Hi Scott,
I have a question regarding open writing assignments... what is the best way to go about trying to obtain one?? Do you have to have a manger/agent first or can you just write a solid pitch and try to reach the producers in charge? I am a current member of onthegrid.com which has all the current assignments online and have some great ideas. I was just curious as to your expertise on the subject. Thanks!!

Chris

Hi Scott,

You wrote a while back about generating ideas every day, giving you of hundreds of potential script concepts to work with. How do you choose which of your ideas you want to pursue, and how far do you take a concept before you know it's working and you want to write the script or not working and going back in the drawer?

Thanks!
Mary

Hi Scott,

Long time reader, first time question askerer.

How come in rom-coms, 98%* of the time someone within the romantic coupling is working in television, 72%* of the time as a producer?

Thanks!

*figures may not be accurate

Now that Trojan War and Alaska are out on DVD via the Warner Archive, have you considered perhaps doing some posts on the respective histories of those projects?

If you give us a few weeks notice before those posts go live, we could all order the DVDs and watch the films in preparation. (and boost your royalties in the process.)

This may sound like a silly question, but how do you read a script and watch a movie solely from a screenwriting perspective?

I'm an English major, so I've done my fair share of literary deconstruction, but I often find myself getting lost in the script or movie because I'm enjoying things to much.

What is the best way to deconstruct a script? A movie?

Hey Scott,

Long time admirer of the blog. My question is about using an idea from someone else in a script (while giving them credit for it). For instance this woman with Lupus created this "spoon" theory to explain her illness and now it is all over Youtube. It is brilliant. I'd like to have my character reference this (or if not "this" then something similar) in my story as she tries to explain her illness to her love interest. First of all -- is this ok, and second -- do I need to write this woman asking for permission? I know with a book I'd need to secure an option -- but with an idea I wasn't quite sure what the protocol was. Thanks!

Andrew