When you read that title, you’re probably thinking, “That sounds kind of clickbaity, Carson.” I agree. It does sound clickbaity. But, actually, the message in that title is the key to saving Hollywood. No, I’m serious.
I am speaking to producers with this article. I am speaking to studios. I am speaking to streamers. I am speaking to agents. If you want to bring good screenwriting back to this town, you need to start spending 7 figures on scripts again. And, just as importantly, you need to publicize it. As in, START CONTACTING THE TRADES AGAIN AND PUBLICIZE YOUR SALES! Let me explain why.
The other day, I saw an article announcing that someone was trying to put together a Pacific Rim prequel series.
Let me repeat that: Someone is trying to make a Pacific Rim TV show.
Pacific Rim was one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen. It had the intelligence quotient of Transformers and the filmmaking ability of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
The fact that Hollywood is now trying to make a TV series out of this bottom feeder IP shows that they have nothing left to make. They’ve scoured through every single IP in their basements, from both the television and feature side, and, since most of those shows bombed, they don’t have anything left!
How did this happen?
It happened because there aren’t anywhere near enough talented screenwriters in town to support the amount of product being made. There are 750 scripted TV shows out there at the moment with an average of 12 episodes per season. That’s roughly 9000 episodes being written every year. The industry does not have 9000 good screenwriters.
My rough estimate is that there are about 5 great writers in the industry, i.e. someone who can write a Succession.
There are 15 or so really good writers, people capable of writing a Ted Lasso.
And there are 40-50 good writers, people who can write a Silo.
From there, there are a ton of average and, even, bad writers. People who write stuff like Secret Invasion.
That total number of good-to-great screenwriters in town equals about 1/10 of how many shows are getting made. Which means 90% of the TV shows out there are garbage.
And it doesn’t take long to figure that out on your own. How many times have you watched a pilot and thought, “This is pretty good.” You then watch the second episode and think, “This is okay.” And then you watch the third episode and notice that the show is falling apart right before your eyes. If a show manages to get me past the pilot – which is rare – that cycle happens almost every time.
Why?
Because the creator of the show obviously spends a lot of time on the pilot script, making it perfect. They then spend less time on the second episode, which is why it’s only okay. And then the third episode is usually the first time a staff writer comes in and writes an episode.
I just watched this happen on The Acolyte. When Headland was writing the first two episodes, they were, at least, decent. But the second they brought in a staff writer with virtually no writing experience to pen the third episode, the show completely fell apart. And this is for a 180 million dollar show! We’re giving below-average screenwriters with zero experience 25 million dollar episodes! Which is insane!
What does this all mean?
A couple of things. Number 1, we’ve got way more shows than we have writers with the ability to write those shows. Number 2, we have a weak overall pool of writers in town. I would say way weaker than we’ve ever had.
The reason for this is, everybody gets a bite at the apple now, even if they don’t deserve it. In the previous era, you had to scratch and claw and fight just to find the seed that would allow you to grow the apple tree, that would then take years to grow big enough to give you an apple that you could then bite into. The competition and the dedication required to get in the game were way more extensive and, as a result, only rewarded those who were willing to put in years of work.
So I gave some thought to why that was. Why are we giving shots to bad writers?
Simple. We don’t have a choice. There aren’t enough ones.
Let’s face it, screenwriting isn’t nearly as cool today as it was 30, or even 20, years ago. I can’t remember the last time I read an article about some cool new screenwriter who wrote a great script. These days, articles focus on the hot new podcaster or the hot new influencer. These are the people who are getting press in this industry. Not screenwriters.
Well, why is that?
The answer can be found by asking when did Hollywood get the biggest influx of screenwriters? It was in the 90s. Why? Because every freaking week the trade magazines were reporting a million dollar script sale. What does that do to people reading those articles? It makes them want to become screenwriters!
I don’t think Hollywood ever intended for it to do so. But all those stories were de facto advertisements to become a screenwriter. They had inadvertently infused the Hollywood pool with an endless supply of writers. If you take away the advertisements, you don’t get the aspiring screenwriters anymore.
There’s a lot of talk in town about the movie business declining. About the golden era of TV being in the past. The reasons they give are that there’s more choice out there (podcast, YouTube, internet, etc). But I don’t buy that. Movies and TV are great because they’re such passive watching experiences. Which means they don’t require a lot from the viewer. It doesn’t take much to turn on your TV.
The real problem – the one the studios don’t want to admit to themselves – is that they’re giving people a subpar product. And guess what? It ain’t because of the directing. It ain’t because of the production value. The production value of TV and movies has SHOT UP EXPONENTIALLY in the past 20 years. What does that leave?
THE WRITING.
It’s the writing that’s the problem.
Good writing HOOKS PEOPLE and KEEPS THEM HOOKED.
Very few writers working in the industry have enough experience to have learned the tools that allow them to do this.
If you want better writing, you gotta advertise to those potential aspiring writers out there in Iowa and Florida and Illinois. I’m telling you – if you start publicizing stories about people making a million dollars from selling scripts again? You will get a whole new wave of people racing to Hollywood to write scripts. I don’t care if they’re doing this on the feature side or the TV pilot side but they need to do it! They need to do it if they want to survive.
Cause the more poorly written shows and poorly written movies they give us, the less we’re going to want to watch the next movie or show.
Okay, so what does this mean for you! For the writer who’s been writing for a long time and still hasn’t had their big break?
It’s AMAZING NEWS for you.
It used to be that, if you spent 10 years trying to become a screenwriter and you hadn’t made a dent, you were washed up. That’s no longer the case AT ALL. Now, you actually know how to write! All these people they’re putting on these Star Wars and Marvel shows? They don’t know how to write! You’re better than them!
But the industry isn’t going to come to you. If there’s one thing these bad writers have over you it’s that they’re hitting the ground harder. They’re putting themselves out there more, either through social media or directing their own scripts or just good old fashioned hustle. Studios choose these people because these are the people standing in front of them. You need to put on some nice clothes and stand in front of *those people* if you want a shot.
Cause the industry doesn’t know you. Or know you’re better. You have to advertise yourself for them to know. So, blanket every outlet online with your best scripts until you get that yes. Again, people don’t say “yes” often. So, if you get 10 no’s, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re screwed. What did TJ Newman, the writer of the book Falling (essentially a book-screenplay) say? That she got rejected 44 times in a row before she got that yes?
You have to fight and promote a lot harder than you think you do.
And please do!
Cause I want to have a freaking good TV show to watch!
There will be no post on Monday, as it’s Labor Day here in the U.S. But I will be sending out the newsletter over the weekend, which includes a review of a buzzy new project from one of the industry’s best directors. If you’re not already on the newsletter list, e-mail me: carsonreeves1@gmail.com
