Writing a TV Movie and Breaking into the Business OnDemand Webinar

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

The hardest part of building a career as a screenwriter is breaking in. As the major studios continue to shrink the number of theatrical films they produce each year (and base more and more of them on comic books) the difficulty of breaking into theatrical feature films has never been harder. However, as the number of broadcast, cable and online networks continues to increase, the need for original television movies has never been greater. Individual networks cater to a specific audience and often produce a specific genre of film, so if you write a television movie that caters to the needs of a specific network, the odds of selling it are greatly increased.

This is the Golden Age of television and even though there are currently a vast number of opportunities, the business is still extremely competitive. It's still exceedingly difficult to land a coveted job on a series without an agent or manager, but Lynn and other writers have been able to find work in television movies all on their own. Once a writer is produced it lends them legitimacy and opens doors to other producers and network executives enabling them to build their career.

Lynn has developed her craft of writing in various genres and formats over many years, but she jumpstarted her career in TV movies. Many of the successful producers working in this arena produce numerous TV movies a year and they need product. Get advice and insight into crafting and selling a script they're looking for so you can jumpstart your own career!

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• An overview of the current TV movie landscape
• Which networks make the most original movies and what they're looking for
• How to figure out the correct act structure for each network
• Specific breakdown of how to write a romantic comedy for Hallmark and a thriller for Lifetime
• Get your script into the hands of producers without an agent or manager
• Attract talent by writing intriguing characters
• Elevate your writing with character flaws, dilemmas and arcs
• "Give them the same thing only different." Use a standard format to create a unique story
• Hold the audience's attention with twists, turns and reveals before act breaks
• Use strong thematic pull to write a script they can't put down that translates into a movie the audience won't turn off
• Write a TV movie as a backdoor pilot to launch a series
• Capitalize on your success of selling a TV movie to open doors into writing theatrical films

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

• Writers who want to write for TV
• Writers who want a produced credit on IMDB
• Writers who want to make the shift from theatrical films
• Writers who want to master a particular genre
• Writers who want to write for a specific network
• Writers who want to elevate their writing and give it more depth
• Writers who want to get into the WGA
• Writers who want to jumpstart their career