Screenwriter’s Almanac: The Relentless Road to “Back to the Future”

Why Screenwriting Success Requires More Than Just Talent

Happy Saturday, everyone.

There’s one trait every successful screenwriter must have, and it’s not just talent. It’s not even just hard work. It’s persistence. Grit. The ability to keep pushing forward when every door slams shut in your face. I was thinking last night about how to talk to emerging screenwriters about the necessity of more than just hard work and talent. If a writer intends to make it in Hollywood and forge a career, there needs to be unwavering faith, but also an intensity about forming relationships, networking, joining writing groups, meeting people, submitting to contests, attending screenwriting conferences, making cold outreach calls and emails, knocking on doors and asking contacts for help and support. A screenwriter needs to be a marketer and publicity person just as much as a writer. On top of all of this…there needs to be an innate ability to never take no for an answer.

And a story that illustrates this better than most - the long, bumpy road to getting a movie made - it’s the story of getting Back to the Future to the screen.

How Many Times Would You Hear “No” Before Giving Up?

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale first wrote Back to the Future in 1980. They loved it. Their reps loved it. The studios? Not so much.

They pitched the script over 40 times.

Forty.

Let’s get further into this; not just a little of the Back to the Future story, but I also cover a list of what writers need to do to create a career in this biz. It isn’t easy! To say the least.