Part 39: The DEATH of Movie Theatres and Stars and What That Means for Screenwriting
- Amy Giaquinto
- Aug 13
- 11 min read
August, 2025
There's a lot to talk about today, but first, let's backtrack for a moment. When we last left off, my film's producer, Marty Katz was in Malta trying to secure financing for THE ONLY WAY OUT. I spoke with him upon his return and unfortunately, he didn't have many opportunities to network or even pitch THE ONLY WAY OUT.
In his words, the Mediterrane Film Festival had grown too large and was no longer conducive to having intimate conversations with financiers. I wasn't surprised he'd struck out because he'd struck out last year as well, so I had a plan ready to go with a list of people to call upon his return. I sent him the list, and he began making calls... And the recipients of those calls ignored them.
In the meantime, I checked in with my manager, Stephanie Rogers to see if there was anything new on her front. There wasn't, however, during our chat, we talked about the current state of the industry. By the numbers, movie theatres are continuing to die a slow death.
Stephanie and I talked about a theatre near her closing and how many other theatres around the country have gone out of business. We also talked about declining box office revenues and how it says something when MAJOR theatrical releases, AKA Tentpole Films, are continuing to underperform at the box office, regardless of the cast.
It's a really big deal when a Blockbuster film like Tom Cruise's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FINAL RECKONING or Scarlett Johansson's JURRASIC WORLD: REBIRTH fail to come close to earnings projections. With the exception of IMAX, traditional theatres are dying. Why? Maybe it's the cost of going to the theatre.
Maybe it's because most of the new films we see in theatres aren't new at all? They're familiar, recycled, retellings of the same old stories or marketing films, which are, in essence, 90 minute commercials for a certain product. Ahem, BARBIE, THE LEGO MOVIE, TRANSFORMERS, etc.
Maybe people are tired of being marketed to? Maybe they simply can't or don't want to take 2 hours of uninterrupted time to sit through a movie? Maybe they're tired of paying a ton of money to spend 30 minutes watching commercials before the film even begins?
Maybe technology really has gotten the best of people's attention spans? Maybe people are simply happier staying at home and forgoing the communal movie-watching experience?
Maybe it's because there's so much personalized content available online (literally fed to us) that it's easier for everyone in the family to watch exactly what they want on their own device and not be burdened by having to sit through something that might not interest them? Maybe people are simply afraid of the dark?
It's probably a combination of all of the above and a million other factors we're probably not even thinking about. The bottom line is when the vast majority of consumers prefer to stream their content from companies like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Apple TV+, it begs the question, have we reached a point in time in which it's pointless try and make a feature film slated for a wide theatrical release?
Is streaming truly the only way to go? And if so, how do you make money on a streamer? Alternatively, is there another answer? Is there something we're not thinking about? Something that will draw people back into the theatres or do people really prefer watching content on their phones and tablets?
My manager and I then started talking about A-list stars for my film and I had to ask, does an A-list star even mean anything anymore? I mean, if Scarlett Johannson and Tom Cruise aren't driving people to the box office, then does that mean the star system is also crumbling?
It used to be people would rush to see their favorite celebrity starring in a movie, even if that movie was awful. The star power celebs had was intense! Now, however, anyone can be a star in their own right on YouTube, Tik Tok and other social media outlets. Now that anyone can be a star, people are no longer looking to Hollywood for stars. This is diminishing what's referred to in the industry as "star power."
Seriously, does anyone under 40 even know or care who's starring in a film anymore? How many A-listers can they name? How many social media influencers can they name? My totally unscientific guess is they know more influencers than A-listers. And even if they do know who the A-listers are, the list of true A-listers who can actually "carry" a big budget movie has shrunk to just a small handful of actors, more male than female.
This is another huge problem for Hollywood. If star power means nothing anymore and people aren't going to the theatres and production companies aren't making money on the films they once considered "slam dunks," then what's next for the industry? What's next for actors? What's next for screenwriters?
I'd love to have answers to those questions from anyone in the know, but I'm not sure anyone is in the know right now. It feels more like people in the industry are hanging on for dear life, trying to figure out what's next, throwing darts at moving targets, hoping they'll stick.
The fact is the market is changing and the big question is will it ever be the same again or do we all need to pivot to give consumers what they want? Films they can stream on their phones.
Stephanie and I spent quite a long time brainstorming answers to these questions but we came up empty-handed. She's been through a lot of ups and downs in the industry, but she said this one feels different. A lot different. And we didn't even get into the effect AI's having on the industry. Our conversation didn't make me feel any better.
Stephanie said she'd call Marty and talk with him about these very issues and see what he had to say about shifting our focus away from a theatrical release in favor of a film with a streaming release. This would, at least, get the film made. After all, Steve Schklair and Marty have both said that the film could be cast in about 5 seconds if we weren't looking for A-list talent.
I knew what Marty was going to say even before Stephanie called me back after their conversation. He reiterated that he wanted to stay the course, to make more calls, and fight for a theatrical release. In his mind, that's what this film deserves. (In my mind, it is, too. I'm just not sure if that's realistic anymore.)
Marty reiterated that raising money for a film like this takes time and something will break at some point. First money is always the hardest to get. Eventually, a door will open.
Now, I'm usually an optimist who believes in miracles, but with financing drying up and theatres dying and five-and-a-half years under my belt with nothing to show for it... Is this dream of mine really worth it? Is it even possible to make it happen today?
With doubt creeping in, I'm constantly reminding myself that having a theatrically released film is my dream. It's been my dream since childhood. At the same time, at this point, I just want to get the film made. At the same time, I have a habit of short changing myself, giving up too soon on things, of shooting myself in the foot. "Good things come to those who wait." Right? RIGHT???
So maybe it's with utter stupidity, a need to prove I'm not a quitter, and the optimism of a kid who believed that wishing upon a star would make your dream come true, that I've chosen to stay the course, for now. It is an award-winning script with amazing feedback and coverage. Those who've read it, have LOVED IT!
MY SELF DOUBT IS BACK!
Or have they? As soon as I made the conscious decision to stay the course, I got kicked in the guts so hard it made me vomit prolific amounts of self-doubt all over myself.
You might remember that in the last post I mentioned how excited I was that THE ONLY WAY OUT had been selected as a SEMIFINALIST in The Writer's Lab Screenplay Competition. Well, The Writer's Lab's announced the writers (all women over age 40) who have been chosen to go to the lab in NY and...
I try not to place a lot of energy on competitions because they're so subjective, but I have to admit that I really, really, really wanted to get into The Writer's Lab. For years, I've fantasized about going to New York and getting away from the daily grind to write and network with other incredible writers around my age, amazing, smart, creative women with a ton of life experience.
The last time I was in any screenwriter's group was years ago when I lived in California and attended UCLA Extension's Screenwriting Program. The energy in that group was electric and I've missed it so much! There's just something about being in a group full of incredibly talented people who are just as passionate about screenwriting as you are that's absolutely transformational! I was so looking forward to that energy again.
I was also looking forward to meeting with mentors who have professional work experience on BIG NAME Hollywood films. I'd dreamt of going to NY and meeting professional screenwriters and asking all my questions and getting advice from someone who has been through the Hollywood system. I had hoped to get advice on how to move forward with a career because continuing to write and try and sell spec scripts is fruitless. Writing spec scripts is writing for fun, not writing for money and that's just not sustainable at this point in my life.
I also have a million other questions I'd love to ask another screenwriter, a woman who has probably been where I've been and knows how to move forward with THE ONLY WAY OUT and my other scripts.
I digress... As you can tell, I'd accidentally allowed myself to get excited by the possibility of getting chosen to go the minute THE ONLY WAY OUT had been announced as a Semi-Finalist.
But then the day came when The Writer's Lab announced the winners. I checked my email. Nothing. I went to the website, obsessively looked up and down the list several times and tried to process that THE ONLY WAY OUT and I were nowhere to be seen. My heart sank. My mood tanked. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
I've been doing this long enough that I've found it relatively easy to brush off contest losses, especially since I've read for The Sundance Labs and other screenplay competitions. I've seen the inner workings of competitions.
Yet somehow, I'd allowed this loss to get to me and that really sucked. The day I realized my NY dreams weren't going to come true... I felt like I'd been hit by a garbage truck. I spent the day soaking in my emotional funk and feeling sorry for myself while simultaneously taking care of our kids, our dog, the house, rushing to a doctor's appointment, physical therapy, and running errands.
When I came up for air, I reminded myself to use logic to figure out why the script wasn't good enough to get me to the Lab. I promptly went to The Writer's Lab's website and looked at the titles and loglines of the winning scripts.
Guess what? None of those scripts were action-thrillers and none of them were in my script's budget range. That made me feel a little better. It still hurt like hell that I didn't get to go, but at least the reason didn't seem to be about the writing. It was about which scripts had the possibility of being produced for a reasonable budget.
It's impossible to know which genres/types of stories certain competitions prefer. Most competitions say they'll
consider any type of script, but if you're a contest looking to find new writers and help them sell a script, it's highly likely you're not going to pick a writer who wrote script with a $35 million budget. In other words, a script that will be incredibly hard to make.
And with The Writer's Lab competition, features and TV scrips in all genres compete in one, giant pool. Being a judge in a competition like that is crazy! The features that won were either comedies or dramas. THE ONLY WAY OUT simply didn't fit. The script made it to the Semi-Finals. That's great, no AMAZING! I told myself! Making it to the Semifinals is HUGE. Accept the achievement and now move on!
I was still waiting to hear back from the Page Screenwriting Competition and Script Pipeline Competitions. I'd entered the Script Pipeline competition because of the jaw-dropping $20,000 grand prize for the winner and mentorships and other wonderful opportunities. I figured TOWO would at least make the Quarter-Finals, but guess what? It didn't. It was another kick in the guts. What was happening to me? Why had I becoming so sensitive?
I wasn't happy and I did my best to let go, but then, a few days later, I received some good news. I received a notification that THE ONLY WAY OUT had been selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the Page Screenwriting Competition. Yay! Not that finishing in the Quarter-Finals means anything at this point.
THE ONLY WAY OUT needs to finish in the Finals or better to be taken seriously. Now the Page Awards doesn't announce Semi-Finalists until mid-August and they won't announce winners until September, but at least my script isn't totally dead in the water.
WHY DO I ENTER SCREENWRITING COMPETITIONS?
The goal of entering competitions is two-fold, for me. I like to get an idea of whether the script is resonating with people. The second reason is to call attention to the script, to get it out into the market and create an air of excitement around it so that people are more likely to want to read it and finance it. A contest win or top finish always garners reads, even if they rarely go anywhere. Exposure is exposure.
The final reason is, of course, to try and win some money, although I know the likelihood of winning a screenwriting competition is probably about the same as being struck by lightning twice on the same day you win Powerball. It's possible (with a LOT of research and the exact right combination of psychic powers, hard work, and luck), but not probable.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE ONLY WAY OUT
Before I go, I have to say Marty emailed the team and said he was going to take a step back from THE ONLY WAY OUT and the other script he's trying to sell to reevaluate the situation. Again, people aren't returning his calls and he's just plain stuck in the mud. It's GROUNDHOG DAY all over again.
The new generation of assistants doesn't know who he is, which is a shame since he was one of the biggest producers in Hollywood in the 90s and early 2000s. I'm always looking for answers to problems like this so I emailed the team and suggested finding a female producer to attach to the project, someone who is currently active in the biz, and then I suggested someone, an actress turned producer. Unfortunately, my suggestion was quickly shot down.
The team didn't think the woman I suggested was a "Bonafide enough producer," however, Steve liked the idea of bringing some fresh blood to the project. (Sometimes having an idea rejected makes room for someone else to propose another idea that's just as good.) Apparently, Steve even had someone in mind, so he messaged back that he'd call Marty and they'd chat about his idea.
In the meantime, I took a moment and screamed irritably at the universe, popped out another MAMA FIX IT™ episode, then booked a weekend getaway to recharge my brain. We took off on a family trip to Leadville, Colorado to celebrate Boom Days and mainly watch the crazy burro races in the hopes that staying busy and hanging with donkeys and runners and people in period costumes would help pass the time and soothe my frazzled nerves.
If you're interested, you can check out my fun and informative videos here: www.YouTube.com/@GiaquintoProductionsLLC?sub_confirmation=1.
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Also, please feel free to leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
If you're curious, here's my latest MAMA FIX IT™ video. This one's great! If you've ever had neck pain, I give you a bunch of exercises and stretches to help you relieve the pain! As writers, each of you should be doing these exercises every, single day to prevent neck pain. Enjoy!
Until next time, keep writing, keep dreaming, and thanks so much for your support!
To be continued...
What a tough time in Hollywood. Keep the faith, this will get made!
I'm sorry you're going through this. I think I could have saved you from a lot of these issues- with the script, your mindset- and your "manager". You seem dead-set on some sort of "writer's lab", and I don't know why. There are 3500 screenwriting competitions out there. Only 5-10 are potentially career-changing (IF your career is screenwriting). The second tier has about 20 competitions that are known names in the screenwriting world, but they do little for your actual career. They may help generate buzz for your project, and winning their contest is a nice mention on your writer's resume, but that's about it. The other 3450+ competitions? Ego-boosting cash grabs and vanity competitions. No. One. Cares. I'm a…