Dear Friend,

It's that time again - time for another action packed issue of The Screenwriter's Success Newsletter! As the popularity of this newsletter continues to grow, we're able to offer you better and better content from a variety of industry sources.

And this week I'm so excited to introduce our newest contributor, Director of Development for Clifford Werber Productions (Cinderella Story, Sydney White), Daniel Manus!

His column, "No B.S. for Screenwriters - The Executive Perspective" will give you the ability to look over the shoulder of a veteran development executive as he shows you exactly what he looks for in screenplays and the writers he wants to work with.

So without further ado, here's what we've got for you in this issue:

Seek Frank Feedback: is this week's article by yours truly. This piece is about having the honesty and courage to ask people you trust to give you an honest appraisal of your actions... not just your screenplays! You'll see how this affects your screenwriting career...

The Box Office Report: gives you the latest feature film releases as well as the opening weekend projections, so you can be on top of this critical information.

The Monthly Nut: is this week's article by mc foley. mc is an active writer and regular contributor to this newsletter. The title of her column is "Lessons Learned: One Writer's Journey".

The Video Screenwriting Tip of the Week: is replayed here from earlier in the week, just in case you didn't get to see it. The weekly tip offers simple and immediately useable advice on achieving screenwriting success.

Becoming an Exec - My Story: is this week's article from our newest contributor, Director of Development for Clifford Werber Productions, Daniel Manus. Let Daniel introduce himself and tell you a little about what he'll be sharing with us in upcoming issues. The title of his column is "No B.S. for Screenwriters - The Executive Perspective."

Best Business Advice for Screenwriters: is dedicated to asking a top executive or successful screenwriter the absolute best advice they could give a young, aspiring writer. This month's contributor? Dennis Klein, creator of "The Larry Sanders Show."

The Business of Show Institute Recommends: is the weekly screenwriting product or service that our staff has personally reviewed and feel you would benefit from. This week? An in-depth intereview with screenwriting legend and teacher, Blake Snyder.

That's it for this issue, but we are dedicated to making this newsletter THE resource for aspiring screenwriters.

If you enjoyed it, and would like to pass it along to friends, please have them go directly to http://www.TheBusinessOfShowInstitute.com and have them sign up there.

May Your Life Be Extraordinary,

Marvin V. Acuna

Seek Frank Feedback

by Marvin V. Acuna

Andrea Jung is one of America's iconic business leaders. She is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Avon Products, Inc. She’s been named one of the most powerful women in America. She firmly believes that self-awareness is crucial to success.

She practices what she refers to as 360 degree feedback. Meaning she chooses ten people each year to tell her the good, the bad, and the ugly. Anything can be said. She includes her children in this process to get an honest appraisal of her actions. Jung believes that you can get a huge dose of reality by seeing yourself through your children’s eyes.

Seek frank feedback.

Ask the people around you to give you an honest appraisal of your actions, not just your screenplays.

Fine tuning your craft as a screenwriter is necessary, but fine tuning your salesmanship, networking, and public speaking skills are not only relevant, but crucial. It’s a new age. The screenwriter has evolved.

Are you part of a screenwriting forum that is sharing business information and/or relationships? Are you part of a business networking group? Are you investing time in public speaking to become a more confident presenter of your ideas?

Are you capturing market intelligence so that you can speak in the industry as an informed professional and/or so that you may determine the type of material that is attracting the attention of agents, managers, producers, and executives... in essence, do you know what is selling, being sold, being developed, being made? Are you developing your salesmanship?

Are you working on your business or solely in your business (there is a significant difference)? Are you utilizing social media to its fullest potential (ie http://tinyurl.com/l8qyqk)? Are you being innovative and inventive or are you simply doing the same thing you have always done?

Are you clearly defining your goals? Do you have written goals? Are you reviewing your actions to determine if they are working or not working? Do the people you know and trust know your goals?

Ask your trusted friends to answer the questions above for you.

Listen, some aspiring screenwriters are satisfied with simply having the dream. Meaning the dream is enough. It doesn’t actually need to be attained. And that’s ok. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, if you truly want to realize the dream... action is paramount.

The Box Office Report

Lessons Learned: One Writer's Journey

The Monthly Nut

by mc foley

He was considered the hustler. Everyone was awed by his jet-setting life, by the "self-employed" badge-of-pride he practically carved into his own forehead. He was the one, out of all of us, who made it big - right out the gate. There was no suffering the indignities of life as the newest peon in a production company, as the errand boy for a writer/actor/director celebrity, as a temp in a mailroom, a substitute teacher or lunchtime waiter in the small, back section next to the bathroom stalls - no, he was so good, that while the rest of us portioned out our earnings in order to splurge on the occasional $15 dinner, he was touring to NYC, Miami and Japan all in just over a month, all on someone else's dime.

Except - the dimes weren't going - where we thought they were going.

And they didn't come from wealthy investors or billionaire clients.

They came from his mom.

And they paid for his rent.

His $1600 a month rent. Oh - and his utilities, cable, internet and parking spot. That is - the spot where he parked the car she'd purchased for him.

Unfortunately - (or fortunately, depending on who's speaking) - nobody knew. We were all sufficiently, expertly fooled. Truth be told, he never lied about it. He just - avoided certain topics. Forgot to answer questions. Shook his head with everyone else whenever we moaned about rent increases and the rising cost of central AC.

But I found out.

It was an accident. Nothing I can elaborate upon here. But one day, something slipped, the facade fell away, and bit-by-bit I better understood - that his lucrative career was nothing but smoke and mirrors.

After that discovery, I'd sit in conversations with friends and when the topic of the hustler arose, I'd feel a churning nausea in my gut as they praised his business acumen, his go-getter attitude, his ability to pull money towards him like metal to a magnet. During a particular conversation that revolved around his 'grown-up' furnishings and how much better his place was than all the rest of ours - I had to get up, walk away, and bite my tongue. For reasons too long to describe, I chose to remain silent. And in doing so, I probably looked like an envious prick.

Months later – I met another hustler. However, while Hustler #1 prided himself on his travels, Hustler #2 was all about the underground, the VIP, the 'in-the-know' party scene of LA.

He, too, had a swanky apartment with glossy leather couches, a flat screen bigger than my bed and two cars; however, while he said he sold luxury handbags for a living, this facade unraveled much more quickly. And it wasn't the life of a momma's boy, but a life precariously perched on pushing ecstasy and blow.

Meeting Hustler #2 gave me a better perspective on Hustler #1. And better perspective on my environment.

In short - I saw that it was pointless - to compare.

There was no need to flog myself for not 'making it' as quickly as them, for not being able to ease my worries with a pricey day at the spa, for not washing my car (because that six bucks could, instead, get me two sandwiches at the deli down the street).

All that mattered was - what - worked - for ME.

Because, aside from a handful of close friends, I have absolutely no idea how other people earn their money, spend their money, steal their money or scrape through another month with credit cards or calls to "Rich Uncle Joe." I have no idea if that Jaguar they're driving is actually theirs, rented for the weekend, or 'borrowed' from the boss because they're changing his oil. I have no idea if they're living rent free, via sexual favors, if they own a profitable oil field in Alabama or if they claimed bankruptcy.

I also - have no idea if they owe child support, the amount of their monthly nut and if they shoulder the cost of outrageous hospital bills or too many DUI’s.

All that matters - is my own monthly nut. My own cost of living - and what I need to survive - as well as what I'm aiming for. Because with more money, comes more responsibility. And in that regard - exactly how much, and exactly what type of responsibility am I willing to bear?

Showrunners, for example, are some of the most - if not the most - powerful writers in the entertainment industry. But could I handle the "taking a ship (show) into battle" that is the showrunner's charge? Could I live the life of a freelance magazine writer? Constantly scouring the world for opportunities and haggling over 35 vs 15 cents a word? Could I lock myself away, working day after day in isolation, or alone in a coffee shop - writing the next great American novel that may or may not get sold / be adapted to screen?

In order to progress, I often remind myself to stop staring at all the glittery things that belong to other people (including the way they look and how far they've made it in their career) - and use my energy, instead, to answer these questions.

Answer the questions, I say to myself - understand the specific sacrifices - factor in the monthly nut. And then proceed.

-mc foley


About mc foley:
Melinda Corazon Foley was born in Cebu, Philippines, raised in Virginia and currently resides in West Hollywood, CA. In 2005, MC Foley was named East West Players' James Irvine Foundation Mentee affording her the privilege to craft a new original stage play, the result: "Down and Out." It debuted at the Union Center for the Arts. Foley was then awarded the Asian American Writers Workshop Scholarship, which she utilized to re-imagine the aforementioned play into a web based series incorporating verse, motion graphics and comic book illustrations. Recently Ms. Foley completed work on a debut YA novel, The Ice Hotel. The novel is a fantasy adventure written especially for readers experiencing the profound pain of loss. In the book, a family, reeling from their eldest son's death, escapes to the Ice Hotel, where an age-old, arctic magic connects this world to the next.

The Video Screenwriting Tip of the Week

Tip #30: 3 Things Never to Do During a Pitch...

No B.S. for Screenwriters - The Executive Perspective

Becoming an Exec - My Story

by Daniel Manus

It's my hope that this weekly contribution will help screenwriters see Hollywood and their craft from a different perspective - the executive perspective.

Having worked as an intern, an assistant, an executive, an independent producer, and a script consultant, I believe I can shine the light on this elusive business in a way that hopefully will help you - the screenwriter - realize what you need to do to get ahead. Whether that means how to connect with an exec (and how not to connect), how to write to grab their attention (and keep it), what the outlets are for screenwriters outside of Hollywood, how to increase your chances of success at different events, and how executives read a script, we'll go through it all – and we'll do it with humor and honesty.

I don't pull any punches and I don't sugarcoat. But I love screenwriters and I want them all to be as successful as they can be - and make their scripts as strong as they can be. So it's my hope that you'll strongly consider my advice, stories, tips, angry rants and random ramblings and use them to better your own project or your plan on how you're going to break into the business - and stay.

I thought for this first article, however, I would tell you my story. I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I used to write short stories and at the age of 10, I wrote a novel. Okay it was 27 pages, but for a ten year old, that might as well be War and Peace. Growing up, I continued writing and found my way to journalism.

I went to Ithaca College for journalism and realized at the end of my first year that it wasn't creative enough for me. So when a friend of mine introduced me to the TV station...it was love at first script. I found the freedom and fun of television - and later, film - to be exhilarating. I was a huge film buff and TV whore, so it seemed a natural fit. And thankfully my parents didn't scoff their nose at the idea of joining the whoredom that is Hollywood. During my time in college, I completed a semester interning in Los Angeles at Columbia Tri-Star in TV development and 20th Century Fox in feature casting. And I knew this was where I was supposed to be.

I moved out to LA after college - along with every prom queen, theater geek, techie, writer and A-type personality from towns around the world. I took a job as an assistant at an independent film production company, Sandstorm Films. It was run by a pretty successful writer/director, though not someone considered A-List. We had a first look deal with Screen Gems and produced the Tom Berenger starrer "Sniper" series, "The Forsaken," "The Covenant," and a number of others. I was promoted a couple times to Director of Development, which was probably a nicer title than I deserved. I spearheaded a development deal with Top Cow Comics, allowing me to geek out in ways I had fought against since I turned 14. I also became their production and post production coordinator on a number of films, which was the very definition of trial by fire.

When Sandstorm closed, I landed at Clifford Werber Productions, a production company that had produced "Cinderella Story." We went on to produce "Sydney White" starring Amanda Bynes and "Just Add Water" starring Danny DeVito, Dylan Walsh and Jonah Hill. Up next, we have a larger family fantasy project set up at United Artists, which I am co-producing.

I've worked with Clifford for a few years now, and continue to do so, but I wanted to have a bigger hand in finding and helping screenwriters realize their vision, so I also created my own script consulting company, No BullScript Consulting.

I never forget that I originally moved to LA to write, and that's what always connects me to screenwriters and why I am so passionate about them. But being in development taught me my strengths and weaknesses. Not only when it comes to story and talent, but also when it comes to my ability to self-motivate, self-generate, set deadlines for myself, and bring my ideas from my head to the page.

I discovered that I'm better at shaping, developing, and "fixing" other people's material then I was at completing my own. And it's the same for many executives out in LA. I would offer a very unscientific guess that 40-50% of development executives originally came out here to write, and development affords us the opportunity to be creative, write treatments and help write scripts, without having to actually self-motivate.

A number of executives are actually now doing both. Marc Haimes, former exec at Dreamworks, is now an in-demand screenwriter who sold his first project and has been hired to write his second. Hernany Perla, an exec at Lionsgate, writes (or rewrites) many of their projects and went out with a spec of his own last year. Alan Trezza at Johnson Roessler, Jeff Kleeman at Big Kid Pictures and Charlie Vignola at Bruckheimer are some more examples. My friend Toby Wagstaff, a former exec at Original Content, sold his spec last year to Summit and now has agency representation. And my friend Lisa Barrett, an executive at Southpaw Entertainment sold her script to Warner Bros with an A-list cast and director on board. And of course let's not forget Toby Emmerich.

I often suggest that writers try and get an assistant job in the industry, especially in a development exec, manager, or agent's office because you will learn a side of the craft of screenwriting that you can't get from writers groups, classes, or sitting in Starbucks strapped to your laptop. It's a viable and very productive way to break into the business, because even if you only spend a couple years as an assistant or junior exec, you will make enough contacts that you can send your script to everyone in town without needing an agent or manager, or you will be able to land one much easier. If I ever stop producing and developing and just write full time, I know I can pick up the phone and someone will read my script.

Being a development exec not only gives you a really interesting vantage point on the business, but also on the craft of writing. There are a number of things executives specifically look for in material, and a certain way of thinking while we read. It's my goal to share those insights with you here.


About Daniel Manus:
Daniel Manus is the Director of Development for Clifford Werber Productions (Cinderella Story, Sydney White). CWP recently set up a family fantasy/adventure project at United Artists which Daniel is attached to co-produce. He is also attached to produce several projects independently including "Dreams of an Aspiring Romantic," starring Emily Osment and "Strange Fruit," written by J.S. Cardone (Prom Night).

Daniel recently started his own script consulting company - No BullScript Consulting, which can be found at www.nobullscript.net. He has been a freelance script consultant for years, working for companies such as ScriptShark and Script Coach and teaches courses to writers at conferences around the country.

Daniel was previously Director of Development for Sandstorm Films, which had a first look deal at Sony Screen Gems and a development deal with Top Cow Comics. Raised on Long Island, NY, he holds a BS degree in Television with a concentration in Screenwriting from the Ithaca College Park School of Communications.

Best Business Advice for Screenwriters

Dennis Klein, creator of The Larry Sanders Show, on "The Best Business Advice I Ever Got":

TV and Feature Film Screenwriter Dennis Klein,
Emmy Award Winning TV Writer for "The Larry Sanders Show",
TV Writer for "The Chris Issak" Show,
TV Writer for "All in the Family", "The Partridge Family", and "The Odd Couple",
Executive Producer of "Cosby",
Feature Film Writer for "Beverly Hills Cop II" (uncredited)

The Business of Show Institute Recommends:

If you'd like some screenwriting advice from one of the most successful spec script writers in the business -- whose screenwriting method has single-handedly changed the entire landscape of Hollywood, then here's your opportunity...

"Attention Ambitious Screenwriters: Screenwriting Legend and Teacher Blake Snyder Wants to Talk to YOU!" (click here for more details...)