Breaking & Entering: Advice for Screenwriters From a Roundup of Pros on the “New Normal” in Hollywood

The industry – which directly employs about 927,000 people across the country, among 2.6 million total Hollywood-supporting jobs – was one of the first sectors to shut down when the coronavirus took hold in the United States. It will likely be one of the last to reopen as unions, studios and public health officials scramble to establish new protocols and safety measures amid a public health crisis that continues to roil much of the country.

"It's all phone and email, obviously. Wish I had Zoom stock, which is becoming more frequent. Scripts are coming in and notes are being done. People seem more receptive to outreach by email. Conference calls (free lines and just connecting iPhones) are proving more challenging. Free conference lines don't always work. Conferencing via iPhones has become fussy. But, hey, even Netflix had an outage. Digital connecting services are clearly maxing out."

"Zoom and Skype. It’s much harder to get a chemistry reading of the room. Plus no one knows when the start date is. On the plus side, it’s a lot of pajama-bottom meetings."

"I’m going to try and make the positive and honest answer. In March, I closed two deals that had been in the works – and got an offer on another. People are working. I even did a Zoom with heads of a financing company to see what they are looking for – and sent them something. It’s weird...yes. Meetings are odd (I’m now usually drinking) and notes calls are hard. But the business has been moving a lot in that direction anyways. I feel like now is a perfect time to write/develop/find out what people want and find it. I think there will be a lot of demand coming up. So good time to work at it and make sure you’re getting out of bed in the mornings."

"I have execs at Hallmark looking at a few scripts for my client that got pushed to “considering” status. So development execs are still reading! And as for the future, regarding “virtual writing rooms,” it’s going to be interesting to see if that happens because I know a few showrunners are considering it. Which would be a TOTAL game changer."

"I usually work from home anyway and am still busy. My writers are writing, development deals are moving forward and new deals are even closing. In fact, with everyone else working from home and not going to lunches, etc., it seems that paperwork is being turned around much more quickly than usual. Projects have been pushed, but so far it seems like the plan is for most to just be delayed and not cancelled and the dealmaking process is continuing for them."

"Every writer’s dream – when a quarantined director reads your script during a global pandemic. No distractions!" 

"As someone who used to be a "hot new agent" who is now approaching "eminence gris" status, I have to say that I have felt a deterioration of the relationship part of the biz for a while. Mostly it takes the form of not passing. Almost nobody will contact you back to pass any more, and it really, REALLY makes my job hard. It's hard to form a relationship with someone who won't call you back and say WHY they're saying no. It's not like "no" makes us mad, or anything like that. We just need a little feedback. "I hated it," or "it just didn't grab me," is actually GREAT feedback. It helps me, it helps me with my client, and it helps my client do better work. So, for me, the lack of handshakes isn't the issue at all. It's the lack of responsiveness AFTER the handshake (or lack thereof) and the meeting have taken place, where the relationship stuff breaks down. Having said all that, I was surprised to close a deal in early March and we got our start check by the end of the month. That’s unheard of. I really, really hope that’s the new paradigm going forward. I also have a new consulting side to my biz. I'm working with several clients in the film, business, and art world on business strategy and negotiation. Really fun! Way more engaging than ploughing through hundreds of mostly terrible scripts looking for something to send out to a marketplace that no longer values a good screenplay."

"In distribution, it’s business as usual: 50% email, 10% on the phone, the rest in servicing and onboarding product. So the day hasn’t changed. Actually, it’s been a great week: closed 20 titles to Taiwan, 10 to Japan, 12 to Brazil, 43 to domestic AVOD (Ad-Based Video On Demand) platforms. Frankly, this situation would be prime for overturning the Paramount Consent Decrees (1948 Supreme Court ruling preventing film studios from also owning movie theaters). Theaters are the home of the studios and mini-majors – mostly studios. If theaters can't recover, the government will probably let the studios step back in… And they'd get a hold of cheap real estate. They’ve been looking at overturning the ruling. It’s the smaller, independent chains that will be most effected."

"Teleconferencing and email.
Reading and giving notes.
Writing as much as I can.The future is animation, webcam chat shows, and reduced crews when we get back to set. There is also a lot of firing and pay cutting going on among reps and execs and we may see more lightweight studio and agency structures after quarantine."

"I cannot argue with Stephan’s assessment."

"We are writing. An original and a book adaptation. Reps are available by phone and email for feedback and guidance. When all this is over (may it come quickly) new content should be very much needed. Perhaps more importantly, creating new material is the best defense against resignation and despair. Wishing all good health and a pathway to meaning in very challenging times."