Every screenwriter’s goal is to see their screenplay make it onto the silver screen. But how do you sell a screenplay in such an oversaturated market? It can seem like a daunting journey, but there is hope. Shelby Oaks, the debut documentary-found footage crossover film from Chris Stuckmann, a YouTuber and filmmaker, was acquired by Neon, a studio on everyone’s mind thanks to the impressive marketing of Longlegs.

But how did this happen for Stuckmann? Through his online presence, connections made through his passion for film, and a stroke of good timing, he was able to make his movie and then sell it later.

Shelby Oaks Was a Filmmakers Dream

Launched from a 2022 Kickstarter campaign that raised $1.39 million for a film under a month—the most-funded horror film on the site ever—Shelby Oaks was a dream project that started with a pitch during 2019’s Fantastic Fest to Paper Street Pictures’ Aaron B. Koontz. 

“Out of the blue, [Koontz] just was like, ‘So are you working on anything?’” Stuckmann tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So, in a very unprofessional way, I just blabber-mouthed a pitch for Shelby Oaks. I then saw that he had turned away from the boxing match and was locked in all of a sudden.”

The conversations continued into 2020, but nothing happened until July 2021 when Stuckmann and Koontz announced their intention to make a feature film. Filming for Shelby Oaks was intended to start near the end of 2021 after the potential IATSE strike at the time cooled. However, during pre-production, Stuckmann quickly realized that the movie’s existing budget wasn’t enough to make his vision a reality.

Stuckmann had an advantage (and a different standard) in the filmmaking community because of his place in the industry. With 2 million subscribers on YouTube, Stuckmann had grown a loyal fan base for his movie reviews that supported him when he asked them to help finance Shelby Oaks. As a result, the budget ballooned to nearly $1.4 million.

With a rough cut and informal mentorship from horror maestro Mike Flanagan, whom Stuckmann had championed for his career-changing second feature Oculus, Neon expressed interest in viewing a cut of the film. It didn’t take long for them to come back with an acquisition offer.

Stuckmann’s story sparks instant joy and hope in aspiring filmmakers looking to break into the industry with one of the more prestigious indie studios in Hollywood. The best part of Stuckmann’s success is that it can help you create a blueprint for your own path to theatrical distribution.

Start Shaping Your Next Career-Changing Move

When people casually toss out the idea that you should go make a movie, it is hard to not ask how? and hope that someone can help lead the way for you. Moviemaking is hard, but there are ways to set yourself up for success using the Stuckmann method. 

Social Media Is a Screenwriter’s Greatest Tool

Social media has a place in a screenwriter's career. Whether you are doing 15-minute reviews on YouTube, blurbs on Facebook that break down your favorite moments in a film, or reviewing how you implemented something from a screenplay into your workflow for TikTok, finding a way to build a fanbase is crucial. It provides the support you need to create a film and eventually sell it.

As someone who watches a lot of screenwriters’ social media, I can tell you from a fan’s perspective that we want to see people with strong voices and visions create art. Establishing your brand can help you build a loyal fan base that wants to see you succeed. However, with that expectation comes added pressures that could weigh you down.

Stuckmann tells The Hollywood Reporter that his dream was always to make movies, but he wanted to talk about them online when he was 21 years old. After talking to fellow critics-turned-filmmakers like C. Robert Cargill, Stuckmann received “a lot of great advice about the fact that, even if this is what I’ve always wanted to do, that’s not necessarily going to be the perception. [Cargill’s] advice was to try to be at peace with that and accept it, and not think too much about those added pressures that come with it, and just make the best movie you can.”

Use social media as a tool to help you achieve your movie-making goals, but don’t get bogged down by the effects of creating an online presence. Keep your goal at the forefront of your mind, and be genuine about it. People, both in the fan base and in the industry, will see the passion and want to collaborate to make these dreams a reality.

Networking Is Worth Your Time

You may have noticed that Stuckmann has a lot of connections in the horror world. Whether they reached out to him to thank him for a review, as Flanagan did, or were contacted by Stuckmann for advice, networking will always be part of the job and is worth your time.

Go and mingle at film festivals, reach out to screenwriters on Coverfly, email filmmakers you admire, and stay in touch with them. The best connections are the ones that feel exciting and collaborative and have a thread that keeps you connected for years to come.

For Stuckmann, his years-long connection with Flanagan started with a conversation about movies they like and rare films that only had physical distribution in certain areas of the world. Typically, most filmmakers are cinephiles. Find films that connect you to others, and try to respect the creative risks that filmmakers take when talking about their projects.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to go to movies and be like, ‘Oh, that didn’t work for me.’ Of course, that happens, but there is something very eye-opening about meeting so many filmmakers and seeing the struggle of getting a film off the ground,” Stuckmann says. Meeting people that you can learn from is a great outcome of networking, but you have to get out there and do it.

Follow You Dream

I know, it is a cliché thing to say, but clichés exist for a reason. What is stopping you from writing your feature film? Maybe you don’t know who to give the script to make your movie a reality.

Having an online presence and being able to go to festivals and make connections with people who are in every aspect of the filmmaking process can help you take those necessary steps to achieve your dream. But you have to put in the work and write the specs that you want to pitch whenever someone asks, “Are you working on anything?”

Making your dream project won’t be easy, but the results can make that struggle and grind worth it.

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While Stuckmann’s method could be an anomaly, I see more and more social media personalities making movies. Danny and Michael Philippou, two brothers who transitioning from YouTube creators to filmmakers, rocked the film festival circuit with their debut indie horror Talk to Me, which A24 picked up at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and distributed later that year. Mark Fischbach, a YouTuber gamer known as Markiplier, adapted the video game Iron Lung for the screen, with the teaser trailer gaining 36.8 million views. 

There is power in networking, having a social media presence, and having a dream. You just have to work to make that dream become a reality. Once you’ve made that movie, use all your hard work to sell it!