Does anyone know how to sell a screenplay?

Question

My finacee has written over 10 screenplays. They are really quite good and i have been encouraging him to sell them. Does anyone kow how to go about doing this? I have been trying to locate agents but they seem to be reluctant to take on new work

Answer 1

Keep on trying agents.You have to find out which agent looks at new manuscripts by unknown writers. Not all, of course, but some do. It's the only way to get your foot in the door. No Hollywood or New York film maker is going to spend time to look at every manuscript sent to him or her. They're way too busy. So you have to do it through an agent. Try New York City agents, however, they are less caught up in the whole Hollywood scene, and if they like the first page and the plot they may continue reading it. Most agents will read at least your cover letter. If that impresses them, they might read your first manuscript page. If they like it, they'll read until they get bored.

Answer 2

Check out the Screenwriter's Market- it's a "white pages" for agencies and agents. This is almost anessential book to consult when looking for an agent, as the books has information on what type of material, new or established writers, etc.

I've used this book before and found it quite useful.

Answer 3

Screenplays are extremely difficult to sell. However, several websites include notices from companies looking for scripts, and a place to post a description of the script.

The best I've found are:

www.hollywoodlitsales.com
www.nefilm.org
www.inktip.com

Answer 4

I will just give you the plot: The film opens with Buddy Holly's beginnings as a teenager in Lubbock, Texas and his emergence into the world of rock and roll with his fictional good friends and bandmates, drummer Jesse Charles (Don Stroud) and bass player Ray Bob Simmons (Charles Martin Smith), soon to be known as The Crickets. Their first break comes when they are brought to Nashville, Tennessee to record, but Buddy's vision soon clashes with the producers' rigid ideas of how the music should sound and he walks out. Eventually, he finds a more flexible producer, Ross Turner (Conrad Janis), who, after listening to their audition, very reluctantly allows Buddy and the Crickets to make music the way he wants. While there, he meets Turner's secretary, Maria Elena Santiago (Maria Richwine). His budding romance with her nearly ends before it can begin, when her aunt initially refuses to let her date him, but Buddy persuades her to change her mind. On their very first date, Maria accepts his marriage proposal and they are soon wed. A humorous episode results from a misunderstanding in one of their early bookings. Sol Gittler (Dick O'Neill) signs them up sight-unseen for the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, assuming from their music that they're an African-American band. When three white Texans show up instead, he is stunned, but unwilling to pay them for doing nothing, he nervously lets them perform and prays fervently that the all-black audience doesn't riot at the sight of the first all-white band to play there. (In real life, that distinction belongs to Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers, who played at that venue in 1956.) After an uncomfortable start and an initially hostile crowd, Buddy's songs soon win them over and the Crickets are a tremendous hit. Gittler books them to come back several times. After two years, Ray Bob and Jesse decide to break up the band, feeling overshadowed by Buddy and not wanting to relocate to New York City. Initially, he is saddened by their departure, but he soldiers on. When Maria announces that she is pregnant, Buddy is delighted. On February 2, 1959, preparing for a concert at Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly decides to charter a private plane to fly to Moorhead, Minnesota for his next big concert. The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens (who is reluctant to fly, but wins a coin toss with Tommy Allsup for the last seat) join him on the flight. Meanwhile, the Crickets, feeling nostalgic, appear unexpectedly at Maria's door, expressing their desire to reunite the band. They trace Buddy's next tour stop at Minnesota, and they plan to surprise him there. After playing his final song, "Not Fade Away," Holly bids the crowd farewell with "Thank you Clearlake! We love you. C'mon....we'll see you next year," unaware that, for him, next year will never come. A caption at the end reveals the deaths of Holly, Valens, and the Bopper in a plane crash that night and dedicates the film to his family and friends. The movie ends by saying "...And the rest is Rock and Roll."