Idea for a movie. Now what?

[PetFish]

How does Joe Average with an idea for a movie submit it to people who might want to make it?

[BlobVanDam]

How fleshed out is this idea? I doubt Joe Average could get anywhere if it's just a basic idea. I think you'd need a fair bit of stuff planned out before you could pitch it anywhere. I wouldn't know what to do at that point, unfortunately.

[tjanuranus]

At least write a rough script an copyright it but really you should try to learn some screenwriting basics and go from there. There are some great books And video courses out there. I've been studying it for a while now in my spare time. It is a lot of fun and you will probably never see Movies the same way again!

[PetFish]

I just thought of it today but the brainstorming just kept flowing so I think it's got a lot of good stuff in it.

I Googled "movie idea now what" and it says I can register it (~4-page summary) with the Writer's Guild of America to protect it and then I can submit it to people who might want to make it but they don't give a contact list or anything.

I'm actually thinking about producing a 2-minute "official" trailer and see if it can go viral.  I have the equipment and software but I'm not a pro.

I dunno, I'm getting excited and ahead of myself and I need to stop, cuz more than likely I won't even do anything with it but right now it seems like a good idea.

[tjanuranus]

Check out "story" by Robert McKee. And anything by syd field. Those would be gooD starting points. You have to know the rules before you can break them basically. But there is more to it than most people think. Hope it works out for you.

[BlobVanDam]

I just thought of it today but the brainstorming just kept flowing so I think it's got a lot of good stuff in it.

I Googled "movie idea now what" and it says I can register it (~4-page summary) with the Writer's Guild of America to protect it and then I can submit it to people who might want to make it but they don't give a contact list or anything.

I'm actually thinking about producing a 2-minute "official" trailer and see if it can go viral.  I have the equipment and software but I'm not a pro.

I dunno, I'm getting excited and ahead of myself and I need to stop, cuz more than likely I won't even do anything with it but right now it seems like a good idea.

If you've just come up with it, I definitely suggest you try to write a summary/outline, and maybe even try to sketch out some stuff (depending on what kind of movie your idea is). I would think the more you can show of your idea, the better.

[MykeHavoc]

Write a script and hire an agent to submit it to producers and studios. Gotta know the right people. Odds are your first 100 screenplays will go unnoticed. But if you work your way up the chain, you may in ten years time find someone willing to give you a chance. But likely, you'll have to move to California and be willing to eat beans out of a can and intern for free to learn the ropes. The best jobs seem to be uncredited rewrites, which a lot of top writers of today do to keep food in their bellies and their one bedroom apartments paid for.

Honestly, its not a business I'd suggest investing in as everyone and their brother wants to make just as much, if not more. Entertainment in general is an almost impossible nut to crack. If you're doing it for fun, then get local investors involved and produce it independently. Will still be a nightmare, but you can often have more hands on involvement with it.

Good luck!

[TL]

While the chances of getting it to anyone currently making movies is extremely slim, definitely be sure to send yourself a copy through registered mail before submitting it anywhere, and keep records of who you send it to and when.

[PetFish]

Thanks for the advice, guys, it just all sounds so easy when you hear the story of how a big movie got made cuz of some kid's 30 second Youtube clip of a class project.

[zepp-head]

Honestly the first thing you need to do is get it down on paper in a solid format.  If you're familiar with screenplay format, do that.  Either way, write a treatment.

Get the written evidence of your story on paper and copyrighted before you start shopping it around.  Once that is done, try shopping your treatment around more than the screenplay itself since it's MUCH shorter and more likely to be read.  Also enter into screenplay contests, but keep in mind the big ones have thousands and thousands of entries, and most of those are discounted if the first 10 pages are typical or boring. 

[TempusVox]

Foremost make sure that there’s a whole movie. The mistake that a lot of writers make is they have a great idea for a movie, or a book, and everyone defines an idea for a movie or book differently. For example you might say, "I have this great idea about a guy who keeps getting fired from all his jobs, so he starts a business for other people who have been fired." Well, that’s a character, and it promises kind of a direction for a film, and it's got a bit of a concept in it, but it’s not a movie. Or, " I have an idea about aliens in the ocean!" Okay, that's a genre, but what is the story? who are the characters? what do they have to say?

 Probably the best way is to write the story out, and then work on the screenplay. Be aware that the structural rigors of writing a screenplay are at the utmost difficulty to accommodate in terms of a writing style versus prose writing. Where I may be able to expound on something in a novel, my writing style must be much more concise if I were writing a screenplay. I'm not saying it's that much harder really, but very different. Trying to find somone to write the screenplay for you will cost you a small fortune. So doing it yourself is probaby the best way to go. I would suggest that having an idea accepted by a studio is longer odds than having the story published as a book. Studio's get hundreds of scripts every day, and it's nearly (not totally, but it seems that way) impossible to have a studio read your script. There are companies out there that claim they will pitch your ideas to the studio's. Caveat emptor on that one my friend.

It's a really tough nut to crack. I have a studio speak to me on average at least once a year. But they are a fickle, and difficult bunch. They usually want their screen writer to change a bunch of things. I'm not into that. I have sold a few things to various production companies and studios. At this precise moment in time none are in production  . But they came to me.

Many production companies actually solicit ideas, so keep a look out for that.

Good luck. Let us know how things progress.

[Gorille85]

It's super hard so good luck!

[PetFish]

Get the written evidence of your story on paper and copyrighted before you start shopping it around.

How do you copyright it?

[TempusVox]

Get the written evidence of your story on paper and copyrighted before you start shopping it around.

How do you copyright it?

Go here for all off that info:

https://www.copyright.gov/

[tjanuranus]

Get the written evidence of your story on paper and copyrighted before you start shopping it around.

How do you copyright it?

What you described about the 30 second video into a movie is basically a pick 6 lottery ticket. Not a good plan for getting a film made!

[MykeHavoc]

While the chances of getting it to anyone currently making movies is extremely slim, definitely be sure to send yourself a copy through registered mail before submitting it anywhere, and keep records of who you send it to and when.

That's actually a myth and doesn't hold up in court.

[orcus116]

Be prepared to have your idea completely dismantled by a team of marketting people and studio execs.

[adameastment]

Be prepared to have your idea completely dismantled by a team of marketting people and studio execs.

Then remantled with James Woods as the lead actor.

[unklejman]

Are you dead set on this being a huge budget hollywood movie? There are lot's of Independent film makers. My company just made our second movie. It's not great and wont show up in the theaters but it's a completed full length feature that is making some money.

[TL]

While the chances of getting it to anyone currently making movies is extremely slim, definitely be sure to send yourself a copy through registered mail before submitting it anywhere, and keep records of who you send it to and when.

That's actually a myth and doesn't hold up in court.

Really? I'll admit I'm not all that familiar with how such things work in the US. It definitely works here in Canada.

Are you dead set on this being a huge budget hollywood movie? There are lot's of Independent film makers. My company just made our second movie. It's not great and wont show up in the theaters but it's a completed full length feature that is making some money.

This. If it doesn't need to be a big budget spectacular, you may actually be able to shoot it yourself, or at least have it made on a smaller scale. It's getting easier and easier to do with the advances in digital film making over the past decade, and in the internet age, it's very possible to find an audience outside of the studio/theater system. It's also much cheaper than it used to be, since you won't have to deal with film stock.