Lots of updates regarding TheScreenplayWriters.com.

Hire a film director

We have started our new ‘hire a film director‘ option recently.  Since our motto has been to provide the best film related services at the best prices, we have priced this service most reasonably at $12,000 (Rs. 550,000). Click here to know more. We plan to bring a wider range of options (hire a film director) for you soon. So if you are planning a film, you have to look no further – we have your director.

Bhootnath movie poster

Sudhanshu – Screenwriter of the Superhit Film ‘Bhootnath’

Sudhanshu, screenwriter of popular Bollywood films like Bhootnath, Anjaan, Hunko Deewana Kar Gaye, Kal Kisne Dekha and Suppandi (under production) is now a part of our team. Click here to know more. If you have a large blockbuster in mind, of the dimension of ‘Bhootnath’, mail us at info@thescreenwriters.com.

By Nick Blake

We received a survey from a college student looking for more information about what a screenplay writing career looks like (see below). My response is posted below.

I’m interested in what other writers out there have to say. Tell me, what’s been your experience of a screenplay writing career?

Survey starts:

1) Are there any specific training, certification, or licensing requirements for this profession?

2) What does the career ladder look like? Is there a stratification in employment opportunities or is it a very self-motivated profession? What does the salary range look like?

3) What personal skills, attributes, attitudes that individuals in this

occupation find important/useful?

4) What changes to the occupation over the last 10-15 years have occurred? – downsizing, multiple roles, paradigm shifts, etc. What changes are anticipated in the next 5-10 years?

My response:

There are lots of routes to take to be a successful screenplay writer. You could move to LA and cover scripts for a major studio, move to New York City and work on a TV show (fetching coffee for producers is a good way to start) and slowly work your way up the ladder, or go to school to learn the craft. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

No matter how you tackle it, however, you’ve got to be self-motivated and have incredibly thick skin. And, most importantly, you’ve got to write. Constantly. Say goodbye to friends, the sun, your social life … when you’re not working on script treatments for a client you’ll be staring into space waiting for inspiration to strike as you struggle through a script of your own. You can go to school to learn how to do it, or have written dramatic works since you were a kid, or stumble into the field mid-life. Creativity is what this field is all about. If you got it, you’ll thrive. If you don’t, you’ll starve regardless how many diplomas you hang on the wall.

As for career advancement and reward, that all depends on skill, networking and luck. The first two you can manage if you try your hardest. The last is less certain. The monetary reward isn’t always what I’d like, but the satisfaction of digging into characters and psyche is hard to beat.

Based on all my research and experience, this has not changed since the industry was born. But I could be wrong. I also can’t speak for our Indian counterparts.

All my best,

Nick

Here is Pinaki’s Response:

1) Are there any specific training, certification, or licensing requirements for this profession?

If you are a screenwriter, you are a professional. You need to have the usual trade license required for professionals to practice. It varies from country to country. Besides, in USA there is the WGA (Writers’ Guild of America)… you may or may not be their member. Members get some benefits from the association but must maintain a minimum rate set by the association to prevent unhealthy undercutting of rates. We have a similar association called Film Writers’ Association in India, for Bollywood/Indian screenwriters.

Most film schools offer training of screenwriting, but you can also be a screenwriter without a formal training. There are good books available in the market; you can read those; you can read scripts and you should watch good movies. Ultimately if you are not passionate about screenwriting, a formal training will not help you much. On the other hand if you are very passionate and enthusiastic, a formal training may not be necessary.

2) What does the career ladder look like?  Is there a stratification in employment opportunities or is it a very self-motivated profession?  What does the salary range look like?

A large number of screenwriters try to come to this profession passion driven, but since opportunities are limited, many of them later divert to other mainstream professions, getting no success. For those who stick to it and see success, the earning graph is very unevenly distributed. In the beginning some even write for free to get an opportunity with a big house. Some write for as low as $1,500 a script. The rate shoots up considerably once there is one produced movie in your credit. In India it can be around $15,000 when you have one produced movie. It shoots up many times and becomes a gigantic, enviable figure once you give a hit. It can cross $50.000 for a single movie. American rates are more.

3) What personal skills, attributes, attitudes that individuals in this occupation find important/useful?

Those who are passionate about cinema, watch good movies by the best directors, have participated in creative writing as students, are likely to be good screenwriters.

4) What changes to the occupation over the last 10-15 years have occurred? – downsizing, multiple roles, paradigm shifts, etc. What changes are anticipated in the next 5-10 years?

In the last 15 years the screenplay writers’ playground has become a lot more international. Due to the internet and popularity of mixed cultural movies, the screenwriter does not only serve the local market. We have Indian writers writing American movies (I have done so); American writers writing Indian Bollywood movies (US screenwriter duo Joshua and Briyan wrote the Bollywood movie Blue; US writer David Benullo wrote the Bollywood sci fi movie Ra 1, etc.)

I did not see any downsizing, but I am not writing screenplays for 15 years; so I may not be the right person to answer this.

In the next 15 years, screenplay writers will have to update themselves technically and adapt to rapidly changing new technologies.

By Pinaki Ghosh

Till date most of my blog posts have been aimed at screenplay writers only. However the visitors of our site TheScreenplayWriters.com include both screenwriters and filmmakers, producers, directors, studios who are looking for screenwriters. Now here is something which is aimed at both screenwriters and clients who are looking for screenwriters.

What is the format of a screenwriter contract? What legal points should be covered in a screenwriter agreement that fairly represents both the parties – the screenwriter and the client?

Given below  is a compact screenwriter agreement format which you can confidently use, whether you are a screenwriter, or a client looking for a screenwriter.  You have to simply change the phrases in ALL CAPS with relevant information.

Agreement Over Writing A Screenplay For A Film

By this memorandum of understanding, signed this DATE; both the parties described herein under as, represented by CLIENT’S NAME of CLIENT’S ADDRESS, phone number CLIENT’S PHONE NUMBER, also described as the ‘client’; and SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME, SCREENWRITER’S ADDRESS, phone number SCREENWRITER’S PHONE NUMBER, also described as ‘screenplay writer, do hereby agree to all the terms described and given below:

1. CLIENT’S NAME is commissioning screenwriter SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME to begin the project of writing the screenplay of a (approx) NO. OF MINUTES minutes long feature film.

2. The tentative working title of the film shall be ‘NAME OF MOVIE. This title is subject to change.

3. The deadline for completion of this screenplay is NUMBER OF DAYS days after the signing of this agreement.

4. CLIENT’S NAME  agrees to pay SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME a consolidated sum of TOTAL FEE AMOUNT  for the project that will include the following:

a. Writing the screenplay on the story/treatment laid down by CLIENT’S NAME .

b. Editing it thoroughly before submission., so that the final version is free from errors like spelling and grammar errors, and typos.

5. The fees of the screenplay writer will be paid as follows:

a. 1/3 as advance to get the project started.

b. 1/3 after 40% work submission.

c. The remaining 1/3 fees will be paid on 80% work submission and approval.

6. SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME is subject to NO royalty or commission on the sale or business from the screenplay. He is only entitled to the one time project fees of TOTAL FEE AMOUNT.

7. SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME (screenplay writer) will maintain full confidentiality and secrecy about this project. At no point during the project will he reveal any idea or concept of the film, to anyone, in any form; even if this contract gets terminated at any point during the project.

8. If SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME is unable to complete the project for some reason, he will convey that in writing as email as soon as possible. In that case he will be entitled to a payment which is proportionate to the amount of work he has completed; subject to approval from the client.

9. The screenplay will be 100 – 120 pages in length.

10. The screenplay writer will get credit for his/her contribution to the film.

11. SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME agrees that he will not take the help of any plagiarism, meaning he will avoid using borrowed material in this screenplay exactly as they are found elsewhere.

12. SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME agrees to do necessary coordination with the director or any other person or persons referred by the client, for proper shaping up of the project if necessary.

13. CLIENT’S NAME will own all copyrights for this screenplay.

14. CLIENT’S NAME will have full freedom to deal with any filmmaker, producer or agent. SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME will have no say on these matters.

15. CLIENT’S NAME can request SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME to make a reasonable number of changes and edits during the period of production of this screenplay and within 1 month of completion and submission of the screenplay.

16. Any disputes arising between the parties related to this contract and project will be settled by courts in NAME OF YOUR CITY.

Both the parties do hereby agree to the terms laid and set above.

Signature

CLIENT’S NAME  (client)

Signature

SCREENPLAY WRITER’S NAME (screenplay writer)

Date:  _______________

By Pinaki Ghosh

Last Saturday I watched ‘Mamma Mia‘ on HBO. While it was like a little vacation for the mind, it set me thinking, are Hollywood and Bollywood films influencing each other? In other words, are Hollywood movies becoming more Bollywoodish, and Bollywood movies more Hollywoodish? Are our films set to prove ‘the world is flat’?

Several recently successful Hollywood movies like ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘High School Musical’, ‘High School Musical 2′, ‘The Love Guru’, ‘The 40 year Old Virgin’ and ‘The Cheetah Girls: One World’, show clear Bollywood influence. On the other hand scores of Bollywood movies are strongly influenced by Hollywood. The very popular Bollywood movie ‘Ghajini’ was influenced by ‘Memento’ so much that it could not avoid the critics’ scorn. ‘Dhoom’, shows influences of ‘The Fast and the Furious’. The Bollywood movie ‘Blue’ looks very Hollywoodish.

These influences have become more obvious and exposed ever since the Bollywood styled movie ‘The Slumdog Millionaire’ won 8 Academy Awards this year. But even before that Bollywood and Hollywood were slowly and discreetly influencing each other. Director Baz Luhrmann has openly agreed that he is influenced by Bollywood. His smash hit movie ‘Moulin Rouge!’ has strong Bollywood influence and also uses Bollywood songs. That was back in 2001. According to Baz, Bollywood movies are much like Shakespeare’s plays; a package of everything entertaining.

This influence and trend has resulted in an increasing demand of offshore screenplay writers and directors. American filmmakers are looking for Indian screenwriters more often than ever before. On the other hand Bollywood movie makers are hiring American screenwriters for every major project. Joshua and Brian, the American screenwriter duo (and an important part of our team) were hired to write the story and screenplay of the Bollywood movie ‘Blue’ (2009). Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan has hired American (Hollywood) screenwriter David Benullo to write his science fiction Bollywood blockbuster ‘Ra 1’.

No wonder TheScreenplayWriters.com (premier screenwriter service with a team of Hollywood and Bollywood screenplay writers) is flooded with requests and offers ever since launch, from both the continents.

By Pinaki Ghosh

From our Google Analytics data I discovered that a lot of keywords leading visitors to our site www.TheScreenplayWriters.com were related to screenplay writer rate and other keywords close to that. It suggests that a lot of people are looking for more information about how much screenplay writers charge to write a screenplay. Since screenplay writers almost always do not announce their rates in public, there is ambiguity about how much it costs to get a screenplay written and ‘how much is a screenplay writer’s salary’.

WGA Rates

Writers Guild of America (WGA), which actually are two organizations (unions to be precise), one for the West Coast and another for the East Coast have fixed some minimum and maximum rates for all writers who are their members. This is basically to ensure writers are not underpaid, and there is no unhealthy competition and undercutting of rates.

The lowest, the highest

Roy McCardell, probably the first screenwriter of USA sold his short screenplays for $15 each in 1900. Going by the rate of depreciation, $15 today would have been less than $350.

In 2003, Manoj Night Shyamalan, the American director and screenwriter of Indian origin charged $7.5 million for writing the screenplay of ‘The Village’.

Screenwriters Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii received $5 million for the screenplay of Déjà vu in 2005, which is a record for spec screenplay rates. Spec screenplay is a screenplay which is written without a formal order, or without the writer receiving any fees for it initially. He or she writes it without being paid and then tries to sell it to a studio or filmmaker.

In Bollywood, rates of busy screenwriters start from INR 400,000 and goes up to INR 3 million. Recently one of the highest fees in Bollywood was paid to Joshua and Bryan, the American screenwriter duo who wrote the screenplay of ‘Blue‘ (2009). Joshua and Bryan are a part of our team of screenplay writers.

‘Against’

Often we hear terms like a screenplay writer is paid $75,000 against $150,000, which actually means, the filmmaker guarantees the screenwriter a payment of $75,000. If the film is not made, the screenplay writer does not receive anything more than $75,000. But if the movie is made and released, the screenplay writer receives $150,000, which means an additional $75,000. Interesting, isn’t it?

TheScreenplayWriters.com screenplay writers’ fees: 20% – 40% less than WGA rates

So, the big question is what is the screenwriter’s salary if you choose to order a script with TheScreenplayWriters.com? We are very democratic regarding this, and have kept into consideration the inde filmmakers and student filmmakers who are tight on budget as well as big studios and producers, who want nothing but the best. Our rates start from $3,000 and goes up to over $100,000. The rate really depends on the writer who is writing your screenplay. But we are still the most reasonably priced screenplay agency around. Our rates are at least 20% to 30% less than WGA rates and that is one of the main reasons why more and more studios and filmmakers are choosing our service. We also offer innovative cost cutting solutions like getting your screenplay written by a middle order screenplay writer and then getting it refined and polished by a top order screenwriter. The result is a world class screenplay for a rate which is almost 40% less than WGA rates.

Nick is back from Maine.

By Pinaki Ghosh

Nick is back from Maine.

From the recent inquiries we discovered that a lot of student filmmakers looking for screenwriters are coming to our TheScreenplayWriters.com.  So we decided to set up a team of writers exclusively for the student filmmakers, who are tight on budget.

We may soon have another couple of really big names joining our team of screenplay writers. But I’d prefer to remain tight lipped till that is confirmed.

I believe there are two fantasy film screenwriting projects in the pipeline, which I expect to come to me this September. They come from two of my old clients. The demand for fantasy screenplays are also increasing stunningly. Harry Potter effect? Maybe. One thing is sure, till this Harry Potter bubble is intact, we will remain busy.

Since we are catering both the Hollywood and Bollywood industries and as such have a team of writers who hail from both these massive industries, I discovered some interesting differences in the ways scripts are written in Hollywood and Bollywood.

One. Hollywood filmmakers do not expect, neither allow the script writer to use camera and editing directions in their screenplay. That is left for the director and editor. I agree. If the screenplay writer decides how the camera should be placed or how it should move, or how the editing should be done, why the hell are the director and the editor employed? Just to follow the instructions of the screenwriter? In the Bollywood industry however I noticed some of the directors encourage the screenplay author to use camera directions like pan, trolley, or directions about the angle, as well as editing instructions. Interesting, isn’t it?

Two. Now this is an even more interesting difference, and Hollywood may wonder why at all it is like that in Bollywood. Bollywood, in addition to script writers employ separate dialog writers, and dialog writers are separately given credit and payment. The screenplay writer and the dialog writer are often different persons. Of course it is not that way in Hollywood. If I try to trace the roots of this practice, it comes from the days when  melodramatic movies were made in Bollywood (arguably, this practice has not entirely been discontinued). There were separate writers, besides the screenplay writers, who could empower the dialogs, add spice to the dialogs and make them powerful. I have myself seen in my childhood, people in theatres used to burst into applause and throw coins in the direction of the screen when powerful dialogs were delivered. I don’t know if such coin shower happens or happened  for similar reasons anywhere else in the world. The practice of a dialog writer still exists in Bollywood, though nowadays in a lot of movies the screenplay writer and the dialog writer are the same person. But they get paid twice for the two roles. Nice… to get paid twice for one work.

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