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"All the sacrifices I made... all the horrible experiences I endured while temping and working part-time jobs so I could pursue what I loved to do... Just knowing that someone finally bought (my script) and someone was going to make it into a movie - that made it all worth it. I knew there really was a light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't about the money - it was about "I can do this." It just confirmed that I was doing the right thing."
Such are the feelings of success. Such were the feelings of writer Todd Samovitz when he scored his first screenplay sale with his (and co-writer D. Loriston Scott) spec script Wonderland. The vision of the clean-cut former attorney standing in front of his suburban house with his petite wife and angelic 3-year-old daughter across the street from a park with the California sun shining brightly is a surreal contrast to the upcoming Val Kilmer flick about the quadruple homicide that implicated porn legend John Holmes. It's a true testament to the adage that image is nothing - storytelling is everything.
"We all walk out of some movies," Todd relates, "and we think "I can write something better than that. That was horrible" But, the reality is, you can't, unless you write something that not only sells, but also gets made. To do that, you really need to learn what you're doing as a screenwriter. Learn how to write descriptions that make the script move - you want to make the reader move down the page. And, you have to learn all that while you're navigating the trenches in the business part of the entertainment field. It's easier said than done."
Above all else, Todd stresses the fine art of learning as the first line in a writer's offense, and a professional attitude as your strongest tool.
"If you don't view writing as a profession, I think you've got two strikes against you. You start making the big gaffs like following executives to their cars and harassing them at work. It's not enough to just know FADE IN and FADE OUT. You also need to know about the entertainment business in general. You also need to be savvy in knowing how to deal with - and what to expect from - executives, agents, managers and attorneys. Learn the lay of the land. You wouldn't send your musical to an action movie producer. You also shouldn't let your manager take a producer credit on your movie if he's getting a commission from your sale. Read the Writer's Guild Agreement. Know what you can do to protect yourself and your material. Knowing things like that will enable you to go in with your best foot forward... and keep you going. I know the mistakes I've made in the past that make me cringe now, but at least I learned from them. If you treat screenwriting like a profession, it'll make your progress that much easier because you'll respect the rules."
That makes so much sense, it should be on a billboard on Sunset Blvd. Anywhere else you want to work, you submit a resume and if they want to hire you, they call you. In Hollywood, people think that if someone doesn't want to do business with you, you should ride a giraffe by their office window with BUY MY SCRIPT shaved into the animal's side. You never hear of an accountant buying a bus stop ad that says HIRE ME, or a surgeon slipping his resume under the plate of a chief of staff's pastrami sandwich. They make phone calls. They set appointments. No giraffes.
Although he grew up in Southern California, Todd was more of an entertainment fan than an entertainment hopeful. It wasn't until he began working in entertainment law that he came across his first screenplay, and suddenly his life made perfect sense. Not only did he know that this is how he wanted to spend the rest of his life, he also knew that nothing short of full commitment would suffice.
"You always meet those people who say "I'm a writer." Well, what have you written? "Nothing." Do you have a finished script? "No." Those people are a dime a dozen. I didn't want to be those people. I wanted to go into this full bore. If you're a day dreamer - which I happily acknowledge I am - and you want to be something creative, it's torture to even be in entertainment law, because you want that writing deal to be yours."
"I didn't see the point in staying with the law once I decided to become a writer. My thought was, "The only way to get good at writing is to write." I didn't even want the safety net of knowing I had a law job to go to, because I knew I wouldn't write as much as I could. I did everything I could do. So, I put my license on inactive status; I read scripts of films that had been made; I got a mentor - after many unsuccessful attempts. I can't emphasize the importance of (having a writing mentor), but the challenge is trying to find a writer who is open to doing that. I was lucky. I found someone who was gracious enough with their time and expertise, and whose ego was such that he wanted to pass on information about the profession as opposed to feeling threatened."
So what kept Todd moving forward while he chased he newfound calling? It was desire, plain and simple, and complete discipline and dedication - skills he learned, ironically enough, in law school, and later honed while practicing law.
"The amount of work you put into screenwriting has no correlation to the amount of success you'll have. You may not have any success. You could be well connected... you could be lucky... the first script you ever write could be the best thing anyone's ever read, and you sell it for a million bucks, and that's great. But, there are other people out there who write ten, twenty, thirty scripts before anyone ever options one. I feel like the only way you can fail (as a writer) is if you quit. Who's to say that your 31st script won't be the one that sells?"
Of course, a great support system helps, and Samovitz cites his wife, Leslie, as integral in that respect. He also notes good judgement - forged by much trial and error - being wary of the wrong people, and an avid appreciation for his prosperity as the fuel that kept (and still keeps) him going. And, he states, he will be forever grateful to his mentor, William Sackheim, for the willing guidance that the busy writer/producer graciously shared.
"I gave up a so-called stable career to do this, so now - FINALLY - this is my career, and I want to create a standard of quality in my stuff so that people will think to hire me. When you get complacent, that's when things start slipping. I've seen it happen. It's too easy to slip and fall and be kicked to the side in this business. I was up until two in the morning last night working on my latest writing assignment, and all I kept thinking was "Thank God I can do this" because it doesn't seem like work. I think you have to be humble about it. I don't ever want to forget what it was like when I was delivering food."
"I like to make myself available to give what guidance I can to new writers," is Todd's altruistic credo, "because no one did that for me - except my mentor. But, as soon as they say "It's not quite there yet," or "It's just a first draft", then you open it up and the first page is one big rambling block of dialogue, or the format is completely wrong, or you can already tell that their story just isn't working in a visual way... There's just too much competition out there, and it's too big of a stretch to ask someone to see the potential in your work. You don't want to hand them a script that says ?This is my first script.' You want something that grabs you by the throat right away - even if it is your first script. You want whoever's reading it to say ?This is a movie.'"
And, he speculates, the days of handing out multi-million dollar screenplay deals like ketchup packets are long gone, and that's just one more reason to take your screenwriting seriously. "I think the landscape is such that buyers are looking at scripts with more of an eye towards "Are we actually going to make this?" Buyers want to make their money back. You have to have complete passion for something to write it... and re-write it, and re-write it... They should be stories you (personally) can totally sink your teeth into, because you're going to be living with them - maybe for several years." (Note: Todd and Loriston wrote Wonderland in 1997, but it took several re-writes before the script sold, and various talent coming on board and leaving - and even a change in production companies - before the movie finally went into production in 2002.)
Although life has certainly changed for the better since selling Wonderland, Todd isn't going to let success get to him by charging up his ego - especially when it comes to dealing with other industry professionals.
"As a writer, you're the sole storyteller up to a certain point. Once a producer buys your script and then a director comes on board, they become the storyteller. They have your source material, and they will translate it their way. If they choose to keep you on the project to collaborate, that's great - when it happens. If it doesn't happen, you deal with it. As a professional writer, it would behoove you to understand that and just be happy that the movie's getting made and that it was your story that started it all."
That will be the slogan on the second billboard.
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