Stephen Dexter
Forum Replies Created
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Steve’s Marketing Campaign
What I learned doing this assignment is, I now have a fantastic roadmap to use. It breaks each campaign down into simple sand clear strategies.
Marketing Campaign #1: Can’t Travel
Strategy #1: Great Writing is the Key to Your Success
I will go through “Laredo” for one last rewrite. It has been seen my numerous fellow writers and now I feel, with one final polish, it’ll be worthy of a “Recommend” or “Consider,”
Strategy #14: Select Contests that Get Industry Recognition
I’ve entered Laredo into the ScreenCraft Family Screenplay Contest and will continue entering the script into several more contests looking for family scripts,
Strategy #15: Target Small Producers and Indie Producers
Using the Hollywood Creative Directory, IMDB, and other resources I will locate those producers specializing in family films, especially those about a dog.
Strategy 11: Send out Quality Query Letters
Based on what I’ve learned in these classes I feel more equipped than ever to compile attention-getting, hook-filled letters.
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Stephen Dexter’s Query Letter – Draft ONE
What I learned doing this assignment is don’t overload your reader. Make the letter lean. Hook your reader by telling them just enough so they’ll want to hear more.
Dear Producer:
Could you ever break your promise to a stray dog you rescued, who has now adopted you, knowing if you did, the dog would probably be put down?
That’s the question at the heart of my family-friendly script, Laredo.
And that’s what Wes Coleman must ask himself. After the old, scraggly mutt he rescues from certain death, finds proof of his girlfriend’s infidelity, Wes promises to find him a good home and never place him in a shelter.
Wes, a washed-up TV pitchman at the ripe old age of 31, is about to get his big break – the leading role in an action-adventure movie… a two-month long shoot in Hawaii… starting next week.
The problem is nobody wants to adopt the dog because he misbehaves every time a possible owner comes by.
And Wes knows an old dog in a shelter will more than likely be put down.
Will he break his promise for fame and fortune?
If you like the concept, I’d be happy to send you the script.
Best regards,
Stephen Dexter
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Steve’s Target Market
What I learned doing this assignment is how to go about targeting the right people.
Title: Laredo
Genre: Family, Comedy
Logline: After an insecure, struggling actor rescues a stray dog, he must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt, while his long-awaited chance at stardom quickly approaches.
ACTORS FOR THE LEAD:
Andrew Gottlieb
James Marsden
Josh Harnett
Liam Hemsworth
Joel Edgerton
SIMILAR MOVIES:
The Stray
Hotel for Dogs
Patrick the Pug
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Benji
Marley and Me
Puppy Star Christmas
Pup Star
PRODUCERS:
The Stray: Kevin Brailsford, Michelle Davis, Mitch Davis, Parker Davis, Eric. S. Johnston
Hotel for Dogs: Jason Clark, Jeffrey Clifford, Jonathan Gordon, Ewan Leslie, Gerald D. Moon, Tom Pollock, Ivan Reitman, Lauren Shuler Donner
Patrick the Pug: Flavio Colotta, Vanessa Davies, Paul de Vos, Geraldine East, Patrizia Fersurella, Jonathan Feuer, Peter Hampden, Tom Harberd, Matthew Helderman, Jane Hooks, Nadia Khamlichi, Sue Latimer, Joe Listhaus, Tracey McCarrick, Norman Merry, Paolo Monaci, Ciro Orsini, Adrian Politowski, Emily Precious, Compton Ross, Beata Saboova, James Scott, Tim Smith, James Spring, James Swarbrick, Caddy Vanasirikul
Beverly Hills Chihuahua: Ricardo Del Rio, David Hoberman, John Jacobs, Todd Lieberman, Todd Y. Murata, Steve Nicolaides
Benji: Jason Blum, Marcei A. Brown, Brandon Camp, Joe Camp, Charles S. Cohen, Philip Dawe, Jennifer Dong, Charles Layton, Ben Ross, Couper Samuelson, James Schamus, Beatriz Sequeira, Jeanette Volturno
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Stephen Dexter – Phone Pitch
What I learned from this lesson is don’t waste the producer’s time with anything extraneous.
I’ll lead with credibility.
Hi. I’m Stephen Dexter. I’m an award-winning screenwriting and I’m wondering if I could run a quick pitch for you.
I’ve got a family-friendly-dog story titled, Laredo that asks the question: How can a washed-up actor jumpstart his career and make himself available 24/7, when the abandoned, old dog he rescued, refuses to be adopted by anyone?
It’s in the 1–3-million-dollar range.
For the male lead I could see someone like Andrew Gottlieb, Josh Harnett, or James Marsden.
For the female love interest, I could see someone like Shailene Woodley, Jennifer Love Hewitt or Elle Fanning.
The script is 102 pages.
Nobody else has seen this script.
The reason I contacted you is because your company specializes in wholesome family films and this feel-good script has no profanity, no sex, and no violence.
The ending is a big movie premiere. When a limo pulls up and the actor get out, we think he finally made it big, but the twist is, it’s the old dog who has become the superstar.
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Stephen Dexter’s Pitch Fest Pitch
What I learned is the Pitch Fest Model is a proven winner, so stick to it.
Hi, I’m Stephen Dexter and I love writing family-friendly scripts. One of my scripts won first place and another was a top ten finalist in recent contests.
Today, I have a Family-Friendly, Dog script called LAREDO. It’s the story of a has-been TV pitchman who rescues an abandoned dog in the desert and then must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt, when long-awaited stardom becomes a reality.
Budget and possible actors:
It’s a middle-budget project, with a great role for someone like Andrew Gottlieb and another for someone like Shailene Woodley.
The acts:
Everyone thinks Wes Coleman rescued Laredo in the desert on the way to his first movie shoot but, in truth, Laredo just wouldn’t get out of his car. No matter how hard Wes tries to get rid of him, Laredo outsmarts him at every turn.
Hollywood takes notice and now Wes has some buzz on. He can’t bring himself to put the dog in a shelter and every time a possible owner comes by to meet Laredo, the dog misbehaves.
The clock is ticking to find Laredo a good home because Wes gets the role of a lifetime – the lead in an action movie – a five-week shoot in Hawaii. Wes’s sister reluctantly adopts Laredo and Wes goes to Hawaii. Through a series of misunderstandings, the dog ends up in a shelter. Now Wes must decide whether to blow up his career and fly home to truly rescue Laredo this time or let them put down the old dog nobody wants.
The ending:
A splashy, crowd-cheering movie premiere. A limousine pulls up, Wes gets out and we think he finally made it big. As it turns out Laredo is the star and has been for a while because the marquis reads, “Laredo 3. Pirate Trouble.”
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Steve’s Query Letter
What I learned doing this assignment is: Short + Well Written = Interest
Dear Ms. Rogers:
“I’m a sucker for dog stories.”
I remember you saying this during your Zoom presentation last year at a Harvard Square Screenwriters Monday night meeting and so I thought you might like this one.
TITLE: Laredo GENRE: Family
OPENING HOOK: Last night, an old, scraggly mutt was abandoned in the desert for being too smart.
SYNOPSIS: Wes, a has-been TV pitchman for cat litter, hopes his first movie role will jumpstart his stalled career. On his way there, his hat flies out of his convertible. It soon becomes a battle of wits between Wes and the dog, who won’t get out of his car.
On set, Wes is hailed as a hero, for having saved the dog from certain death and Wes goes along with the story.
Back home, the dog uncovers proof of his girlfriend’s infidelity, and in return, Wes promises to find the dog a good home and never put him in a shelter.
When word gets out about the “cowboy with the heart of gold” who rescued the poor dog from certain death, Hollywood takes notice and it looks like his career will finally take off.
All prospective owners who stop by pass on adoption because the dog misbehaves during every visit. Wes knows if he takes the dog to a shelter he will be put down. As his desperation for fame grows stronger, Wes must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt.
If you like the concept, I’d be happy to send you the script.
Best regards,
Stephen Dexter
(Contact information)
BIO: Family films are my genre of choice. One of my scripts took first prize in the Family/Teen/Animation category of the StoryPros Screenplay Contest. Another one was a top-ten finalist in the ScreenCraft Family Contest.
An animal lover all my life, I volunteered for twenty years for an organization called The Ark Trust, whose mission was to promote the health and welfare of all animals. I’ve produced, directed and self-financed numerous videos promoting wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers.
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Stephen Dexter’s Synopsis Hooks
What I learned is, if you can write a pitch that hooks the reader’s interest, you’re letting the producer know you can do the same with a script.
First Draft:
A scraggly, old, and very smart mutt abandoned in the desert is going to get in the way of Wes, an insecure, has-been TV pitchman in desperate need to jumpstart his stalled career.
On his way to a desert ghost down for his first movie role, Wes stops to retrieve his Stetson that flew out of his convertible and ends up in the mouth of that dog. The dog ends up in the car and won’t leave… no matter what.
What’s seen as a rescue by the dog-loving director is not true, but Wes never corrects her.
Back home, the dog’s howling one night brings over Amber, a female officer, who is also desperate to turn her career around after an unfortunate accident. The dog senses a love connection here.
The dog uncovers proof of his girlfriend’s infidelity, and in return, he promises to find the dog a good home and never put him in a shelter.
When word gets out about the “cowboy with the heart of gold” who rescued the poor dog from certain death, Hollywood takes notice.
As the chance of long-awaited stardom now becomes a matter of when and not if, the dog misbehaves any time a prospective owner comes to call.
Knowing the old dog will be put down if he takes him to a shelter and desperate to have the fame he’s been longing for, Wes must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt.
What he will eventually learn is: An old dog can teach you new tricks in this family-friendly, feel-good movie with a surprise ending that will have audiences cheering, an experience we all need, especially right now.
Hooks:
Components of Marketability:
1) Timely – Right now, producers, studios, actors, and streamers are clamoring for family-friendly films.
2) Logline – After an insecure, struggling actor rescues a stray dog, he must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants, while his long-awaited chance at stardom approaches
3) Wide Audience Appeal – People love dogs. They love having them as part of their family. They love watching dog videos on YouTube and they love dog movies.
Most Important Things:
1) Opening scene hook: An old, scraggly mutt gets dumped in the middle of the desert by his despicable owner.
2) Turning points: Laredo uncovers proof of his girlfriend’s infidelity and in turn, Wes, the actor, makes a promise – find the dog a good home and never place him in a shelter
3) Big Surprise: The final scene is a movie premier. A limo pulls up, Wes gets out and we all think he finally make it big as an actor, but the premier is for Laredo, who has now become a superstar.
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Stephen Dexter’s High Concept/Elevator Pitch
What I learned doing this assignment is a high concept or elevator pitch is much more impactful than a simple logline.
High Concept Pitch: How can a washed-up actor jumpstart his career and make himself available 24/7, when the abandoned, old dog he rescued refuses to be adopted by anyone?
Elevator Pitch: Right now, with all that’s going on with the pandemic, family films are hot and what makes this family-friendly film even hotter is, it’s a feel-good dog story that answers the question: “Can an old dog teach you new tricks?”
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Stephen Dexter’s 10 Most Interesting Things
A. Hero – Wes: Former well-known TV spokesperson for cat litter is desperate to jumpstart his stalled career
Antagonist – Laredo: The old dog Wes rescues, sabotages every attempt Wes makes to find him a good home.
B. Opening scene hook – Laredo, an old, scraggly mutt, gets dumped in the middle of the desert by his despicable owner.
C. Turning points – Laredo gives Wes proof of his girlfriend’s infidelity and in turn, Wes make Laredo a promise – to find him a good home and not send him to a shelter.
Laredo’s howling at night brings around Officer Amber Steel, who becomes the love interest.
When word gets out around Hollywood that Wes rescued a dog from certain death in the desert, the powers that be take notice.
Every time a possible candidate comes by to meet Laredo, Laredo sabotages his chance at being adopted.
Wes, who is in Hawaii on a month-long movie shoot learns that his sister, Emily, who said would adopt Laredo didn’t, and now Laredo is in a shelter.
D. Emotional dilemma: Wes finally gets his shot at long-awaited stardom. Time is running out for him to either find Laredo a good home, or take him to a shelter, where he will most likely be put down due to his age
E. Major twists – Laredo jumps into Wes’s convertible and Wes, on his way to his first movie shoot, cannot get rid of him. When Laredo rushes onto the movie set in the middle of a scene thinking Wes is about to be shot, the director thinks Wes is a hero for saving the poor dog. Word gets out about “the cowboy with the heart of gold” and Hollywood takes notice.
During an audition for a minor movie role, Wes is shown the door after only 10 seconds. He blows up at the director. The director now considers him for the lead, and Wes lands the role.
F. Reversals: Wes’s agent tells him to be free of any commitments if he wants to be a star. What will he do with Laredo? Nobody wants to adopt him. If he takes him
to the shelter, an old dog like him has zero chance of being adopted and will eventually be put down.
His best friend, Brock, tells him to keep the dog and try a new career because as an actor he’s washed up.
Give up your dream of being a movie star or have the dog you rescued put down. Conflict is amped up when you add Wes’s determination to be more famous than Brock.
Wes is about to tell Amber he has no time for a relationship when she relays the same message to him.
G. Character betrayal – Wes learns that his girlfriend, Lindsay is sleeping with his best friend, Brock.
Brock, who is always supporting Wes, begins to sabotage Wes’s career, when it begins to take off.
H. Big Surprise – The final scene is a movie premiere. A limo pulls up, Wes gets out and we think he finally made it big as an actor, but the premiere is for Laredo, who has now become a super star.
Other things to interest a producer”
1) Man recuses dog from certain death. Dog rescues man from certain dead-end life.
2) Laredo May be a scraggly, old mutt, but he is one of the smartest dogs ever to ever be in a movie.
3) A clever and uplifting ending
What I learned doing this assignment was:
1) Took a scene that happened on page 5 and made it the opening scene. A much better hook!
2) How to look at a script with the eyes of a producer and the value of doing just that
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Stephen Dexter Producer/Manager
Producer: I would present myself as a professional writer – someone whom they would love to partner with.
A writer with a product they want – a marketable, well-written, family-friendly script that fits perfectly into their needs, generates interest, and will be easy to sell. I would let them know I am someone who shares the same goal they do: to get this script made into a movie. I am someone who will gladly take their notes and gladly do as many rewrites as it takes to achieve the goal, we both share.
I will first target those producers wanting family-friendly, dog stories. And then target those producers in search of family films.
Upon being asked, I will give them the logline and the pitch. I’ll be ready to answer any additional questions they may have about the story.
The purpose of this meeting is:
1) To generate enough interest in the story, for them to be interested in producing it.
2) To present myself as the type of writer and type of person, they would love to work with.
Manager: Again, I would present myself as a professional writer, who has serious potential and is ready to establish a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. We’re in for the long run here, so I want the manager to see me as someone they would love to work with on this script as well as other projects down the road.
The Manager is the expert here, so I would leave my ego at home and show my willingness to do what is asked of me and do it gladly.
Rewrites? Just tell me what needs reworking.
I would be prepared to discuss the three other family films I have completed and be ready to discuss them in as much detail as requested.
The primary goal of this meeting is for the producer to answer “yes” to the question: Is this someone I can see myself wanting to work with?
What I learned today is:
1) A meeting with a producer is about selling the script first and then selling myself. It’s all about them saying, “yes” to the script
2) A meeting with a manager is about selling myself first and then the script. It’s about them saying “yes” to wanting to work with me for years to come.
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Stephen’s Marketable Components
What I learned doing this assignment is the importance of breaking down the script into selling points. To think of a script as a product I need to sell and to do that, I need to create a demand for it.
1. Logline: After an insecure, struggling actor rescues a stray dog, he must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt, while his long-awaited chance at stardom approaches.
2. Timely: Right now, producer, studios, actors, and streamers are clamoring for family-friendly films.
Wide Audience Appeal: People love dogs. They love having them as part of their family. They love watching dog videos on YouTube, and they love dog movies.
3. Based on all the discomfort and uncertainty that’s been going on and continues to go on with the pandemic, people are hungrier than ever for feel-good movies that will leave them feeling uplifted and hopeful.
Parents are always looking for a family-friendly, feel-good movie to enjoy with their children, teens included. And those people whose faith is important to them, will appreciate the solid moral values this movie depicts.
Animal lovers everywhere will appreciate one of the movie’s significant messages: old dogs have value and need to be cherished. Laredo is not much to look at, but he is one of the smartest dogs you’ll ever see in the movies.
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Title: LAREDO. Genre: Family
Concept: After an insecure, struggling actor rescues a stray dog, he must decide the fate of the old dog nobody wants to adopt, while his long-awaited chance at stardom approaches.
This feel-good story has a lot of heart, lots of comedy, an uplifting ending – a story the whole family will embrace.
There’s a manager I heard speak last year and she said she’s a sucker for dog stories.
What I’ve learned is: Having the skills to write a great screenplay is just as important as having the skills to market that screenplay.
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Hi everyone. Greetings from Massachusetts! I’ve been writing scripts for a long time now, but it’s only been in the last three years that I’ve really taken the time to put in the necessary hours and effort. And here it is three years later and I’ve got four scripts that are now ready to go out the door. What I’m hoping to get out of this class is to figure out what I need to do now, to get these scripts into the hands of the people who can turn these scripts into movies. I learned how to write screenplays. It’s now time I learned how to market them.
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Hi Cara
I’m working with Screenwriting U to see if they would provide those who want to keep in touch with others, a list of those people’s emails.
I’m not sure what will come about from this request, so here’s my email: sgdexter@earthlink.net
I’m working on adding a bit of Christmas to Laredo, as you suggested. Great idea!
Take care.
Steve
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Fantastic idea! I’m all in! Also, here’s a thought – I belong to three different screenwriting groups and we read each other pages beforehand (one group reads an entire script beforehand and then that session is devoted to that one script. In the other two meetups, we’ll read anywhere between 10-20 pages beforehand of 2-3 scripts. In all meetings, we give the writer positive notes and then constructive feedback. Each meeting runs anywhere from 2 – 2.5 hours. Is there any interest out there in starting up one for our group?
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Hi Cara,
Thanks for your great feedback. I love your holiday hook idea. Thinking maybe Wes flies back to Los Angeles the day before Christmas to rescue Laredo. And the second to last scene will be Wes spending Christmas at Emily’s house with Jack, Amber and Electra. Reminds me of the last scene in the movie, About A Boy. And then the final scene is the movie premiere, which takes place a few years later. I’d be happy to share my script and I welcome your notes.
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I’m intrigued by your concept, but had a hard time understanding exactly what’s going on.
Is the focus of your movie a hero who saves his girlfriend from a horrible fate? Or is it about the transformational journey of your villain?
I feel like you’ve got two storylines going on here and right now, I don’t know how they connect to each another.
You mention the hero in your third paragraph. I suggest placing him in your opening hook if this is the guy you want us to root for. I’d like to know what he’s like, what is it he wants, what’s going to get in the way of him reaching his goal and what will happen to his girlfriend if he fails. Let us know the stakes. Will she die?
How does his girlfriend fit into the whole transformation of women from old to young? Or does she?
Is the slacker the villain in all this? Or is the villain one of the women transforming from old to young? I wasn’t clear about this.
You’ve got a great ending. Reminds me of the ending to Lake Placid – Betty White secretly feeding baby alligators who will one day grow up to cause havoc in this quiet community.