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| Whoa, slow down! |
If you're in the film business, I won't have to repeat any of it. You know that Amazon's just launched its very own "film development venture with 21st century technology". Sounds grand - and is obviously full of holes as you'll see if you read any of the below statements by professional writers like Olivia Hetreed, John August, Craig Mazin, James Moran.
And here's something that you, as a beginning writer, probably haven't been given by these pros - the direct link to Amazon Studios - ta-daa! http://studios.amazon.com/ (yeah I realize you would have found it on your own but I'm trying to make a point here - so hold on, will ya!?)
Everything that has been critically said about Amazon Studios rings perfectly true. The idea that social media and the collective gathering, sharing and "improving" of ideas will somehow net us the "Lawrence of Arabia"s of the future is ludicrous. The idea that you give away your rights as a screenwriter isn't particularly appealing either. But I do see two reasons why you might possibly consider entering a script of yours anyway:
- If the passion for your script has faded: There may be a spec script of yours that's collecting dust and your passion for it has faded - why not give it a try? So you lose your rights for a long while. So most likely nothing will ever happen ... you don't care either way.
- If the passion for your script burns brightly: It'll be like playing the lottery - just that the price you pay to play is pretty damn steep. The price is your passion and it'll get ripped and torn along the way. But heck, there are lottery winners out there, happens every day to someone.
3 comments:
Imagine if Paddy Cheyevsky (Network) collaborated with Horton Foote (to Kill a Mockingbird) and the Epsteins and Howard Koch (Casablanca). Would Rick get "Mad as hell and not take it anymore?" Would Atticus Finch take the Nazis to Geneva and put them on trial for racism? Seriously - it would be a mess.
Singlemindedness is hard to come by on any project - technology, urban infrastructure, kyoto accord, etc - so how is character, plot and theme going to be resonated by anyone other than a professional writer - not jumble of comments from a fanbase.
Not that collaboration is a bad idea; it is just a very rare combination of writers, who are trained, committed professionals. This entire concept is designed to be appealing to the "outsider" of the industry - not the professionals.
My guess, is that this is an elaborate front to sell as much of the "linked to" professional and expensive software that they have on their site. Imagine how many wannabees see their site as their professional opportunity? The kickbacks from the links alone would be tremendous. A few million, I am sure.
Amazon will proabably never produce a movie. But if they are publicly traded - I'd buy a lot of shares!
I like what you say - "it's designed to be appealing to the outsider of the industry" - you should blog!
I put a script I knocked off in a couple of weeks as a gag at Amazon Studios, a story that asks the basic question "Do you want someone who writes reviews of designer shoes rewriting your screenplay?"
http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/show/8845
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