Make Films, Not War

The last couple of days I’ve been distracted, because I’ve been engaged in a heated and protracted slanging match with a Hollywood screenwriter over at indieclub.com.

On the surface the argument has been centered around our different beliefs re: the role of script consultants in the micro-budget filmmaking development process. His take is that script consultants are bad for a screenwriter’s development, because they’re all frustrated, failed, writers trying to scam a quick buck from us… and that they force writers to give up their unique voice in favor of formulaic approaches.

My argument is what it’s always been, if you’ve no contacts in the industry who can steer you in the right direction, using a credible and professional script editor is a good idea… especially if you can find one who is able to nurture your development. Read more

Movie Industry Scams; How To Avoid Them

Scams in the movie biz and how to avoid them

Indie filmmakers, spec screen writers and newbie actors are particularly vulnerable to scams… and, because there are so many people pinning their hopes and dreams on making it into the industry, there are now many cynical “businesses” who are set up solely to take advantage of those hopes and dreams. It’s sad, but true and because it’s both incredibly easy and cheap to set up an online business, I hear more and more tales of attempted scams every single day.

So, because there seems to have been a rash of particularly bad ones recently, here’s the basic information you need to avoid these scum-bags. Read more

Helping the Unknown Screenwriter

Apparently Unk at unknownscreenwriter is getting inundated with trivial question via his new contacts page… so in the spirit of helping out, I thought I’d copy them over here and answer them for him… LOL… here we go: Read more