An Open Letter to the Men Who Run the Networks

Dear  _____(insert Leslie, Rupert, Jeff, etc),

I’m not sure when you last checked your calendar (seeing that you have legions of assistants to do that for you) but we are in 2009. Almost 10 years into the 21st century. Crazy, I know.

We have creative people all over the world doing amazing stuff in science, medicine, technology and basically every field out there, and yet in entertainment we haven’t changed much since 1950.

In fact, while people are using the resources of the internet in ways never imagined, while you have 27-year-olds running billion dollar businesses (Mark Zuckerberg I am talking to you), whilen we have the first black president elected largely because he used the internet to harness the power of the people, you are still running your network like a king and we are all your subjects.

Think about this way:

You use an archaic system where you pay for dozens of pilots for new tv shows, have studios ruin these shows with their script notes, film only a handful of these pilots, and then pick up one or two new shows (not even mentioning that you often cancel the new show after only two airings).

Yet you do this with little to no input from the actual people who are going to be watching your shows.  (And I am not counting your test audiences.  We all know how useless they are — Seinfeld, CSI anyone?) You alone are the sole arbitrator of what ends up on the air.

So here’s my solution:

Put everything up on the internet.  You heard me. Put all the filmed pilot shows online.

Let your audience vote, comment and participant in choosing what shows go to air.  You like reality tv (since you put so much of it on the air), so just think of this tv development plan as the American Idol model.

In fact, let’s take it one step further and say hey, why don’t we put the pilot scripts online and let people vote on what pilots should be filmed? By having audience input in the process early on, you could save millions of dollars of wasted money on pilots that never see daylight.

Or think about it this way: you could have people invested in your show early on! Before the show even goes on air.

Think of all that marketing expense you can save! You’ll have legions of fans who feel that they have ownership of the show and they’ll do your marketing work for you.  Crazy, I know.

But, maybe, just maybe, if you included the audience from the beginning of the development process, you too might get an American Idol-size audience for your new shows.

P.S.  If you want to discuss this innovative strategy further, let me know.  I’ll be happy to expound on the Rachel Miller Future of Television Plan.

Why You? You Must Be Prepared to Answer This Question

Now that upfronts (the week in New York where networks announce the new shows to advertisers) are almost upon us it’s time to get back into tv development/pitching season.  And as my clients start taking their meetings, I thought it would be good time to relay a question that is constantly being brought up by television executives.

That question is: Why you? Or, for example, why you are writing this pilot?

Let’s say you are writing a cop show.  Why should the networks buy a cop show from you — an unknown writer — as opposed to buying a cop show from John Wells who is a huge TV brand name and constantly delivers hit shows for
networks?

Or why should they buy a legal show from you and not David E. Kelley?

This same question holds true for any feature scripts as well. Why are you writing this? What are you bringing to the table that no other writer could?

For example, if you are writing a buddy comedy, why should they buy this from you and not from Judd Apatow?

Now this might sound similar to the saying “write what you know,” but it’s actually broader than that.

Write what you know usually refers to writing what you have experienced but sometimes you can’t do that.

For example, if you are writing about 18th-Century shipbuilding, you don’t have to have experienced it (because how could you).  But there should be a reason you are writing about it and not any other subject you could have chosen.  (Perhaps you’re a huge fan of shipbuilding through the ages and can talk about the subject based on an extensive personal library on the subject.)

Bottom line:  You can write about anything as long as you are prepared to talk about why you are so passionate about the subject and why you are the only one who can and should write it.

One last note, whatever subject you are writing about — there should always be a connection to your brand and your voice.  In fact, that is a very good way to explain why you are writing about the subject.

For example, if you are known as a character-driven drama writer and you now what to write a family dramedy:

You can say you want to explore the dynamics of a family by probing the characters in a thoughtful and intelligent way (this is what you are known for) as well as pushing yourself into new territory rich in character analysis.

And even more importantly, if you are known as a drama writer and want to write a comedy, then you especially have to make sure you can articulate what the attraction is to the new genre and what you can bring to the table.  At the same time you must be able to articulate how this is an extension of who you are as a writer and what you have written previously.

If you can answer the question of why you with an authentic and well-reasoned answer, you have a much better chance of getting that writing assignment or selling that pilot or feature.

The Sky Is Falling! Or What to Do When You Think Armageddon Has Come to the Entertainment Business

If you are reading the trades, blogs, or really any entertainment news source you would think the end is near for the entertainment industry.

Some sample headlines:

WMA and Endeavor are merging! 100 agents are going to be on the street!
Fox Atomic is shuttering! One less buyer!
The credit crunch is killing the studio! They have no money to make movies!

Really there’s enough dire news to make a person pack it all in and give up.

However, don’t let the doom and gloom dissuade you from writing that great script.  Because people still need content — and now, more than ever, they want to be entertained to escape their daily worries.

In fact, movie attendance is going up and tv is seeing higher viewership (especially now that people are staying home).  And, yes, American Idol still gets 30 million viewers.

So while it is true that it’s getting harder and harder to get anyone to say yes these days, and it’s definitely true that the days of getting someone to buy a pitch are over — it just means that you really need an amazing script plus you often have to be creative and help package the material.

What I mean by package is that, if you have a spec script, we will try to package it with a director, star, etc., before we take it out to prospective buyers.  So we will start with a great script and try to bring on as many elements as we can to help the studio say yes.

Also, think about what you want to write about. It is  my personal opinion that people don’t want dramas or depressing movies these days. They want to laugh, have fun and escape.  So I would suggest that now is a great time for that comedy or action film you have been writing.

And last but not least, if you are wondering how does the WMA/Endeavor merger effect you as the aspiring writer? Th truth of the matter is that it really doesn’t.

While no one knows what is going to happen –  new agencies could form or agents could go to competitors, if the merger does result in there being less agents — that doesn’t actually have any effect on how many movies or tv shows are actually being made. This just means that there might be less agents out there.

And, if that happens, there will be more competition to get an agent, which means, again, that your script has to be fantastic. There is no room for mediocrity anymore, which I personally think is a very good thing!

(P.S.If you want more screenwriting tips, check out my site www.ShowMeTheScreenplay.com )