For Screenwriters: “Bob’s Take: The Conspiracy Theory”

I’m afraid I’ve been “sick as a dog” all week, and so my posting has been really lax, and now I’m going to be really naughty, and post you all a sort of cheat post. But don’t worry, it’s totally worth reading. I came across this one this morning, another fantastic blog post from Bob Saenz, talking about the myth that Hollywood is a closed market. That’s hasn’t been my experience of it at all, and I think his words are really to the point, a little inspiring, and a delightful kick in the pants. So I’m publishing part of it here, but in due deference to the man, I’ve included the link to the full article below that, because you know, I might post cheat posts from time to time, but the man has earned the site traffic!

“Is there a Hollywood conspiracy against new writers? An organized effort to thwart new writers from breaking in? Is it a closed industry dedicated to keeping new writers out? I know this is a question every writer has asked themselves. Well, every writer except me and a few thousand other relatively sane writers who have a reasonable grasp on reality.

Let’s get this out of the way right now. There is no conspiracy. NO cabal of producers who sit and twirl their mustaches and plot to keep spec scripts from being read or optioned. People who want to keep the industry closed to new ideas or new writers. Yes, the industry is hard to break into. But any big industry is hard to break into. It takes work and perseverance. Patience and more hard work. Talent and even more hard work.

You mean I have to pay my dues? I don’t get what I want because I want it? Now? Then there must be a conspiracy.

At a writers board I lurk on sometimes to see what people are asking and thinking …, I was not surprised to see the often asked question, “Why won’t Hollywood just open its doors for new writers?” “Why do they keep going back to the same things all the time?” “Why don’t they buy spec scripts?” or… “Why don’t they buy MY spec script?”

I’ll tell you why they don’t buy your spec. It probably sucks. You probably queried it or networked to get it read before it was ready to be seen or you wrote it about a subject matter no one wants to buy.”

http://www.bobsaenz.com/blog/the-conspiracy-theory/

http://www.bobsaenz.com/

And of course, his IMDB in case you want to know why you should be listening to this guy: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0844554/