Producers
and production houses
# scripts screenplays# producers# production houses
26-02-22
Almost ten years ago I asked a simple question
“Why should Hollywood insist on a screenplay” on screenplay writer’s forum.
People working in Hollywood told me one thing “Nobody can change the way Hollywood film industry works”. Fine. Even leading Indian movie production houses insist on screenplay.
SCRIPT.
Most of the time producers and production houses request for scripts but they don’t even mention the screenplay. First make sure whether you want a script or screenplay. You all are interchanging the meaning of the script. A script can be a manuscript also. But a screenplay is a technical document for making a movie. Technical teams, presentation and formatting are different from script or manuscripts. Next time you specify that you need a screenplay and not a script. It can avoid confusion among writers.
LOG-LINE.
Hollywood producers give undue importance to log lines. It is like if you cannot
write a good log-line for your screenplay your story is not good enough. As if
that is the minimum requirement to write a good story. In short if you can't
impress them with your log line they will reject your screenplay. No hook, no
bait for the audiences. My question is why create so much hype for log-lines?
Here is the log-line of my Eternal love sci-fi love story.
A.D 2005. Billionaire's only son Ajay dies in a freak Car accident but his
girlfriend Maya survives. Twenty-five years later Ajay would be brought back to
life with futuristic technology in A.D.2030. Fate brings them together. His
ex-girlfriend Maya is a happily married woman with a grown-up son. Will they
become lovers again? What happened to their only love child Sandhya?
WAR ON TERROR . sci-fi for Hollywood movie
Logline .
U.S governments redesign and deploys star war project to hunt down international terrorist organization like AL-Qaeda across the world . Action takes places in space, U.K, Munich, Iraq, Manila and a terrorist camp in Remote Island off the cost of Philippines. Read diabolic plans of Jihadists .
My log-line is also my story concept .Based on this story concept only I
wrote my fiction. This is not a great log line but if I write my log line any
other way nobody will be able to understand my story concept.
Let me ask you few questions
If you are in the habit of watching movies do you read log lines first? Answer
is a big NO!
For producers log lines are the slogan of movies. You do not see log lines on
posters?
1) Ordinary people will check whether their Favorite actor/
actress are in the movie.
2) Director name.
3) Name of production house
Not everyone gets to read log line / synopsis or critic review. In India
every Friday dozens of new movies are screened all over India. On OTT
platform you will find tens and thousands of movies from all over the world.
Can you find the log line or even synopsis of every movie you are planning to
watch over the OTT? Then how do you know which foreign movie you should watch??
Type “greatest big budget flop movies in hollowed or top ten most expensive
flop movies of all-time”
Tell me what went wrong here?
Big production house, professional people worked for it, great logline, screenplay, director, actors and production value. You just cannot find fault with the movie.
I have not seen any of those movies but as a writer I think the story fell FLAT. Story is the foundation of every movie. No story, No movie. Without story and with star value one can only make flop movies.
As an audience we do not get to read the log line or synopsis of every movie we
watch. For us, our favourite actors / director or name of a production house is
enough to get our money’s worth.
If you can sell your script/screenplay for movie production it’s fine. Nowadays
not every writer is trying to sell his script for a movie production house.
There are hundreds of OTT platforms. They are the one looking for unique story
concepts. With limited budgets they take calculated risk but not movie
production houses.
Instead of trying to find a great log line try to find time to read treatment before reading 120/180 Pages of screenplay or before deciding to make a movie version of screenplay. It can save your time and money.
SYNOPSIS
There are two types of synopsis!
1) Synopsis can be written up to three A 4 pages. In synopsis you will
not disclose the climax. To know the climax you have to read full
script/screenplay. Some writers says synopsis tell the whole story.
2) Never disclose the full story in your synopsis .I prefer not to disclose the climax or few turning points in my synopsis. If a producer / production house is interested in my story they can ask for treatment or read the full manuscript for that they need to send me NDA or release letter. without getting NDA or release letter do not send your treatment to producer or production house. that is the professional way to deal .
TREATMENT
Treatment of a script/screenplay can be five or more A 4 pages. There you do
not hide anything. Treatment is the condensed foam of your script/screenplay.
Here is
my suggestion for producers and production houses.
Instead
of reading dozens of screenplays, each one of them 120 to 180 pages ask story
writers to send their copyright registered and published book with ISBN and
send synopsis or treatment to your production house. Choose story out of
treatment. It can save your time and money .Remember most of the movie
versions of fiction are hit movies.
I know nothing can change the way movie producers/production house functions. This article is just my suggestion for movie producers and production houses.
Author jivan
N B: On social media people are asking for scripts. Most of them locked their profile.
FAKE
people. Most of them are no way
connected to the film industry.
You ask simple question like for which production house needs a script? No reply, no comment. No major movie production house will ask for scripts through social media. They have their own website. In India there are dozens of cunt movie production houses. They ask for scripts through social media. After you send the script they will not send you an acknowledgement letter or release letter. Not even a rejection letter. You can be sure that they licked your script. They do not know how to deal with writers professionally.
