Message Board

What’s new at Crescendo Entertainment Group

Exciting things are happening at Crescendo Entertainment Group, including a full-service screenplay development consulting division, a new production company that's seeking material, and a newsletter to keep you in the know. Read on to learn more about how to put Crescendo to work for you. Click here to find out more:

http://www.crescendoentertainmentgroup.com/consultinglaunch.htm

Marc won't even give me the common courtesy of answering my queries via his web-site, and now he wants my money... That'll be the day.

Greg

Greg-

So this guy/company is not legit?

Stephanie,

He is legit, and he may be a good reviewer, but there are agents and managers much more successful than he is who always send a reply on a query. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather get a "no we're not interested" than to be left in limbo wondering if they even got the query.

Greg

Greg:

We clearly state on our website:

"Should we be interested, we will contact you. However, due to the volume of queries we receive, we simply cannot respond to every one."

However, if you would like, why don't you send me an email, directly at mhernandez@ceg-la.com and we can discuss your material.

I don't see what all the huffing and puffing is about. If you choose to utilize Marc's services, that's your affair. But why berate or question the guy.

For what it's worth, Marc did answer one of my emails a while back and asked for the script. He passed on it, but gave me some high praises and asked if I had anything else, if so to submit again.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything else near the genre he was asking for at that time - comedy/action-adventure.

Greg, I understand where you're coming from. It's frustrating. But, the best thing you can do for yourself at this point in time is to query and move on. Keep moving forward. Take care.

Marc was polite and responsive to me as well.

Greg, get used to it. Most of my queires go unanswered but I don't allow myself to let it get to me. Don't expect to get respect. We're nobody til we're somebody.

Aloha

"Don't expect to get respect. We're nobody til we're somebody".

Damn that sounds like a Speedy Muffler commercial.

That being said... It's not a matter of Respect or Disrespect- it is Time Management- when someone puts out a Request- the responses could be a couple of dozen to thousands and unfortuneately, a ton of them are redundant, been there and Oh God not that story line again!

Out of a hundred, you might be lucky to find a few that peak your interest and so you respond. The others you hit DELETE!

Agents, Managers and Production Companies are for the most part WAY to busy to have to deal with every submission.

We have to realize that it is not personal but business and yes- to just move on.

I just wish that one of my scripts peaked Marc's interest- 0 for 2 but now I have an Agent as I moved on and kept working on my writing skills.

Congrats on Crescendo Marc-

Steve

Marc Hernandez has earned his spurs, and he deserves credit, even if you do not know his past history.

He has been a benefit to several MovieBytes members, and he is legit. Some here need to know that not everyone will respond with, "thank you for your script. Gee. We just don't know what to do with it...BUT...keep it up. Maybe someday you'll write something we like."

Chill, people. If you got a response saying something to the order of "...what the hell were you thinking??..." maybe you'd appreciate a non-response.

Grow up. This is a tough business and sometimes your writing doesn't work for them. Most of my writing doesn't fly in Hollywood, so I won't even bother them. Sometimes it does, so I'll send it out, but if someone turns me down, or better yet, doesn't respond, so what?

Marc is the real deal, and just to point out, I've never even sent him my work, so there is no connection. Others on this board previously have benefitted from his input.

"What's New...?" is that he is honest and legit.

Count on it.

WC aka RR

Marc Hernandez has earned his spurs, and he deserves credit, even if you do not know his past history.

He has been a benefit to several MovieBytes members, and he is legit. Some here need to know that not everyone will respond with, "thank you for your script. Gee. We just don't know what to do with it...BUT...keep it up. Maybe someday you'll write something we like."

Chill, people. If you got a response saying something to the order of "...what the hell were you thinking??..." maybe you'd appreciate a non-response.

Grow up. This is a tough business and sometimes your writing doesn't work for them. Most of my writing doesn't fly in Hollywood, so I won't even bother them. Sometimes it does, so I'll send it out, but if someone turns me down, or better yet, doesn't respond, so what?

Marc is the real deal, and just to point out, I've never even sent him my work, so there is no connection. Others on this board previously have benefitted from his input.

"What's New...?" is that he is honest and legit.

Count on it.

WC aka RR

OOps.

I've submitted queries in the past. No reply from someone's part is pretty much standard if they are not interested. From a business point of view, I highly doubt I'd waste money and resources replying to those folks whose work I'm not interested in pursuing. Time, as they say, is money. And if I ever get onboard with Crescendo, I don't know if, as a client, I'd be too happy knowing my manager/agent/whathaveyou is wasting his/her time, energy, and money replying to queries he/she is not interested in pursuing. That time/energy/money would go a long way to getting a script into the right hands.

Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I could be wrong.

One last thought: think about what you stand to gain by having someone reply "sorry we're not interested" in either a form email or a personal one. You are either confident in your work or you are not. And a "sorry" reply won't validate you or your work either way.

>> From a business point of view, I highly doubt I'd waste money and resources replying to those folks whose work I'm not interested in pursuing.<<

That's funny...I thought the opposite.

As a writer, I don't want to waste my time and money on people not interested in my work. If I submit a query and get no response, then I doubt I will think of these people again. Too bad for them, since the next script may be the big moneymaker.

In this age of automatic emails, a form reply cost very little. In the case of Crescendo, had Marc formed an email database from his queries, he would have an automatic mailing list for his new services. He would also be "in the minds" of those who queried.

PJ McIlvaine Sue Miller Eric Sentell Randy Roberts

Thank you so much for your kind words of support. I really appreciate it. Should any of you wish to contact me to discuss your career, writing, ask questions about the business, etc. (we normally charge an hourly for consulting services), I would be more than happy to spend time with you.

All the best,

Marc

Amen, Carolyn! It's about time somebody got my point. Thank you.

Greg

For Gregory Woodruff:

Regarding your "common courtesy" comment, here's what we clearly state on our website (as to query letters):

"Should you have unique, significant and commercially viable material and/or literary properties that you would like to submit to Crescendo Motion Pictures, we want to hear from you. Should we be interested, we will contact you. However, due to the volume of queries we receive, we simply cannot respond to every one."

I for one can attest to Crescendo's professionalism. Marc contacted me after reading one of my loglines on this website. I sent him some material, and he responded in a timely manner (about 2 weeks, as promised.) Thanks again, Marc.

Jeremy Carr

Thanks, Jeremy. I appreciate your kind words. Keep writing!

All the best,

Marc Hernandez

Thanks, Marc, for your generous offer.

Just this past week Marc sent me an email regarding my script that he read. The email was courteous and kind and unfortunately a rejection.

Most agencies/management/prodco's don't bother with this after reading the script so then this makes him MORE courteous than others...

I run a small indie two man prodco myself. I get several email queries per week. I find I'm too busy to respond to any of them with even a form letter so a major company shouldn't be expected to either.

People should stop whining and develop a tough skin - an unanswered query is the least screwing over a writer will experience in Hollywood.

BTW - the comment about the email database is fairly ironic since Marc is known in Hollywood circles for having amassed a humungous email list which he used to build a contact network.

Evidently I was way off base concerning Marc and his agency. I hereby apologize to Marc for questioning his ethics, and to anyone else I may have offended.

Greg

Woah, peoples!

This guy is being crucified simply because he's honest about - being too busy to answer every INDIVIDUAL email he gets, and because he's offering a service for those people who might want/need it. On the other hand, he is also extending an invitation to writers to submit ideas and loglines, knowing he will be bombarded with 90% junk. Every article I read says the same thing- out a 100 scripts less than 10 are worth looking any further at. Believe me, I am a reader for a few contests and I have seen a fair share of scripts that needed lots of work! It's the rarity, not the everyday occurance, that a story/script shines! We are all busy- how many of us throw away junk mail we're not interested in? Do we write back to those people selling glass block windows, windshields, life insurance and mortgage refinancing? Nope, we hit delete/throw it in the garbage -because we, like Marc, are BUSY.

I do understand Greg's frustration. When I send a letter and/or email it would be nice to hear back - not to be left hanging.

But on the flipside I understand the fact that a lot of people are just too busy to respond. Marc's site is honest and clear about this. He says he'll respond if he's interested. Fair enough.

And when he reads a script he does let the writer know if he's not interested.

The one's that do burn me are those who state in interviews that they respond to absolutely every query whether interested or not because I swear every single time I have read that and queries I received absolutely NO RESPONSE. 100% of the time.

But we have to move on and deal with it because at the end of the day it's really a very small annoyance.

Appreciate the interesting comments.

When Marc was with the other company, I had sent two scripts to him, a comedy and a thriller.

There was no response.

Followup queries were ignored. So, I was the insurance salesman, the siding salesman, the long distance phone telemarketer, etc., who is ignored.

I don't get a response and a letter from the State Lotto department thanking me for entering the lotto.

When I apply for a day-job, most of the time I get no response from the companies, not even a postcard, "we'll pass, or position was filled."

There ought to be a software template for the pros that, with the push of "enter" sends an email, "interesting script. We'll pass. Good luck."

I have saved some courteous letters from one entertainment lawyer, several managers and several agents who passed, but left the vault door ajar with, "Feel free to send us anything in the future," or words to that effect.

I made the mistake of giving up about fourteen loglines to a very cold, indifferent, unfriendly company. They not only asked for the script but for the ideas on which I was working and other completed scripts. That was before they examined my work to see if it was up to there standards.

Strangely, my sense of humor is sleeping, today.

Grover