November 29, 2009

Victoria Wisdom – How to Get Your Script Read

With a name like Wisdom, how could I not sign up for a session with her?  Her middle name may very well be Passion, or Motivation, or Energy – she spoke with much of each while living up to her surname.

To sum up her class in a blog entry would be impossible, so I’ll do my best Chris Berman impression and give a few highlights.

Learn the rules so you know how to break them – Know Hollywood statistics – Know who the up-and-comers are – Know your competition – Most common genres, in order, are action, comedy, thriller, and drama – 50% of audience is under the age of 24 – In a meeting, you have 15 seconds to capture the attention of an executive – Don’t query (heard this many times at the Expo) – Execs will read e-mail, but you have 3-5 seconds to capture their attention

Ms. Wisdom wasn’t shy in lecturing her crowded classroom.  When most of us were unable to name the all-time Australian Academy Award winning movie, Somersault, we were given an earful.  Really?  Is it imperative that we know something so trivial?  I’m going to have to defer to Ms. Wisdom and agree that knowing this industry inside and out will offer a distinct advantage.

It goes back to the premise of this entire blog – education.  The more ammo in the magazine, the better equipped one will be for this battle to enter the well defended Hollywood fortress.  It’s funny how many people embark on this journey assuming it’s an easy ride.

Did I say funny?  I meant sad.

1 comment:

socialspidvid said...

Nice tips! Will have them implemented on our net few projects.