Free Money, But Not Much of It

Telefilm has recently announced a new program to support English screenwriting in Quebec. Deadline is February 13. It's intended to give a lot of support and professional feedback, and a couple thousand bucks, to help develop either a TV project or a feature. You have to be a produced Quebec anglophone writer working with a Quebec "anglophone producer."

"Anglophone producers" are producers who have produced 51% or more in English. Which leads me to ask: who are the anglophone producers in La Belle Province? Aside from Galafilm, Muse and Kevin Tierney, who qualifies? Cirrus and CitéAmérique both are strong producers of anglo work, but probably would not qualify for the program as they produce more than 51% in French, I'm guessing.

Any of you kind readers care to add to this very short list?

When Do You Go Out?

Q. How do you know when to start looking? That's my biggest issue. I've got two features, a spec pilot, an award winning short and two substantial treatments. I just don't have that one great feature that I'm really proud of. Do I just say screw it and give them what I've got?

Yep. How do you know how good you are? Maybe you're hypercritical and your stuff is good enough. Maybe it's terrible. How do you know? You can't, until you gauge the level of showbiz's interest in you.

Anyway, what do you have to lose? Say you go out with your stuff right now and no one likes it. Six months later, no one will remember your bad stuff. But if they like it, you've succeeeded.

Odds are your first two features are not, in fact, salable. But you can learn something from the process of going out with them. So long as you don't spend too much time in the marketplace -- so long as you spend most of your energy on your writing -- go for it.

Spec Pilots and Staffing Season, Cont'd

Q. But Jane says agents are looking for spec pilots

She also says in a later post that spec scripts are still the way to go, among other reasons because fellowships won't look at spec pilots.

But a more important reason to write a spec script is it's easier. When you write a spec pilot, you have to write a compelling hour of television, AND create characters WITH their voices, AND create the world of a show, AND set the season arcs in motion, etc. etc. etc.

It is very hard to write a pilot. On many shows, the pilot is one of the weaker episodes. And that's after casting, directing and editing.

If you are writing a spec HOUSE, all you have to do is write a great episode of HOUSE. We already know what Hugh Laurie looks like. We know how he is going to deliver your lines. When your write a snippy little line, we know exactly how it's going to come across.

Agents may be open to looking at spec pilots. But most agents are still looking for a solid spec episodic script. And if you don't have episodic credits, they are really going to need to see one.

Q. And Jane says prime agent shopping season is January-March.

I've heard otherwise. Based on my conversations with agents, my impression is that you want to be hooking up with an agent in the Fall, so you can re-polish your specs in time for Christmas. January-March, your agent is already getting network execs and showrunners to read your specs, so when staffing season rolls around, they know your work.

In my own experience, and from what I've heard, if you try to get an agent to read a potential new "baby writer" client in March, the agent is likely to say, "Sorry, I'm full up right now. Can you call back after staffing season?" (Something, I suspect, that Jane hasn't had to hear in a while, if ever...)

Bin Laden Embarrassed by Presidential Candidate's Name

Apparently Osama is embarrassed by the similiarity, too.

Querying Spec Scripts

Q. I get how to query an original [feature script] but I'm less clear on how one would query an existing [tv] show spec script.

It's simpler. You don't have to describe the main character, for example. Instead of "a war-weary veteran who's killing time working at a paint store," all you have to say is "House" or "Jack" or "Jack" or whoever.

You don't need to say much. Really just the territory. In a feature spec, they're interested primarily in the hook, and only then the execution. In a TV spec, it's mostly about the execution. So they are going to have to take a look at your pages. Maybe not all of them, maybe only 5 of them if they see something they don't like, but they can't go off the query.

So, if you're speccing a House (and who isn't these days?), you'd say something about the patient of the week ("a runner whose leg may have to be amputated"), and something about House's personal drama in that episode. (Never ignore the emotional component!)

So really you're not querying the whole story, as you would with a feature, but more like the territory. Even with a stunt spec, you really only need to query the stunt: House hires a new intern named Meredith Grey.

Q. And the fact that I have several scripts, how much do I say for each one in a single letter?

I don't think you need to mention other specs. If they read and like the first one, they'll ask for your second spec. But you could say, "I also have a Grey's Anatomy spec."

Q. Do they record each query so they can blacklist me in the future if I get annoying?

No one keeps track. Who has time? And you're only going to query once per script. So if they actually remember you from 6 months ago, and you're offering a new spec, you could only get points for persistence.

Q. How often do you send out new queries (or re-distribute old ones)?

You send out new queries when you have a new script you're proud of. November or December would be a good time, if you're hoping to get into next year's staffing season. By this time of year (February) most agents already have a full roster and are trying to get people to read the clients they have. See my other posts on staffing season.

By redistribute, I assume you don't mean sending the same query to the same agency again. Don't do that. You can always send a query to an agent at an agency to whom you have not proposed that particular script.

Your old spec may still be good, and that's what you'd send as your second script if you get interest.

By the way, I hear a lot of conflicting info about spec pilots. My take on spec pilots is: don't write a spec pilot unless you've written some produced television, or at a bare minimum have one or two kickass spec episodic scripts.You're trying to show you can write other people's shows. Writing a pilot shows neither that you can capture the voice of another show, nor that you can write episodic tv. A pilot is, after all, more like a feature, because it introduces characters and situations and does not have to relate to established story lines. It is also much, much harder to write a kickass pilot than a kickass "center cut" script. (Something I'm struggling with right now, thank you.)

I would say write a spec pilot if you've proven through staff jobs that you can write episodic TV. Write a spec pilot if you think you've got a shot at setting it up somewhere, or if you're looking to break out of the niche you're in.

That said, there are people who've got hired with spec pilots or even plays. But I wouldn't count on doing that.

The Light Returns

Happy Groundhog Day / Candlemas / St. Brigid's Day / Imbolc!

Promises, Promises

Our 11-year-old son is trying to get us to let him watch HBO by promising that he does not copy whatever we watch on TV.

Which is a relief.

'Cause we're watching DEXTER.

He's still not going to get to watch it.

We're not even sure we're old enough to watch it...

Competitions that May Not Make It Across the Pond

Remember Iron Chef? France has Le Fer D'Or, an ironing competition. Competitors iron shirts and pants. At high speed. Really well.