Hi Tony, thank you for the insightful and fascinating read! I'm an independent filmmaker just starting out in the business – my work in the ultra-indie scene has landed me representation, and with it an introduction to the "one for them, one for me" system you've described here. Truthfully, I've found this paradigm a bit confounding, and have been told my loglines are too "execution dependent", or otherwise lacking in immediate salability to pitch as a clout-less director with no mainstream industry credits. In racking my brain for more "commercial" ideas, I've found I keep returning to one difficult, almost stupidly simple question: what makes a film commercial in the first place? How does one write "commercially" while also maintaining enough creativity and ingenuity so as to make the film one with which you still connect? Perhaps this is too personal a question to be answered by anyone other than myself – and my apologies for wasting your time if that is the case – but your post here resonated with me and I thought it worth asking what you thought of all of this. Thanks again for reading, and for this article – you've got yourself a loyal new subscriber!
Your posts are gold; thank you for writing them. A couple questions: 1) Do you ever write and publish work as short stories (or some other genre) before attempting to sell/pitch them as scripts? The thing that kills me about the film industry (at least from my reading around) is how much stuff might get bought but never made. How to ensure that the stories you want to tell don't end up in limbo somewhere? That's why I'm wondering about writing/publishing in other genres first, like short fiction, and then adapting your own work -- so if it never makes it to screen, at least it exists in the world somewhere. 2) As an English lit prof with screenwriting aspirations, I really appreciate hearing about your trajectory. Going into tv required a complete break with academia for you; do you think it's possible to keep one foot in academia if the focus is on writing features? (Yes, I am trying to have it both ways; and yes, I submit that might be ridiculous. But I am always looking for a third path.) Appreciate any thoughts you might have on any or all of the above. Thanks again.
I’ve spent all strike writing short stories because I came to the same realization-it’s nice not to have all the attachments that come with “one for them.” But whenever this wraps up I’m ready for “them” again.
This was a great post, and for someone like me who's in his early 30s and in the middle of a shaky career transition into video editing, your anecdote about not making a livable income until 35 really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing as always, Tony.
Hi Tony, very interesting read! I am aspiring to be a writer and have been working on and off on several personal projects and taking different classes like Sketch Comedy writing and improv at my local theater which has been great for expanding my comfort zone, but even more so for the networking with other creatives. I am working at an engineering job that I really dislike though because of different reasons, but mainly it drains all the life and energy out of me so I find it difficult to work on one of my few spec writing projects that I have started. My current job feels like a one for them, but since I feel drained all the time, its been tough to work on the one for me at times. I feel like taking a big swing and quitting my job, selling my house for a bit of profit, downsizing, and finding a restaurant job where I can be less stressed and have a schedule that will allow flexibility to work on my writing projects more consistently. Potentially I think it would be amazing if, once the strike is over of course, I would be able to find a staff writing job somewhere and follow a similar approach that you wrote about here of writing "something for them" and "something for me." I am curious what kind of general advice you might offer for someone who is still relatively early in their future career of being a writer/creator?
I really like how you've characterized this approach, which recognizes that markets are real and we have to feed the beast sometimes in order to feed ourselves. Even those projects out there that we despise manage to do SOMETHING "right," and we need to give a nod to that. Do we want merely to serve a boutique market with our "for me" projects? Do we sometimes allow ourselves to "sell out" with "for them" projects? It's okay to answer yes to the latter question in order that we can say yes to the former. At the end of the day, no one will care about our market approach or our purity of purpose. There will just be the works and their individual impacts on the world. Thank you for taking the time to fully develop and explain your approach here, Tony. Definitely worth a read and many re-reads, and I'm going to recommend this essay to all my clients who I'm coaching in this space.
Hi, Tony, I first heard of this regarding John Sayles. He'd write a "Hollywood" script (Battle Beyond the Stars, Alligator, Piranha) and take the money to make one of his own films. I feel like he was the only one who REALLY followed this model. Eastwood's "them vs. me" are almost the same as you say and Nolan is in a pretty unique situation where his huge "me" films (so far) have managed to make enough money to keep going.
I'm often disappointed to see the huge paychecks on those "them" films causes filmmakers to decide to keep doing those instead of those personal projects they said they'd pursue. They also are aware of pitfalls: see Levinson's Toys.
Hi Tony, thank you for the insightful and fascinating read! I'm an independent filmmaker just starting out in the business – my work in the ultra-indie scene has landed me representation, and with it an introduction to the "one for them, one for me" system you've described here. Truthfully, I've found this paradigm a bit confounding, and have been told my loglines are too "execution dependent", or otherwise lacking in immediate salability to pitch as a clout-less director with no mainstream industry credits. In racking my brain for more "commercial" ideas, I've found I keep returning to one difficult, almost stupidly simple question: what makes a film commercial in the first place? How does one write "commercially" while also maintaining enough creativity and ingenuity so as to make the film one with which you still connect? Perhaps this is too personal a question to be answered by anyone other than myself – and my apologies for wasting your time if that is the case – but your post here resonated with me and I thought it worth asking what you thought of all of this. Thanks again for reading, and for this article – you've got yourself a loyal new subscriber!
Your posts are gold; thank you for writing them. A couple questions: 1) Do you ever write and publish work as short stories (or some other genre) before attempting to sell/pitch them as scripts? The thing that kills me about the film industry (at least from my reading around) is how much stuff might get bought but never made. How to ensure that the stories you want to tell don't end up in limbo somewhere? That's why I'm wondering about writing/publishing in other genres first, like short fiction, and then adapting your own work -- so if it never makes it to screen, at least it exists in the world somewhere. 2) As an English lit prof with screenwriting aspirations, I really appreciate hearing about your trajectory. Going into tv required a complete break with academia for you; do you think it's possible to keep one foot in academia if the focus is on writing features? (Yes, I am trying to have it both ways; and yes, I submit that might be ridiculous. But I am always looking for a third path.) Appreciate any thoughts you might have on any or all of the above. Thanks again.
I’ve spent all strike writing short stories because I came to the same realization-it’s nice not to have all the attachments that come with “one for them.” But whenever this wraps up I’m ready for “them” again.
Did you see years ago when Jonah Hill roasted a pre-canceled James Franco? He said James had his own version of this: “One for them, five for nobody.”
This was a great post, and for someone like me who's in his early 30s and in the middle of a shaky career transition into video editing, your anecdote about not making a livable income until 35 really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing as always, Tony.
Excellent post!
Hi Tony, very interesting read! I am aspiring to be a writer and have been working on and off on several personal projects and taking different classes like Sketch Comedy writing and improv at my local theater which has been great for expanding my comfort zone, but even more so for the networking with other creatives. I am working at an engineering job that I really dislike though because of different reasons, but mainly it drains all the life and energy out of me so I find it difficult to work on one of my few spec writing projects that I have started. My current job feels like a one for them, but since I feel drained all the time, its been tough to work on the one for me at times. I feel like taking a big swing and quitting my job, selling my house for a bit of profit, downsizing, and finding a restaurant job where I can be less stressed and have a schedule that will allow flexibility to work on my writing projects more consistently. Potentially I think it would be amazing if, once the strike is over of course, I would be able to find a staff writing job somewhere and follow a similar approach that you wrote about here of writing "something for them" and "something for me." I am curious what kind of general advice you might offer for someone who is still relatively early in their future career of being a writer/creator?
Great advice.
Love reading about your writer's life. You've made it to a place where there IS that 'one for them, one for me' option. Kudos!
I really like how you've characterized this approach, which recognizes that markets are real and we have to feed the beast sometimes in order to feed ourselves. Even those projects out there that we despise manage to do SOMETHING "right," and we need to give a nod to that. Do we want merely to serve a boutique market with our "for me" projects? Do we sometimes allow ourselves to "sell out" with "for them" projects? It's okay to answer yes to the latter question in order that we can say yes to the former. At the end of the day, no one will care about our market approach or our purity of purpose. There will just be the works and their individual impacts on the world. Thank you for taking the time to fully develop and explain your approach here, Tony. Definitely worth a read and many re-reads, and I'm going to recommend this essay to all my clients who I'm coaching in this space.
Hi, Tony, I first heard of this regarding John Sayles. He'd write a "Hollywood" script (Battle Beyond the Stars, Alligator, Piranha) and take the money to make one of his own films. I feel like he was the only one who REALLY followed this model. Eastwood's "them vs. me" are almost the same as you say and Nolan is in a pretty unique situation where his huge "me" films (so far) have managed to make enough money to keep going.
I'm often disappointed to see the huge paychecks on those "them" films causes filmmakers to decide to keep doing those instead of those personal projects they said they'd pursue. They also are aware of pitfalls: see Levinson's Toys.
Keep up the good work! Roger