Do you want to explore the film industry? Look no further than the Film and Photography Society at UCLA. The club is full of resources, and on Tuesday, April 12th, they hosted a panel of successful people in the film and television industry. There were six panelists: Nicki Holocomb, Jiah Shin, Michael Masukawa, David Stellan Kendrick, Kinga Vasicsek and Sarah Al-Qatou. Holocomb is a UCLA alum and queer writer who most recently was the storytime editor for CW’s Supergirl. Shin is also a UCLA alum and is a scripted television and books agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Masukawa is a literary manager and producer at Bold Soul Studios and has been executive producer for their last several feature-length films. Kendrick is the director of development and production of kids, family, and animation at IDW Entertainment. Vasicsek is a writer and creative producer with an expansive resumé such as being a development executive at Glen Kane Productions and on the Netflix production Over the Moon. Finally, Al-Qatou is a producer for works with filmmaker Lulu Wang (most well known for The Farewell) and Dani Melia under their banner, Local Time. Each panelist had unique insights to add to the panel.
The panel largely focused on scriptwriting for television and film, and how the processes for both productions are different. Howard explains when you are writing scripts for films, you are mainly by yourself and doing revisions over and over again. However, for television, the writing is more collaborative as episodes are based on “shared credit scripts.” Everyone revises each other’s work, but there is more of a quick deadline for the production timeline.
Masukawa added that in 2010, he worked on a Sony lot and saw how scripted television was exploding. There are now many more writer jobs for television productions rather than film, especially because film is a lot slower to produce. Shin, who looks over scripts for a living, says it’s much harder to produce feature film scripts because in today’s day and age they “rely on A-list actors, directors and producers if it is an independent feature.” The industry is quickly approaching a format where large companies such as Disney are buying smaller studios and only want to get scripts from those studios. There is less “marketplace action,” making it even more difficult to get an independent feature script sold. However, film and television are starting to share more similarities Kendrick stated, as the “mid-budget film is emerging and smaller series are now being taken and released as films rather than shows.” Big film studios as well such as Marvel are expanding into television and now have writer rooms that wouldn’t have been seen 10-15 years ago.
The entertainment industry now follows a business format known as pods, in which sectors of production teams are given large sums of money from overhead studios such as Amazon and are told to make content for a business. Al-Qatou is currently employed in a pod for Amazon which is headed by Lulu Wang. There are still executives within each pod, and they often start as companies that are bought by larger ones. For example, Amazon is investigating a pod deal with Jordan Peele’s production company and Shin just closed a pod deal with Randal Park’s company. These pods and companies are also aware of the nuances of intellectual property. Shin explains people are risk-averse and want something that has a developed base. It’s an IP-driven market, and bidding wars are huge. A book or concept can go for six or seven figures minimum.
Now the question remains, how does one get into these pods and production as a whole? Overall, internships are key, even small ones to get your foot into the door. Once you are, network like crazy and ask people to read your scripts and work to see how you can keep improving. Masukawa says to write multiple scripts and to just keep writing: “The more you write, the more you will get better. You will realize your first script is awful by your third script.” Many TV assistants actually write on the side to help improve their craft, so it is a skill you want to start sooner rather than later. Even though it’s an IP-driven market, it’s important to have original material to prove you can write. Often after a studio wins a bidding war, there is an “open writing assignment” for the book or concept, and the writer with the best adaptations gets paid.
However, before you get to that level, you need to be creative in making your own material. Multiple panelists agreed that having a unique point of view and voice is everything and that only comes from making original stories. If you want to write something about your life, that is great, but you don’t have to be limited to the genre of realism. Self-inserts can be put in sci-fi, horror, etc. The key is to think outside the box.
In internships when asking for help, most of the time, it will be junior-level people most willing to read your script (and you should do the same to them). Kendrick emphasized that you should always be nice to your fellow interns and assistants because they could eventually move up the ranks as well and help you again in the future, especially if they are working with IP material.
Shin mentioned that “Cinderella stories are rare.” People don’t get discovered like they used to, so you have to make your way up through the ranks starting with a low-level job. Once you make your way to staff writer credit, that’s how you can be noticed by managers and representatives who want to sell your script. Holocomb started as a production assistant, knowing she would be exposed to writers. The goal when starting as a PA is to eventually make your way up to script coordinator, the highest level of production assistant. Responsibilities include reading and formatting scripts before distribution. It’s often the position one has before being staffed as a writer. There are also programs for those looking to get into certain topics such as representation including NBC Diversity Writers Program and HBO Access. These programs require one to two original scripts and give you access to agents and managers, but they are highly competitive.
The panel was extremely interesting, and HC at UCLA is so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend. From this experience, we learned the biggest key to success is pushing yourself, thinking outside the box and of course networking to your dreams.