 Writing Treatmens That Sell (with Chi-Li Wong) Authors' Message What is a Treatment? Script Example Screenplay Example Sample Chapter |
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| Why A Book On Treatments?
This book answers the two questions we're asked most often by aspiring screenwriters at film and television workshops, lectures, and writers' conferences:
The answers provided in Writing Treatments That Sell are based on our practical experience as screenwriters, literary managers, and producers (as well as what we've learned from our development and editorial associates and clients at Atchity Editorial/Entertainment International, Inc., and AEI's Writer's Lifeline). Our advice is descriptive rather than prescriptive, based on observations of industry practices rather than on philosophical principles. That means you should take what we say here "with a grain of salt," using what works for you and ignoring the rest--because everyone who knows anything about show business knows that there are no hard and fast rules. Success occurs through individual effort combined with access and luck (luck is just another word for timing). If you're serious about your writing career, you'll figure out everything we say here on your own. We're just hoping to expedite your learning curve so you get where you want to go sooner rather than later--and with fewer painful detours. The third frequent question that inspired us to write this book is, "Why do I need a treatment?" The honest answer is, "If you have a screenplay written already, or if you're very lucky, or both, you may not." But sooner or later, if you want to sell a story idea without writing the entire script, you'll want to know about treatments. If you're having story problems now, a treatment will help solve those story problems. The two primary roles played by the treatment in today's entertainment business lie in selling and in diagnosing a story. Every storyteller dreams of seeing the characters in his story come alive each week on television or up on the silver screen. There's nothing more exciting! We've shared this happy experience with the writers we manage. A project called Sign Of The Watcher by Brett Bartlett, was rejected (under the title Walk into My Parlor) fourteen times in its first submission to buyers. AEI's Writers' Lifeline re-evaluated Brett's story, used the treatment form to work on focusing plot and characters, changed the title--and sent the treatment of the re-tooled story back out through Brett's manager-producer Warren Zide. Several studios were intrigued enough by the treatment to request the full manuscript; it eventually sold to Propaganda Films for $750,000! Was refocusing the story easy for the writer? No. It took months of reworking the characters and action line and rewriting-- dozens of times--the treatment we used as our selling tool. It was the roller coaster ride of Brett's life. And like a roller-coaster ride, Brett's journey began with the excitement of a great story idea, the dream of seeing his story become a film, the fright of the dips and sudden turns of rejection and rewriting, to the exhilaration of having hung on to the end, a little out of breath, a bit bruised but damn what a ride! And Brett's not the only one who's taken this ride. With the proliferation of channels and new cinematic distribution media, new writers are in demand now more than ever before. The Writers Guild reported that between 1985 and 1994, screenwriting accounted for 393 millionaires. "Writers odds have never been better," according to Thom Taylor, writing in ScreenWriter Quarterly. But because an estimated 10,000 scripts are submitted to Hollywood every year, in those same nine years 90,000 scripts were read to produce those 393 big winners. Those are odds of 229 to 1. But we've always believed, and advise our writers to believe, that "the odds don't apply to us." We've written this book to help you stack the cards in your favor with inside industry information about the buying and selling of stories, and about how to use the treatment to accelerate your breaking into Hollywood. Most people we know in the industry take their work very seriously. We do, too. The game of creating images for the big and small screen is the most exciting one we know of, and its players are intense. But though writing and selling your writing is a serious business with serious upside potential, don't let it get you so serious that you forget the fun of creating. Creation, after all, is an adult form of play. Don't be so married to your way of playing that you can't consider making a change: a change that might sell your story, or that might sell it for more. Keep yourself inspired by continuing to write while you market what you've already written; if one story doesn't sell today, it might tomorrow. And when you sell the first one for big bucks, all the others you've written suddenly become valuable commodities. We start, in Chapter 1, by examining exactly what a treatment is, and how it's used in the industry to make a sale and/or to lay out a story; here we also distinguish the treatment from its cousins the synopsis, the outline, and the coverage. Chapter 2 discusses original treatments for motion pictures, emphasizing the dramatic elements effective treatments contain: hooks, climaxes, protagonist, conflict, action, scenes, theme, character (function, minor, supporting, and major). We offer a summary outline of the motion picture's 3-act structure that reminds you to ask yourself: Who's my protagonist? What's his problem? How does he overcome it? Treatments for television, following their own special rules and with their distinctive 7-act structure, form the subject of Chapter 3--where we also deal with television's special needs for subject matter to fit demographically specialized audiences. In addition, Chapter 3 shows you how a television movie deal works, and how to get from treatment to deal. In Chapter 4, we present the "bible," as the treatment for a dramatic television series is known in the industry. Chapter 5 scrutinizes the writing of treatments "based on" true stories, "inspired by" true stories, or "from true stories," and also tells you how to find and secure the rights to a true story. Adapting a novel to film is the subject of Chapter 6, which offers, as an example of the adaptation treatment, "Shadow of the Cypress," a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. Now that you know what a treatment is, and how to write one for every occasion, Writing Treatments moves, in Chapter 7, to those crucial questions, "Who are the buyers?" and "What are they buying?" We deal here with both the television markets, in all their complexity and changeableness, as well as with the more stable feature film market. In presenting the latter, we tell you how to distinguish between "in-house production companies" and "independent producers," and what to ask of both as you approach them with your story. That leads naturally to the question we hear repeatedly: "How do I protect myself?" Chapter 8 answers the question both technically--by outlining copyright law and Writers Guild of America registration procedures--and practically, by letting you know what the actual industry practice is when a story is submitted for consideration. Our industry glossary will help you interpret terms like "turnaround," "buzz," and "right of first refusal"; and understand exactly what "option" and "high concept" mean. Writing Treatments concludes with a list of recommended further reading, including the sources we've drawn on in preparing this book. Two final pieces of introductory advice: In learning about all the trees in the entertainment industry woods, don't lose sight of the woods themselves. As several commentators before us have pointed out, there are only two important considerations in making a solid sale: concept and castability. You have to have a great idea, with a "wow factor" of 7-10 (on a scale of 10) if you want to break into show business in a big way. High concept means an idea so clearly focused that it can be expressed in two words, like "Jurassic shark," the pitch used to sell Steve Alten's Meg to Disney Pictures and Doubleday-Bantam. The second element is castability, which simply means creating a protagonist that every top male star in the business will want to play. Focus on those two, and, with the help of the practical techniques presented in Writing Treatments, you will find your way into the fold. Our second final advice is, Maintain your optimism. Optimism is the only faith capable of sustaining the daily ups and downs of the screenwriter's life; besides that, it's the attitude your successful entertainment industry colleagues will recognize as their own, and respect you the most for. You'll succeed in this business if you believe you'll succeed, and when you make an irrevocable commitment to continue writing and marketing your stories until your success is acknowledged by both buyers and audience. See yourself receiving that first Emmy or Oscar. And don't forget to send us our commission! |
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