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Carl Sautter Award Winning Panelists
by Hilary Smith
(January 2003) |
Carl Sautter Award-Winning Panelists
Doug Eboch: 1995 feature winner for Overload. Also wrote Sweet Home Alabama.
Laura Brennan: 1996 TV Drama winner. Later wrote for Highlander and Lost World. Feature script going into production.
T.J. Lynch: 1998 feature winner for Beginning of Wisdom. It’s now in production; also a Nicholl Fellowship winner.
Patricia Breen: 2001 TV situation comedy winner. Now on staff on Fraiser and freelance on Becker.
The deadline for the Carl Sautter Memorial Scriptwriting Competition approaches—it’s March 15. A.K.A. the “Ides of March.” But according to the panel of past competition winners at January’s general meeting, the only thing you should beware of at that time is not entering. Because the two TV and two feature winners credit the competition with obtaining credibility, representation, industry contacts and more.
This comes as no surprise. The contest’s goal is to open the doors of the entertainment industry to winning writers. In fact, the trophy awarded to Carl Sautter winners is a crystal doorknob, known as the “Knobby.” And according to the panelists, the competition accomplishes its mission.
Specifically, Patricia Breen snagged an agent—one of the contest judges contacted her right away after the meeting and made an offer. She said, “A month earlier, no one would read her. Afterwards, she was deluged.” Doug Eboch liked the feedback from the celebrity judges and also felt that the contest legitimized him. T.J. Lynch picked up an agent and used contest notes to rewrite Beginning of Wisdom and credited this with his later Nicholl coup. T.J. also said that the Carl Sautter competition helped his career even more than the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s contest.
But perhaps, Laura Brennan’s words were the most compelling. Living a continent away from Hollywood when she won, Laura said, “It made something that was impossible, something that could be easy.” And that pretty much says it all.
When questioned on what they had you learned about the industry because of winning the Carl Sautter contest, the panelists spoke mostly of credibility and the need to “manage” your breaks.
Patricia said of industry insiders: “They like you if other people like you, if you’re blessed by somebody else.” The other panelists echoed this. T.J. stressed the need to capitalize on newfound credibility because of the “flavor of the month” phenomenon. He stated, “You’ve got to, expect ups and downs. And when you’re up, manage it.”
Doug added, “There isn’t one big break, there are lots of little ones.” Laura chimed in that, “You have to make your own breaks,” and underlined the importance of building rapport and following up. She further mentioned that you absolutely, positively must be nice to assistants and interns. This advice was repeated several times during the discussion by everyone. The reason? Not only do they function as gatekeepers, but also according to Doug, “Six months later, they’ll be running things.”
The panelists offered some other suggestions about writing and the industry. Each emphasized that writers need to keep writing. Doug felt one should enter screenwriting contests as often as possible.
“It’s a numbers game and because the personal taste of judges is so subjective, you’ll never know when you’ll strike gold,” he observed. Laura said, “Figure out what you’re good at and get great at it. Figure out what you’re not good at and get good.”
T.J. found the writings and seminars of John Truby and Chris Vogler to be especially helpful. Patricia, Doug and Laura stressed the importance of listening to others—whether in a meeting or in the room with other writers working on a show. Active listening allows you to find out the other person’s need and fill it. For example, it might enable you to re-direct and custom tailor a pitch to meet the needs of a show. Similarly, when talking about pitch meetings, Doug commented, “They’re more about selling yourself and building rapport. Always think about what you can give them—not the other way around.” He also said to, “Remember, you have value, your writing is valuable.”
Panelists also felt that the Network proved to be a valuable resource regardless of the Carl Sautter competition. Laura, who ran the TV Outreach Program for three years, felt that the Network’s biggest benefits include meeting people, being part of a community, keeping touch with industry trends and learning through hearing about others’ mistakes. Patricia benefited from writers groups and got her script read because of a connection she made as a Network volunteer. Doug even got a lawyer through the Network.
Current and future projects for these working writers extend beyond writing TV, feature and animation scripts. They include directing features and creating Web sites. And writing as varied as columns, novels, children’s books and even comics. Obviously, winning the Carl Sautter Competition took these writers’ careers to a new level. Who knows? A Knobby may open doors for you, too.
- Previous Network Meetings:
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