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

"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?