Part 65: “To Live…and Die... in L.A.”

MYTH: You have to LIVE in CA or NY to be successful in the industry.

As an avid networker, I can tell you that there are many charlatans posing as script consultants or “former agents” or some other non-descript title, and many of them share their advice- for a price- on some of the more active social media networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Personally, I find much of this advice to be common misconceptions, deceit, and even arrogant, self-serving mistruths, all in the effort to make money off of unsuspecting screenwriters.?

Among one of the more common myths is the NECESSITY for a screenwriter to live in Los Angeles to have a successful career. Many of these people make no bones about it; they flat out tell you that you HAVE to move there in order to BE a working screenwriter.

Well, yes…and no. I have a theory as to why they tell you this, which I’ll share a little bit later.

However, one needs to define “working screenwriter”. If your goal is to work on a current or new, upcoming series that pumps out scripts weekly, then YES- I can see where, in most situations, living in Los Angeles would be a requirement.

However, this is not always the case…

I was considered for the “writer’s room” for an upcoming police procedural weekly drama series adapted from the stories of the foremost police novelist of our time. The first question I asked was “Will I need to relocate to Los Angeles?”

Their answer was not only “No”, but they would fly me out for weekly sit-downs.

Now, this may be the “new” Hollywood, due to Covid, or simply the sign of the times, technologically-speaking. Are there situations where you may be required in a writer’s daily? Well, of course. I would say emphatically in MOST cases this is the situation.

Is there ANOTHER kind of screenwriting that doesn’t require you to move lock, stock and barrel to California- the Land of High Taxes, undocumented voters and the “For Thee, Not for Me” practice of mask and vaccine mandates?

Yes. It’s called spec screenwriting, which most of us reading this are doing currently, or will start doing. Basically, you’re writing screenplays based on your own concepts, and hoping to sell that screenplay to the highest bidder. Now, the competition is fierce and it’s a lottery shot at best, but there are other ways in which you can succeed.

I managed to parley a series of successful screenplays into paid writing assignments, which led to having movies produced based on those assignments. I was then contacted by a certain celebrity, with whom I ghosted a number of projects for over a year. Eventually, other A-listers began calling, and soon I was known as the “Ghostwriter to the Stars”.

I also started my mentoring business to share the secrets to MY successes (however limited), and since then, hundreds of other writers have enjoyed their own successes as well. It cost them far less than a thousand dollars to do it, too.

Let’s not kid ourselves, either. There is a huge advantage to being where the work is; you get to meet people in person, socialize with them at bars and restaurants, attend in-person meetings and seminars, etc. I did that- for twenty-four years in Los Angeles. I worked in Beverly Hills, and lived in Sherman Oaks. I knew Hollywood folks through my private investigation firms and, later, as an executive with the award shows, including the Academy Awards. When you’re on a first-name personal basis with the likes of Warren Beatty, Billy Crystal, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan, and hundreds more, you’re pretty entrenched in their world.

It wasn’t MY world, though. I just lived in it. I didn’t even start screenwriting on my own until I left California, actually, and to this day, I have not called a single A-lister for work, or help getting a script read; didn’t have to, and I wouldn’t if I did.?

I said earlier I would share my theory as to WHY many tell you that you have to move to L.A. One reason is, they know most of you can’t. You have families, property, a steady job, relatives and you’re not about to risk it all on a pipedream when you don’t even REALLY know how to write or even get started. So, they simply reduced the competition by one, repeated over and over again.

The other reason is because they are miserable, and misery loves company. Most are these consultants and self-professed “gurus” were successful once- in the 70’s or 80’s- and have seen the dramatic decline of what was once the Golden State. They are miserable because they enthusiastically voted for those politicians who then destroyed their state. They are miserable because once they were the “go-writer”, and now, five hundred 20 and 30-somethings have replaced them. They are miserable because they’re now making their money doing screenplay reviews at $300 a pop, and the competition is far too heavy to even make a meager living doing this. Their connections to the industry have aged out, or worse; died off. There are no happy people in California; despite what Seth Rogan claims (he was high, no doubt). Yes, it’s beautiful there, but seriously- are you just going to “accept” the fact that, occasionally your car will get stolen and your home broken into? That’s what he tells you are the trade-offs. Easy for him; he can replace that car the next day. Lunacy.

It all depends on what YOU are looking for in YOUR career. Some write to sell spec scripts, others want writing assignments. Others still want to be hired as staff writers or work on a production staff. As a spec script writer, there is nothing prohibiting one from doing well and selling scripts whether you reside in Alaska, Maine or Florida or in any other country on any other continent.

?Don’t be fooled by some of these “professional consultants”. They are not interested in helping you in YOUR career. They are only interested in taking your money to subsidize their own failed writing careers.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Passing of a Legend, Betty White.

By now, we've all heard the news that "America's Grandma", Betty White, passed just 18 days prior to her 100th birthday, which was going to be celebrated on television in a special. I did NOT know Ms. White, nor have I ever worked with her, but- like everyone else- I loved her dearly. In fact, she had the single biggest impact on my writing career!

When writing my multi-award winning screenplay, "Banking on Betty", it was her character from "Lake Placid" - Delores Bickerman - that inspired the character "Betty"; the mother of the mob's Godfather, who cusses like a trooper.

My mother was also named "Betty" - and in neither case, was it short for "Elizabeth". At the time that I wrote it, Betty was well into her late 80's, so I knew she could never act in the role, but I had Olympia Dukakis in mind for that. Sadly, ironically, she passed away earlier in 2021, too. I thought her character in Placid, as well as her "Sue Ann Nevin" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show are two of the funniest female comedic characters I had ever seen, so this is how I try to write- like she's going to be saying the lines.

May she Rest In Peace.

WRITER'S BIO:?Mr. Scala spent 22-plus years in the Hollywood community, and was the?Executive Director?for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards, as well as?The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.?

He is working on his 42nd adaptation; the fascinating autobiography?"CALL ME ZENA",?by?Sally Barnard?who, after a brief illness, developed high-level artistic skills overnight. He is also developing biopic projects of rock pioneer?Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk singer?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor hundreds of new writers and self-published authors.

Geno has two screenplays produced and currently on Amazon Prime;?"Assassin 33 A.D."??and?"The Tombs", and - at present -?is the?Executive Script Consultant?of a?major motion picture?scheduled to begin filming Spring, 2022.