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ARIANNA EISENBERG "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

12/24/2014

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"Dream of Orpheus" by Nicole Bolla, 53rd Venice Biennale

MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU: 3rd in a series of special posts giving extended versions of the interviews for "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!"

**Can you think of any other reasons why a producer may reject an otherwise well-written, good script?

I can’t get in the head of another producer but one reason for us is that we normally do in-house projects only; meaning we produce our own concepts/projects. As a writer/producer I certainly have so many ideas that it keeps one constantly busy. Having said that, I have optioned some amazing projects in the past. If you get a script that is on a subject matter of interest to you and has that “magic” you’re hooked. We get so many submission inquiries weekly that it’s difficult to handle all of them. We don’t normally accept unsolicited material for a variety of reasons including the fact that we may have something similar we’re already working on and don’t want the legal hassle down the road. So it’s not that your script or idea isn’t a good one, it’s that a producer or production company may just have a large slate of their own.

Do you have any advice for writers regarding rejection?

Rejection is always difficult but it’s a fact of life – so you have two options. You either fold or you deal with it and move forward. My father told me years ago that the “only reason you won’t succeed is because you quit.” That was good advice and I’ve always kept it in mind. Just because this person or company isn’t enamoured by your script doesn’t mean it’s not good. It just means it’s not a fit for them. Keep trying. If you’re lucky you may be able to get “notes” from a producer as to what they would have done differently. Critique is not criticism. It’s an opportunity to hear another’s POV and to make changes where applicable. Change can only make it better. Even at the studio level there can be upwards of 25 to 30 rewrites on a script. So don’t feel defeated – make changes and keep going. You should be your own critic as well – that way you’re in a position to take any critique to heart rather than it being a dagger to your soul. KEEP MOVING FORWARD ALWAYS. If it’s your passion then you ultimately will succeed.

Is there something positive you've learned from rejection you yourself may have experienced as a producer that you'd be willing to share?**

I began as a journalist and can’t tell you how many stories were rejected in the beginning. I kept an actual file for all the rejection letters and with each letter I kept looking at what I had written and think about why it was turned down. I would change it up, add to it, take away from it, do more research, put in more detail and eventually I got my foot in the door. The thing is I kept trying to make it better, always better. From that point on you continue to get better at what you do – you make it your craft. Again – rejection is a fact of life. There is a great deal of content out there and an even greater deal of competition. Be smart about it in thinking “how can I make myself or my work stand out?” Come with something unique and different. It doesn’t matter if you get a thousand rejections – the only one that matters is the one who says YES. At that point all the others fade to black!

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PAUL WEBSTER "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

12/24/2014

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"Buddha's Hands" by Huang Yong Ping, 53rd Venice Biennale

MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU: 2nd in a series of special posts giving extended versions of the interviews for "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!"

Can you think of any other reasons why a producer may reject an otherwise well-written, good script?

I might turn down a good script for a variety of reasons; too much on my plate being the most common one. The other reason is that I don't find it fits in with the kind of thing I want to do, my 'brand' if you like. Yet another reason is that, despite a scripts evident qualities, I believe that it will be very difficult to finance and that the risk / reward ratio is too firmly in the 'risk' category. I'm also not very interested in micro-budget work; if the script is good I'll be more likely to want to work with the writer on a larger scale idea than take on the original project.

Do you have any advice for writers regarding rejection?

Rejection is an unenviable but essential part of the life of a creative person. There are simply too many ideas for too few outlets for it to be any other way. A writer should always look for the positive in a rejection. Any producer or executive worth their salt will always find something good to say about a script and that's food to a writer, something to feed their ego and strengthen for the next round of submissions.

Don't give up, don't ever give up BUT also make sure that your belief has some basis in reality. Make sure your friends and supporters tell you the truth and that your persistence is justified.

Is there something positive you've learned from rejection you yourself may have experienced as a producer that you'd be willing to share?

The first lesson a producer needs to learn is that when he or she is told 'No' they pay absolutely no attention and keep on going. Rejection should feed your rage, your sense of self-righteousness. It should also make you grown up and pragmatic; always have the next project on the boil. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Always have an alternative and don't let your belief in an idea become an obsession unless of course you are from the Werner Herzog school of self-belief in which case your absolute single-minded belief and desire will move mountains (or haul ferry boats up them) and you'll get it done or die trying.

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HOSSEIN AMINI "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

12/24/2014

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"Black Arch" by Raja & Shadia Alem, 54th Venice Biennale

MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU: 1st in a series of special posts giving extended versions of the interviews for "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!"

Reasons why a producer may reject an otherwise well-written script:

It could be that there’s a mismatch between the scale of the film and the resources a prod-co can muster. Film companies don’t like to admit that they’re not in a position to make a film. Instead they’ll issue a straight rejection, which leaves the writer thinking there’s something wrong with their writing or with their script. This is self-defeating for the industry, because it’s in the industry’s interest for writers to keep going and to get better.

Advice for writers regarding rejection:

Persistence, single-mindedness and the ability to find a silver-lining that keeps you going (placing in a competition, getting good feedback, etc.). The longer you keep going the more likely you are to (a) get better at screenwriting and (b) come to the notice of someone who will make all the difference in your career. It took me 4-5 years. I experienced a lot of rejection. Nobody that started writing at the same time as I did is still writing today… It’s so easy to give up at any stage!

Even once you make it, you’re still not out of the woods as far as rejection is concerned. You may have one of your re-writes rejected, or you may not like the film the director creates from your script or if you do like the film, the critics and/or public may not. Rejection happens at every stage and at every level.

How you pick yourself up after rejection is key. The success-to-rejection ratio in this industry is 5% to 95%. You need to find a way to cope with rejection. I allow myself to feel depressed and angry for a day or so, then I picks myself up and use those feelings to energise myself to write another draft. If it’s an entire script that has been rejected, I immerse myself in books and films, and fall in love with storytelling all over again.

Another tactic is to read about the rejections others have experienced. I particularly recommend “Smoking In Bed: Conversations With Bruce Robinson”. If it can happen to him, who am I to complain?

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Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: DON'T GIVE UP

12/24/2014

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Michelangelo Pistoletto, 53rd Venice Biennale

(First posted on the Bang2Write Website 14th December, 2014)

Those of you who attended London Screenwriters Festival this past October and succeeded in getting synopsis and script-read requests from Producers at Pitchfest may be starting to get rejection messages round about now. I know I am. Rejection is unpleasant. Nobody likes it. But know this: even those who’ve “made it” experience rejection on a regular basis.

I spoke to three industry pros to get their take on this thorny issue:

- star writer/director HOSSEIN AMINI - Our Kind of Traitor, Two Faces of January, Drive…

- veteran British producer PAUL WEBSTER – Pan, Locke, Eastern Promises…

- award-winning Hollywood writer/producer ARIANNA EISENBERG - Jemiyah Jones YA novels, Inside Pandora’s Box, Mata Hari: Her True Story…

Between them, they gave me SIX reasons producers will reject an otherwise well-written script which are nothing to do with YOU the writer:

1. They only produce concepts generated in-house

2. Their slate is already full

3. They are already producing a similar concept

4. It’s not their genre or doesn’t fit with their brand

5. The scale of the film doesn’t match their budget range

6. It’s unlikely to provide the kind of return their financial backers expect.

What can you as a writer do to minimise the risk of your script being rejected for one of these six reasons?

¡¡MARKET RESEARCH!!

Find out about producers, their taste in films and the size of their deals. There’s loads of information out there, on that Internet-thingie – all for FREE! Filmmaking is a business. If you want to be part of it, you need to understand it.

MAKE REJECTION WORK FOR YOU

Growing that proverbial thick-skin is as essential to making it as a screenwriter as the ability to write, network and pitch. The best writers use rejection as a way to energise them to do better.

“Rejection should feed your rage, your sense of self-righteousness,” says Paul. “It should also make you grown up and pragmatic: always have the next project on the boil… Always have an alternative and don't let your belief in an idea become an obsession - unless of course you are from the Werner Herzog school of self-belief in which case your absolute single-minded belief and desire will move mountains (or haul ferry boats up them) and you'll get it done or die trying.”

Hossein reminds us, “Even once you make it, you’re still not out of the woods as far as rejection is concerned. You may have one of your re-writes rejected, or you may not like the film the director creates from your script, or if you do like the film, the critics and/or public may not take to it. Rejection happens at every stage and at every level.”

Arianna agrees. “At the studio level, there can be upwards of 25 to 30 rewrites on a script. If you’re lucky you may be able to get “notes” from a producer as to what they would have done differently. Critique is not criticism. It’s an opportunity to hear another’s POV and to make changes where applicable. Change can only make it better.”

Here are FIVE tactics our three industry pros use:

1)    Let yourself feel the pain for an hour or so, then move on. Get over yourself!

2)    Immerse yourself in books and films and fall in love with storytelling all over again.

3)    Find the silver-lining – even though the producer rejected your script, did they say something positive about your work?

4)    Remind yourself that even the most successful writers and filmmakers have experienced shed-loads of rejection. (Hossein particularly recommends reading “Smoking In Bed: Conversations With Bruce Robinson”.)

5)    Change it up, add to it, take away from it, do more research, put in more detail – keep trying to make your writing better, always better.

KEEP WRITING

The longer you keep going the more likely you are to (a) get better at screenwriting and (b) come to the notice of someone who will make all the difference in your career. It took Hossein 4-5 years! “I experienced a lot of rejection,” he says. “None of my friends who started writing at the same time as me are still writing today. It’s so easy to give up at any stage!”

“Don't give up, don't ever give up BUT also make sure that your belief has some basis in reality,” Paul advises. “Make sure your friends and supporters tell you the truth and that your persistence is justified.”

“My father told me years ago that the only reason you won’t succeed is because you quit,” Arianna says. “It doesn’t matter if you get a thousand rejections – the only one that matters is the one who says “YES!” At that point all the others fade to black!”

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ARIANNA EISENBERG "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

PAUL WEBSTER "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

HOSSEIN AMINI "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: DON'T GIVE UP

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