What Happens to Your Screenplay Once It's Bought

And why what you wrote may not end up on-screen

Last week, I returned to Los Angeles from Atlanta where I directed a film that will air on Lifetime next year. It was a great experience. While my first love is writing, I must admit that being on set, bringing the words of a writer (sometimes myself) to life, is almost as much fun. The experience reminded me of how lucky I was, fairly early in my writing career, to be invited to set and be able to witness this process.

Most writers hand in their final rewrite and that’s it. Finito. The production team takes the project and runs with it, and the writer has no idea what’s happening. Some producers cut them out of the process to the point that they aren’t even told when principal photography wraps and when the film is going to premiere.

I thought for this week, I’d give you guys some insight as to what happens to your screenplays once they’re out of your capable, creative hands. So read on if you want to learn a thing or two about the changes made to a script once it is slated for product…