Screenwriter's task: Sell her script using hints from her how-to book

Published: 2005-09-26

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic screenwriter Kate Wright is on the horns of a dilemma. Last year, a book she wrote about successfully selling screenplays was published. This year, Wright's task is to successfully sell a movie script she has written about St. Katharine Drexel. The first step -- which wasn't in her book -- is to show it to the leaders of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the order St. Katharine Drexel founded, and do whatever required touch-ups are needed so it meets with their approval. The ultimate step -- which is included in "Screenwriting Is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay That Sells" -- is "getting money, which is equal to getting your stars," Wright said. It's akin to the chicken-and-egg question. Finding stars willing to commit to a film gives potential investors "the reason they have to believe there's a return on their investment," she said. Wright teaches classes in screenwriting and "script doctoring" for the writers program at the University of California-Los Angeles. The idea for "Katharine: The Conspirator Saint," as she has titled her script, came after she got a grant to write the script for a St. Katharine Drexel documentary.

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