?????? Confused about the Movie Business ?????
Question by Samantha: ?????? Confused about the Movie Business ?????
I have two questions. I think only a professional would know the answer to these, but I’m hoping that someone here just might. All right !! So I’ve learned that when you make a script you can sell it to a studio. You and the studio agree to make a movie on it & make changes to the script to make it shorter on time. My 1st question is …..
#1 ) In this Case can an actor, director, producer (etc.) wants to make changes to a script on set…. would you have to consult with the Executives that did minor changes to the script & talk with them first to see if it’s o.k. ?
Now before you do any of that you have to make a pitch to the studio on your idea. You might be a regular person and this is someone Else’s script that you are both in the process of selling. A professional Executive (friend) to a studio told me that The executive chooses the Director, Actors, (etc.) my question is ….
#2) Could the person that pitches the idea, Are they ultimately the Producer of the movie ( at least with a college degree in this field * experience* )?
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* How is it the Executive chooses the crew when i thought the producer and casting director they hired is in charge of that……Not some executive??? *
Please ! anything will help! my mom works in a corporation and someone she works has a family member that works in the Business. ( No i’m not going to stalk him ) I just want an interview to answer my questions, but my mom keeps forgetting time from time to ask. She cares about me and helping me, but she just…..well…..forgets……age i Guess. So until she remembers, I have yahoo to help me.
Best answer:
Answer by Baby Ruth
Yeah, that’s pretty much all wrong. There are many, many ways movies get made. They can be made in the studio system or independently. Both of those options are pretty much just variations on where the money comes from.
Since you seem to be asking about the studio system, we’ll start there.
Screenplays can be sold many ways. First, it can be from a pitch. A writer (or team) basically tell a studio executive what the basic idea of the movie is. If the studio “buys” the idea, what they’re doing is paying the writers to actually write the script. The second way is for the writer to sell the completed screenplay on “spec”. This means that the writer wrote the thing for no money up front, and is trying to get a studio to purchase the rights to it. And a third way is for the executive to come up with the idea, and then hire a writer to actually produce the script.
None of these avenues guarantee a movie will be produced. At this point, each of these scripts is in what’s called “development”. The studio will then read the script, evaluate it, ask for changes, and quite possibly hire a completely new writer and effectively fire the first one.
Typically, the person who puts the writer in contact with the studio is an agent, manager, or a producer. These people can also get interest from actors and directors to “attach” to the project in a a package deal. So often, what the executive at the studio ultimately gets is a script, an actor and a director all ready to go.
Pretty much all an executive does is “greenlight” the movie, which is nothing more than agreeing to pay for the movie.
However, before the greenlight comes, the actors and directors can all give input into the script and develop it further. Once they’re all happy with it (Producer, Star, Director), they go to the executive for the greenlight.
When the film is in production, they can still fire the writer, bring on a new one, who will rework scenes or portions of the script. At this point, the person who approves those changes are the Director.
Actually, it’s even more complicated than that, but that should cover most of your question.
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