I got a lovely email this week from a commissioning editor. He likes how I write and how I put together a show bible. That's another item on my screenwriter's bucket list crossed off: Find a high level commissioning editor who loves my work - Tick! My bucket list is my primary motivational tool. And, today I want to share it with you. A regular bucket list is the list of things a person wants to do before they die. You know the kind of thing: raft up the Amazon, eat at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant, sky dive naked. A screenwriter's bucket list is the list of achievements they want to hit in their career. However, this isn't just the wish list a screenwriter may have about having a big TV series, or a blockbuster movie to their name. This list is more comprehensive than that. It's a dissection of what an individual writer wants from writing, some of which can be the big ticket, dream items. Some of which need to be things the writer can completely control. When I first started out screenwriting, one of the items on my bucket list was to write the script for a feature film. Another was to get a script onto a producer's desk. Another was to get a writer's credit on the IMDB. Basically my list went like this: Earn a living as a writer Win an award as a writer Complete a feature script Direct a short film Write and direct a feature film Get option offers on a film script
Write a screenplay other people believe is good
Go the the Cannes Film Festival As I developed as a writer my list started to get more ambitious and specific: Pitch a TV series to HBO in Los Angeles Attach a major name to a script Write a novel
Show run a TV series
Write an episode of Dr Who
Create a set of characters who resonate with people
Write a blog post every week without fail The funny thing is, with all the good news recently, there are now very few items on that list that I haven't achieved. Recently I've had to start adding to it again. So, for instance, wanting to write an episode of Dr Who is a recent addition. However, what's more important is that simply by always having items on the list which are in my own hands, I have always been able to sustain my belief in what I do. I have hung in longer than many of my peers, simply because I have always known what it was I wanted from screenwriting, and it wasn't only something as amorphous as "making it." I knew that going to Cannes, directing a short film and writing a novel, were just as important as getting options and being a showrunner. I think a lot of screenwriters struggle with what they do because they don't recognise the milestones on the journey as achievements... and, more importantly, they don't have a personal way to measure their success. I really believe in the bucket list. If nothing else it tells us why we are writers and what our path is. I also believe it's good for us to see our naked ambition on the page. If your ambition is to be a top Hollywood screenwriter, or a great auteur, then we have no excuse for not pushing ourselves. Nothing is worse than a screenwriter who acts like they only have modest ambitions, when really they yearn to be outstanding. The other thing I would say to writers is this... there are more items on our list that are in our own control than we may imagine. I got my IMDB credit, my feature credits and my directorial credits on independent movies. I didn't wait for a producer to discover me... I became my own producer. A trend that I still believe in... a writer should produces until another producer can see the value in the product. But that's a story for a different day keep writing and viva la revolution (I'm in Venice this weekend and may not be able to moderate comments - apologies)
Write a screenplay other people believe is good
Go the the Cannes Film Festival As I developed as a writer my list started to get more ambitious and specific: Pitch a TV series to HBO in Los Angeles Attach a major name to a script Write a novel
Show run a TV series
Write an episode of Dr Who
Create a set of characters who resonate with people
Write a blog post every week without fail The funny thing is, with all the good news recently, there are now very few items on that list that I haven't achieved. Recently I've had to start adding to it again. So, for instance, wanting to write an episode of Dr Who is a recent addition. However, what's more important is that simply by always having items on the list which are in my own hands, I have always been able to sustain my belief in what I do. I have hung in longer than many of my peers, simply because I have always known what it was I wanted from screenwriting, and it wasn't only something as amorphous as "making it." I knew that going to Cannes, directing a short film and writing a novel, were just as important as getting options and being a showrunner. I think a lot of screenwriters struggle with what they do because they don't recognise the milestones on the journey as achievements... and, more importantly, they don't have a personal way to measure their success. I really believe in the bucket list. If nothing else it tells us why we are writers and what our path is. I also believe it's good for us to see our naked ambition on the page. If your ambition is to be a top Hollywood screenwriter, or a great auteur, then we have no excuse for not pushing ourselves. Nothing is worse than a screenwriter who acts like they only have modest ambitions, when really they yearn to be outstanding. The other thing I would say to writers is this... there are more items on our list that are in our own control than we may imagine. I got my IMDB credit, my feature credits and my directorial credits on independent movies. I didn't wait for a producer to discover me... I became my own producer. A trend that I still believe in... a writer should produces until another producer can see the value in the product. But that's a story for a different day keep writing and viva la revolution (I'm in Venice this weekend and may not be able to moderate comments - apologies)
Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog
