Becoming a professional Hollywood screenwriter is no easy task. It requires skill, talent, hard work, luck, and yes, knowledge. Not just the knowledge of how to craft a story, but an understanding of how the industry works. How you break in, who the gatekeepers are, what they're looking for. And then once you get your break, how do you keep it all going--how do you score the next job and the one after that?
In December 6th's No Budget Film Club event, where we will discuss the making of my new feature The Last Days of Capitalism, we're not only going to show you how we made this movie for $40,000, but Adam Mervis, the writer/director, is going to do a mini-Master Class on how to make it as a professional Hollywood screenwriter. After years of plugging away, first as an actor, then as a playwright, Adam sold a screenplay that became the $5 million feature The Philly Kid. Then he got his big break with the screenplay for 17 Bridges, which became the feature 21 Bridges, starring Chadwick Boseman and produced by the Russo Brothers. His new film as a screenwriter (and also Executive Producer) is called National Champions, and it opens theatrically on December 10th:
