I got this question recently:
“Hi there.
Do you think it’s worth it for a 20-year-old like me, to move from my country, Portugal, to Los Angeles or somewhere close, to follow the dream of writing screenplays?
I mean, if it’s a tough world to the American writers, isn’t it even tougher for a foreign boy to do well? Or if you’re really talented, it doesn’t matter?
I’d appreciate an honest answer, it’s very important to me.
Greetings from Portugal.”
It’s really a personal decision and I would never want to try and push someone in one direction or the other. It depends on how passionate you are about making your dream a reality balanced with how much you value time with your friends and family at home. There is no right answer.
It’s going to be very difficult to succeed as a screenwriter even if you have a lot of talent so if you’re not ready to work hard it’s probably not worth moving to Los Angeles.
I personally feel like Los Angeles is a great place to live and work, even if you’re not in the entertainment industry, so I don’t see a lot of downside to giving it a go even if it’s just for a few years.
I’ve written some posts about moving to and living in Los Angeles which you can read here:
https://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/tag/living-in-los-angeles/
Especially these two articles:
Moving to Los Angeles and preparing for the long haul
Do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter?
Hi there!
I’m new to the site. Been looking over everything here and found the info very interesting (totally bookmarked it). Especially this particular question that I’ve been wondering about for a while. I live in Charlotte, NC which (from what I’ve heard on the local news) has the potential of becoming the next Hollywood. Just a year or two ago I starting learning how to write screenplays.
I’m hoping Charlotte does attract more Hollywood attention because I just do not have the money to be moving to California (not to mention I’ve moved many times already and it’s getting old; I should probably point out that I’m 20). I “finished” my first spec script and currently working on another. I have a question and I’m not sure if you’ve been asked/answered this yet but: Would one have to attend an expensive film school just to do screenwriting?
No. Film school is most definitely not a requirement for being a screenwriter. Just keep writing and working to get better. A good script is all you need. No one cares about your formal education.
Hello!
Nice and quality web page. It is hard to get a conntact in L.A. Specially if you are from Slovenija!!!! I noticed that treagents exist in L.A. Does anybody have an information about that matter.
Thank you,
I’m really not sure what you mean by “treagents”?