The One Thing You Should Be Doing For Film Writing Success As Told By The Writer of Dallas Buyers Cl

This week Craig Borten, screenwriter of the Dallas Buyers Club, was in Vancouver for the film festival to talk about his craft. His biggest advice was not to write a spec for the big studios but go out and actually make a movie.

Big studios are taking less chance on unknown scripts and are paying less money than they use to for those screenplays. They are more focused on sequels and adaptations and superhero movies than new and original work—no matter how brilliant.

The best way to get people to pay you for writing films is to go out and actually do it. I know sometimes this takes a little investment on your part but if that is truly what you want then the sacrifice is worth it.

To become a successful writer takes time and perseverance. Craig Borten spent 2 years researching and writing the script and another 20 years trying to get it made. It got optioned 4 times and rewritten by several other writers and had countless actors attached to it including Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson before Craig was able to buy back his script with the help of Matthew McConaughey.

But even with McConaughey's help, the film wasn't a sure thing as funding was pulled several weeks before shooting.

These days, most scripts, especially those from less established writers need a big film star invested in the story in order to get it made. If Matthew McConaughey hadn’t told his agents he wasn’t going to accept any new projects until he filmed the Dallas Buyers Club then it is doubtful it would have seen the light of day.

Making films is a difficult and often frustrating business, especially since so much of your success depends on finding the right people and as Craig Borten fully admits a little luck along the way.

You need the confidence that if you tell a good story then a guardian angel will appear to champion your cause.

But you can’t just wait around for your guardian angel. You should be making movies now, not 20 years from now. Build up your reputation and Hollywood and the big sudios will take notice.

So I encourage you to take heed of Craig Borten’s advice and go out and film your script with a good crew and not wait around for somebody to pick it up.

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