Are you considering moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting, but wondering if you really need to?
Many people say it is not necessary, but is it really so? In short, moving to Los Angeles real Is it necessary in this day and age of Skype chats and Google Hangouts?
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A few weeks ago we wrote a blog post: Are You an Aspiring Screenwriter Cliche? While the article was mostly well-received, one suggestion seemed to ruffle some feathers.
The suggestion is this: “Moving to Los Angeles is probably the best thing you can do to improve your chances of becoming a screenwriter.”
Here’s what we mentioned in our article about moving to Los Angeles:
If you are serious about screenwriting and nothing can stop you, then move to Los Angeles because this is where it all happens. That is, if you wanted to be a country and western musician, where would it be better for you to live? Portland or Nashville?
The same goes for screenwriters. This is something many, many professional and aspiring screenwriters say you should do.
However, the idea of us “moving to Los Angeles” has caused quite a stir among some writers, so here it is Four common complaintsand our answers to these questions below. (Paragraphs in italics are actual complaints we received.)
1. “It’s too expensive to move to Los Angeles.”
“It seems like Los Angeles offers free apartments to people who want to start a screenwriting career, and my guess is that even in America, many people work every day with one purpose in mind: to survive. Their apartment cost is probably 60-70% of their monthly salary .So if they don’t work for 3-4 days, they will be overdrawn.
As we said in our last post, when we advise aspiring screenwriters to move to Los Angeles, we’re talking about able They would move there if they put in the effort, but Choose not to. We’re not talking about people who are incompetent in the first place.
So, if you want to be a screenwriter and have money, but choose To stay in Milwaukee, for example, we say you should commit to becoming a screenwriter and consider moving to Los Angeles.
We agree – screenwriter salaries don’t really exist (at least at first), and Los Angeles is an expensive city compared to many cities in the United States. However, this is not Zurich. If you’re prepared to spend some time looking, you can find a reasonably priced apartment in a decent part of town. It all depends on how much you really want it.
If you want to get into this industry and there’s nothing really stopping you from moving to Los Angeles, then we’d say “just do it.”
2. “Now that we have the internet, there’s no need to move to Los Angeles.”
“You don’t need to move to Los Angeles to become a professional screenwriter. There are many ways to make industry connections. First, write something people want to see. You can do this anywhere.
It’s true that writing a great script is probably the most important thing you should do, but – and we’ll say it again – once you have that great script (or three), where would you be better off living?
In the heart of the film industry, or in Scotland? We’re not saying it’s impossible to break into the industry from outside of Los Angeles. we just say harder. So why make an already daunting goal even more difficult by putting yourself at a geographical disadvantage?
Assuming you live in Madrid or Mali or Milwaukee or wherever, you can certainly email agents, producers, and companies from the comfort of your home, but you won’t meet them face to face.
On the other hand, when you move to Los Angeles, it will be easy for you to do so. In fact, you never know who you will meet next Make connections and. literally anywhere— at parties, conferences, Starbucks, etc. — can be the place to meet the people who launched your career.
We all know that people a lot More likely to remember a face rather than an anonymous email address.
But let’s say you don’t want to consider moving to Los Angeles. You’ve written a hit script, but don’t want to move out west. Let’s say one of your query emails catches the attention of a Hollywood producer. (Although the fact that the whole concept of querying emails actually works is somewhat debatable).
Producers will want you come to the meeting. So you pay for your ticket and fly to the conference. Then, your script turns out to be so hot that a month later you get another email from another producer asking for a meeting.
Two weeks later, again. You’re going to spend a lot of money on airfare, so it’s actually better to move to Los Angeles.
This is especially true if you want to write for television.
In television, if you live outside of Los Angeles, you really don’t have a chance to break in. The fact is, Hollywood built around relationshipsand a large portion of these relationships are formed not over Skype or Google Hangout, but through face-to-face meetings. You can’t really do that if you live on the other side of the country. Or not in the country at all.
Now, some professional screenwriters are forced to stay outside of Los Angeles for family or work reasons, but if moving to Los Angeles is an option, you should definitely do it. Carl King, author of So, You’re a Creative Genius. Now what? Wrote “Moving to Los Angeles was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
just here Inspire In a way you won’t find anywhere else.
3. “I can’t quit my day job and move to Los Angeles.”
“You guys are so funny. “Quit your day job and move to LA”? bring it on!
This response again misses the point of our original statement about moving to LA – namely, if you have Means and methods you can adopt if you wishbut choose not to do so because you haven’t made a commitment as a screenwriter.
Granted, quitting your day job may not be a viable option for many, but if you’re young enough and have no real commitments, quit a boring office job that you’re not interested in anyway and save a bunch of money, Then moving to Los Angeles may be the best decision you can make.
Michael Arndt did just that when he committed to becoming a screenwriter and quit his day job to focus on writing full-time for a year. He finally completed a script Little Miss Sunshine.
John August and Craig Mazin have also reiterated the importance of moving to Los Angeles multiple times on their screenwriting podcast.
4. “Moving to Los Angeles is out of the question. I live on the other side of the world.
“I looked at the price of flights from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles and back. It was almost 2K. That’s more than I make every month.
Well, that’s a legitimate claim. Trying to immigrate to the United States is a completely different thing than moving to Los Angeles from elsewhere in the United States. The immigration system here, especially post-9/11, can be a minefield.
But we’re not saying, “Hey, if you want to move from Finland to Los Angeles, just hop on a plane and come over.” Obviously, it depends on you Personal situation.
Ideally, no matter where you live, if you want to be a screenwriter, it would be great if you could move to Los Angeles, but for a lot of people that’s not possible.
A good option is Become a screenwriter first in your home country. If you can earn some screenwriting credits in your home country, you might be able to use your experience to attract the interest of U.S. agents and managers.
Moving to Los Angeles: Conclusion.
Yes, moving to Los Angeles is a big step, leaving your job, friends, and family behind. Yes, there’s no guarantee you’ll earn a fat screenwriting salary within a year of arriving.
but,if you There is a wayit all boils down to willing— which means committing to becoming a professional screenwriter by moving to a place where that’s more likely to happen.
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Do you want to move to Los Angeles? Or have you taken the leap and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a screenwriter? Are you still glad you did this? Tell us your story in the comments section below.
Like this article? Learn more about moving to Los Angeles and starting a career as a screenwriter…
How to become a screenwriter: A professional guide to launching your career
How to Get a Screenwriter Agent and Manager in 10 Proven Steps
Script Coverage Example: How to Deliver What Your Readers Want
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