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Resuming pitching: what we’re doing for our winners right now

Resuming pitching: what we’re doing for our winners right now

Our Development Notes have been getting our winners ready for industry.

Major wins for all writers this month with the WGA and AMPTP reaching a tentative deal expected to end the strike, and meeting many of the WGA’s demands! For a breakdown of the deal, see the WGA’s Summary of the 2023 WGA MBA. And thanks to this, we’re resuming pitching and relishing it!

With the strike coming to a close, we are thrilled to soon resume pitching our winning scripts from the last contest cycle! Polished through a cycle of incisive WriteMovies development notes and exciting rewrites by our wonderful writers, we are ready to cast a wide net in pitching these stories to studios, producers, and financiers. We have been researching a wide variety, from big names to indie powerhouses, to contact with our pitches and strategically crafted one-sheets when the time is right. And that time is near!

Maintaining relationships with our winning writers, our team has offered their analysis and insight on numerous drafts, in order to make these scripts as compelling as they can be and ensure they pop off the page for potential producers. As we reach the climactic pitching preparations for our last contest cycle, we are also ramping up on a new screenwriting contest that is currently accepting submissions. Resuming pitching is an exciting time for all of us and we’d love you to be a part of it too…

Have you written your next (or first!) masterpiece but you’re not sure how to get it off the ground? Need the motivation to finally finish a story you’ve been yearning to tell? Get your script in before the submission window closes! A contest submission guarantees your script is getting out in the world and getting read by a panel of analysts and industry judges. Winners will receive development notes and the full pitching force of WriteMovies.com. For all entrants, we guarantee feedback on your first 10 pages, and you may opt-in for full-on development notes as well. We look forward to reading your stories! (And, hopefully, one day, watching them on the big screen!)

See our current contests here!

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

Exclusive reveal from Dr Alex Ross’s groundbreaking new book.

Due out in May, this fascinating new volume will open up unique insights into how Hollywood invented and evolved its ‘calculated blockbuster’, and its future in the age of streaming. Check out the book’s newly-unveiled cover, including inspiring quotes and testimonials we’ll share below! Just another example of the value we at WriteMovies bring to the industry and to your projects: all our consultancy services can be delivered by Dr Alex Ross directly. Get in touch today!

Consultancy Services by Alex Ross at WriteMovies.com

Here’s the cover to BLOCKBUSTED…

Blockbusted book cover revealed

 

And here’s what it has to say…

“This book outlines in extensive and unique detail how studios make money not just on blockbusters, but also eventually from all movies, as Alexander Ross uses his vast experience, inside knowledge, and scholarly expertise to lay out both the successes and the mistakes of the ‘blockbuster era.’ I highly recommend it to scholars in film studies and business, film school students working toward a career in the film industry, and budding film producers and studio executives.”
– Hal Lieberman, Former Head of Production at Universal Pictures

“This book provides an original and welcome contribution to the literature about Hollywood. Building on his ears of experience in the film industry, insights from prominent industry actors, and rigorous research, Alexander Ross offers a compelling account of the risk of the modern blockbuster business model through details case studies of seminal movies, and of its viability in the streaming video-on-demand age. A valuable read for cinema students, scholars, and professionals.”
– Allègre Hadida, Universty of Cambridge

“In these case studies, Ross debunks many myths built up about them. His case studies demonstrate the relentless attention of studio executives to the possibilities of generating revenue. This book captures this practice and, in so doing, provides a valuable contribution to the hard-nosed worldview of Hollywood.”
– John Sedgwick, Oxford Brookes University

In this book, Alexander Ross highlights how creative entrepreneurs saved the Hollywood studios in the 1970s by establishing the calculated blockbuster, consisting of key replicable markers of success, as Hollywood’s preeminent business model. Ross demonstrates how visionary individuals such as Coppola, Spielberg, Lucas, and Zemeckis helped create the modern, calculated blockbuster business model (BBM). However, with the rise of streaming giants and the studios struggling to compete, many consumers of entertainment now elect to partake from the comfort of their homes, making the difference between “cinema” and “television” anachronistic. Revisiting the history of those 1970s blockbusters and their ongoing impact on contemporary filmmaking, Ross offers distinct analysis on whether the calculated blockbuster can continue to lead, or if the streamers will continue to generate their own content and, eventually, fully control the dissemination process. For scholars and students in film, pop culture, and business along with aspiring filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, and executives, the book will be a valued resource.

Alexander Ross is a researcher in history at New College, University of Oxford.

 

Click here for Mentoring services by Alex Ross at WriteMovies.com

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

New video: No one reads a rewrite.

Value your time – consult with a Hollywood professional.

Dr. Alex Ross says: “Value your time, always run a new script idea by an industry pro first. I have 20+ years of experience in the film industry. I work with all the studios and major agencies. Several of my clients have received Academy Nominations.

At whatever stage of writing you are, just let me know what you need. No one reads a rewrite. My feedback will optimize your script…”

 

Contact Dr. Alex Ross today!
dr alex ross mentor

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

First industry acclaim for Blockbusted

Blockbusted is a new book charting the evolution of Hollywood’s calculated blockbuster, and will be released in the coming months – but the book has already been recognized and acclaimed by leading industry professionals. It’s even challenging the industry’s long-held assumptions, as you can see below. Check out these first endorsements – just the start of the industry acclaim for Blockbusted we’ll be updating you with over the coming months. Get the input of the book’s author Dr. Alex Ross into your own project at here – or email us at info@writemovies.com to get the ball rolling!

Universal Pictures former Head of Production and Paul Sammon

“This book outlines in extensive and unique detail how studios make money not just on blockbusters, but also eventually from all movies, as Alexander Ross uses his vast experience, inside knowledge, and scholarly expertise to lay out both the successes and the mistakes of the ‘blockbuster era.’ I highly recommend it to scholars in film studies and business, film school students working toward a career in the film industry, and budding film producers and studio executives.”
– Hal Lieberman, Former Head of Production at Universal Pictures

“You are holding a volume which, to my relatively seasoned mind, adds a unique contribution to text-based cinema studies. This book is a persuasive, rigorously researched study of the evolution of the contemporary Hollywood blockbuster. It lays down a parallel track which posits an apparently astonishing argument, flagrantly challenging a long-held bit of supposed critical wisdom – William Goldman’s oft-quoted dictum that “nobody knows anything.” Indeed, Alexander Ross maintains that certain players inside The Dream Factory’s upper echelon of studio chiefs, producers, and mega-agents are not only intelligent, sophisticated mavens, they actually know what they’re doing.”
– Paul Sammon, film industry professional and author

These are the first examples of the industry acclaim for Blockbusted we’ll be sharing with you over the coming months.

 

Hire Alex’s mentoring for YOUR project today!

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

Coming soon: BLOCKBUSTED book by Alex Ross!

Essential reading for screenwriters this year! The history of the modern Hollywood blockbuster, with dozens of awesome interviews!

We’re proud to announce that this year Dr. Alex Ross will be publishing his new book BLOCKBUSTED – a history of modern Hollywood blockbuster films, packed with amazing industry interviews and insights. Film fans are going to love this!

The book is due to be published in May or June. Alex says: “every fan of The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, ET, Back to the Future and Blade Runner will want to find out more, as the book will provide never before shared insights.”dr alex ross mentor

We’ve got lots of insights, endorsements and extracts from the book to share with you over the coming months… let the countdown begin!

Click here to see what Alex can do for you!

‘Blockbusted’ book cover revealed!

Script Consultancy Services direct from Alex Ross!

Have your scripts, books, articles mentored direct from Alex Ross with WriteMovies.com!

 

Dr. Alex Rossdr alex ross mentor profile

Over twenty years in the Hollywood film industry working with and for the studios as agent, manager, and producer. “I ran close to 7000 pitch meetings, most with the studio heads of production. Worked with several Academy nominees and discovered two.

​One of the very few film industry professionals with a research background.  I recently completed a Ph.D. looking at how production companies turn their scripts into blockbusters. Eight years of research, interviewing hundreds of filmmakers. If I cannot make you succeed, no one can.

I am a member of the British Film Academy (BAFTA) as well as an expert consultant to the European Union’s EACA program, which I advise on which film projects to invest in.”

(more…)

L.A. Industry Pitching tips! An ‘Inside Guide’ for Outsiders – Part 1

L.A. Industry Pitching tips! An ‘Inside Guide’ for Outsiders – Part 1

To give a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at WriteMovies and TalentScout International Management, our Director of World Wide Development Ian Kennedy is sharing a week of his Hollywood/L.A. Diary with us at the start of March.

Expect news of meetings at major studios and with Elite producers, screenwriters and other adventures in Hollywood, plus a string of fresh images of iconic Hollywood locations.

In the meantime, we’ve brought together two of our Elite Mentors and a former WriteMovies winner living in Los Angeles to share their L.A. industry pitching tips. Here’s what they had to say… first, about staying there and getting around town.

Our experts:
ALEX ROSS, WriteMovies founder, film producer and former LA agent
BOBBY LEE DARBY, Screenwriter and WriteMovies Elite Mentor
KATHRYN NAWROCKI, Screenwriter and former WriteMovies Award Winner (more…)

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