How You Can Get Into Show Business With
No Experience or Contacts
If you’ve ever thought that you could come up with a great idea for a television show or movie and thought that you could never make this happen because you didn’t have any show business connections or didn’t know how to write a script, you were mistaken.
I have been writing screenplays for about 12 years. And, I will be blunt. It is not easy to write a great screenplay. It is a complicated and exacting process that takes years for even a natural to master. I am proud to say that after all of this effort I eventually acquired a real Hollywood agent and am a produced screenwriter.
But, the great news is that there is another way that you can break into show business without having to do put in that kind of time and effort. You can become a producer. Now, I’m not talking about the kind of producer that borrows money from relatives and strangers and makes a small independent movie (although this is a possible way to break into Hollywood but requires risking a lot of someone’s capital.).
I’m talking about being a creating producer…a person that creates a great idea and then either sells it or partners with an already established entity in Hollywood that can make the project. The two most likely types of ways to do this that I know of are:
1) create an idea for a reality television show
2) sell an idea based on a true life story
If you don’t have your head buried in the sand, you’re probably aware that television is teeming with different reality shows. Every major broadcast and cable network is on a constant scramble to produce these shows. The reason is quite simple. They are enormously profitable. Compared to scripted television they cost very little to make and they generate ratings that equal or surpass scripted television programming.
The basics of creating a reality show are:
- Create an idea for the show. For example….a bunch of comics compete each week to see who the best comic is.
- Invent a format for the show….the comics will live together and will first face a comic challenge like facing down hecklers and then they will each secretly vote on who they’d like to challenge. The three comics with the most challenges must perform where an audience who will choose a loser that is booted off the show each week.
- Put together some simple written material that coherently presents this idea.
- Obtain a list of industry entities that are looking for ideas for reality shows.
- Submit your idea to them.
If you’re not into reality television there’s another option!
Selling projects based on true life stories is another highly viable option where a novice with a great story can instantly have an entertainment career. The fact is that the public finds true stories to be very interesting and producers know that a premise based on a true story has a “built-in” marketing appeal.
While it is possible to actually come across and sell a real life story, one way you can greatly increase your bargaining position is by acquiring the life rights to one or more principals involved in the true story.
But, don’t worry. You won’t have to risk any capital to do so. Let’s say for example that you find a very unique story in the newspaper and it names a certain individual involved. You do a little research to find the contact information for this individual. Next, you contact the person and explain that you are a producer (you don’t need to lie. If you are asked about what you’ve made before be truthful and say nothing, but that you are very passionate about this story and you’d just like them to consider what you have to offer.).
I’ve approached a number of people over the years like this and I’ve never had anyone that was rude or uninterested in hearing more. If they are interested in hearing more you explain that you will option their life rights for the story. An option on someone’s life rights is like optioning a house. You pay a small amount (as little as one dollar) to own the right to purchase the life rights within a specified period. With the life rights of a principal to a fascinating real life story, you have a strong bargaining position when you approach producers.
Here are the steps to obtain true life story rights and market them:
- Seek out a fascinating true life story either through the media or personal contacts
- Acquire an option for a principal’s life rights
- Create a simple written presentation of the story idea
- Develop a list of industry producers that are seeking out true life stories
- Submit your project to the producers on your list
If you obtain the interest of a producer you can negotiate a deal where you just sell your rights to the producer or you can possibly become attached to the project and be part of it’s creative process. Paul Lawrence is a produced screenwriter with a recently produced feature film, “Cruel World” starring Jaime Pressly and Eddie Furlong and has produced other feature films as well as signing contracts with more than one major producer to create reality television programming. If you want to learn all the nuts and bolts of how you could be become Hollywood’s next success story without any experience or contacts follow this link: