Calling Fellow Catholic Screenwriters

[Lisa_Lavadores]

If this is not the correct forum for this thread, I apologize - but I simply do not know where to post.

I am looking to become part of a group of Catholic screenwriters who are willing to read each other’s work and discuss theories of evangelizing through film.

I am an adult convert from atheism (23 years ago) and a graduate of UCLA film school. I have written about a dozen screenplays, three of them since I became Catholic.

I have found supportive online screenwriters groups, but they are all secular and cannot bring every sensibility I want in a reader to the table.

It is sad to me that the one area where secular people would be willing to sit patiently and listen to ideas (i.e., the movie theatre) is not being utilized to spread the Good News.

I have many theories on how to write for audiences who are hostile to the idea of religion, but I have been pondering them in isolation for a decade because I have been unable to find any group of people that is working to utilize this great gift of our time.

I am hoping that, by starting this thread, I can find other Catholic screenwriters and we can support and encourage each other. If anyone here knows of an existing online group, I would greatly appreciate if you could provide the link.

 

[Rbaker]

I am not a screenwriter, but I love writing. So if you find something let me know.

 

[Lisa_Lavadores]

I have recently taken up short story writing as well, and would love to exchange stories if you are interested.

But I am desperate to find writers who understand screenplays.

 

[Viki63]

There are groups involved in producing pro-life films. The only ones I know about are films already produced, such as Bella.
But this type of film does not emerge out of nowhere; clearly there are Christian screenwriters at work somewhere, probably hanging out together.
If I were you I would google such movies, read about their writers, and do some detective work. You ,might even try contacting some to ask for advice in contacting other writers,
Check out the Catholic Writers Guild.

.

.

 

[Lisa_Lavadores]

Check out the Catholic Writers Guild.

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I didn’t even know such a guild existed.

I see that you are a Catholic writer yourself. Have you been writing long (especially, writing prolife)?

 

[Viki63]

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I didn’t even know such a guild existed.

I see that you are a Catholic writer yourself. Have you been writing long (especially, writing prolife)?

I’ve been writing for years, but only writing prolife stuff for the last three years,

I would be happy to read some of your stories if interested.

.

 

[Lisa_Lavadores]

I’d be very interested and I’d love to return the favor if you ever want another pair of eyes on something.

Your trilogy on Amazon sounds interesting. Do you stick primarily with novels or do you also write in other forms?

I’m mainly scripts, but I do enjoy writing songs, and I’ve had some non-fiction articles published (my conversion story was in This Rock, Damascus Road, April 2004). I have just started short stories for the first time.

Both my short stories are written for Catholic readers, and I hope to start sending them out soon.

My scripts, however, are aimed at secular audiences. My hope is to find a set of Catholic eyes to tell me if I’ve crossed any lines I shouldn’t cross in my effort to reach out to the unchurched.

It’s been awhile since I’ve used this forum - is there a PM option where I can send you my email address?

 

[edwest2]

I have had some experience with screenwriting. It’s not that different from regular prose but a lot of research is involved, aside from being a good writer. The formatting is different but not hard to understand. Here’s a few resources:

catholicsun.org/2015/01/14/screenwriter-to-offer-inside-peek-at-hollywood-through-the-lens-of-catholic-faith/

jpcatholic.com/academics/academics.php

ncregister.com/daily-news/gods-not-dead-and-christianity-in-america-isnt-either/

catholicwritersguild.org/

I only offer the following caution to anyone sharing ideas, manuscripts or screenplays. The world consists of many types of people, so contact the US Copyright Office about getting a copyright for your work. Yes, simply typing “c November 2015 Joe Smith” will work but an actual registration will protect you if someone else uses your idea/screenplay. And if you get a contract from a Producer or anyone from Hollywood, get a copyright attorney to look it over. Even if you’re goal is not to make a lot of money, it’s worth it.

Best,
Ed

 

[Lisa_Lavadores]

Ed, thank you so much for the wealth of links!

Have you yourself ever written a script?

And, yes, my latest script (the one where my heart is) has been copyrighted.

 

[edwest2]

You’re welcome. I have written some treatments and reviewed and edited the script of a young screenwriter. I mentored him the best I could as a professional editor. In fact, we had a guest at our office, a script editor from a name Hollywood studio. We exchanged ideas about our work and how similar they are. I asked him a question and got a somewhat unsurprising answer.

Me: So, tell me, in a nutshell if you can, what do you primarily do?

Him: “I say no a lot.”

As I came to know the inside workings of Hollywood more, I realized the same issues I encountered, they encountered too. The majority of the scripts they got were bad. Only a handful had potential, and out of that, only a few were worth giving to the higher-ups for further consideration. Even then, most of those just got filed for later, possible, use.

Another studio we did some business with provided further perspective. The person I met told me: “To me, it’s a miracle most movies even get made.” The Producers, the money men, and the set designers, would get together after the storyboards were done if a script was approved. The questions revolved around elaborate sets: “How much is that going to cost me?” Reply: “About 15 million.” Retort: “Can you get it down to 10 or 12?” And so on.

While the second draft was being worked on - site locations, actor selection, director selection… But before the script is approved, enter the Legal Department whose only job is to pay the writer of the script as little as possible plus engage in a game of hardball negotiations involving arcane language that no one except for Hollywood lawyers, agents and copyright attorneys can possibly understand.

Ed

 

[randomuser]

Another studio we did some business with provided further perspective. The person I met told me: “To me, it’s a miracle most movies even get made.” The Producers, the money men, and the set designers, would get together after the storyboards were done if a script was approved. The questions revolved around elaborate sets: “How much is that going to cost me?” Reply: “About 15 million.” Retort: “Can you get it down to 10 or 12?” And so on.

Doesn’t this, right here, sum up why the ‘studio system’ has failed in 2015? Flop after flop in 2015, “Jem And The Holograms” and “Rock The Kasbah” one week, “Our Brand Is Crisis” (Sandra Bullock) and “Burnt” (Bradley Cooper) another week…meanwhile, the most profitable and highest-grossing movies turn out to be the low-budget movies with no-name casts (e.g., NWA biopic “Straight Outta Compton.”) Are you saying that a decent movie needs some elaborate, Busby Berkeley-style sets?

The best movies getting made in 2015 aren’t studio pictures - they’re independently-financed movies that get shown at Sundance or Toronto or some other film festival and then get picked for distribution from there. Textbook example: The Catholic-financed ‘secular’ movie ‘The Spitfire Grill’ from a few years ago.

 

[edwest2]

Doesn’t this, right here, sum up why the ‘studio system’ has failed in 2015? Flop after flop in 2015, “Jem And The Holograms” and “Rock The Kasbah” one week, “Our Brand Is Crisis” (Sandra Bullock) and “Burnt” (Bradley Cooper) another week…meanwhile, the most profitable and highest-grossing movies turn out to be the low-budget movies with no-name casts (e.g., NWA biopic “Straight Outta Compton.”) Are you saying that a decent movie needs some elaborate, Busby Berkeley-style sets?

The best movies getting made in 2015 aren’t studio pictures - they’re independently-financed movies that get shown at Sundance or Toronto or some other film festival and then get picked for distribution from there. Textbook example: The Catholic-financed ‘secular’ movie ‘The Spitfire Grill’ from a few years ago.

The public, religious or not, need good storytellers. Storytelling is what I’ve been doing for a long time. I’ve created world-settings. However, Hollywood is always interested in hiring “new blood” because “modern” movies can’t look like the “old” - meaning 10 years ago - stuff. So you have this emotionless, death-filled mess like Mad Max: Fury Road. Hollywood today is being run by the sons and daughters of the old, previous generation. They think it’s easy. They think the learning curve is gone. The mentality is “Hire a million dollar script writer for a big budget movie” and some name actors and you’re done.

In a media news outlet I go to, the numbers are clear: two weeks ago, movies were down 10% year over year. This week, 25% compared to the same time period last year. People like Jerry Bruckheimer, who was named Producer of the Year in Variety some years back is getting old. Whether you like his movies or not, Pirates of the Caribbean did very well.

Movies need to engage people. They need to have interesting stories. That takes time, which means money - to them. Do it quick and throw money at it is not a winning formula if you are a young Producer who can’t tell a good story from a bad one. But Hollywood, which only really cares about money, will figure out what went wrong. If for no other reason than “We’re losing money AND prestige.” Like Medieval kings, they can’t afford to see their empire crumble. They’ll have to get the advice of people who know their craft.

Ed

 

[Lisa_Lavadores]

Breaking into the industry with a spec script (a script written on one’s own time, not under a studio’s direction) is practically impossible - that’s why I’m finally branching out to short stories as well, lol.

Ed shows the reasons why very well. Films are expensive and no one’s gonna okay that much money without a good reason. It is almost impossible for a spec script to stir the emotions of a stranger who is reading it with one eye traveling to the huge pile of scripts still left to read.

Spec writers are advised to write scripts with small budgets and casts to boost the chances that studios will take a risk. But such stories are driven by subtleties, and spec scripts are read by the lowliest of studio employees. As a group, they are the least likely to notice the power of small human struggles, as opposed to big-budget struggles.

Best known example: about 30 years ago, a group of frustrated screenwriters mass submitted Casablanca all over Hollywood. The only thing they changed was the title. They called it* Rick’s Place*. Very few readers recognized it, and all the studios passed on it.

Please note that screenwriters were frustrated even 30 years ago.

This is a wonderful era for people drawn to film - we have so many more opportunities outside of the studio system than our predecessors had.

I loved *The Spitfire Grill *and it gave me a lot of hope when it came out, but the movement has not been followed up on.

Unfortunately, I do not have the right stuff to pull off what might be termed “a beautiful film.” I grew up in an atheist, amateur-theatre family and my sensibilities are simply too jaded write wholesome stuff.

Quite frankly, I’ve recently realized that I have only one genre left in me: comedy. Fortunately, it seems to me that comedy is the genre where it is easiest to present hard truths which people would rather avoid. People will listen longer than usual if they know there will be a joke at the end. And if the joke’s good, you have hope of changing their minds.

My script would not be every Catholic’s cup of tea. I sort of aimed for Monty Python Turns Catholic. Clearly, if I’m going to make that my goal, I need to surround myself with reliable Catholics who can tell me if and when I’ve crossed any lines. I do not believe I am crossing any, but I do not wish to rely on my own judgement.

My goal in writing is that, upon leaving the theatre, secular people would be thinking, “Wow, those Catholics are nuts - but not in the way I thought they were nuts. They’re kind of interesting and fun and they make some good points and I admire their sacrifices.”

I think I can pull that off for under five million bucks, lol.

 

[edwest2]

Doesn’t this, right here, sum up why the ‘studio system’ has failed in 2015? Flop after flop in 2015, “Jem And The Holograms” and “Rock The Kasbah” one week, “Our Brand Is Crisis” (Sandra Bullock) and “Burnt” (Bradley Cooper) another week…meanwhile, the most profitable and highest-grossing movies turn out to be the low-budget movies with no-name casts (e.g., NWA biopic “Straight Outta Compton.”) Are you saying that a decent movie needs some elaborate, Busby Berkeley-style sets?

The best movies getting made in 2015 aren’t studio pictures - they’re independently-financed movies that get shown at Sundance or Toronto or some other film festival and then get picked for distribution from there. Textbook example: The Catholic-financed ‘secular’ movie ‘The Spitfire Grill’ from a few years ago.

To answer your question: no, elaborate sets are not required. It just depends on what kind of movie you’re doing. Take an off the cuff idea: a murder mystery set in a not too small town or suburb. Local houses used for exterior and interior shots, the woods nearby, the home/secret lair of the bad guy. Knowing how to build drama, suspense, anticipation. I talk to too many writers who don’t know “how” to do that, plain and simple. It’s not in their toolbox.

And I’ll add one more thing: you have to think like a winner, take the time to learn - plenty of really good “how to write” books are out there - and take that chance. Drop an hour of TV daily and get something written down. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Pessimism will get you nowhere.

Ed