You guys are amazing. I actually had to block off a couple of hours on Friday morning just to respond to all the nice emails and posts and tweets.
I figured I'd at least have a couple of people making snide comments, but it was all positive. All people who are happy for me. That was great.
The nature of this blog will probably change now, but I think it will be helpful to chronicle as much as I can the journey as it happens. I can't go into any specific or name any names, but I can talk in general terms about what I encounter.
I had a rep before, but I didn't have this kind of attention, so now I'm bracing myself for the amount of work I have to do. Obtaining a rep is step one; Step two is taking advantage of the opportunities with which they provide you.
I have to come up with my next project, which is a lot harder than you'd think. I was working on a Civil War martial arts story. That is obviously nixed for the time being, because while you're fucking around on your own, your dream project is all well and good, but when you're trying to build a career, you need to write material more than three people would pay to see. I'll go back to that script some day. It will be my Inception.
In the meantime, I must come up with something commercial that fits the kind of work I consistently want to write. I had a lot of ideas I'd been saving over the years, none of which are good enough for this task. So I'm in the process of developing something new. I'm also revising an old script to get it up to par.
This week I start taking general meetings. I've had one of these meetings ever, so I'm still really green on meeting etiquette. But I'm not worried. If I can make 46 juniors read a novel silently in a classroom, I can probably handle a polite conversation with a studio exec.
But I am busy. Busy busy busy. I'm so busy I'm thinking of ways I can change my original plan for the rest of the school year so I don't end up having to take so much work home. The kids shouldn't suffer because I've got a second job, but there's no way I can do my job the way I always have and still have time to build my screenwriting career.
Then again, I'm at my best when I have 100 things to do. It's a good busy. I couldn't be happier to have no time.
Congratulations again, Emily! I'm hoping to be where you are in a year from now...
ReplyDeleteAny chance your script is available to read? I'd like to know what caliber of writing gets repped, wins contests, etc...
Thank you! It's really not in my best interests to send it out anymore on my own. My reps handle where the script goes now. I'm sure it will pop up on the board eventually if it does well around town.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear of your success. We look forward to seeing you soon. Heh heh heh.
ReplyDeletehttp://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/838/83b/83883b00-ae3a-48ba-9617-708060e58aac
A la THE MASK: Thisss issss EXXXXCITING!
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteI recently found your blog (via scriptshadow) and I've enjoyed reading your posts and updates.
I am a screenwriter and live in downtown LA and am just starting to feel comfortable enough to put my work out (after about 3 years of studying screenwriting).
The motifs in my work are perception, identity, and pernicious women. Do you work with a set list of themes or do they change based on what you write? Also, I very much liked your logline for How My Dress Got Dirty, what were your influences? Specific writers or films?
Did you workshop the script at all in a screenwriting group?
Congratulations on the win with TrackingB and your engagement (I recently got engaged as well).
Thanks,
Jeff Gittel
Wellwellwell! Hello there, REPRESENTED ONE!!!
ReplyDelete___________________________
Reading this post, it occurs to me that everything has happened at just the right moment. Five years ago, you may not have seen the nuances...You are what is known as a young, old pro. Full of enthusiasm, but wise enough to see what is now expected of you.
P.S.
Hope you don't put off the Civil War script too long. I think the film will get noticed. Civil War, of course, has been done before...but, never with such a quirky twist.
Thanks again, everybody!
ReplyDeleteAnd Jeff, as for your questions...
I do not have a specific theme in mind while I write. I usually start writing and find the theme along the way.
I did workshop this with an online writing group, and they were a big help, although you have to be careful to pick and choose which notes work for you, because it's impossible to follow all the suggestions. That ability to pick and choose served me well here.
As for influences, I'm sure I'm influenced by all kinds of things I don't even know about. But specific writers I love are Martin McDanaugh, Alex Garland, David Twohy, and of course Shane Black. There are so many great writers in this industry that it would be difficult to list them all.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response!
Are most of your influences more current then? The majority of my influences are from the 50s-70s. Do you read/watch older stuff?
Do you ever read stuff by Leigh Brackett, Harvey Kleiner or Alan Sharpe? I'm a big fan of Sharpe myself.
I workshop with a live group in NoHo currently, do you find it better to work with an online group or a live group? What are the benefits of an online group?
I miss my in-person group, but we all fell apart eventually because everyone got busy and we lived far from each other. I'd love to get back into one, but I just don't have the time. The online group is 24 hours so that works for scheduling, but I do prefer in person meeting. I feel like it's easier to workshop the script when you can have a conversation about it.
ReplyDeleteI have influences from all over. It would be impossible to list every single one.
And I have never read any of those people you mentioned.
Good luck with your projects!