Open-Field Running: The Adventure of Selling A Screenplay [Hardcover]

Brad Catherman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2007

Open-field Running is the driving metaphor from football which defines the run to the goal line: uncertain, winding, and confusing, yet exhilarating, passionate, and courageous. Brad Catherman shares with us his sprint to sell a screenplay to Hollywood while brushing up against the famous and infamous as he tries for his big break. During his 18-year quest to sell a screenplay, he writes nine scripts, wins awards in six screenwriting competitions, sells three screenplay Options (for $1 each), hires and fires four agents, fills four filing cabinets with rejection letters, maintains an award-winning marketing career in spite of numerous corporate downsizings, faces the challenges and blessings of being a single dad, and finally lands a studio development deal. He takes us on a roller coaster ride as he develops story ideas, pitches ten Hollywood producers in a single weekend, gains endorsements from a United States Senator and a monastery, and networks with everyone and anyone. Brad encounters other wannabe Hollywood players on his trip, including a furniture heiress who promotes wrestlers, a home builder who is obsessed with having Bruce Willis play the lead in his movie, and a movie-producing dentist preoccupied with constructing unique golf clubs. Through it all, he remains grounded in his faith and values learned from his parents and as an athlete. You will share his laughter and tears, but be unmistakably inspired to run toward your own goal. AAOBUT THE AUTHOR: Brad Catherman has written screenplays which have won numerous awards in screenwriting competition. He takes us on an 18-year comical and introspective romp through Hollywood that ends with his first screenplay development deal. Brad lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his son Andy

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Seaboard Press (November 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596635673
• ISBN-13: 978-1596635678
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,979,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson in Perseverance, July 5, 2008

By 

C. C. Schweers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open-Field Running: The Adventure of Selling A Screenplay (Hardcover)

Despite the hardships endured over the years of trying to get his screenplays in the right hands, Mr. Catherman persisted in his quest. This book is not only for those who strive to follow the same path, but for all of us who need to remember what is important in life. My take away is to follow my bliss and the rest will take care of itself. I expect Mr. Catherman will continue to do the same and we will be seeing him accept his Academy Award before long.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clear View for Running, May 27, 2008

By 

El Jeffy "Screenwriter" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Open-Field Running: The Adventure of Selling A Screenplay (Hardcover)

Being a screenwriter myself, I couldn't wait to read about the adventures (or, as it turns out, mostly misadventures) of whom I believe to be the most read screenwriter in motion picture history. In this page turner, Brad Catherman uses the moxie of a bulldog -- along with his "never give up" attitude -- to push, pull and shove his "life" plays in front of everyone from Spielberg to Secretary's of State to movie loving Monks. Catherman's "movie within a movie" moves along at breakneck speed through countless peaks and valleys as his screenplays get the star "treatment" -- at $1 per sale. I laughed, I cried, and I lit a match to hundreds of my own index cards. "Open Field Running" is a must read for anyone and everyone who wish to become a part of the world's oldest profession -- the movie making business.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's A Wild ride, May 20, 2008

By 

T. Cunningham (Bozeman, MT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open-Field Running: The Adventure of Selling A Screenplay (Hardcover)

In Fairy Tale Land, an unknown writer submits an unsolicited screenplay to a studio and it is passed up the ladder until the stogie-smoking studio chief shouts "Eureka! This will make a boffo movie. Get that young hotshot on the horn and tell him he can name his price!"

In the real world, this rarely happens. The math is staggering. Even with a bona fide agent, the ratio of screenplay submissions to "green lit" projects is astronomical. What's a wannabe screenwriter gotta do to get noticed in Hollywood? Brad Catherman attempts to level the playing field by trying every tactic in the book - and several that aren't - to sell a screenplay. If you can scheme it, there's a good chance that author Catherman has tried it.

Open Field Running is a hilarious memoir concerning one man's attempt to get his screenplays noticed, read, represented and produced. Catherman is talented enough to win screenplay competitions and garner meaningful endorsements, but each time he comes tantalizingly close to cutting a major deal..... well, you've got to read it to believe it. Suffice it to say that you'll come to appreciate Catherman's gumption, self-effacing humor and perseverance. You'll be rooting for him all the way. This story does have a Hollywood ending, sort of......