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This week's Answer: To
Send Or Not To Send
Hoku, thank you for bringing up this touchy
subject (if you're the Hoku I think about daily and her beautiful
voice and her.... Well, never mind -- could you ask your father if he
still sings "Tiny Bubbles"?) To send or not to
send. That is often the question. When you're considering
sending your screenplay to a producer, one thing you can do is look
him or her up at IMDB.com. (I think the letters stand for
"Insecure Movie Dolts and Boppers.") Maybe not.
I've been meaning to look it up on IMDB. Or you could look them
up at YMLC (Your Mother's List of Conspirators). That might
help, too.
Another procedure you can use is just send the
producer the log-line, keeping your screenplay to yourself until you
absolutely need to or want to show it. (Or you could send a line
of logs. The forestry department frowns on the practice, but we
screenwriters gotta do what we gotta do.) Sometimes it's best to
hold back your script and only send the synopsis. (If you're not
familiar with the word, think "synonym," then
"cinnamon," then "toast," then "jelly,"
then "peanut butter," then "nuts," then
"Nuts, I have to write my story out again?!" and
you'll remember what a synopsis is. I knew all that studying for
the SAT's would payoff one day.)
Or you could just send a simple note or e-mail to
the producer:
I'm
not sending nothin' till I know how much Loot you're gonna pay me for
my masterpiece!
It's assertive,
deliberate, and clear. You'll present yourself as confident,
being in the know. And the producer will know he is not dealing
with some neophyte, some amateur, just a beginner. Of
course, don't be overly concerned if you don't hear back from him
right away.
If ever.
DcH
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