This is a transcript of SYS Podcast Episode 193: Writer Eddie Renner Talks About His New Horror Film, Crepitus.
Ashley: Welcome to episode #193 of the “Selling Your Screenplay Podcast.” I’m
Ashley Scott Meyers Screenwriter and Blogger over at – www.sellingyourscreenplay.com. Today, I’m interviewing Screenwriter, Eddie Renner. He wrote, “ The Crepitus” a low-budget horror movie. Which is being released this month. He was instrumental in helping to raise the money for the film. And we dig into the specifics of how he was able to do that as well? So, stay tuned for that interview.
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A quick few words about what I’m working on this week? So, a quick update on “The Pinch.” Which is the crime, action, feature, thriller film that I am finishing up on. I did a webinar a couple of weeks ago, called, “The Pinch – To Produce it, A Micro-Budget Feature Film” I go into great detail on exactly how I wrote, directed, and produced, this film. Specifically I talk about how to write a micro-budgeted screenplay, how to raise money to shoot your micro-budget screenplay. Which includes a lot of information about how to run a successful Kick-Starter Campaign. Which is something I did for “The Pinch.” And then I also did a Pre-Production, and of course Post-Production. The webinar is over 3 hours long. So, there is a ton of useful information in there. I worked hard putting this webinar together. So, I am charging a small fee to view it. But, if you are looking to write direct and or produce a micro-budget film, I think that this can really help you out. There are a ton of directors and producers out there looking for the next great micro-budget script. So, even if you just a writer, who understands this market better? I think this webinar could potentially could be very valuable to you as well. I think writing scripts that can be shot on a micro-budget level. Is a great way to meet up and coming directors and producers. And get some producing/producer credit. So, I think this is a great, great, avenue for writers to pursue just in general. You can find this webinar at www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/thepinch. And the words, “The Pinch” are all one word, and all lowercase letters. I will of course link to it in the show notes as well.
So, the other thing I’m working on is a comedy pilot TV Script. I talked about the
drama-thriller TV Pilot and script bible that I wrote for a producer in August. Well, this is another assignment from the same producer. I wrote the show bible, for this one also, in July. And now, I am tasked with writing up the pilot episode. I’m nearly half-way done with the pilot episode. So, I’m hoping to have a draft of that done by the end of September. This one is a
half-hour kids comedy show. So, it’s totally different from the drama, thriller, TV episode that I wrote in August. It’s actually been a lot of fun. I just have to keep the comedy clean, and family friendly. Which isn’t always easy as sometimes the adult joke is, the easiest one to just kind of grab. And you just got to come up with the good jokes that are presentable to a family. So, it’s been fun. And as I’ve said, I’ve been hoping to get this episode done by the end of September. And then that will hopefully be able to start taking it out to the various contacts that they have. So, anyway, that’s what I’m working on.
So, now let’s get into the main segment. Today I’m interviewing, Screenwriter, Eddie Renner, here is the interview.
Ashley: Welcome Eddie to, the “Selling Your Screenplay Podcast.” I really appreciate you coming on the show and talking with me today.
Eddie: Yeah, thank you very much, I’m happy to be here. I’ve really enjoyed listening to your Podcast, over the last several weeks.
Ashley: Oh, thank you, thank you. So, to start out, maybe you can tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up, and how did you get interested in the entertainment Industry?
Eddie: I grew-up in Cheboygan, Michigan, in a small little town at the “Tip of the mitt.” A lot of people might not get that phrase. But, it’s been a very touristy type of area. And I’ve always enjoyed film. I’ve always liked to watch films, particularly horror, and sci-fi. And I’ve been working as a character artist for the last 21 years. And a good friend of mine, who had graduated from school, out in L.A. the Institute, for directing and lighting, and editing, was working on some local short films. And he, I had known this kid for a long time. And his name is
Haynze Whitmore, was the director of “Crepitus.” And he approached about doing some storyboards for one of his short films that he was working on. And that’s kinda how I started working with him. And from there it went onto to ask me if I would be interested in maybe helping edit one of his screenplays. And maybe add a little bit of creativity to it. And that’s how I eventually began into screenwriting.
Ashley: I see, perfect. So now, just, back up just a little bit. How did you meet Haynes originally? Was he someone you went to school with, is that what you said?
Eddie: Yeah, we went to school together. I know him from quite a few years before we had, or every had any inspirations of working together actually.
Ashley: But then, he went on, whatever, like onto graduate, you guys went onto film school out there in L.A. But you didn’t go to film school with?
Eddie: No, I’ve never been to school for film.
Ashley: Okay.
Eddie: I’ve been to school for art, but not for film.
Ashley: Oh okay. Perfect, perfect. So, let’s dig into “Crepitus.” Starring Bill Moseley. And kind of talk about that story. So, now you have Haynes and you’re doing storyboard. Did you have a bunch of ideas, like you’ve been thinking about a bunch of ideas. And you start to talk to Haynes. Maybe just walk us through that process of kind of how you got to writing the script.
Eddie: Well, we were, at the time we were working on a project called, “Asylum of Secrets.” And we had done some short films together. I worked on like you said, storyboards. And we were working on this particular project. And it had become pretty obvious that, considering we wanted it to be a feature film, that in order to do this particular story, properly. We would need a budget beyond what beginning film makers would be able to achieve. You know, So, we decided to put back project on hold, and we met at a restaurant. And we bounced a few ideas around, to try to come up with a concept, that could be shot very well, for a micro-budget. We wanted to actually write the screenplay specifically, so that, you know, one location, a handful of characters. And that’s how “Crepitus” was born. And we also kind of knew that we loved the clown genre. And we wanted to write a story based on around some type of clown. And after a couple of hours of bouncing some ideas across. We came up with the basic skeleton of what “Crepitus” would eventually become.
Ashley: Okay. And maybe you could just stop here at give us a quick pitch or a log-line. It sounds like there is a clown in all with “Crepitus.” But, maybe give us the full log-line for it?
Eddie: A, yeah. “Crepitus”, is a, based around two kids who have recently moved into their deceased grand-father’s house. And they quickly discover that there are strange things happening in the house: Noises, tappings. And not only is what they seem to discover, terrifying. But, they also live with their mother. Who is incredibly abusive, terrible person. So, they start to search for clues about what’s happening, in this house? And eventually they get face-to-face with Crepitus. While trying to survive life with their mother at the same time.
Ashley: Okay. And so, you start out, you had some sort of I would say, almost through a logistical means, as had to be in one location. And as you said, beyond being shot on a
micro-budget. So, where did all the stories, sort of ideas come from? Was this just sort of a story just percolating? Where were these characters? And sort of the genesis of that story come from?
Eddie: Well, it’s also, after listening to a few of your Podcasts, in the past. I didn’t notice that a lot of different writers, have different process, for how they develop a story. A lot of people realize very heavily on outlines where they come up with the real strong structure of the story first.
And where others like I believe the guy who wrote “Tomahawk” said, that he just loves to just come up with the basic idea, and then start writing about the story, evolve as he writes. And that’s exactly how “Crepitus” went, is? We came up with the idea that we knew that there had to be a scary, super-natural creature, that just happened to be a clown. And we wanted it to be in the house. And we knew that we wanted there to be both super-natural, and tangible aspects next to the horror. So, we knew that there would be the clown. And we knew that there would be the mother, that she abused the children. And that the abuse would add a more tangible horror aspect. And from there, we came up with some characters names of my wife who, helped me write the script. I named all the characters, and her and I sat around and we brainstormed them. About using different characters. And we then talked and breathed a little bit of life into them and their backstories. And then I just started writing.
Ashley: Okay, perfect.
Eddie: And the story developed over that. Yeah.
Ashley: Okay. So, now let’s talk about specifically, your writing, your writing process. In your initial Email, where we were talking. It sounded like, since you had never written a script. You’re basically now tasked with writing this micro-budget script. You did a lot of research before you actually started writing. Maybe you can talk us through that process. What exactly did you research? What books did you read? Maybe there’s some books you recommend, some books you don’t recommend? Some websites you recommend, websites you don’t recommend? Just all of that process, the good stuff, and maybe the bad stuff.
Eddie: A well, I guess have only 1 recommendation, that’s Sid Field’s “Screenplay.”
Ashley: Okay.
Eddie: I did read through that. Aside from that particular-book. I just, I would type in,
“How to Write a Screenplay.” You know, screenplays, screenplay structure. You know, how to properly format. And I spent probably 2 or 3 months, reading as much information as I could. You know, you would learn things. Like, don’t say, “And they heard a sound.” You know, they say basic things like that, the do’s and the don’ts. And I just started writing. And from there, I would go back and read what I wrote. Because it was continuing to learn after as I wrote. I would read different things, and the fields, and the web. And would go back as I was editing, I would realize, you know, typical newbie mistakes that I had made. And it helped me to polish and bring the screenplay up to what it was in the end.
Ashley: Okay, perfect. Did you get “Final Draft?” Did you start out with some sort of formatting software?
Eddie: Yes, I write exclusively on my phone. And using a program called, “Scripts Pro.”
Ashley: Oh, okay, perfect, perfect. So, let’s talk about your actual day-to-day writing. It sounds like you didn’t spend a lot of time outlining once you have the kernel, you started writing. So, maybe you could talk, us just through that process, what does a day look like, when you are writing? Do you spend, you know, 10 hours a day, just really trying to get pages out. Do you spend an hour a day writing a few pages over the course of many months? What do the days look like for you?
Eddie: A, both you know, really. There are some days where I would spend you know, 8-10 hours writing and actually getting a lot of pages out in that time. Where I might spend the same amount of time, and only get one or two pages out. Whether it would be particular areas of the story that may need a little bit more, you know, mental gymnastics to figure out what’s going to happen? And, but I would write every day, 7 days a week. Sometimes I would, I had my
day-to-day job, as well, working. A character artist that isn’t at an amusement park here, in Tampa. But, when I had anytime that I had when I woke, and wasn’t working. I had, you know, my family would want to go to the beach. And they would sun, and I would sit in my chair and write, and write, and write, and write, and write. So, I would, that’s one thing that I love about working on my phone is? When you don’t have a lot of time. When you’re not, when you need to make money in another job, you can take that device with you and write when you’re on break. When you have a few moments here, or there, you can write a little bit here and there, and just get it out there, you know? You have these ideas that you would want to put on paper. And if you don’t have that opportunity, you would have to give up and wait till you got home to write. You know, that you can use it. So. I’m really happy working with it, my phone.
Ashley: Yeah, okay, perfect. So, let’s talk about the development process, it sounds like Haynze was involved early on. So, at what point did you start actually sending him pages. And then, how did you deal with the notes you were getting back from him?
Eddie: A well. When I wrote “Crepitus” we both lived in the same town. So, it wasn’t a matter of Emailing him a page. Because it was, I would write a fair amount. And then we would get together, and we would read, and read, and read. And it was going really, nicely. And he loved how it was developing. And from there, probably when I got half-way through, I just soldiered through the rest of it. And then didn’t send anything to him until it was all completed.
Ashley: Okay. And what, where there some moments where you guys had disagreements, on characters, or story, or something? And how did you resolve any of those disagreements?
Eddie: One great thing about working with Haynze? He and I started the Nix, the production company together. So, we’re very heavily involved, and we are going to work together on most of our projects in the future. Haynze and I have a very similar vision on things. And, as far as disagreements side? It does happen, but nothing major. He would just make suggestions to about a particular aspect of the story. And it wasn’t more of that he thought this particular idea was necessarily wrong. But, maybe this would be better, you know? To go in this direction. And he, and it’s really important to work with someone like him. It was something, I don’t have a formal degree in film, he does. So, he can look at the script, or he can look at the script and say, okay. As far as putting this on film, that might not work as well as maybe if we went this route.
Ashley: Okay, so let’s talk about those next steps. Once you guys had a script that you were happy with. What did you do to start getting it out there, and getting it to producers, and actually raising the money to get this movie made?
Eddie: A, Haynze had a friend that he had met several years ago, Lance Paul, who was, our Executive Producer. And they had talked briefly from time-to-time, about how they would like to work with each other one day. And we had mentioned that we were developing a screenplay, called, “Crepitus.” And he had just said, “Do you have something solid?” You know, send it my way, and we’ll take a look at it. So, it was, pretty lucky to have someone like this, that he had known previously. Because I understand that a lot of people have a difficult time, sometimes, just getting their screenplays read. So, it was almost like we had that door opened to us. And he was willing to read whatever we had, once we completed it.
Ashley: Yeah. So, do you know by chance how Haynze, met him originally, years ago?
Eddie: I honestly don’t know? But, I know he’s involved in a lot of things in Atlanta. It might have been when Haynze was working on a project that never actually made it off the ground, that he was hired to direct it, and the whole project fell apart before then, it ever happened. And I think when he was in Atlanta working that project as well, I met him.
Ashley: I see, perfect. So, did you say, this guy’s name was, Lance?
Eddie: Lance Paul.
Ashley: Okay, now when he got the script. Did he have some notes? And I’d be curious to see how you would address those?
Eddie: A, I don’t know? He just read through the script, and he really enjoyed it. It was kinda fun because when Haynze and I were developing the screenplay. We were sitting around talking about, kinda fantasizing about who would love to play “Crepitus?” If we were to ever get this into someone’s hands? And our first thought was Bill Moseley. I always thought that, you know, I kind of had Bill in mind when I was writing the screenplay. And when we had given it to Lance? Lance had just got done doing a film called, “Dark Roads 79” where he had just gotten done working with Bill. And so, you know, we had mentioned that you know, we that it would be kinda fun to have Bill in on the project. And you know, he had connections with it, his agent. And he agreed that maybe we should talk to Bill about this? Though, although, finances were pretty slim at the time. We had written a bit part for Bill, you know a 5-minute day player. He would come in and add a little legitimacy to the film. And we sent the script over to Bill and he read it and got word back to us that he really loved the script. But he had no interest in this little character, he wanted to be “Crepitus.” So.
Ashley: Yeah, yeah. So, take us back. I know in your Email he mentioned a little bit about doing a “Kick-Starter – Crowd Funding Campaign.” Take us back and walk us through that. What was your plan there, and how did you execute on that?
Eddie: A, that’s another aspect of where I scoured the internet and I had no idea. I had never run a Kick-Starter before. So, I watched many YouTube videos on people who claim to have known exactly how to do it, the do’s and don’ts. And I put together an “Indio Go-Go, Campaign.” And based off of all the things I learned from there. And our first campaign was very successful. We had a $5000.00 limit, and we wound up raising, just about $7000.00. And we had already had a little bit of funding on in place at the time. So, that allowed us to start securing a lot of the aspects we needed to move forward with production.
Ashley: And then did you bring Lance on board after Crowd Funding Campaign? Or did you bring him on before?
Eddie: We brought him on before. Although, until Bill Moseley, was really on-board. We tried to get Bill Moseley on-board. That’s when he really came on and he started working as the Producer.
Ashley: I see. And was your plan originally just to shoot this for $7000.00, or whatever you could raise on?
Eddie: Oh, no, no, we were hoping to maybe raise somewhere around
$30,000.00 and $50,000.00.
Ashley: Okay, perfect. So, do you know what you’re going to be working on next? You mentioned that you were working on another script already, that you were already working on.
Eddie: Actually, I’ll go back really quick on “Indie Go-Go.”
Ashley: Sure.
Eddie: One of the main reasons for the Indie Go-Go, other than you know, $7.000.00 is when you are trying to raise $50 isn’t quite enough. But, one of the important aspects of the
Indie Go-Go, is to show that there is interest in the project that people are looking at the, instead of people giving you money, that they are excited about it. And you can show this to potential investors as well. And say, that yes, people are excited, and interested, they want. And so the fact that Indie Go-Go was successful, it did help us in finding other investors that were willing to put more additional funds into it.
Ashley: I see. And were you involved in bringing some of those additional investors?
Eddie: Yes. I’ve, this whole process for me has been like this crazy whirl wind all points, college course in film making. Like I’ve been involved in, of course I wrote the screenplay, I’ve been bringing in investors, I’ve done most of the publicity. Writing, I’ve taught myself the right press-releases. A lot of the stories that have been written about the film have been from the press-releases I have written. As well as, just getting out there, getting people excited. I have run all the Facebook page, Twitter page, all the social aspects.
Ashley: I see. So, maybe we can talk just briefly about bringing on these investors? How did you find them, the investors, and what was your pitch to them, what did that look like?
Eddie: I would let them know that the “Clown Genre” right now was very popular, especially, with “IT” coming out. That we have a horror icon, Bill Moseley attached. That we have a very experienced Cinematographer, coming on-board. I would just point to them all that aspects of the that helped to do the risk and investment, you know. When you are investing in film, that’s always a risky venture. Even if the best of intentions, the projects still fall apart. So, it’s important to let people know, or who are interested in investing. Exactly what about this investment is de-risking? All the aspects of that. And later on when this other project, developed even more, you know, we had a production company that, a distribution company that wants to take on the film afterwards. And we still had a few investors that we wanted to bring on. So, in the middle of that distribution is set-up. That was also a huge de-risking factor.
Ashley: And just, literally, who are these potential investors? Are they family, friends, friends of friends. Like how did you actually find those people to even pitch?
Eddie: Yeah, no, no, no, no family or friends were involved in the investing, right, right. But, they were, for example, one of the investors came from just going onto a Facebook groups that are meant for promoting your product. You know, so you would write a little pitch to show your film, and what you are looking for, and looking for investors, contact us. So, we had a couple of guys great guys that are part of the film. Who agreed to invest a certain amount, if they were able to actually be in the film. Because they were you know, actors that were looking to further their career. So, and I think that’s actually pretty popular, and common. Where upcoming actors will become producers and investors, invest in the film in exchange for roles. And the rest of them were people I just discovered on Facebook. In other people’s like friend’s lists, who were producers. And I would just send them a random message saying, you know, introducing who I am and telling them about the project. And if you would be interested in becoming more than 99% of the time, they don’t answer you. 1% of them know, ½ % of the time, they answer you politely, or impolitely about they are not interested at all. And then the very few scattered here and there, actually show a little bit of interest. And I think that’s pretty common in how that goes, you know. A lot of people don’t have a project that they put all their money into. But, eventually, persistence, you know, the laws of averages, keep asking, keep asking, people eventually, some will say, yes.
Ashley: Yeah. And do you have any sense of how many these sorts of pitches, these Facebook messages you sent? Are you talking about dozens, or hundreds, or thousands.
Eddie: I probably, easily somewhere between 1500 or 3000 or 4000.
Ashley: Okay so, a good enough number, okay.
Eddie: Oh yeah. I have on many occasions been putting Facebook at temporary jail, for sending too many messages, and in the course of an hour.
Ashley: Yeah, yeah. And how many ultimately how many investors at, at least 1500 to 3000, you know, quarry’s you sent? How many ultimately wound up investing because of that?
Eddie: Like, 5 or 6.
Ashley: Okay so yeah, that’s good to know. Okay so, what’s next for you? You have mentioned that you are working on another. You know what? Let’s get that question next. Let’s talk about the “Clown genre” for a minute. I know you just mentioned that your film is definitely has a clown featured prominently. How does your film compare to that film that is coming out? The Stephen King film, “IT” coming out?
Eddie: Well, a there’s a lot of folks, naturally will compare our film to, “IT” because it doesn’t involve a clown, it eats children. And ultimately it will excite some people about it. And others will claim it’s a rip-off of “IT.” But, aside from the fact that Pennywise, from “IT” and Crepitus from our film. Enjoy the same diet. That’s about where the similarities end. Both of them have that similarity. But, when you see the two, it’s really hard to tell you why, without actually seeing the film. But, a yeah, when you do see them. You see them side-by-side, or if you watch both films, you’ll see that the stories are completely different.
Ashley: Yeah, yeah, okay. So, what’s next for you? Let’s talk about your next screenplay.
Eddie: A well, there’s not a whole lot that I can say about it right now? Because of the distribution company that is interested in IT. That guy can’t even name that yet. But, they had mentioned that right now, westerns, and World War II stories, are what’s hot. And if we were able to give them a screenplay for either of those 2 genres, that could be shot for under $500,000.00. That they would definitely be interested in backing it, and distributing it. Also we, a I sat down with Haynze. And we bounced some ideas around again. And we came up with this great concept, and I wish I could say more about it. But I just can’t, but we pitched it to them, and they loved it. So, they told us to go ahead and develop the screenplay. But, it’s going to be a western. Of the 2 it’s going to be a western for sure.
Ashley: Okay, perfect.
Eddie: I also found out, we are also allowed to have a bit of a horror aspect to it. Which is how I originally found your Podcast. Because of the interview you did with the director, and writer of, with Kurt Russel, “Tomahawk.”
Ashley: Oh yeah, “Tomahawk.”
Eddie: Yeah, that’s how I originally discovered you and your Podcast. It’s going to be a horror, western, although the horror aspect is definitely, realistic horror. Like you could kind of have it be said a kind of crossover between “Forgiven” and “Seven.”
Ashley: Okay, okay, perfect, perfect. I wanted to go back on one thing you said, you said, at the beginning of the interview, you were doing storyboards for Haynze. I’m curious, was that something you were doing a lot of? And the reason I ask is?
You said, you had sent out 1,500 – 3000, of these Facebook type quarries. It just all of a sudden occurred to me. Maybe you were doing this lot, maybe you were meeting a lot of film makers. And this is just the one relationship that whatever reason, sort of took off. Were you doing storyboards for other film makers as well?
Eddie: No, this was just the relationship with Haynze is where this all began. Whereas it’s continued to go forward. I did all my storyboards, a complete set for, “Crepitus.” And the previous film, almost a complete set for, “Asylum of Secrets” And I have yet to do any other storyboards for anything else.
Ashley: Okay, perfect. Do you know the release schedule of “Crepitus?” When is it going to be out and how can people check it out?
Eddie: It sounds like we are going to most likely get limited theatrical release to start with. And we are aiming at somewhere around mid-October to mid-November, as a release.
Ashley: Okay, perfect.
Eddie: And obviously after NetFlix or DVD, yeah.
Ashley: Okay, perfect. What’s the best way for people to keep up with you and kinda what you’re doing? Facebook, Twitter, anything you’re comfortable sharing. Just give us that now, and I will round it up as well, and put it in the show notes.
Eddie: A, you can contact us through Facebook at www.facebook.com/crepitusfilm or Twitter – @Crepitusfilm.
Ashley: Okay.
Eddie: And you know, I would like to, if I may?
Ashley: Sure.
Eddie: We could talk about, I think we had talked a little bit in the past. My wife, Sara Renner. Also had a bit to do with the writing of Crepitus. Initially, seeing that I’m not the best at grammar, and she was my editor. And I gave her the script to look through and make sure everything, all the T’s were crossed and all the “I’s” were dotted. And she’s a very talented writer. And she started coming up with some ideas of her own that perhaps the story line would be progressed in certain areas. And they were great ideas, so she ended up writing perhaps a good quarter of the screenplay. Crepitus himself, is a rhyming clown on everything he says, is in rhymes. And she wrote quite a few of the rhymes that Bill Moseley speaks.
Ashley: Oh, okay, okay. So, Eddie I really appreciate you reaching out to me, and coming on the Podcast. Fascinating story, and just persistence pays off, I think wins the day here. And I think that’s great for people to hear.
Eddie: Yeah. And just, in writing a screenplay, one thing I found consistently was? How, you know, people have a really hard time often times. Even getting someone to read their screenplay. It’s not that their screenplays are necessarily bad?! It’s just that they are one of thousands that are trying to get their screenplay into one person to see. And so, Haynze, and I decided that the best approach would be to try and do this ourselves, try to do the run around, instead of trying to get someone to look at it. Now we would make something to which we did. That’s something, another thing we did, a “Sizzle Trailer.” Where they got some local actors to play the parts. And that’s another way we got people overly interested in the project. And so, we decided to create most of it ourselves before. And create a buzz, you know, people were writing stories about this before, and news articles before this you know, anybody really came on-board to invest in it. And that’s the one thing that’s great about the day and age we live in, is the internet to be able to reach out to more people, you can do these things without a none traditional method.
Ashley: A yeah, a-huh, for sure, for sure. So, once again, Eddie, really appreciate you coming on the show and talking with you today. I wish you luck with this film, and all your future films.
Eddie: Thank you very much, it was fun.
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- Marketability
- Tone
- Over All Craft – Which includes – Formatting, spelling, and Grammar.
Every script will receive a grade of – Pass, Consider, or Recommend, which should help you roughly understand where you script might rank if you were to submit it to a production company or agency.
We can provide an analysis on feature films or television scripts. We also do proof reading without any analysis. We will also look at a treatment or outline and give you the same analysis on it, that I just talked about on the treatment or synapsis. So, if you are looking to vet some of your projects. This is a great way to do it.
We will also write a log-line and synapsis for you. You can add this service to an analysis or you can simply purchase service as a stand-alone product.
As a bonus, if your script gets a Recommend, from one of our readers? You get a free Email and Fax Blast to my list of industry contacts. This is the exact same Blast Service I use myself to promote my own scripts. And it is the same service I sell on the website. It’s a great way to get your script into the hands of producers who are looking for new material. So, if you want a professional evaluation of your screenplay at a very reasonable price, check out- www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/consultants, that’s www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/consultants.
So, just a quick shout out to screen writer – George Cohan, who used the SYS Email and Fax Blast Service, a while back. He ended up optioning a script through the Blast Service. And then he built a relationship with that optioning producer and has since optioned several other scripts to those same producers. So, that’s fantastic, congratulations George. That’s exactly how the Email and Fax Blast Service can work for you. A lot of times it’s not so much about the sale, the option if the initial script. It’s about building a relationship with a producer. And then getting to know them, getting them to like you as a writer. And to work with them on their projects. Certainly have enough budget for these types of producers in your network is great. Though again, congratulations to George.
I added a little blurb about this option to the SYS Success page. So, if you want to learn a little bit more about that, and some of the other successes? Through the SYS Select Services. Just go to www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/success. Again that’s – www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/success. Also, if you have had any success with the SYS Select Services? Please do let me know. It’s inspiring to hear these success stories. So, I would love to share your stories, even on our success page. Or maybe even on the Podcast.
So, to wrap things up, I just want to touch on a few things from today’s interview with Eddie. The thing that really stuck out to me. When I was first Emailing with Eddie, about the interview. He was sort of telling his story in sort of the broad strokes about how he wrote this script and it got produced and I thought gee, this is kind of a lucky break for this guy. And as you dig into the story, deeper, and it’s great that Eddie came on. And was willing to share all this. You know, you start to really hear the effort that it took. Sending out hundreds of, and even thousands, of you know, blog and inquiries through Facebook, trying to raise his money for this thing. That’s the kind of effort it takes, and I love hearing those stories. I love people that are getting very willing to come on and share them. Because I hope that, that is good, for people that are listening to the Podcast. They understand that sometimes it’s more than just writing a script. Sometimes there’s a little bit of luck involved. But it, in almost all cases, there’s a lot of hard work. And you know, if you haven’t sent out, you know hundreds or even thousands of quarry letters trying to raise money for your film. You know, maybe that’s why Eddie is doing it? And you know, that’s why you have had that first produced credit yet? It’s just you haven’t put forth with the effort like Eddie describes. So, I really hope his story is inspirational, I mean, when I hear these stories, it just gets me, thinking, gee, what more could I be doing to bring my own projects up.
Anyway, that’s the show, thank you for listening.