Why don't TV/film studios and producers accept unsolicited material?

Why Do TV Networks Have 'No Unsoliciated Materials' Policies?
One reason:

LAWSUITS. Networks do not want to get sued because you thought they stole your idea. When creators pitch an undeveloped idea anybody could have come up with ... they think a show that has anything do with their idea was stolen from them. For instance, Marc Zicree was a writer on “Star Trek Next Generation” and he told us there were one, or more, lawsuits filed for every episode by people who claimed their ideas had been ripped off. Are ideas ever stolen? Yes. Does it happen as often as rumored? Absolutely not.

Also see: Help, Hollywood Stole My Idea (or Script)!

Screenwriters: How to Find An Agent

ScreenwritingU is offering a free teleconference on a topic many new screenwriters have lots of questions about - how to land an agent. Sign up here.

Screenwriters: Find An Agent (or Manager) with Script Contests

Getting representation from an agent or manager in Hollywood is not easy. You have to find someone who believes in you and your work, and you need to believe that they are both capable and willing to sell your work.

One of the better ways to get noticed by agents, managers and producers is script contests. ... it can lead to an offer of representation.

5 Script Contests Actually Worth Entering, Screenwriting Magazine, Sept. 16, 2016

Estate Planning: Choosing A Guardian for Your Children

Choosing a guardian for one's children is but one consideration and purpose of estate planning. According to Forbes, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who died in 2012, and his wife, struggled with the issue and reached what appears to have been a compromise solution. Because Yauch and his wife used a trust in their estate planning, most of the rest of the details of their estate plan remain private.

"A guardian’s responsibilities range from the mundane to the monumental: everything from tying shoelaces and drying tears to selecting schools and medical care. Like Yauch, you should designate more than one person, so if your top choice is not available, your second preference is clear.

While you’re at it, you’ll probably want a testamentary trust (one created by your will at your death) to hold any assets you’re leaving minor children. In some states, if you have not made arrangements for both functions, the court will appoint a separate person to deal with the child’s money."

Yauch's will also prohibits the use of his image or music in advertising, but portions of these provisions he handwrote into his will may not be valid.

Advice for Selling or Developing A Film Script

Some advice for screenwriters from Filmmaker magazine: 15 Steps to Take After You Finish Your Script, Scott Macaulay, May 2, 2012.

Beverly Hills Lawyer

I recently received an emailed new client inquiry. She indicated that she was seeking a book contract to write on some new information regarding a celebrity trial, which would thus in her opinion (which I did not disagree with) be quite marketable. Specifically, she wanted to know if I had connections to get the book sold. I indicated to her that New York rather than Los Angeles was the locus of attorneys servicing book authors, because that is still where the vast majority of book publishers are located, but that with a book such as the one she had in mind, any ethical, honest, and hardworking attorney ought to be able to assist her in making the sale. (I also should have noted that book sales are usually and probably best done by book agents where one can be obtained, and that negotiating and documenting the finer points of the contract would best be done by an attorney regularly dealing with literary agreements, and working in conjunction with the author's agent, rather than by a Los Angeles film/TV entertainment attorney such as myself.)

Ignorning at least the portion of my email indicating to her that I was not well connected in the book publishing world, her reply email began by again asking whether I had the necessary connections to make the sale for her. But in the more interesting portion of her reply, she stated that she indeed already had a "Beverly Hills lawyer - right on Wilshire" that was not getting the job done for her due to his apparent lack of connections. The implication was that a Beverly Hills attorney would be a very good attorney, the best of the best in Los Angeles, and thus if a Beverly Hills attorney without connections was not going to get the job done for her, no connection-less attorney would. Putting aside the issue of whether Beverly Hills lawyers are all ethical, honest, and hardworking - I'm sure most are and some are not - the comment reminded me of something an attorney friend of mine who does indeed have a Beverly Hills office - right on Wilshire(!) - had told me:

He noted that clients seemed more willing to pay for his small law firm's services ever since the firm relocated from a Los Angeles to a Beverly Hills address. He was a bit amused and a bit perplexed by the phenomenon, shrugging his shoulders as he pointed out to me that he was the same lawyer, and his colleagues the same attorneys, that they were before they moved into their Beverly Hills office building; nonetheless, his clients were now willing to pay more for the same legal services (part of which was no doubt needed to cover the firm's increased rent, the balance representing extra profit for the firm).

Nothing against Beverly Hills lawyers, on Wilshire Boulevard or off, but the city or street of a prospective lawyer is, in my arguably biased opinion, at best one of many factors a client should consider when choosing an attorney, and perhaps one best disregarded altogether.