It is not easy for a screenwriter to break in. In my opinion it is getting
significantly more difficult unless you can film your own material, or have access to people with that capability.
TV writing is growing. More and more screenwriters are moving over to penning teleplays. Why? Because there is so little work in screenwriting these days.
The screenwriting jobs go to those with experience penning production work, or the exceptional few with no-prior experience who write a killer script with a great concept that Hollywood wants. Want an example of the latter, see below:
Universal Buys ‘The Disciple Program’ As Mark Wahlberg Vehicle
http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/universal-buys-the-disciple-program-as-mark-wahlberg-vehicle/
The killer for screenwriting is that Hollywood wants movies with an already established fanbase in the millions. That's why we see so many best-sellling-books-to-movies, comics-to-movies, sequels and other unoriginal content.
There is still some original screenwriting getting through but from the big studios, it's becoming increasingly less.
You can understand the logic - get a best selling novel (with hopefully a great story) adapted for the screen and you'll capture the fan base, and they'll bring in others.
The billion dollar revenues of Twilight, Hunger Games, Iron Man etc prove that logic.
But original content can also bring in huge revenue. The Saw franchise, Fast and Furious etc made billions too.
Is it all about the money? For the studios yes. To survive they need revenue and a lot of it. Never forget that.
Can you grab a cell phone and film your own screenplay? Yes you can but the probability of breaking in that way is ultra-low. Sure a few do it, but they're the exceptional few.
Many of the shorts in Sundance etc have substantial money behind them, many have named talent too. For every micro-budget Canon DSLR accepted entry there are many many more shot on Arri Alexa's or RED's with $$$ behind them, great crew, cast, post-production $$$ etc.
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