execution is good enough. They’d like you to rewrite according to their notes, at which point they will reconsider the project. In my fifteen years of working as a writer and reader, I have never heard of this paying off for the writer. This doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, but it is definitely rare. In my opinion, if the company is not interested enough now in your script to pay you, then they really aren’t interested.
A better case is that you receive an option on the script. This means you are paid a small percentage of the purchase price now. An option usually lasts a year, with the possibility of a renewal of another year after that. In this case, you may be asked to do a rewrite for free. Since the company has put money out, agreeing to a rewrite under these circumstances makes more sense for the writer, but make it clear in the contract that should the option expire, you own the rewrite. In general, if the company pays you for the rewrite, then they own the rewrite, but you would still own the original draft if the option expires.
Better yet, you sell the script. Either the option is exercised or you sell it outright from the start. In this case, an agent will negotiate for you to have the right to perform at least the first rewrite. This will enable you to join the WGA. (You can’t enter the Guild with a sale, only by being hired to write.)
Once this first rewrite is completed, it is very possible and even probable that another writer will be brought in. This is especially true for big-budget and/or genre films (thrillers, romantic comedies, etc.) As antithetical to the concept of literary creation as this may be, it is standard procedure for Hollywood. Executives have a roster of writers they feel know action, know comedy, know suspense, etc. Some day you may be on one of those lists, but until then -- and even then -- you are considered expendable.
There are situations in which you are less likely to be fired from a project. One is if the film is being made by a small production company that cannot afford to keep bringing in new (and more expensive) writers. Another is if you do such an amazing job on any rewrites that the producers see you as an asset rather than a liability. The third is to write such a unique story, in such a distinct voice, that there is no one else who can mimic it. However, such scripts are also harder to sell in the first place. Even if one or more of these three cases turns out to be true for you, this is no guarantee that you will not be rewritten. Actors and directors have their own agendas and will often add to/change the screenplay as well.
If you do remain on the project, you are likely to do multiple drafts, based on notes from a variety of sources. In general studio notes are five to thirty pages, and you will probably meet with one or more executives to discuss the notes. If there is a producer on the project, you will give the rewrite to him or her first. The producer may have more minor notes for you to complete before you hand in the rewrite to the studio. The rewriting usually continues right up to, and even during, shooting.
Of course, this is assuming that your rewritten script is actually made. Many scripts go through months or years of development, only to be put into turnaround. This means the studio has decided not to make it and is offering it for sale to any other company interested.
If the script is produced, the writer will usually receive a production bonus. If the film is made by a studio, there is already built-in distribution. If the film is made independently, it may still need a distributor. The producers will shop the film around at film markets and enter it in festivals. Some completed films never get distributors. Even studio movies sometimes go straight to cable or DVD.
If your film gets a major release, you now have to worry about reviews and box office. However, as a produced writer, unless the film is a total bomb, you will have a lot more clout as a writer-for-hire than an unproduced writer.
However, you will still be competing against a large pool of produced writers, all looking for work. You’re never “set.” Even award-winning screenwriters go years between projects. This is why, whether you are an unknown or have a movie playing in the theaters now, you should keep networking, keep brainstorming, and above all, keep writing and producing material. As you can see, Hollywood really is a crapshoot. Constantly coming up with new stories and scripts is the best way you have of increasing your odds.
