The Multi-Hyphenate
Here's a good one I thought I'd share from the comments section -- thanks Anonymous! I know I do not have my name plastered all over the site (and if you find it out, please keep it to yourself and don't post it on the internet), but that's because then I wouldn't be getting anymore premiere invites, and all my exec and agent friends would start treating me like Dick Cheney at a gun range. I do encourage you to share your names, comments, war stories, and suggestions with one another. This is a collaborative art, and (fingers-crossed) the readership here is getting bigger every day which means you have a nice shot of connecting with some other filmmakers.
OK, onto the comment:
Should a writer-director "market" himself in Hollywood as a director rather than
a writer? It just seems if you have a script and tell everyone you want to
direct it, they laugh at you. But if you have a short and show people a script
you want to direct, they consider it.
First things first, you are not a writer-director unless you are doing both. This sort of goes back to very first post on the blog: The Verb of Movies. As a filmmaker you are defined by what you are doing. If you're just talking about it, you ain't doing it. So, if you have a short film (it should be in the same genre or the same type/style as the feature) of a script you wrote, then you can lay claim to the title writer-director. If you are writing and only plan to direct something, I'd hold off until you finish it and don't share your aspirations with assholes who laugh at them out of their own insecurity and insensitivity. Plenty of people will fuck you over on purpose, might as well stay away from any psyche damaging poseurs until then.
P.S. Looking for new reps right now, so the posting may get light. I'm still planning one more to wrap up all this agent/manager business, but if you have questions write 'em up and hit send.
1 comment:
The hyphenate is a tough one - in my experience, especially in LA, people/agents/producers didn't really want to deal with mid-level hyphenates...they seemed to want to keep it simple..."you're a (insert title(director/writer/producer/actor/etc." here) - and I can sell you/think of you that way.
I had directed a fair bit of Canadian tv when I moved to LA, but I had also just come off writing/story dept. of several series. A spec script I wrote was what the agent read that eventually signed me. And though she knew I directed and promised to also pursue that avenue (my preference), she generally always thought of me as a tv writer and usually introduced me to producers/shows as such. It was the easiest cleanest sell it seemed.
As far as newbie's, I definitely agree...pick one and stick with it for starters. Although what you do when its five years later and you want to expand your label as it were, and the difficulties encountered then...well, that's a story for another time.
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