If you're a screenwriter who wants to get the attention of Hollywood, would it be a good idea to take out a big ad in the Hollywood Reporter? Most people would say no way, that would just identify you as an amateur with no idea of how things really work.
Eric D. Wilkinson is no amateur; he's written and produced independent films and he knows how Hollywood works. But he was so excited about his plot for a Die Hard prequel/sequel that he spent a lot of money pitching it in a full-page ad in that trade paper. It took the form of an open letter to Bruce Willis, director Len Wiseman, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
I don't know how much that cost, but you can bet it wasn't cheap.
Did it pay off?
Yes and no.
He hasn't heard from the Die Hard folks and doesn't expect to.
However, the ad caught the attention of an executive at Eclectic Pictures, who asked what other projects Wilkinson had. They ended up buying his script, The Devil, an action/horror film, so it definitely wasn't money wasted.
It confirms my belief that to get attention, you have to do something different--even something most people think won't work.
