Getting to Hollywood Via The Indies

by Christina Hamlett

Independent filmmakers have been around for as long as there have been major studios. With the staggering financial success of last year's BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, however, more theater-goers (and writers!) are starting to pay closer attention to them.

Like most writers, I used to believe that I had a better chance at winning the lottery than landing a film contract. Even if one of my novels were optioned, I supposed, the likelihood that it would actually be produced seemed remote, even if I moved to LA and 'hovered.' While luck and persistence were certainly factors in my current association with two filmmakers, the timing has never been better nor the market more approachable for aspiring screenwriters to dust off their scripts and take a look at independent producers.

By definition, "indies" are companies that raise their own capital in order to produce selected film projects. Driven by passion more than paycheck, many first-time directors and photographers have honed their craft on independent productions, savoring the excitement of coloring outside traditional lines in order to tell a story their own way. In contrast, the Hollywood studio system assigns creative decisions to executives and company managers who subsequently dictate the style and policies for a hired director.

While studios have the luxury of titanic budgets, huge crews, and custom-made sets, indies function on 10 to 500 grand per picture, employ fewer than 20 technicians, and can comfortably fit into private homes and businesses that would cramp large-scale operations. And although many major stars might decline a role in an indie film, just as many are amenable to a pay-cut for the freedom to push their talent in new directions and, accordingly, widen their options.

GETTING STARTED

The first thing you need is a salable script; you also need a gameplan, and lots of tenacity. If you're aiming to sell to Hollywood, you need an agent, as well. The catch-22 of agents, unfortunately, is that they want writers with the kind of experience that's hard to acquire without an agent’s representation. While it's not impossible to scale this wall, indies offer a more accessible, user-friendly path.

But, although indies are sometimes regarded as a stepping stone to bigger things, it doesn't mean the quality of work can be novice level. Know the craft and format inside out before you ever pick up the phone or put a stamp on a query letter. Write constantly. Watch films of all kinds. Read scripts. Write the kind of movie that you would enjoy on a Saturday night.

WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS ARE SELLING

The truth about selling to any market is that no one knows what he wants until he reads it...whereupon large studios will furiously imitate it until the next hot idea comes along. Indies take a more eclectic view, regarding each project as a chance to expand creative dimensions. The worst mistake any author can make is to assume that whatever genre of storytelling is currently selling will continue to sell. If a script is unique, it actually has a better chance of getting picked up than one that simply mimics ephemeral trends.

FINDING A BUYER

The proliferation of indies throughout the world means that writers can find film opportunities right in their own backyard! For instance, each state has a film commission which serves the dual purpose of assisting Hollywood productions on location and maintaining a database of local actors, "tekkies,” investors and writers. Not only does this network benefit producers in search of regional talent, it also promotes the word that you--the writer--are available to develop and revise scripts. Whether an indie invites your participation depends on the existence or absence of a writer-director team, as well as the feasibility, resources, and expense of filming your particular story.

Four additional routes are available for locating potential directors: monthly trade magazines (i.e., FILMMAKER MAGAZINE, AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, INDEPENDENT, IMMAGINE), screenwriting competitions (DISNEY, NICHOLL FELLOWSHIPS, WRITER’S DIGEST) film festivals (SUNDANCE, FILMFEST DC) and online resources such as www.hollywoodlitsales.com, www.backstage.com, and www.moviebytes.com. Through many of the Internet sites, in fact, you’ll not only learn who is looking for what but actually post treatments and full scripts for potential buyers to review.

DON'T CALL US; WE'LL CALL YOU

Let's say that one of your query letters lands you a pitch session, an invitation to tell a prospective director what your script is about.

The biggest difference between pitching to indies and studios is that the latter is almost always done by professional agents. Indies typically aren't governed by such formality, nor are writers left hanging indefinitely as committees debate a script's marketability. Indie writers can expect to play a more active role in a film's development than they would at a studio, where revisions are often penned by someone on staff.

It also isn't necessary for indie material to have been "audience-tested"; i.e., a published novel or play. While studios gravitate to established works that represent lower risk, indies are fearless about pushing limits and thrusting lesser-known projects into the limelight. To use a restaurant analogy, studios are serving up burgers and fries; indies are offering vegetable pakoras and tandoori.

Cardinal rule: keep your sales pitch succinct and be able to define your target audience (teen girls? families? minorities?).

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Any opportunity to prove your screenwriting mettle is always worth pursuing. Who's to say that a modest film won't suddenly take the public by storm and become an Oscar contender? On the other hand, if it withers into obscurity at the box office, you won't be scarred for life; you simply learn from your cinematic mistakes and move on.

Try to negotiate a reasonable salary long before the cameras roll. More importantly, you need to get it in writing, no matter how “casual” the relationship. Be wary, for instance, of arrangements that cite “deferred pay” which, in many cases, translates to “probably not in this lifetime.”

While indies are clearly not as liberal with their cash flow as the big guys, there are nonetheless tidy sums and perks to be earned from working with them. (For example, the adaptation of my Scottish time travel, THE SPELLBOX, includes my airfare and lodging when the crew goes on location to the Highlands, not far from where my husband and I were married!) With a studio, the pay and perks are based on industry standards and an agent's chutzpah. Likewise, an established reputation as an already "hot" author will be a positive influence on the number of zeroes on a check. With an indie, however the package is based on a compromise of what the producer can realistically afford and what the writer can willing sacrifice for the euphoria of getting his or her story to the screen.

Word to the wise: Always consult an attorney if there are any aspects of a contract you don't understand.

A FINAL NOTE

Most of all, never forget the one thing that indies and studios have in common despite their significant differences: the script is the backbone, the essence, the very reason that cameras roll, directors direct, stars are born, and magic unfolds everyday on the screens of theaters nationwide.

Without the writer, audiences would be left sitting in the dark.

-- CH
©2000 Christina Hamlett