When No One Wants To Buy Your Script by Steve Kaplan Video Lecture | Screenwriting: From Beginner to a Pro - Career Development

the important point is that if if no one
can help you can still help yourself
make the you know now with digital
cameras make the movie yourself other
people have done it I mean it's
sometimes dispiriting to see Zach Braff
go on you know
Kickstarter and is that the is that and
and say please help me I'm only a rich
TV star you know that's a little
annoying on the other hand I did I did
send some money to get the Veronica Mars
movie made because I love that series I
wanted to see it but you have you have
the power in your own hand make the
movie do it as a one-person show I
remember when I was working doing this
project of HBO called the HBO workspace
which by the way no longer exists so
don't email me asking to see how you
could get there because I don't run it
anymore but at the HBO workspace we
would put up actors and writers and
comics to showcase for HBO if they were
interested in coming down that night or
the industry and and we we put up this
one this one actress had this one-person
show very talented she had done the
touring company of second city but she
was a little old and a little not
gorgeous and so she was having a hard
time finding a place in Los Angeles so
she thought well let me do my own thing
so she did this show and we did it at
the HBO workspace and it was very good
it was very funny people loved it
HBO didn't do anything with it so rather
than saying okay I guess I did it no one
wants me she decided well I I think it's
good so I'm going to rent a theater
company I think was the matrix and I'm
gonna perform it every Tuesday night and
so she did every Tuesday night and
people were loving it but in yes but
still no one was hiring her no one was
optioning it until Rita Wilson showed up
one day because it had a great title My
Big Fat Greek Wedding and Rita Wilson
despite her last name is Greek
so Rita Wilson saw it and loved it and
brought her husband Tom Hanks to see it
and he loved it and they made into movie
and it was the highest grossing
independent comedy ever made didn't
wasn't a very good successful television
show but it still it started her started
her career because she didn't take no
for an answer and she didn't wait for
somebody to do it for her ah the guy who
did the tweet my dad says he was a
failed TV writer went back to LA you
know went broke went back to San Diego
live with his dad who knows what his dad
said who knows if he just made all that
stuff up but people loved it so much he
got a deal it wasn't a great series that
it turned out but he did get a deal I
there's a guy I know in in Australia he
wrote wonderful comedy rom-com about a
guy about a scientist with Asperger's
this is this is he wrote this before the
Big Bang Theory very funny
nobody would read it nobody wanted it
the industry in Australia doesn't really
make that many rom-coms he was an
unknown writer from Australia Hollywood
wasn't knocking down his door so he said
I'll turn into a novel it gets picked up
by a major publishing company it was
optioned because somebody was able to
see the worth of it in a different in a
different format so don't think that you
have to market your script as though
it's the only thing you have do it as a
blog write a novel do a one-person show
figure out another way to let people
know about it without without taking
know as an answer or without being an
obnoxious drone how is how is I'm
curious what what is it I'm not just
drone that's interesting how does that
somebody who who takes don't take no for
an answer as though that means to talk
to the same person who said no to you
over and over again as though today will
be yes don't call people 15 times don't
leave them 40
five million tweets don't get angry you
know I've called you three 13 times
already
don't get angry and move on what if
they're the type that loves a challenge
they love to always be closing that's
their salesman mentality and they they
thrive on well you're always closing but
you don't need to be closing with the
same client you can always be closing
but you know if somebody doesn't buy
that car somebody else will walk into
that lot who wants that car you know you
you you try to improve your craft and
and get to know more people how do you
get to know more people join a writers
group joint join you know script writers
Network Joe be with people who are in
who are in the business who can be both
support and and some something to bounce
things off of and possibly some a
conduit to to meet somebody else I mean
that's the whole idea behind LinkedIn
I'm not sure how useful LinkedIn is for
the entertainment industry but the whole
idea is still the same the more people
you know the more it's gonna help
how much networking is too much
networking networking in which it's all
about selling something and not about
meeting people people don't want to be
sold and desperate people don't sell
anything
I mean think of the thing about a
desperate guy at a bar and you're gonna
go home with them no even if he's good
looking if he's desperate he's all of a
sudden less good-looking so don't be
desperate and don't be a user people are
interested if you're not that
interesting people don't be a
screenwriter you know because you're
writing about people you know you know
write it write a novel writes do
something where you can be all by
yourself but people are interesting and
the more people you meet the better it
is for your craft
you