Old man Dave chuckled. "Haha, good to meet you, Jay."
Since he had already come to Warner Bros. Pictures, Ajay decided to submit the draft anyway. What if a producer became interested in his manuscript and decided to purchase it? One could always dream, right?
But after listening to the old man Dave, he did not stop at Warner Bros. Pictures and visited all the studios in the locality, be it Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, or Walt Disney Pictures.
He submitted the manuscript everywhere and waited for a whole week in the hopes of getting a reply, but sadly, Dave turned out to be right, and his hope was all for nought.
So he decided to take another approach. Instead of hoping the major studios would be interested in his work, he decided to visit the smaller second-tier studios. If that didn't work, he decided to visit the third-tier studios and the independent studios.
Throughout the whole week, he visited Miramax Films, Orion Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Arsenal Films, but once again, the result was the same.
He looked at the dwindling stash of money in his locker, and he was getting a little restless.
"Damn it."
He cursed under his breath and finally decided to take the approach suggested by the old man.
After formulaically posting the manuscript through the post to even smaller companies and independent studios, he started to inquire where directors usually gathered.
But he didn't know where to start. He was no professional in the film industry after all. How would he know where the directors gathered, where the producers gathered, and where the actors would hang out?
Thankfully, he was in Burbank. Although it was not the main location where the films were actually shot, films were being shot in the area every day. Running errands across the area, he had already memorised all the streets and the alleyways.
So he went hunting for a filming crew.
Several hours later, he found one right at the corner of Westminster Avenue. It looked like a period drama was being shot.
There weren't too many onlookers since people in Burbank had already become used to shootings every day, but there were still security personnel making sure that no irrelevant people entered the set.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue, annoyed, but he did not give up and simply stood far away from the filming set and waited.
He waited for one hour, two hours, until finally the crew began to pack up and prepare to leave.
This was his opportunity, as he saw several crew members come out of the perimeter to smoke and chat.
Ajay rushed forward and amiably held his lighter to a person who seemed to struggle finding his.
"Thank you," the man said.
Ajay nodded with a cordial smile and silently waited to the side.
"You're quite a tactful kid. What do you need?" the man asked as he looked at Ajay with a slight arc on the corner of his lips.
Ajay felt embarrassed that his intention was seen through, but the embarrassment didn't last long as he explained all his problems in one breath. "Brother, it's like this: I wrote a short script for a film, but a veteran screenwriter suggested that I pitch the script to a director. The trouble is I don't know where the director is or how to reach the director. You're in a crew, so is there any way to reach the director?"
"You want to meet my director?"
"Ah, no, don't misunderstand. But," his mind immediately spun, and his smile widened while looking at the man with flattery, "if you can make me meet him, then it would be amazing."
"No, not possible."
Ajay's expression deflated like a balloon, but he quickly continued with his original intention. "Alright, forget it, it doesn't have to be your director alone. I just want to find a place where a lot of directors could be found. I have a script, you see, and I want to find a director suitable to shoot it."
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The man looked at the watch in his hands, and it made Ajay a little restless. Was he not going to get the answer? But thankfully, although the guy threw the cigarette butt into the dustbin and prepared to leave, he did give him what he was asking for.
"The directors are all members of a guild called the Directors Guild. Consequently, screenwriters also have a guild called the Screenwriters Guild. There are notice boards in both these unions, so you can hang your information there."
Ajay's eyes lit up, and he thanked the man sincerely. "I'll remember this help. Thank you, sir."
Ajay didn't know where the directors' guild or the screenwriters' guild was located in Hollywood. But he knew his way around, so he asked some contacts he knew in the past and realised that it was actually not too far away, only 25 km.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a car, and he had to rely on public transport to reach the destination.
He finally arrived at the Directors Guild, and the statue of a camera placed right in front of the guild got his attention.
It was a unique camera, a large and bulky one. Apparently, it was the first camera that was capable of videotaping images or something. "Maybe this is the camera that built Hollywood," he muttered to himself and stepped into the building.
"Hello, I would like to post a script. What should I do?" he directly asked the front desk lady.
"Are you in the Screenwriters Guild?" she asked.
"No, is it mandatory?" he was nervous.
"You don't have an agent as well?"
"No."
The lady became silent for a few seconds until she eventually replied. "Being in a screenwriters' guild is not mandatory, but the directors pay a lot of attention to this membership. Since you don't have an agent either, a script won't reach any director unless they are the kind that looks at the notice board."
Ajay's heartbeat sped up. "So not all directors look at the notice board?"
"No! Where could they have so much time? The prominent directors are all contracted by the big studios, and they already have projects lined up. Even for fairly successful directors, there are plenty of scripts to choose from. They get the entire catalogue to browse."
"Besides, the studios sometimes employ a director themselves for a script they want to turn into a movie, so not a lot of people look at the notice board, which is usually meant for people like you, beginners or small-time screenwriters."
"Maybe only a newcomer would be interested in the scripts on the notice board."
"But these people usually do not have the channels to contact the studios, and they don't have the investment either."
Ajay understood the gist of it and thanked the desk lady and requested. "I have no other choice, so please help me post it."
The front desk lady sighed and filled out an application. "I'm going to need some sort of identification, and $10, please."
Ajay nodded and reluctantly took out the $10 bill along with his state-issued identity card.
After leaving the directors' guild, he immediately set off to the screenwriters' guild. First, he inquired how to become a member, and he was shocked. He actually had to pay a membership fee every year, and the fee was not fixed. It was according to the proportion of earnings derived from his screenwriting work.
"Why is it so high?" he couldn't help but blurt out.
The front desk auntie didn't give him a good look at all. She was not as kind as the one in the directors' guild office.
"Becoming a member of the screenwriters guild means You're guaranteed a certain compensation from any studio, and even if You're a newcomer, no studio would dare to undercut your salary, even if it is a studio like Disney or Warner Bros. If you have any grievance with the studio, we can also help you mediate the disputes and make sure that you get all the benefits you deserve."
"So tell me, is it still expensive?"
Ajay was speechless. Being put in such a way, he couldn't open his mouth to refute. Sadly, he did not currently have the ability to purchase the membership, so he simply hung the script and left the office.
He waited for a response, a letter from a director, any director, even if it was a newcomer who hadn't filmed a film in his life, but ironically, none appeared.
Instead, his money dwindled faster, and he had to start working part-time in convenience stores, fast food restaurants, petrol bunks, and other places.
In such a way, several months passed, and he was receiving no response. Frustrated, he went directly to the directors' guild to see if he could directly propose the script to a director.
At first, he looked for someone who appeared distinguished and directly approached the person with his manuscript to see if he was interested in discussing the script, but all those guys were too arrogant and waved him aside.
Then he looked for people who were actually looking at the notice board. He stood beside them and inadvertently acted as if he was impressed by his own script as he pointed and read its synopsis out loud, but it didn't work either.
In the end, he put aside all pretences and started directly asking if anyone was interested in his script.
He finally began to see a positive response. Several directors, after reading the synopsis and hearing the brief introduction, showed interest, but after understanding that it was a script for a short film only 10 minutes long, they shook their heads and left.
Ajay, filled with disappointment, walked to the bus stand with several thoughts in his mind.
"Should I film it myself?" he suddenly asked.
His eyes brightened, and his heart was filled with enthusiasm.
He was sure that remembering all the movies he had seen in his last life was some sort of a gift or maybe his brain had mutated after being reborn. He could remember every detail, even the minute ones, like the colour of the clothes worn by a character in a certain scene, inconsistencies in filming, music choices, and even the props. He remembered everything.
He didn't know the film industry. He didn't know directing. But he could copy what was in his mind into reality, couldn't he?
He felt like he could.
The film he had chosen was called "The Election Night". It was a Norwegian film that won the Oscars. It was a 10-minute short film that had a lot of reputation in the industry. His original intention was to use this film to make a name for himself and get into the film circle, but it looked like no one was going to hold his hand and walk him inside.
In that case, he had no choice but to force his way in.
To be continued...