I am trying to produce my first movie and I am a noob, please help

Hello, I am new to the forum and I'm not completely sure if this is the correct forum to be posting a question like this. If not, please let me know.

Anyways, I have a very interesting movie idea about a very unique and interesting subject. The particular subject actually has never been adapted into a movie, suprisingly. I am afraid to say what the subject is because to be honest, I don't want someone who is a more experienced movie producer than myself to think, "hmm what a great idea to make a movie about that, i better get on that". So I will just keep that to myself. On to my actual question, I am currently in the early development process in which i am just developing the story and the plot. My only concern is that my plot is very long, like its almost turning into a story in itself, if that makes any sense. It's almost getting to the point where it has the feel of being a mixture of a plot, story, and script...all in one.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Because I'm pretty sure my initial concern should be developing something that can be successfully pitched to big movie production companies and I'm pretty sure it needs to be something that doesnt take very long to explain. Only problem is that my movie is very complex, not in a way that is hard to understand, or boring, but the story itself has a lot of meat to it. Can anyone give me some advice on this, am i going in the right direction so far? Is there anything I should know about the process of developing a new movie idea?

If you guys need more information from me about this, just ask.

***Cliffnotes:
-I am completely new to developing a movie idea and im doing it all on my own with ZERO experience in the industry.
-I am unsure if what im currently working on is what i should be focusing on as my initial starting point in this project.
-anyone with any experience in this maybe pm me or any comments much appreciated.

Yes, it is the wrong forum. However, try here.

The best thing is to know someone in the industry to try and get your foot in the door. There are thousands of people with "scripts" like yours and you need to be able to set it apart. So write the script.

Second, try filming it yourself, or just a portion of it. The Coen's filmed a trailer as their pitched for their first film. Just some ideas.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

I am fairly new to this particular site, but I would think there are better online resources for these particular questions. Offhand, I know that IMDb has specific boards for different industry positions; your thread title says "produce" but it appears you're actually talking about a (potential) screenplay, and the IMDb Writers board is here: http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000019/threads/ Also, if you seek more in-depth info, there's IMDbPro, which is a subscription service for those in the game. (I hope no one here at MoFo minds me mentioning these other sites; I just think they're better suited for what this poster is seeking.)

That aside, I'll just offer a couple things: I'd be very surprised if your particular subject "actually has never been adapted into a movie". Sure, it's possible, but unless you're the biggest film historian known to man, you're probably going to discover that your subject matter has been covered in cinema at least tangentially. I'm not trying to discourage you; just bear in mind that you may run into a precedent and will have to deal with that, and the repercussions could run the gamut from creative to legal. Also, if you have no experience, it's probably a good idea to research how screenplays are generally formatted; being raw & uninhibited by convention sounds nice in theory, but (for better or worse), a screenplay that isn't formatted will usually get dismissed out of hand. TheUsualSuspect made two great suggestions: know someone in the industry, because that will give you opportunities & insight others don't have. It's hard enough for professionals to get a project off the ground; as an outsider, you're just another fish. Also, I agree that shooting some version (however rudimentary) of the story yourself will give you a) some amount of experience and b) a clearer idea of how your ideas are going to be translated onto film.

Anyway, best of luck.

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the angel stayed until something died, one more murder suicide

I am certainly not the most experienced here, though would like to state I don't know how good a plot turning into a story would look, bad or good. Thats quite absurd though, and would be a phenomenon if ever achieved effectively.

Most importantly Keep It Simple and break every complexity. Maybe I'm speaking from another end and count less, just my few cents

On the production end of things, if you have a good script and can find some college students to help with it for credit at their school you might be able to get it going.

Shoot it in video and there are some tools that can be found on the internet to give it a film look. You can find open source programs for sound effects and even music if you can locate a musician to help with it.

It not impossible to make a movie, you just had to dedicate yourself to it and think outside the box.

If you want to make a movie -- you need a script.

How to write a script is the first thing you need to learn.

Every word counts. Every line sets up the next line. A script reveals itself, step by step.

You have to strip your story down to achieve this -- via outline.

Then you have to write it.

READ: THE WILD BUNCH, Sam Peckinpah's rewrite. Sam is the best screenwriter I can think of to learn from. Hell, he might just be the best screenwriter period.

Once you have an amazing, awesome, outstanding script -- don't hold your breath.

Unless you have tons of cash -- you now have the hard part in front of you.

Millions of people want to have their movie made.

Once you know how to write -- you might write twenty more you think are great.

And never see them made into movies.

Now, if you’re serious, don’t let this get you down –

Just wait to get kicked in the face a bunch of times—

Then you can feel down.

They call that paying your dues.

Hollywood is great.

Good luck -- and I really mean that.

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R.I.P.

Its hard but just be persistent...you'll go far...dont take no for an answer.

Hello,

Probably too late, but if you're still labouring with this, you should consider writing your story down in a simple format known as a treatment. According to the Writer's Guild, you can register a treatment with them, and also get a copyright from U.S. Gov't (more important) to protect your idea legally. Now this is not to say that some producer could not change around some details and all, and still make a story similar to yours, but if it is as unique as you say, then they probably won't get away with it. The copyright proves that the idea originated with you.

You get that treatment copyrighted, to protect yourself, and any one of us could probably help you with turning it into a script! Hope this helps!

God Bless!!!