by John | Oct 20, 2023 | 2023 Screenwriting Contest, Development Notes, Elite Consulting, Industry Diary, Matt Rose, News, Pitching, Screenwriting Contests, WriteMovies News
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!
by John | Oct 16, 2023 | Ian Kennedy, News, Script Mentoring offers, WriteMovies News
It’s hard for anyone to process the scale and horror of events like the atrocities in Israel by Hamas, or genocide and ethnic cleansing, or the devastation caused by the invasion of Ukraine. But writers can play a vital role in helping us all process, and respond to, these unthinkable events when they happen.
Firstly, I’d like to state – on behalf of everyone at WriteMovies – our shock and revulsion at the attacks in Israel last week, and our heartfelt sympathy for everyone who has been affected by them or their consequences. My fear is that things are going to get a lot worse even than they are right now, for a much bigger number of people, over the weeks, months and years ahead, because of some of the factors I’ll talk about in this article. And I think writers do have the power to make some important differences in these situations, and I’d like to talk a little about that here.
Here are some principles for writers to consider about their role in the world and the influence that their work can have over world events. You’re welcome to respond to these and suggest others on our social media!
- Show us how we got here. Historical, biographical, or contemporary retellings of things that happened in the past are a vital insight into who and what we are today, and how we need to change for the future.
- Don’t let us forget the lessons of history. Find ways to reinvent and retell the stories that teach us the most from the past, for today’s and tomorrow’s audiences and obsessions.
- Don’t fall into lazy, familiar, safe views of the past that indulge and reassure us. Why create a faithful new adaptation of a familiar classic work, when you could be focusing on different angles within that world that speak to our modern views of that world? Or find other stories from that era which people then weren’t ready to tell about themselves?
- Don’t fall into the trap of treating anyone’s personal identities as more important than our shared humanity. That way lies tribalism, prejudice, war, and ultimately genocide.
- Avoid writing predictable ‘issue dramas’ that basically agree with everything we would already think about an issue, without teaching us why this thing happens or why we should look differently at it.
- Help us understand why people do ‘unthinkable’ things. Famous examples include: How can a responsible, ordinary person turn into a hardened, dangerous criminal (BREAKING BAD)? And, how can someone commit terrible criminal acts for their ‘job’ yet still try to be a good person for their family (THE SOPRANOS)? In the current crises, you could try to explain why Hamas doesn’t value life – their own, Israelis’, nor even their own people’s. Or how Russian rhetoric was describing Ukrainians as their ‘brothers’ in the run-up to the invasion – while their armed forces prepared to kill any of them who tried to stand up to oppression.
- See the bigger picture, and look further than people caught up in the crisis now will be able to. For example, here is an immediate reaction, one week after Hamas’ incursions into Israel in October 2023: the Hamas atrocities in Israel seem designed to show all Israelis and Jews that they will never be safe, and to provoke an extreme reaction in response. The reaction of Israeli forces to that has so far followed the pattern of previous attacks and hostage scenarios in that conflict very closely, but on a predictably bigger scale. Surely this is exactly what Hamas and their backers would have expected, and would have planned and prepared for? So if what Israel is currently doing, is also the goal of the attackers – who is actually winning? What will the longer-term consequences be as the rest of the world – Arab or not – reacts to what is happening in Gaza and beyond? Could this situation escalate far beyond its current focus – what if that’s exactly what Israel’s enemies are trying to bring about? And if so, how bad could things get for Israel and its allies, how quickly?
These are just a few of the ways that writers can add value to the world which can both recognize and help the situation, within and beyond any current crisis or recent shock. I hope they help you frame your own reaction to the many crises in the world, and to understand the part that you can play in helping us to address or prevent them in future. As ever, we would be very happy to mentor you further if this is something of interest to you – https://writemovies.com/script-mentoring/. But above all good luck, and if you or people you care about are caught up in these or any other crises, our sympathies are always with you.
by John | Sep 15, 2023 | Alex Ross, News
BLOCKBUSTED author speaks out on modernizing Disney’s problematic older content
As controversies rage about the problematic features of traditional Disney films and content, Newsweek has published an article about how “Disney Is Offending Its Audience”, and our founder is prominently featured. Here’s what Dr. Alex Ross had to say when featured in Newsweek:
“Disney would face an “impossible” task to ensure its vintage titles met today’s standards, according to Alexander Ross, author of The Evolution of Hollywood’s Calculated Blockbuster Films: Blockbusted.
“What would be even worse would be to ban the inappropriate; elements. We need to see these within a historical context [as a] reflection on the times. They shed light on our past, however unpleasant,” Ross told Newsweek. “With the now usual advisories, they should remain accessible to those who are interested. We need to continue engaging with these, the worst thing that could happen would be to shut down the debates.”
Ross was referring to Disney’s decision to put advisories ahead of older shows and films on its streaming service, Disney+, warning of potentially offensive content and even putting age restrictions on beloved titles such as Dumbo, Peter Pan and The Aristocats.
“Whether Disney can sanitize some of the problematic IP [intellectual property] in order to commercialize it is an entirely different matter. Some of their older IP, going back to their earlier, classic animation films is very valuable and adds hundreds of millions to the value of the studio’s library,” Ross added. “Does re-tooling it to make it acceptable and relevant to new generations make sense? Absolutely.”
CLICK HERE to read the full article at Newsweek.com!
CLICK HERE to hire Dr. Alex Ross as consultant for your own project.
by John | Jul 14, 2023 | Industry Diary, Industry News, News, Pitching, WriteMovies News
Why we’re pausing all pitching until 2023 WGA strike disputes are resolved.
WriteMovies would like to welcome our new Analyst Matt Rose, who shares our response to the 2023 WGA strike below:
Our team here at WriteMovies stands behind the Writers Guild of America during their current strike as they put the scripted film and television industries on hold in advocating for fair wages, protections from being overworked and understaffed, and safeguards against AI screenwriting.
As script consultants and contest runners, we’ve worked with countless writers, both aspiring and experienced, and we understand the painstaking labor that goes into perfecting a screenplay for production. From blockbusters to indie hits, we know that every great film or series begins with an excellent script. In all respects, we pride ourselves on doing everything we can to hone and bolster the voices of screenwriters. In solidarity with the writers who keep the entertainment industry afloat as proven by the numerous production delays and shutdowns effected by their strike WriteMovies will not be pitching to any studios that are WGA signatories until the strike comes to an end.
The demands of the WGA, outlined by AP News, include calls for much-needed updates to outdated wage and labor standards, which have effectively been used to underpay and overwork screenwriters in recent years. As audiences continue to move away en masse from live television towards streaming platforms, writers’ residuals from syndication have all but vanished while long-term streaming deals leave writers’ compensation disproportionate to their value. The WGA calls for increased upfront pay to correct for residuals lost to the streaming era.
Also based on norms of the past, overly-long exclusivity deals leftover from the age of 22-episode TV seasons block writers from accepting available work despite 8-10 episode seasons now being commonplace. The WGA demands shorter exclusivity terms to mirror the shrinking of TV seasons. The guild also wants to end the exploitation of “mini rooms” which overwork a handful of writers during development, and they demand contractual safeguards against studios’ and producers’ use of artificial intelligence to write scripts.
Any pitching to studios and producers is considered a crossing of the picket line even for aspiring guild writers, who may be permanently barred from WGA membership for scab behavior though writers may continue seeking agents or managers, according to screenwriter and WGA secretary-treasurer Christopher Kyle. WriteMovies will continue to offer our screenplay contests and development services, and our studio pitching for winning scripts will resume as soon as the WGA strike comes to a close. In the meantime, we are working as hard as ever to aid our winning writers in polishing their scripts and prepping our pitch materials!
Find out more about WriteMovies’ contests and submission opportunities HERE.
by John | Jul 14, 2023 | 2023 Screenwriting Contest, Contests, Industry Diary, Industry News, News, Pitching, Screenwriting Contests, WriteMovies News
WriteMovies is back and ready to launch our long-proven contests again in the weeks ahead.
It’s an exciting year for us and it’s hard to believe it’s already halfway done. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes on preparing our winners for pitching, as well as Dr. Alex Ross’s books and launches, and we’re getting ready for a dynamic few months ahead. Now we’re ready to relaunch our contests and services with an expanded and refreshed team – and we’re looking forward to finding out what you’ve been working on too!
We’re looking forward to having a big pitching presence in the months ahead – writers’ strike permitting! We’re also publishing our response to the WGA strike today here – we want writers to thrive in the new era, we’ve got some great winning scripts to promote, and we’ll share those adventures with you once the situation is right again.
Meanwhile, don’t forget that our founder Dr Alex Ross’s new book BLOCKBUSTED is now available in hardback and eBook and ALL of our newsletter subscribers can get a full 30% off! Click here to find out more – we look forward to sharing lots more about it in the months ahead. The film is full of exclusive insights into the evolution of Hollywood’s calculated blockbuster, including lots of your favorite movies from the 1970s to today. We’re also itching to tell you about his next book, which goes even deeper into one of the most iconic and talked-about films of the last half-century!
We’ve also got lots of strong new media and online course content shaping up to share with you as well – so there’s lots to look forward to!
by John | Feb 8, 2023 | News, Our Winners, Screenwriting Contests
A glimpse under the hood at how we’re developing our winners, forging industry links and pitching.
Developing scripts with our winners, and readying them for the right time to pitch, is a unique pleasure of our position in the industry. We’ve been working intensively with many of our recent winners in January and we’re looking forward to introducing you to them and their work over the coming months – always looking for that perfect moment when their script is best placed to capitalize on its potential, or even on renewed topical interest in its themes and subject matter. We’ve got a fascinating slate right now and we can’t wait to share it with you.
It takes a lot of long-term relationship-building behind the scenes to make this kind of thing possible. Not just with our writers, but of course with producers and industry talents as well. Those relationships and connections take many forms. Our founder Alex Ross has completed his groundbreaking book BLOCKBUSTED on the evolution of Hollywood’s calculated blockbuster, packed with interviews and industry insights. And he’s already completed lots of interviews with the team behind one iconic cult movie, for his next book, which will be all about that film. We’ll reveal all about it soon and tell you the fascinating people he’s been meeting to gain never-before revelations about some of its most famous questions!
So often, writers are thinkers. They tell stories by engaging with the issues and dilemmas of their times, and playing those issues and conflicts out through characters and their choices and challenges. It gets strangely prescient sometimes watching news stories unfold when you know that one of your writer clients or friends already wrote a script about that very issue, and totally nailed why these things happen in the world. It comes from working with talented writers over many years, that often, major news stories don’t come as a surprise at all. Sometimes writers serve as the conscience of their times, and as the early warning of the dangers and mistakes ahead of us if we don’t make the right choices now. Sometimes it’s all these things at once. That’s what I’ve been thinking in response to a major news story this week. As it unfolded, I was remembering how much of it exactly mirrored a different true story that was adapted years ago by one industry professional we speak to regularly. That story foreshadowed – sadly almost fully – many of the exact same situations and issues which have now happened again and have once again become a massive news story. Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same!
2023 is shaping up to be an exciting and fascinating year for us, and we’ll continue to blog about it whenever we can.
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