Lesson 1

[Carly-Ann Giene]

Carly W. Giene – Dredge – Manager
1. Psychological Thriller- Dredge : A married couple strapped for cash and grieving the death of their son takes on a job cleaning out a deceased hoarder’s home in Detroit where they unearth disturbing secrets about the house and each other.

2. The unveiling of the characters’ true natures and darkest secrets. You realize how you can never really know what a person is capable of.

3. First I would target Managers as I think this film could fit multiple markets. The female antagonist role is very juicy and could get the attention of big stars but because this would be my first script I’ve actually sold it could be beneficial to target a smaller market because indie psychological horror type films can be made for lower budgets and actually be profitable –or so I have heard. I think a manager would be better suited to navigate that than I would be. (This choice could be fear-based so I will call that out here).

4. What I learned today is that resilience, persistence and not talking/sharing too much will be key going forward.

[Gill Kent]

Gill Kent Project and Market

1. True story, historical drama, Mrs. Alice Battenberg: intimate family dynamics against the sweep of history in a limited series of nine episodes.

2. Princess Alice, Queen Elizabeth’s mother-in-law, was born deaf but lived a life of action, drama, madness, and betrayal, taking to the front lines in the Balkans War to set up field hospitals, facing down Nazis to save a Jewish family in WWII, and smuggling medicines from Sweden into occupied Greece. She was related to the royal families who spanned the map of Europe and bickered over sex and power, and was herself kidnapped into a sanatorium to ensure her silence after her husband started having affairs, but she never lost sight of her goal of serving her people.

3. I’ll be targeting producers with connections to streamers, especially Apple TV. This is a big story and a big-budget series, so I’m looking for deep pockets. Why Apple TV? Because I’m positioning the series as somewhere between The Crown and Game of Thrones, so I’m calculating that Apple might want something to go up against those two.

4. What I’ve learned today is that I need to talk less and stick to a couple of salient points. I haven’t quite got the knack yet.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Gill Kent.

[Paul Hallasy]

ASSIGNMENT_Lesson 1
Title: (Paul Hallasy) Project and Market (comedy producers for $20 million films)
1. Give us your Genre, Title, and Concept. Comedy/Drama, All the Bands in the ‘80s, 80 for Brady, but younger and with music

2. In one or two sentences, tell us what you think is most attractive about your story.
The “stars” of my screenplay are the music and musicians I hope to feature.
3. Tell us which you will target FIRST — managers, producers, or actor’s production company — and why you picked that target. I’ve already targeted managers and producers (and agents) and a few actor’s production companies. My biggest need is for a producer because I can’t afford to film this myself.
4. Answer the question “What I learned today is…?” Agents are only good for negotiating contracts; managers are good for managing your career.
Title: (Your name here) Project and Market (put in first line of your post)

[Adite Banerjie]

Adite’s Project and Market

“What I learned today is… The key is to make your story attractive to the producer. So the pitch has to be tailored to meet his/her needs.

1. Give us your Genre, Title, and Concept.

Genre: Supernatural Thriller
Title: Yogini
Concept: When a forest ranger moves into a decrepit old house that is set on sacred grounds, his wife is forced to harness her long forgotten Tantric skills to confront the wrath of a powerful supernatural being (Yogini) even as their child is targeted by ruthless poachers.

2. In one or two sentences, tell us what you think is most attractive about your story.

The story is relevant to our age – that we all have inner strengths that we can harness to bring about a balance in the world. It blends together high stakes action, appealing locations, emotional power and the unique synergy of mysticism and motherhood.

3. Tell us which you will target FIRST — managers, producers, or actor’s production company — and why you picked that target.

Female actors who own production companies (in India) as Indian actresses are starved for meaty roles.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Adite Banerjie.

[Brian Bull]

BRIAN BULL – Project and Market

“What I learned today is…?”
I need to put on my salesman hat and go to work!!!

ASSIGNMENT
Genre – DRAMA / SUSPENSE
Title – THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY – A Fisherman’s Tale
Concept – For 25 years, a determined fisherman seeks to catch the fish he blames for his younger brother’s death, but discovers the truth about fishing in the Louisiana Bayous.

In one or two sentences, tell us what you think is most attractive about your story.
My story encompasses a number of universal fishing experiences that anyone who has gone fishing can relate to. It also has a surprise twist in the end!!!

Tell us which you will target FIRST — managers, producers, or actor’s production company — and why you picked that target.
Managers. Right now I am stumped on which actor I would like for the role. Also, I would like to focus on the numerous stories I have to write and looking for a Producer is great and all, but I need someone to do the legwork for me so I can maximize my time.

[Edward Richards]

Edward Richards – Project and Market
What I learned from today is that the way a producer looks at my scripts is quite different from the way that I do.

THE HONEYMOON PERIOD – Romcom
Logline: After a string of unsatisfactory relationships, a young man decides to end future ones at the end of the honeymoon period (six weeks), until he falls for an alluring French woman who secretly has her own agenda.

What is most attractive about it is that the male character ‘plays’ women, only to then discover that the one who he falls in love with has actually been playing him. It deals with fear of commitment, moving on to the next to chase the high, which is prevalent in today’s dating culture.

I will target producers/production companies because they are at the’ coal face’.

[Susan A. Smith]

Lesson 1 Assignment, (posted), 8/16/24

Susan Arnout Smith
GENRE: Light Workers (a genre off-shoot of Faith Based)
TITLE: GOD’S PHOTO ALBUM
CONCEPT: A teacher at a Hawaiian school, gutted over the loss of a child, is being consumed by the Dark, and God sends an Angel down to get her back before her Dark consumes others.
WHAT’S MOST ATTRACTIVE ABOUT THIS STORY: Based loosely on a true story to which I have the rights, it is a movie of its time, reminding each of us that the war between Good and Evil takes place daily within our own hearts, and that our choices have consequences that affect the world.
WHO TO TARGET FIRST: Specifically producers to get an option agreement, but I’ll keep my ‘synchronicity antenna’ alert to possible actor matches for the role of the Angel.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY: After taking numerous classes from Hal, I came to see a pattern in dropping out before I finished the class. Many things led to this outcome, which aren’t necessary to detail here. I am committed to doing and finishing this class in an orderly way and using every part of the lessons to further my writing goals of getting this project optioned and produced.

[LC Granger]

LESSON #1 Assignment

LC Granger

Genre: Inspirational Courtroom Docu-drama

Working Title: Project 1

Concept: A preacher becomes an attorney in a battle to find his sons.

Most Attractive: It’s a powerful, true story (I own the rights), that helped change international law. It reminds us that no matter what we face, it can be overcome, and may improve the world.

First to Contact: Actor’s agents/production companies. I have a short list of A-list actors. Their interest will change the budget.

Today’s Learning: Turn in my #$%^ assignments. This class is a reminder of why, after so many years, I still return to SU. The training is made for me and I’m so grateful.

[orlando Chavez]

Title: Orlando Chavez Project and Market

Genre: Dramedy

Title: The Black Elephant (El Elephante Negro)

High Concept

The idea of creating a unique underdog fixture story about the coming of age of a lucha libre star would be appealing to a wide audience.

Would first target producers for a quicker answer as to if it is viable for them.

I learned to zero in on who my first target is going to be and to start thinking on the business side rather than only thinking on the writer side.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 4 days ago by  orlando Chavez.

[Kenneth Johnson]

Title:
Kenneth Johnson
Combat Black
Wide Audience

ASSIGNMENT 1
1. Give us your Genre, Title, and Concept. – Historical Drama. Combat Black. A writer tries to get his Korean War veteran father to tell his story of serving with the last all Black unit in the U.S. Army. But his father doesn’t want the story told.
2. In one or two sentences, tell us what you think is most attractive about your story. – Discovering what it was like for an all black regiment under fire in the Korean War, and finding out why the father does not want to tell the story.
3. Tell us which you will target FIRST, managers, producers, or actor’s production company and why you picked that target. – I would target actor’s production companies because I wrote the piece with two lead actors in mind.
4. Answer the question “What I learned today is…?” – I learned that some of my preconceived notions of how to get a producer to read my scripts are not valid. I need to keep an open mind to get the most out of this course.

[John Duvall]

Lesson 1: How To Get 50 Script Requests

Title: John Duvall Project and Market

What I learned today is how to distill my script proposal to a few very points.

1. Give us your Genre, Title, and Concept.

Genre: Mystery-Comedy (Noir detective parody)

Title: The Big Itch

Concept/Logline: When a clueless private detective on his first case stumbles upon a link between a powerful pharmaceutical corporation and a zombie-like itching pandemic, he finds himself the target of powerful forces and a suspect in three murders.

2. In one or two sentences, tell us what you think is most attractive about your story.

This story is attractive because it has a sympathetic main character, a familiar and popular genre, and a unique premise.

3. Tell us which you will target FIRST — managers, producers, or actor’s production company — and why you picked that target.

I would target an actor’s (or director’s) production company, because I think the role would be attractive to many rising young actors.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by  John Duvall.

[Jesse Paxton]

1. Holiday Rom-Com
2. The Corporation Rules
3. An attorney uses an obscure, centuries-ignored law to defeat her own corporate client and save a small Canadian town.

What is most attractive about the story:

It’s a timely story due to the current political situation between the USA and Canada, and the corporate world in which we now live. At the same time, it is a holiday romance in the Hallmark style, but for people who go to Amazon or Netflix because they find Hallmark movies too bland.

Which to target first: managers, producers, or actor’s production companies:

1. Production companies — lots of Producers have done Rom-Coms, and are still looking for them. I will also canvass
Canadian producers, since they might be more amenable to the script’s timely message.
2. Actors’ Production Companies — I have gotten enthusiastic feedback from Actors on this story.
3. Managers last — since I’m not a young writer, Managers may not think there’s a long-term interest here.
4. How to begin; knowing where to market first.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by  Jesse Paxton.

[Brian Moon]

Love Curse
Romantic Comedy
A woman who believes she’s cursed at love finds out she actually is and rallies her friends together to defeat the unique man responsible. From a contest where this placed as a finalist: The concept of this story is really fun, creative and unique. I love this twist on your typical romantic comedy. The characters feel distinctive and stand out from one another. The flow of the read was nice and easy to follow. The writer did a great job with the dialogue in this script as well. It’s nicely paced and feels natural coming from each character.
I would probably aim for an actress’ production company first.