Sell a script – Watch movies to write movies
Knowing how to write is not just about writing, but also about selling a script. There has never been, if you will, an easier time to watch a movie from the comfort of your own home. TVs are getting bigger (and now they’re coming in 3-D, too!) and you can store an entire media library just by subscribing to any number of streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon, all of which have quite reasonably priced (although Netflix wins hands down in my opinion, just based on the quality of its original content, which is better than most shows on cable right now by far).
However, this is all to say that if you really want to know what works for a movie in terms of selling a script, then the only way to do that kind of market research (as a writer, you should be very familiar with that term) is actually, wait, go to the movies and see what people are seeing.
There are a number of things in film that you’ll only really be able to see there in terms of selling a script, including but not limited to:
1. Posters: Remember, posters are marketing materials, and marketing materials cost money. By looking at a movie poster, you can see what aspect of a movie a studio chooses to emphasize, and then try to determine why the studio made that decision. Are they more concerned with promoting the film through its stars, or is it the story that they are trying to sell you?
2. Target Audiences: At the same time you’re reviewing the poster, you’ll also be able to find out, at least in a general sense, who the poster is supposed to appeal to, just like not all movies do. created for all audiences, neither are all posters, and that’s a good thing to keep in mind as you work on your script.
3. What movies are being made: The last thing you want is to have an idea, spend the better part of a year developing it and working on a script, only to find out that a movie trailer is based on it. The same idea has been kicking around for months, and you didn’t know it because you hadn’t been to a movie theater in ten years. The best way to find out what’s being made, and to avoid any potential overlap when selling a script, is to go see what’s actually playing in theaters.
4. Studio Relationships: It’s a good idea, in terms of selling a script, to take note of what kinds of studios are making what kinds of movies, just so you know who to send (or not send) your script to. ) according to the genre of the piece. Lions Gate and Blumhouse, for example, are horror distributors, which means you could have an absolutely hilarious stoner comedy on your hands, but those aren’t the people to send it to.
5. Trailers – Yes, I am well aware that you can see them on about a hundred different websites on the internet, often accompanied by some sort of sarcastic comment (in the form of a review by a site writer or in the comments section on trailers). video hosting sites, such as YouTube.) However, you know what you can’t get on the Internet? The audience’s reaction to the trailers, and that’s the part that should interest you, so come on in, sit down, and start paying attention to what’s working and what’s not.
6. Audience Responses – Pay attention to how people react to marketing materials in the theatre: who stops to look at which billboard? Does the poster make them want to see the movie or are they making fun of it? Are many people captivated by marketing, or are they mostly ignorant of it? As boring as the “business” side of showbiz can be, writers have to eat too, so understanding it is a necessary evil.
7. The Audience ITSELF: Look at the kind of people who actually go to theaters, who pay to see movies, in the city you live in. Unless you live in a large art-friendly metropolitan area, like New York or Los Angeles, chances are your city is more or less an accurate cross-sample of movie audiences across the country: use this information to your advantage.
As much as we’d like to think otherwise, the ugly truth here is that this is a business, first and foremost, for the kind of people who have the kind of clout in the industry needed to make movies. To understand the sale of a script, you need to know that a studio needs to have a relatively solid understanding, early on, of how it will market that movie; otherwise, how are they supposed to guarantee a return on your investment?
