Selling a Film or Television Project: A Resource Guide
It’s all about putting your best foot forward ...
No, Steven Spielberg does not have to create treatments for his films. If he’s attached as a director or a writer, he’ll be greenlit if one of his companies does not finance the project itself.
He may ask you for a treatment, however. Drew Barrymore also, for that matter, whose Flower Films with partner Nancy Juvonen has been going strong as a production company since 1995.
But how many of us have attained Spielberg’s success to this point? Likely none of us, if you’re reading this. Regardless, he once wrote, with Melissa Mathison, a treatment for an “E.T.” sequel entitled “E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears.”
See here for that rare piece of movie history: “E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears” Treatment
The point of this newsletter issue is for writers of any level to overdeliver on their work when getting ready for a pitch. Putting your best foot forward in the jungle of film and television writing and selling means, in this regard, preparing additional sales material.
See here for television:
And here for film:
Writing a Salable Television Bible
You will not always be asked for such material, but preparing treatments and bibles not only will help you “just in case,” but will also aid immensely in the writing and/or refining of your project.
NOTE: Within the two articles above you will find links to innumerable bibles, treatments and outlines. I strongly suggest you take a look and see for yourself how impressive, and comprehensive, these material are.
Finally, some of you know I also write some screenwriting blogs for ScreenCraft.
See here:
I hope you find these resources worthwhile. In the meantime, I will be back on Thursday. Keep writing, and enjoy your day …
Best,
Joel Eisenberg, Writer-Editor, “Writing For Your Life”