My 2024 as a Working Screenwriter
Or; The Year I Burned Myself Out
As is now an annual tradition, I’ve spent the last few days combing through my calendar and email and the dates on various scripts to try to put together for you this EXTREMELY THOROUGH detailing of what the heck I even did this year as a writer. Why? Well, I always find it fascinating (and inspiring) to hear from other artists how and why they work the way they do. And I think Hollywood in particular feels like a black box where nobody really knows what any of this work looks like until there’s a finished movie people can watch, which happens such a small percentage of the time. So, in the hope of demystifying just what goes into a screenwriting career (hint, a lot of free work on things that don’t pan out), I wanted to lay out for you (and for myself) what the heck I did this year!
Since a good portion of 2023 was spent trying to survive double strikes and a massive Hollywood contraction caused by venture capitalism’s destructive influence on the business (last year’s post here), I ended the year in a kind of frenzy, desperately trying to secure some paid work. I was thankfully staffed on a series starting mid December 2023, until June 2024, but still had quite a few feature film irons on the fire that I had to try to tend during that room. [I’m not mentioning the series’ name because, even though I’m done, I’m not sure I’m allowed to talk about it?]
Over the past year I’ve been focused on trying to go from writer for hire to writer/director, and that’s meant doing even more free work to try to cement a project that actually moves forward. The cost of ambition is that you’re always looking to grow out of what you’re currently doing. Which meant I spent a lot of the year juggling too much. And any time something did come up, I had to try to evaluate not only whether I was interested in it creatively, but also whether it would further my own career ambitions.
Anyway, that’s just a little back story to consider as you read this breakdown of my year as a working screen (and now television) writer.
If you feel like catching up on previous years, here they are! A lot of the stuff happening in 2024 started in 2023 and earlier.
If you feel like sharing this newsletter with a friend, well shoot, I’d love that! I did in fact start the substack this year, and it’s been one of the most rewarding parts of 2024, in my opinion!
JANUARY
Year starts with a general meeting with a very famous actor / producer. We have a nice coffee, they mention two specific projects for me, and… none of it ever materializes. I never hear back from them or their team again. Weird!
Lunch with a director for a project I’m adapting based on a YA novella (see 2023). The goal is to quickly put together a pitch and take it to buyers. Later that week we meet with the producing team. Goes well and seems like we have a good plan, I just have to crack a solid take. Seems like it should be a straightforward adaptation, everyone is eager to get moving. Our director is bullish on shooting it at the end of the year! [Take all timelines with a grain of salt, folks…]
General with a producer at an Action / Comedy outfit with some big movies. They have a concept I agree to write a pitch for because it seems commercial. A week later I’ve written something up and we talk with this producer’s boss who likes where my head is at and has some more ideas to improve the pitch.
General with a director coming off their first feature who wants to talk about future projects. Goes well and I like them. But as I’m currently working, and also trying to set up my own Directorial Debut… as I’m doing the calculus of where does my limited time go, it feels like it’s really better served being poured back into my own directing ambitions rather than helping someone crack a second feature.
General with a producer at a big production company. Really like him. Something he’d wanted to schedule pre-strike but we finally made it happen. No specific thing for us to work on together, we’ll see if this ever circles back to pay off. [Kind of the usual story with generals]
Meeting with an animation company I’ve pitched to before, they have a project in development they want to hear my take on. Would love to work with them. Would love to know what my next feature gig is in general — hence juggling all these pitches at the same time.
General with the president of a production company. She’d read a short story of mine that she’s not interested in (“too niche”) and is looking for bigger, broader ideas. She sort of soft pitches me something and we riff on it and I feel the excitement of “oh maybe this is something.” But when we’re off the call and I try to write up a pitch realize maybe it was just a good “Yes, and” conversation and in fact I’m not sure the premise sustains a feature film… I table it.
Pitch a Star Vehicle to the star (and his producing partners) which goes well, but I ultimately do not get the job. Producer calls to tell me, which in any other business would be totally normal but in Hollywood is actually super considerate, and I file them away as Definitely Someone to Work With. On the call I tell him about another idea of mine and send him that script soon after.
FEBRUARY
Meetings with publicists to talk about what to do for the release of Spaceman (now streaming on Netflix). Decide to not go with hiring a publicist (for this one). I do a bit of personal outreach to writers / publications to see if they’d like to talk with me, but not much beyond that.
Another call with the Action/Comedy producer with his feedback on the latest version of the pitch I’ve sent him. Do one more quick pass and then it’s ready to try to cast someone. [I leave this to him to try to do, and we go back and forth over this for a few months in the background but it never really materializes and kind of just peters out. Did I do this one wrong by not being pushier? Or did it fall by the wayside because it wasn’t going to gel? Hard to know.]
General meeting with a metaverse company that wants consultants. Don’t really understand their business model, what they’re selling, or how I can be helpful, so… this doesn’t really go anywhere.
General with a TV exec which feels like it goes fine but isn’t actionable.
Spaceman WGA Screening. Friends & family come to that, and a screening at Netflix’s theater in the Palisades.
Spaceman Los Angeles premiere at The Egyptian Theater. I do the red carpet. Talk with Sandler. Weird time.
MARCH
Pitch a movie I’d met about last year to a big toy company. This is something we’ve been talking about since October 2023. They like the pitch. Their strategy would be to get their boss’s approval and then try to attach an actress and then leverage having them attached to get development money. Feels like a backwards way to do things to me, as the writer, since this would mean pitching the movie over and over again without getting paid, but… seems like the trend in Hollywood is for companies to do everything they can to push any risk off of themselves and back onto everyone else. So this is a great example of that. Frustrating after months of back and forth that this very big company doesn’t want to just make a decision either way. [This basically peters out after here. Not sure if the company lost interest, or if I just didn’t pester them about it enough.]
Couple catch up meetings with old connections who have seen Spaceman and want to hear what I’m up to now.
The School of Canine Massage (short doc I produced) directed by Emma D. Miller premieres at SXSW. It goes to festivals all year (a lot of which I miss because I’m working, but Emma’s on the road all year long). It’s now available on Kanopy (one of the best streaming services, IMO, available through most but not all public libraries).
Hour long call with my manager about… now what? We run through everything I’m working on, what I should be focusing on, and he reminds me to chill out. I just had a movie premiere at number one on Netflix, but… I’m an insane person. I feel no chill. I actually feel desperate to set up the next thing, so that when the writer’s room ends, I know what my next job is. [Remember, I’ve been in the writer’s room for a series, and so I have been doing ALL OF THE ABOVE (and the below) before going to work, during lunch, or when I get home at night.]
I recognize that this is all insane. But you have to be an insane person to work in this business. And the financials of this industry feel so precarious at this point that I only ever feel okay if I know what the next job is going to be.
Also contributing to this desperate feeling is the fact that I really want to set up my Directorial Debut.
General meeting with a producer who’s read my Directorial Debut and doesn’t want to produce it (it's “too expensive” for his mandate) but he says there’s a cool movie in here and volunteers to help however he can.
Pitch to animation company. They dig it, have notes, when I come back it will be to pitch to the big boss.
General with directing team trying to find a first feature. Same story as the director I met last month. Don’t have the time to engage, as I barely have time for my own stuff.
Lunch with producer from that Star Vehicle (see January), who read my other spec and didn’t totally vibe with it, but did then read my Directorial Debut. Also a pass (for his company it’s “too small”) but he also volunteers to help. He’s worked with a few actors I think may be good for it, so could be useful when we’re casting. Promising to be getting “No’s” at all, especially when they come with “but I still like the project.”
APRIL
General with an actress I really admire. I don’t usually reach out to my agents to try to do these, especially if there isn’t something specific to talk about, but I saw they’d just moved to my agency and really think they’re incredible so reached out. We have a nice coffee, and hopefully someday we get to do something together. Who knows?
General with a production company as a Writer/Director. They’ve read my Directorial Debut and it doesn’t seem like it’s for them, but this is the first time I’m going in person to a general and talking about not just what I want to write but what I want to make. Pretty cool! Feels like progress, and also like I know what I’m talking about!
Talk to producers of this short story adaptation I have been doing FOR YEARS about next steps. [I pitched this project in 2020 and started writing it in 2021. I do not take the blame for the speed at which this has moved]
At the end of last year I threw them a curve ball, saying “I’d love to do a rewrite, but I’m pretty busy since this has taken so long, and I don’t know how much time I can give this now. But! I’d really put my all into it, and do it for free… IF I can direct the movie.” Which felt like a crazy ask, but they’re entertaining it.
Over the last month I’ve assembled a comprehensive pitch, including a beautifully designed deck for the movie, and we end up talking through that and a bunch of their questions for nearly two hours. Feels like a really fruitful conversation that ends with “We’d be really interested in this version of putting the movie together.” COOL! With that in mind, why don’t I go ahead and make revisions on the script, knowing that it would be for me to direct? I get started immediately.
Call with agents & manager about Directorial Debut and what to do now that we’ve collected a few no’s from our small list of VIPs (Very Important Producers). What’s the next best step? We decide: more producers!
Call with agents and the producer of this Genre TV project I developed last year about securing the rights to the underlying IP. The rights holder recently changed representation and now we have re-secure the rights. So I write a very nice letter explaining my enthusiasm for the material and we send that out to ask. Fingers crossed.
Pitch an Original Action Spec idea to a big shot action movie exec and he likes it. Is impressed that it’s a full fledged pitch. Wants me to come back and pitch to his boss.
Drinks with a writer pal I met last year to catch up, talk about the state of the biz (bad, weird) and OWA’s (bad, weird) and movies (good, we still love em).
Invited by a friend to do essentially anything I want with a space she has booked for a month, and decide to do a workshop of my play Everything Flashes. Bring my good pal Victoria on board to perform an immersive one woman show. We rehearse it nights and weekends for a few weeks before flying up to San Francisco for a weekend of secret little workshop performances. Have an absolute blast, learn a lot about the play, and feel excited about making things! Good!
MAY
General meeting with the producing partner of a horror director I’d nearly done a film with that fell apart at the last minute. We’d love to find something to do together. I pitch him the Genre TV project and he’s potentially interested for them. Send them the materials ASAP.
General with an exec I went to college with? He’s got a couple TV projects that sound cool to me. Fun to re-meet people you knew from long ago and see how far you’ve both come.
General with the producing partner of a cool up and coming horror director.
Pitch the Original Action Spec again. Big boss has some good insights to make it simpler. Maybe there’s a world where we could sell a pitch? I talk with my manager who thinks we’d be better off trying to sell a spec, as it’s a genre I don’t have a track record in, and that may make buyers skittish. If it’s a spec there’s more evidence that the project is undeniable. Something to consider. Either way, next step is to send a written version of the pitch to the producer, with his notes addressed, and we can have another convo.
General with an exec for drinks.
I hear from my reps that a very cool actor is looking for interesting projects and so we decide to try to submit my Directorial Debut to him. I write a really kind note to him asking him to read, and we send it along to his team. Fingers crossed.
JUNE
General with an exec that we’ve rescheduled a million times. We really hit it off. I mention a weird idea I’ve been obsessed with for a long time. He’s intrigued. I send him materials. He’s into it and slowly brings it up the chain of command within his company, but eventually it stalls out and they end up not wanting to pursue.
Final pitch to animation company big boss. Does not go great. I think the conversation between me and the execs steered my pitch in a direction that he did not anticipate. If I do get this assignment it will be despite my pitch.
Later that week they reach out to my manager and tell him that the big boss would like to talk to me again. My read was correct, he didn’t love the pitch, but he did like me, and wants to discuss. At least it’s not dead. I’d assumed it was dead.
Practice pitch to the YA novella producers. Goes okay… but they also have a lot of feedback on how to re-tool it, and how to better pass the pitch between myself and the director (it takes a lot more coordination to have a team pitching than to just pitch the idea for the script). So this will require an overhaul.
Set another call with exec to talk about the Original Action Spec and next steps on it. Whether we do want to develop a script together or try to take it out as a pitch. TBD!
TV room ends.
Turn a revised draft of the short story adaptation in to the producers, hopefully they dig it and we can get started!
JULY
Return from a trip to Paris with just a couple days to prep for a Father Figures shoot with Emma and her dad. We rented a theater here in LA for a day and had a pretty full schedule, so it was hectic. Got some incredible (and incredibly moving) stuff.
Sick for a week after travel and shoot and stress.
Re-meet the execs at the animation company to debrief on what went wrong. Sounds like my read was correct, we’d steered in a direction the big boss wasn’t anticipating. They’d like me to consider pitching the movie again…
I think about this for a bit.
Rather than re-pitch, I make some notes about what I think they didn't like about the pitch, and get on another zoom with the whole team. I run through the list and assure them that... if they don't like those things, the movie can change. We can gear the film in another direction. But I do not pitch the movie again. I just reiterate that I'd love to write the movie, and feel confident we can figure it out together.
Seems like this was a successful strategy, they like that I’m collaborative and thoughtful and, more than anything I think I just sounded reassuring and confident? Don’t close the deal in the room, but sounds like they’re going to make an offer.
Catch up with director on the novella adaptation. We're still trying to crack final details of our pitch, and going back and forth with producers with new versions. He has some thoughts after our last session, and we discuss how to hopefully get things solid for the next round.
Call with producers on the short story adaptation, they have some notes that they think it would be worth addressing. I get started on tackling those.
Director and I do another practice pitch of the novella adaptation for our producers. Everyone finally signs off on it, just in time to decide, "well maybe we should hold off on trying to pitch it since August is very slow in Hollywood." Feels like frustrating timing!
Meet with a producer friend of mine who first read my Directorial Debut in 2023 and liked the movie and wanted to produce it then, we've just been circling each other for months as I also try to share with other folks, and it feels like we should go for it! Let's go for it!
First order of business... we plan more time to discuss how to go about next steps -- casting / financing. To get financing you need a cast, and to get a cast you need financing. So it's a chicken and egg situation all films face. Where should we start?
Couple of general meetings over zoom, one doesn't feel like a fit for much of anything I'm working on. The other feels like a good place to sort of soft pitch the novella adaptation and lay the groundwork to go do a real pitch of it.
Finally hear that the producing partner of that cool actor we submitted the directorial debut to (in May) read the script and liked it. He and I meet over zoom and he agrees to pass it along to the actor now. We shall see…
AUGUST
In our second team zoom together, we do in fact come up with a strategy for the Directorial Debut. We’re waiting to hear on the cool actor but after that we come up with a dream casting list for the lead, and our best connections to each of those actors as to how we can make submissions and hopefully actually get it read.
Have another meeting over zoom with exec about Original Action Spec Pitch and he seems to be down to sign off on the kind of treatment I have of it. But we all agree it's probably best as a full feature spec, and so I sort of have my marching orders, which are... go write a spec. I'm pretty busy though so not totally sure when that's going to happen!
Zoom with producer of IP based television series. We did in fact secure the rights, and so we come up with another 5-6 names of directors that might be worth trying to get reads from. Alright, on to collect more no's!
Finish revising the short story adaptation and send it in to the producers despite feeling like there's still one big thing I haven't figured out yet. Hopefully they'll have good ideas to solve it!
We're set to meet at the end of the month (but that ends up getting delayed until September).
Lunch with a cool producer who passed on previous projects of mine but we hit it off and I've kept sharing ideas with them. They're very into a short story I'd written, and have ideas about how to craft a pitch document that might be able to get actors. I'd love to carve some time out to do this, because they seem like they're good at puzzling together commercial ideas into pretty compelling packages (something that's traditionally been tough for me, as I tend to write things that are a little less straightforward, and therefore don't let themselves to putting together a big package just off an idea). [Despite definitely being interested in working on this one, it keeps falling to the bottom of the priority list for the rest of the year, and kind of just peters out. It’s still on my To Do list though].
I am in fact offered this animation job. Going to take a while I imagine for the deal to get sorted out, which is good, because I'm heading out of town to go to the...
Venice Film Festival!
SEPTEMBER
Still hammering out the deal with the animated project.
Directorial Debut’s big actor submission finally reads and passes. Zoom with producers to talk who we send it to next. We come up with a list of actors who are also repped at the same agency as me, with the hope that they'll help us get the script into their hands.
I happened to have a general with a 2nd big actor's production company recently and brought the Debut up with them, so it's currently out to them. If they read and like it, we'll go that route, if it ends up being a pass, we'll then move on to our list of actors via my agents. We have a plan.
Head out of town to get away for a few days to try to start drafting the Action Comedy Spec. Get through a rough pass at Act One over the weekend, which feels like great progress.
Couple generals meetings.
Notes call with producers on short story adaptation. They have like a page of notes, really minor stuff. After getting those done, we'll try to take it out to actors.
We have our first pitch on the novella adaptation. Director and I trade back and forth, goes well. Get another 3-4 done over the next week (while I'm looking for a temporary office because our house is under renovation).
Know someone who’d appreciate reading this year in review? Share share share, I dare you!
OCTOBER
Zoom with an actress I adore who read a play of mine and is really interested in potentially getting to do it together. I sort of pitch her my vision for how that might work and she says "let's do it." Now I actually need to figure out how to actually do it.
I let my agents know about this meeting and they connect with my agency's theater department. Despite originally being a playwright, that's not how I met my agents, and so I don't actually have any connection to their theater department. I hit it off with the theater folks, and we agree to start trying to find a producing partner for this play, with the knowledge that we can, at least for now, say we have an interested, well-known actress.
By chance have a meeting scheduled in just a few days with a theater company's literary director and mention all of these developments to them. They don't actually sound particularly interested in helping out! Sometimes it's just bad timing / a bad fit. But still feeling excited about the possibility somewhere, sometime.
Pitch meetings begin in earnest with the director. Getting the sense from our pitches that we're sort of missing something hooky / catchy in the back half of the pitch. Feels like our audiences are getting a bit ahead of the film.
Hear “no” from the the 2nd big shot actor's producing partner on Directorial Debut. Circle back up with my producers about whether to go ahead and officially make a submission to one of our top three names. Takes a minute to circle up with them, and my manager, and my agents, to get us all on the same page about who we want to ask first, because I’m also traveling.
Nashville to co-produce another shoot for Father Figures. While there confer with manager and agree on who we want to submit Directorial Debut to. Overnight I write a personal letter to the actor we're submitting to, and send to my producers for any feedback. We get to a letter we like and send everything over to my agents to submit.
NOVEMBER
Our official submission for the directorial debut goes out to this actor (a submission includes script, lookbook, note to actor, my bio, a logline of the movie). We wait to hear from his agent.
Finally have a kickoff meeting with the animation company about the project. Since the deal is done, start work in earnest on the animated feature!
Zoom with the short story team about next steps. They're psyched about the draft, have a couple tiny tiny notes left, and then think I should revise my lookbook for the project so that it works better for actors we're sending it to. The first draft had really been to convince them to let me direct the movie. Now it needs to be geared towards people who are new to the project. Once that's done, and I write a letter to the actress we'd like to ask, we'll send the whole project (script, lookbook, personal note) out to her team to see if they'd read and be interested. Ok, time for some serious homework!
DECEMBER
We do the first ever Hollyweird Hang. It's fun! Next one coming up!
Director and I meet about our novella pitch. Feels like we're sometimes losing our audience during the back half of the movie, so we come up with a strategy to re-break the story for the 2nd / 3rd Acts and see if that helps in the last few pitches we have scheduled before the end of the year. Time for some more serious homework!
More pitches, with the new ending in place.
Zoom with an up and coming actor I think is great. Don't exactly know what we can work on, but hopefully we can find something! Like them a lot.
Hear back from last of the submissions for the IP based TV series pitch. Another pass. We're running out of our window with the rights for the property, so I huddle up with producer about whether we can / should ask the rights holder for an extension. After a bit of a waiting game, we hear back from them that they're willing to give us another short window of time to actually go pitch the series. So that'll be on the docket for 2025.
Directorial debut -- hear no from our first official actor submission via agents. Pick a second person to go out to. I write another note. We send it out just before everyone goes on break.
As the holidays approach, head to NY for some friends and shows.
I send newly revised short story adaptation, letter to actor, and lookbook out to the team. Ask whether they want to rush it all out before the holiday break, or wait until January 2025, and the consensus is… let’s wait until the new year!
And here we are! 2025.
Honestly, this year sort of feels like a blur. Both as a memory, and as I try to form a coherent narrative about it. I’m confident I’ve forgotten important things here, because there were A LOT of things happening. In hindsight, too many.
If there’s any recurring theme to be taken from 2024, it’s that there were quite a few things that sort of fell to the wayside, maybe only because of my lack of follow-up. I would have liked to capitalize on everything, but either couldn’t figure out how best to prioritize, or, more realistically, just kept biting off a little bit more than I could chew.
The constant straining for the next thing also meant that I wasn’t appreciating things as they did happen. I had a movie I wrote premiere at Berlin, and come out on Netflix! I had my first television writing job! I produced something that went to SXSW! I met some really exciting people! I had some friends team up with me to produce a movie I want to direct! I finished what I think might be one of my best scripts yet!
But, I was coming into a lot of those things a little bit fried, and wish I’d been able to take my manager’s advice and just chill.
Moving into 2025, I have two separate possible directorial debuts, both of which are starting to seriously go out to actors. I’m hoping one of those can get some traction and that this can be the year I really do start to grow out of writer for hire into writer/director.
I’ve also got this play Everything Flashes that, after doing the workshop in the spring, I’d really be excited to find a proper home for. Emma’s film Father Figures is going to start editing this spring, with some additional shooting still to be scheduled. And I have a feature film I’m supposed to be writing RIGHT NOW.
Honestly, it’s a lot. More than enough.
My friend Kevin Lincoln (he writes the chess substack Good Moves) asked what word I’d want to focus on as a kind of intention for the year ahead and I’ve decided the word is… pleasure.
I’d really like to focus not six moves ahead but on what I’m up to today. And enjoy it while it’s happening. Because it’s all pretty cool.
Anyway, that’s it for 2024.
If you’ve gotten this far and aren’t a subscriber of Hollyweird… here’s your chance.
For those of you who are interested, I’ll also be hosting ANOTHER Hollyweird Hang, this coming Sunday January 5th from 1-2:30PM PT.
The last one was a really nice time to hear from other writers and artists, hear what people are up to, ask for and get advice from each other, and just hang. I’d love for people to log on and join us this Sunday. And would love to hear what you got done in 2024, and what you’re looking to get done in 2025!
And I have to say thank you to all of you who’ve signed up this year for this newsletter. I started kind of on a whim, but it’s been tremendously meaningful that you keep opening this little email from me week after week.
I’m so glad we’ve connected and if you’ve gotten anything out of reading these weekly dispatches, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to drop me line by reply, or below in the comments.
Colby
This post gave me an anxiety attack 1/4 of the way in. But I appreciate you sharing what it’s actually like out here!
More than a year at this pace would see my blood cycled out for coffee 😳 Wow. Best launching into 2025! 💪