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Skywalker goes Hollywood!
02-21-2013, 10:10 AM
Quote: (02-20-2013 07:56 PM)painter Wrote:
"To be honest, I haven't looked into the business part of script selling/pitching yet because I wanted to finish the first draft first. I'll probably study up on it in the weeks before I leave. First I want to make sure I actually have a decent script to show.
It sounds like a good idea but does that mean I have to sell all the rights to my book?
I won't sell away my royalty rights. if a movie is ever made there will probably be a ginormous surge in book sales. I wouldn't want to miss out on 6 figure royalties numbers which is easy to get with a 5 dollar royalty a book."
There's a ton of different rights associated with your book that you can sell including the movie rights. It's definitely not selling your royalty rights! The "movie rights" is just owning the option to make your book into a movie for a certain length of time you negotiate with an interested party. You could sell it for one year for $10,000 or five years for $50,000, totally up to you and what you can negotiate. Some authors make bank selling the rights to popular books over and over again because Hollywood waits too long to greenlight the project.
One of my all time favorite books, The Monkey Wrench Gang, has been optioned continuously since it was written in the 70's without any movie being made but there's always rumors that some actor or actress or director or producer is attached to the project but it never happens. Either the same person keeps buying the rights or they let it lapse and someone else jumps on it.
The book is your calling card, the screenplay is the ace in the hole in your back pocket that comes out after you have someone eager to buy the book. That sucks you can't get the Esterhas book, it's got just about every Hollywood lesson you'd want to read in it, try google and see if there's a PDF of it you can get.
Writers are treated like shit in Hollywood, always have been, always will be. Esterhas turned that on it's' head for awhile but ultimately got his ass handed to him because his head got so big, but his story is incredible: a Hungarian kid starving in WW2 refugee camps, emigrated to the US with his parents, grew up in Cleveland, became a reporter then wrote for Rolling Stone in the early 70's and was a contemporary of Hunter S. Thompson, bolted for Tinseltown and was the first writer to bend Hollywood to his will and sell multiple scripts for over a million dollars. He's definitely the guy every writer in Hollywood aspires to be.
You've got a great angle, just work it when you get to Hollywood and remember it's a greed game. No one is going to say no to you, everyone says yes, they just don't call you back if they're not interested, much like a 10 who gives you her number but never answers her phone!
hey painter,
Thanks for your info again.
Of course earning 10K isn't bad for an option but hardly worth flying to Hollywood and staying there for a while for. It's like a last resort option for me when I have none left. Unless it is like your book example and it pays of like 30 years but those are the exceptional examples I guess.
I tried to find a torrent for the Eszteras book but couldn't find it. I'm agains't the downloading of books for obvious reasons but saw no other option.
There are loads of books on script selling on Amazon so I'll have to read a few of those too.
Book - Around the World in 80 Girls - The Epic 3 Year Trip of a Backpacking Casanova
My new book Famles - Fables and Fairytales for Men is out now on Amazon.
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02-21-2013, 10:45 AM
Neil,
Are you going to call yourself "Neil Skywalker" in the script?
Because I have a feeling you might get a letter from a Mr. Speilberg, Mr. Lucas and their Attorneys.
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02-21-2013, 10:58 AM
Why don't you go Rodriguez style? Do a drug study, polish up your script then head down to South America and start filming.
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02-22-2013, 01:12 AM
Quote: (02-21-2013 10:58 AM)Jalouse Wrote:
Why don't you go Rodriguez style? Do a drug study, polish up your script then head down to South America and start filming.
Cause he wants to sell a script?
Somebody get it in writing, quick!
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02-22-2013, 02:59 AM
I'm sure there are a TON of meetup groups on pitching scripts and stuff like that when you get down here. check that out...some are waste of time but many are free.
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02-22-2013, 10:10 AM
Quote: (02-21-2013 10:45 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Neil,
Are you going to call yourself "Neil Skywalker" in the script?
Because I have a feeling you might get a letter from a Mr. Speilberg, Mr. Lucas and their Attorneys.
I don't actually mention my last name in the script but the script is signed with my pen name.
I still have to find out so much things but I did a search for it a few weeks ago and came up with this:
Link
As you can see there are more Skywalkers registered for different purposes. It costs around 350$ to trademark a name so if I need to I can trademark it or I will just use another name.
Book - Around the World in 80 Girls - The Epic 3 Year Trip of a Backpacking Casanova
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02-22-2013, 10:18 AM
Quote: (02-22-2013 02:59 AM)PartyonBro Wrote:
I'm sure there are a TON of meetup groups on pitching scripts and stuff like that when you get down here. check that out...some are waste of time but many are free.
Good tip!
There's is also lots of information on youtube regarding pitching scripts and there are tons of books written about this. LA alone has a few hundred thousand screenwriters.
It's like the old saying.
Those who can do, those who can't teach. Or something like that.
Book - Around the World in 80 Girls - The Epic 3 Year Trip of a Backpacking Casanova
My new book Famles - Fables and Fairytales for Men is out now on Amazon.
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02-22-2013, 10:36 AM
Long time reader of this forum, been following your travel activities for quite a while. Now this. Best of luck Sir!
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02-22-2013, 11:19 AM
Corny to you maybe but catchy for most people.
Book - Around the World in 80 Girls - The Epic 3 Year Trip of a Backpacking Casanova
My new book Famles - Fables and Fairytales for Men is out now on Amazon.
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02-23-2013, 07:17 PM
Neil, you're welcome. I should have said the $10,000 figure was just an example, hopefully it's more like $150,000 - $250,000 or more. You want to aim impossibly high with these people, like $500,000 or $1,000,000 and you'll be surprised what they're willing to drop on you. How many copies has the book sold?
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02-24-2013, 11:55 AM
Quote: (02-23-2013 07:17 PM)painter Wrote:
Neil, you're welcome. I should have said the $10,000 figure was just an example, hopefully it's more like $150,000 - $250,000 or more. You want to aim impossibly high with these people, like $500,000 or $1,000,000 and you'll be surprised what they're willing to drop on you. How many copies has the book sold?
Yes, these are numbers i like to think about. 500K: That's lifelong travel right there.
Closing in on a thousand soon in book sales but I need to promote more. Gonna use the book/movie angle.
Book - Around the World in 80 Girls - The Epic 3 Year Trip of a Backpacking Casanova
My new book Famles - Fables and Fairytales for Men is out now on Amazon.
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02-24-2013, 02:07 PM
Neil, don't worry if you almost get shot in LA. It will add a nice chapter to both the book and the movie
PLus, here is an idea: include THIS when you deliver the script:
"Fart, and if you must, fart often. But always fart without apology. Fart for freedom, fart for liberty, and fart proudly" (Ben Franklin)
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02-24-2013, 02:11 PM
This movie won't be complete without El Mech playing a talking genital wart that antagonizes you constantly, pushing you to charge women, calling you a pussy when you don't drink enough, and trying to instigate meltdowns at every turn.
Beyond All Seas
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling
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02-24-2013, 02:14 PM
Congrats on 1,000 books Neil. I never would have guessed that many in our tiny little niche.
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02-25-2013, 08:36 AM
Quote: (02-24-2013 02:14 PM)RioNomad Wrote:
Congrats on 1,000 books Neil. I never would have guessed that many in our tiny little niche.
Well, not quite there yet but I will be soon.
Maybe most the reviews are coming for the manosphere readers but I think at least half of the buyers are travelers/backpackers. At least I hope so. I wrote the book with them in mind too.
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02-28-2013, 10:57 AM
Quote: (02-22-2013 10:18 AM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:
Quote: (02-22-2013 02:59 AM)PartyonBro Wrote:
I'm sure there are a TON of meetup groups on pitching scripts and stuff like that when you get down here. check that out...some are waste of time but many are free.
Good tip!
There's is also lots of information on youtube regarding pitching scripts and there are tons of books written about this. LA alone has a few hundred thousand screenwriters.
It's like the old saying.
Those who can do, those who can't teach. Or something like that.
Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach gym.
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02-28-2013, 11:52 AM
Neil, unless you have a hollywood agent you are wasting your time.
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02-28-2013, 09:33 PM
Yo Neil,
How about creating your own Youtube Channel or even better, put video updates weekly or every 2-3 days on the places you go. Much better to build a good following like this. I also believe your material is too hardcore and un-pc for the Hollywood crowd who caters mostly to the gays, manginas and betas in America. The only way I'd see Hollywood agreeing to screeing anything like what you are suggesting is by you playing down a few notches all the alpha/red pill stuff and make it more blue pill/mainstream. Which would be quite a pity IMO.
Ideally you want to be in total control of your material and what gets published and the only way to assure that is through your own site.
What do you think amigo?