I'd like to know what the members feel about "handcuffing yourself to the script".
- Anthony Peterson - peterson.anthony@gmail.com
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A very interesting question Anthony... to me, at least. I think the first question is, how strongly do you feel about the material? Is it a personal vision? Are you the only director who could possibly do it justice?
I am polishing up a new script and soon may be facing these same questions, as I start to show it around.
Selling a screenplay would be a breakthrough in and of itself for me; I wouldn't mind quitting my day job (marketing and advertising) and just starting in on the next screenplay.
On the other hand, I've pitched this particular idea a few times, and the way people's eyes light up, makes me think that taking the money and walking away would be a missed opportunity.
On the other hand, I may discover that if I insist on staying attached as director, it may be the deal-breaker. So... would I sell my baby? If the price was right. - John Harden - giantspecks@yahoo.com
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Unfortunately when you are untried, even suggesting that? you would like to direct, even if you are willing to give it up will have a lot of silence.
It suggests to some that you will have unreasonable expectations and demands.
Best of luck with figuring out what the way to go should be.
I use this metaphor called "The Bimbo Side of the Force" -- when you get to a contractual stage it is up to you how much you are willing to compromise.
John, you have a PR background -- so do I. I'd try to stipulate being involved in the marketing and PR in some way -- if not actually leading the team on a low-budget production, making yourself available as? resource to write releases and do interviews for a mid or higher budget production.
While the biggest markets might not want to interview the writer, if you've had an interesting life or have some star-studded anecdotes, there will always be some speciality publication or program that will want to interview you.
And if you really want to stipulate either having approval on the director allowing yourself to be included on some of the pre-production meetings with the director, being present at table readings or staged readings,? you can ask for that before you sign off on the script. - Rachel Kadushin - BestFriendsProd@aol.com
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As someone who's been trying for a long, long time ... with a little success, I have this to say to answer the query below: if you are interested in a deal with a studio or a mini-studio to finance a feature film, you'd be crazy to handcuff anything to anything.
If there's a market for the script, sell it. Unless you have dazzled someone big time with a short subject award winner (and even then there are no assurances), you will commit suicide it you attach yourself to direct (if you are a relative nobody).
This is a mercenary business. Nobody wants to take a chance on a first time director. They'd rather you take the chance...raise the money from private investors, produce the picture yourself, let them see it when it is finished or after you've made it to a festival (after your investors have borne the entire risk) and then -- I'd say a one in several thousand chance, no kidding -- perhaps make you a low-ball offer which only partially gets your investors out and leaves the distributor free to creatively bookkeep the rest and go straight to dvd.
The Little Miss Sunshine example or Napoleon Dynamite or even Blair Witch are one in 50,000 chances to make a name for yourself and be able to sell your next script with your self attached to a studio instead of your dentist and rich uncle. The industry likes to publicize these pictures to keep you working on spec.
Major film cities (LA, NY, London) are riddled with waiters and janitors and car parkers who hung onto their idealism and passed up an offer that could have kept them working and perhaps building a career. The attitude that you are going to be the one in fifty thousand is one that most often can be found in young and untried talents.
It does not take long to learn that this is a business through and through, and you got to take what comes and leave the pre-conditions out of the room. Handcuffing is dangerous to your future.
One person's opinion. - Barry Opper - Laughop@msn. com
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This is an interesting question that I often bring up with many of my clients. And here is my general outline.
1. getting anything sold, produced, directed, and distributed successfully is the most important thing.
2. when your project is sold, it will advance your career further than anything else, including directing your own feature, unless it's the next clerks, brothers macmullen, or swingers.
3. if you do not have a history of directing, specifically features, you will have trouble breaking in. There are tons of great stories out there about people who have spent years directing music videos and tv commercials and still haven't broken into features.
4. you will hamper your film's progress if you are tied to it. whether acting, directing, producing, etc, your film's budget will go into freefall if you insist on being a huge part of your production, specifically your first.
5. if you can create a script that gets made for even $1 million dollars, you have a huge amount of leverage for the next movie. If it gets made for $100 million, not only will you have a really nice payday, but you'll probably immediately land an agent who can work for you and help you to direct the next one.
6. the goal of a studio is to make their money back and much, much more. Their goal is to make a project as commercial as possible so that it can go on to double, triple, or more their initial investment. they need to hit theaters, foreign markets, cable, internet, and home video. if they like a script, but request changes, make them at the beginning and don't stop until they're happy.
6. in this business, the idea is king. if you prove that you can do one script, then another, and you are a team player, then you have a shot. If you sell a show, or a script, you're foot's in the door. then you can use that tiny bit of leverage to do something else.
7. studios and producers want to back a proven commodity. You wouldn't go to someone who has never handled money before and ask them to do your taxes, would you? And you wouldn't ask someone who is an accountant and ask them to invest your money in mutual funds. So why would a studio that sees you have a good script automatically think you can direct?
8. the truth is you are nobody right now. if you get attached to a script, you will never agree to changes a studio wants. the key is to be able to say, "anything you want", so getting attached is one of the worst things to do.
9. a question to ask yourself about directing, writing, producing, or doing anything in this business...would you be happy doing it on a small cable channel, for the rest of your life? because you can probably shoot for that and make it, and those are the people who work , and keep working, because they are team players.
10. Finally, write tons of scripts, and try to sell them all, don't get attached to scripts whether in first draft or final product. There's no point in spending days, weeks, or months on a script that you don't think will sell. That's just bad business.
So, i know that's a lot of information, but it's a good backbone of what to think about because every client that I have without an established portfolio I tell the same thing to...this script is gonna have to change a lot, make a list of the key dealbreaker points and unless those are hit, change it, and on the first one, eat crow with a smile. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint. There will be plenty
of time to pick your battles when you are in a strategic position to do so. It's a rough business, but it's quite rewarding.
- Russell Nohelty - noheltyr@gmail.com
