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Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 14

March 1st, 2012 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. The standard steps for organizing and writing a screenplay is logline, outline, treatment, and then screenplay. True. 2. The term for the amount of money a screenwriter should be paid [...]

Steve on Screenwriting: How to Pitch in One Sentence

February 2nd, 2012 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

I’ve heard thousands of pitches in my 30 years as a screenwriter. What I’ve found is that the majority of pitches were too long, unfocused and boring. First of all, you should pitch what your story is about, not what happens in your story. Pitching what happens in your story is a recipe for disaster. [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 13

January 5th, 2012 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. After a certain period of years, the original writer of an unproduced screenplay can purchase the project back from the buyer. True, but it’s going to be very costly. 2. [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 12

December 1st, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. High concept scripts sell for more money than non-high concept scripts. True. 2. Bringing in a poster of your movie won’t help sell it. False. When pitching, having your potential [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 11

November 3rd, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. Producers have a call back list of 50 people per day. False. Their call back list is more than 200 people per day. 2. Pitch Festivals give you 15 minutes [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 10

October 6th, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. You should always take a journal with you to every pitch meeting. True.  Record the date, name of the company and what projects you pitched to them as well as [...]

Steve on Screenwriting: Protecting Your Material

September 1st, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

There is no absolute method of protecting your ideas or screenplays. There are however, a number of steps you can take to give yourself the maximum protection possible. Ideas and loglines are the written material that are the least protect-able. I recommend expanding any story idea you are planning to pitch to a three- to [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 9

August 4th, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. The reaction you want when you’re pitching is “Why didn’t I think of that idea?” True. 2. The title of your material is not important. False. The title is the [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 8

July 7th, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. “Pay or play” is a term that means a writer has to be paid whether the buyer likes the material that’s been written or not. That’s true. 2. For a [...]

Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 7

June 3rd, 2011 in Steve On Screenwriting by Steve Kaire

How high is your Screenwriting IQ? Take this quiz and find out how much you know about the business of screenwriting. True or False 1. The first five pages of a screenplay should be devoted to giving exposition and the character’s back story. That’s false. The back story should be layered in gradually throughout your [...]