There are no for-sure ways to break into the industry as a writer. But if you've never sold a script before, you might want to start by looking at the holidays.At least, that's the advice from filmmaker Courtney Miller, who got his start through the holiday movie circuit. In an interview with Film Courage, Miller walked through the business realities of writing holiday films and why they might be your best shot at first getting paid as a screenwriter.Between Lifetime, Hallmark, Ion, Bounce, and now Netflix, roughly 60 to 70 new Christmas movies can get made every single year. This year it was close to 100. If you understand the formula, those numbers present a huge opportunity. "I keep telling all my friends who've never sold a script before, you want to sell a script, write one of these," Miller said. "Go watch a few, learn the beats. It's all the same stuff."Miller's experience in this realm began when he was hired to write what would become A Stone Cold Christmas for a network. It was, as he puts it, "completely a business decision.""At that point, I hadn't written or directed anything on a professional level quite yet," Miller said.If you're curious about the specific tropes that drive these stories, we recently covered how to use (or break) them effectively.Check out the full interview here. - YouTube www.youtube.com The Customer Is Always RightMiller frames holiday movie writing as a business decision first and a creative exercise second. When asked about...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday