What Type of Screenplay Should I Write?

This is a pretty extensive topic, and it can be one of the most important one’s you will need to know. I’m also pretty sure, by the end of this blog, I’ll have several screenwriters upset, but once again, I’m giving you my opinion and that of my peers on the representation side of the business.

What script to write? Well, I wish I had a magic 8 ball so I could feed all my clients stories to write. Unfortunately, I don’t, and also, i’m not a writer and I don’t pretend to be. I just know what has the best chances to sell out there and what is already out in the marketplace.

For all of you new writers, don’t worry, this is the hardest part of the business. In fact, it is so hard, that even established writers have a tough time with this. Ok, so lets get back to answering what type of screenplay you should write. There is one key word that you are going to hear just about every agent or manager say. COMMERCIAL. Yep. Now what exactly does commercial mean? There is a long answer and there is a short one. Here is the short one: it’s the type of movie that has the best box office number over the weekend. Now I know there are going to be a lot of you screenwriters out there saying, “COMMERCIAL? Forget it, I’m not going to give in to Hollywood, I won’t conform, I will continue to write my oscar award winning movie and prove everyone wrong.” I expect this. And if you are saying this to yourself right now, and you aren’t willing to change, then you might as well continue your day job, because chances are, you won’t become a professional writer.

Now before you start throwing rocks at the screen, hear me out. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be small, independent and dramtic films out there. There should. And as a matter of fact, I represent client’s that write these. But remember one thing, at the end of the day this is a business. These small personal movies don’t make the agents or managers that much money, and they take a lot of sweat and tears to get off the ground. We can work for years on putting these projects together, and at the end, most of them will fall apart last minute. The few that actually get made, are really a stroke of luck. But in every agent and manager’s view, was this long grueling road worth it? Was putting an independent film for 5 million dollars, and getting the writer 2.5% of that budget with a ceiling the same as getting the writer a blockbuster film? Unless it wins an oscar, many agents and managers will have a tough time taking on new clients in this genre.

Every agent and manager probably has 5% to 10% of their business with these type of writers. So the chances of an agent or manager signing you off a screenplay like this is very very slim. Remember, we have to make money.

So here’s my advice. Give in. Write a commercial script. Then once you are successful, go work on your passion project. But if you don’t write a screenplay that can make an agent or manager money, then don’t look for one. You will continue writing these scripts, and will contine doing so for a long long time with few results.

So back to the original question. What type and genre to write. Hollywood goes through cycles. Some cycles, the studios don’t want teen movies, other times that’s all they want. Sometimes they want romantic comedies, other time they don’t. Horror, etc., etc., you get the picture. So once you want to give in to Hollywood, then what do you write? Here’s a trick. Go read what is being released by the studios. For example, if you see that there is going to be a big blockbuster being released that is family adventure, then it would be good if you wrote one of those. Aside from this trick, there are some genre’s you just can’t go wrong with. Thrillers and comedy.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Remember, there are unique situations as well, and you might be lucky enough to be one of those. To sum all this up, there was a recent speech Mark Gill gave on the industry. I’m sure you can google it and it will pop up. Read it. He basically explains the current film situation for smaller independent films. In summary, not good. So do yourself a favor and write big.