Tell Your Friends!

As we come up on screenings, I can see the writing on the wall. This year will be no different than any other. A few filmmakers will drop by the blog to read about the submissions.

If they read about something I say is bad, they'll think I'm talking about their film and maybe post a nasty comment.

If they read about something I say is good, they'll think I'm talking about their film and post questions about premiere status and should they book their tickets to LA now, or wait until later? (Definitely wait).

After reading a post or two, they won't come back... until April.

The closer we get to announcing what films are in the festival, the more my numbers spike.

And that's fine. I get that. You're excited about your film, as well you should be – but by then, most of what I write about is of little use to the film you've already submitted.

I write about the trends we're seeing in submissions. Mostly the bad ones. If you're thinking about making a movie to submit to festivals, then you'll want to read my blog BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR SCRIPT. Find out what screeners are tired of seeing because every other filmmaker thought it was a cool idea. It probably was a cool idea when whoever did it first did it two years ago. Now, not so much.

Of course, I understand if you've already submitted that you're looking for any hint about how your movie is doing. I got the idea for this blog from a literary agent (that means books everywhere on the planet but Hollywood) who published her thoughts on query submissions without revealing any details about the work. I recognized her comments on my letter and made changes accordingly, and it helped.

Hopefully, you'll find the same kind of help as we move forward, but please – for our sake – tell your fellow filmmakers who are facing the blank page to read this blog NOW, not after they've spent tons of money and time on something no one wants to see.

Thanks for reading.