Writing For Hollywood at San Francisco Writers Conference

Writing for Hollywood name badge for Sandra V. McGeeFriday, February 17, 2023 – The Bay Room at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco was packed for the all-day Writing for Hollywood Summit at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

I was there on scholarship thanks to the Napa Valley branch of the California Writers Club.

The audience was a mix of creatives. Some hadn’t written a screenplay yet. Some had and were trying to sell it. Some wanted to adapt their books to the big screen (that’s me).  We were all a bit jealous of the gentleman who announced he just sold his medical mystery screenplay to ITV (International Television) in Britain.

The panel of professionals covered:
– What Hollywood Wants (Answer: At the moment, horror and murder mysteries.)
– Intellectual Property
– How Books Make It (Adapt) to the Big Screen
– Fade In: Screenplay Formatting
– Bam! Pow! What Makes a Dynamic Script

My takeaways:

– Be persistent
– Get used to hearing no, change, and cut – and respond enthusiastically if you want to work
– Be persistent
– Treat yourself to something nice should you make it through any of the 700 hoops it takes to get your brilliant “baby” noticed and produced
– Be persistent
– Do what you’re doing because you’re passionate about it even if no one else cares
– BE PERSISTENT

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