“You have enough life experience” – Lynn Renee Maxey, staff writer, The Handmaid’s Tale
Obviously, I didn’t grow up in where The Handmaid’s Tale is set, but there was a lot from my own life and the lives of my friends that I was able to adapt and put into the screenplay.
“You’re already a screenwriter” – Daisy Haggard, creator/actor, Back to Life
You can think you’re not following a structure, but it’s ingrained. You can just feel in the moment where a character needs to have more drive or something needs to happen—you feel your way.
“Make your pitch personal” – Dustin Lance Black, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Milk
The executives you’re pitching to have heard every idea there is. What they’re looking for is the one person to tell that story. So start by telling them who you are in relation to your story.
“If in doubt, shoot it yourself” – Craig Roberts, actor and writer/director of Eternal Beauty
Shoot with your friends. Filmic Pro is an app that cost AED50, Sean Baker shot the film Tangerine using that app and it shoots in 4K. The biggest room in the world is the internet so just put it on there.
