NeoBlackCinema

It’s a delicate balance between sharing your work and protecting your work. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so copyright everything, either with the Writers Guild or with the US Copyright office.

There’s no foolproof way to insulate yourself from unscrupulous types. You have to believe that you are an artist, you create content, you have the ideas and the skill set to bring those ideas to fruition.

Try looking up production companies and producers on IMDB (the pro version) to find out who is producing the stuff you’re best at their submission procedures. Agents are a more difficult pursuit (not that any of this will be easy), and agents already have a roster of clients they’re working with, so unless you have a script that everyone is clamoring for, it will be difficult to get their attention. In this day and age, a great route to take is to produce your own script. Write a script for a short film, something you can shoot in a weekend, in the genre you most enjoy writing. Then make the film.  I’ve made many shorts and it’s gotten me more attention than sending out blind query letters. Don’t forget to shoot me some of your stuff when you’re done! 

You know it when you feel it. It’s as simple as that.  If your Mama didn’t tell you, let me tell you: use your instincts.  Never, never ignore them; if it feels bad, it will be bad.

Having said that, there are ways of minimizing your chances of getting confronted by people who (to put it mildly) aren’t interested in just your acting talent. The most important step you can take is to seriously reflect on the way you present yourself. Make sure you’re always behaving like a professional; if you believe you’re a great actress who deserves respect, other people will be much less likely to try to take advantage of you.

On the other hand, you also want to present yourself as someone that filmmakers would be eager to work with.  Movie making is a big deal and filmmakers want to get a feel for how it will be to spend two days or two months working with you.  A lot of getting to know someone happens in social situations, whether it be lunch or dinner meetings, coffee, premieres, or after parties.

The bottom line is: be social, be pleasant, but be clear. Don’t send mixed signals. If you’re not interested, don’t act interested.  And if you’re at dinner with the hottest filmmaker in town and you start getting that uneasy queasy feeling and you’ve been clear – walk away! This is a person who doesn’t respect you and they will not take care of you as an artist. And although you may feel like you’re losing an opportunity, in the grand scheme of things, you will have saved yourself a lot of aggravation. I know it’s difficult to balance professionalism and sociability, but I promise that mastering this one art will do wonders for your career. Best to you. 

There are many, many factors you should consider when picking a project, but I’ll name three.

First, choose something you’re passionate about. What issue or story really motivates or inspires you? Is there an issue that you believe doesn’t get enough attention? When you take on a project, you might be spending years on a single subject, so it has to be a something that wakes you up first thing in the morning and keeps you up at night.

Next, choose a subject that is specific and original. Do you want to explore rain forests of South America? Sex trafficking in the Philippines? The death penalty in Texas? Social awareness is a large arena; choose a topic with a narrower focus that offers viewers a more intimate, ground-level perspective. Before you finalize your topic, do some research to make sure you have a unique perspective on the issue.

Last but not least, choose a topic that is entertaining. I like that you mention this in your question.  Because whether it’s a documentary about corporate greed or a drama about child abuse, we want you to make us laugh, cry, think, discuss, and debate. Challenge us. Shock us. Make us mad. Tell us the truth. Trust me, we’ll love you for it.

Can’t wait to see what you come up with.