Posts Tagged ‘Money’

There was a lot more lat night that I wanted to get into, but wasn’t able to due to the late hour and my general tiredness. So let’s dive right in with this pick-up post.

We did indeed have our second to last pitch for TV pitching season today @ Parkes/MacDonald as I mentioned. To recap, because it was a great week for who we were pitching to, the companies we pitched were Brillstein, Gran Via (Mark Johnson’s company,) and Parkes-MacDonald. All are good companies with lots of muscle who responded to our reps presentation of us and our sample (BOSS.) We pitched well this week. Better than last week for sure. We thought we did pretty good last week, but in retrospect and after our conference call with our TV team the other day, which was kind of a halftime review of how things were progressing so far, it’s clear the adjustments that Jason and I made really tightened and elevated our pitch.  We’re still waiting to hear from everyone this week as to there initial reactions and if there’s interest to pursue our idea further. That being said, and I think I covered this last night a bit (without looking back ) Everyone last week passed. Which isn’t unusual. There are hundreds of pitches on the TV side at this time of the year and a very select few get ordered to script. We’re not completely out, but the genral tone of the conference call seemed to indicate that we were not going to get this pitch across on this round. Which if this does indeed turn out to be the case, because its healthy, I’ll admit is pretty damn disappointing. But, about par for the course being that we’re new, unknown writers and our pitch is on the edgier side of things.

That isn’t to say that the pitches weren’t success’ in what they needed, ultimately, to accomplish which was get our name out there and get us some experience walking into those major league rooms and presenting our idea and our talents in a fun and entertaining way. The idea being that what we did was plant seeds with each person we met with. And that these seeds will bloom in assignments or other pitches or whatever down the road. According to our team, we were shone in every room we went into. With one producer going so far as to say he could tell “that we will be major stars.” Every door is without a doubt still left open, according to our agents, who set the meetings and do the check in to get the “meeting behind the meeting” after it’s over. We made a bunch of fans and that’s what it takes. Ultimately, I feel as we walked out of the pitch today, both Jason and I could look back over the two weeks and see just how much we had learned.

We do still have word on the three to come in from this week and one more pitch to go; but from there it looks like the TV side will quiet down for a bit. On the feature side, though, it appears (hopefully) they are finally ready to rev up to full speed and get us out there. We also have one of the three screenplays that we started for young producers or directors at our level before we signed with the agency, that is believed to be ready to go out to possible actors, production companies, and directors in an effort to get it into production. So, hopefully, in September we’ll have a bunch of generals with feature people and then this script will go out and one or the other or both will make headway. The big thing that Jason and I are fighting – beside the obvious material concerns of finances – is the psychological of wanting that first break to come in. Not so much for the money it may bring, but more so to cement our representation team in place. To justify all their hardwork and time spent on us. Because even though there are those tough times of silence, when we’re out there like we have been the past two weeks we are in near constant contact with them – especially our manager, but also the agents, and when we contacted our feature guys they got back to us within a couple of hours – which is not typical for those of us who haven’t made them money yet and established themselves with an assignment or sale yet. Part of this psychological pressure stems from the horror stories we’ve heard through school about peers signing with a major agency right out of the gate, but because something didn’t happen for them the first time out with an idea or script, they weren’t dropped so much as they were set adrift, with phone calls not returned and material not read, that sort of thing. Kind of dropped, without being told they were dropped and their careers started to stall because of it. It’s something you definitely feel some concern over. You’ve got to produce or there isn’t room for you.

So, here we are at the end of round two, a lot of lessons learned. Our work cut out for us. Still in the game. Still feeling extremely fortunate.

Didn’t get over here to Guided By Wire,  last night. As the world is aware, it was the LOST finale. Which clocked in at a whopping, and captivating 4 and a half hours. Right after, I sat down for what I thought would be a quick turn on the boards with the climatic scene for my play, KEPT. Alas, it was not a quick turn at all. Which meant another late, late night as I hammered and chiseled my way through the eleven page scene.

I will make this observation regarding writing for the screen versus writing for the stage, or at least how I write for them. When it’s for the screen, the drafting is primarily about execution. You are constructing something. It has a plan, intrinsic principles, mitigated by the intended medium, that must for all intents and purposes be adhered to, in some degree. You can subvert them, but you can’t completely ignore them. So, the oft used analogy of building a house becomes quite appropriate. You are constructing and at every turn is the question as to how you execute the plan and how you alter it to better construct, always working towards the intended final piece.

In playwriting, at least for me – playwrights if you’re out there, pipe up and join the discussion, or if you have a thought, one and all, please speak your mind – I find the its much more of a discovery. So, when writing for the stage, I find I am on a excavation. An archaeology dig of character, plot, theme and its understanding. I know what I hope will be there, or, let me amend that, what should be there; then I dig – slowly, methodically, always parsing the same patch. Eventually, I reveal and remove, then clean up, polish and present to the world what I’ve been fortunate through my diligence to recover. Where am I excavating? In my experience, not necessarily always my life, but rather my experience of the world and what I come into contact with. Does that make sense? I can extend beyond my immediate place, if I’m willing to do the brain work and legwork (even) to travel there. I don’t mean just to go there, but, rather, to inhabit it – to know it as if it were my own immediate place right now. This can be done for either stage or screen. It’s what “write what you know” means to me. You can know anything, if your willing and driven and daring enough to learn.

So, I was excavating last night. Moving back and forth of the lines. Teasing out points of view and reactions, truths and lies, in the space of a dinner. There’s a different magnetic pull to that kind of work. It’s much more sneaky and circular to me, than drafting on a screenplay or TV pilot, which always feels like forward momentum. Building it up, harnessing it, then driving on the power of it to FADE OUT.

Wow. This isn’t so much a brief update is it?! Ha! (Welcome to what I spend far too many of my days contemplating!)

What I had intended was to let you know, with thanks to quotes that Jason pulled  and posted on his blog, that the junior producer that we did the desert feature screenplay with/for read the first draft and responded in a series of texts:

“Holy f@ck the first 35 pages rock! Gallo is very very cool and shady.”

“You guys did a phenomenal job.”

“You boys write fantastically.  The language is loaded with image and expression yet its lean and my eyes blow down the page with ease. You guys did a beautiful job so far and I really believe this could play.”

“F%cking brilliant. Mother f%cking brilliant. Bravo. I loved it.”

Not bad, huh? Means, in the first of three steps, we’re doing pretty good. Always a huge relief to connect that first time up to the plate, makes the rest of the game seem so much smoother. We’ll meet with this producer Wednesday night. Those comments are over several reads that he did, not just one. So, that’s good as well. We’ll get his notes. Hopefully they won’t be involved. Then, we’ll go to his boss, the director of development who worked on the developing the story with us. If he’s on board, then we go up the ladder to the head of the company to see if it’s a go or no go. It’d be great if we sell the script at that juncture, but most likely it won’t quite go that way. At some point though, I’d say we have a decent shot at getting this one across, at least in terms of a sale. Well, actually, I always think that at this stage. We’ll see where it heads from here, after Wednesday.

Have A Beautiful Day….

We are closing in on finishing the script we’ve been working so hard on. Well, let me amend that, we’re basically done with the first draft. Finishing is not a fair word in screenwriting. Their really is no finishing that happens. I tend to see it as completing a phase. This next phase involves polishing. I need to do a polish – Jason’s already done a polishing pass. Then we’ll both read it and if it feels good enough to send along, we will send it. Then the first draft phase would be complete (We hope!) So far I’d say chances are quite high we’re sending it by Wednesday. From there, it all depends, but hopefully in a month or two at the most, we’ll get an answer.

The first big hurdle is to insure Alan and Seth are on board with the draft. I’d say (and I’m sure Jason would say) “this draft is fantastic. I can’t see why they wouldn’t be.” But, in this business, never take anything for granted. I think we’ll be just fine, but I’ll feel best when we know we’re fine. (One thing I’ve seen is that everyone’s fine and then when you take it up a level and that guy isn’t fine, all of a sudden your people aren’t fine either. It can be a trial!)  Then it goes up the ladder to the head of the company. Who gives it a read and makes the big decision – yea or nay. If “nay” we are free to take it out to the rest of the biz. At least that’s what we were promised. If “yea” supposedly he may write a check for it, right on the spot. Though I think that’s a bit of hype. Just a little. I would never expect that kind of treatment.

That’s one of the good things about the smaller size of the company. We can see all the way to the top of the ladder. The amount of people between us and a decision is at an extremely rare and unusually low number of people. Two of which (out of the three) are already involved in the project! So, I think we’re in good shape going in.

Thought I’d say hi. That I didn’t really “feel” the Lost episode tonight (just watched it off the DVR.) And just check in. I have a mega-ton of work to do. I spent most of today attacking it. Wasn’t my best day. Wasn’t my worst. Tomorrow, I get another shot at it. Four weeks left. Well, less than four weeks actually (three weeks and six days.) In that time, I am looking at my 434 feature, the feature Jason and I are tackling for Alan @ Right Brain (almost done, cross your fingers/say some prayers – we hope to get paid something for this one), rewriting my play (which needs serious work, not a light pushing about of punctuation,) an original one-hour pilot, and a spec one-hour pilot, as well as anything needed for Clipped when we start actively developing and pitching that. That is a lot. It’s, in fact, a little excessive. I’m sure I’m forgetting something important in there, as well. What can you do? It will get done. It always gets done. That’s what it’s there for – to get done and done well.

Did I mention I still haven’t watched The Lovely Bones? Netflix loves me. Still thinking, way back in the oven, about my next play. I want it to be a two-hander. On the fence about that, though. That’s a lot of heavy lifting, you know? Two characters. Ninety or so pages (or am I crazy, Tiff?) Also, thinking about that first novel – about 10,000 words/300 pages, right? I think so.I have it written down somewhere. First one would be in the vein of Elmore Leonard/Michael Connelly/Dennis Lehane/John Sanford/James Ellroy. Genre/Chicago/Crime/Gritty, but some fun to read. Still circling the seed of that. More to follow when the time is right.

On time and even a little early this week! Let’s get right down to it. We had a sunny, upper seventies day today and hopefully it means summer is underway here in SoCal. Not that we have rough weather, but we’ve definitely had a funky run this winter. Lots of hot-cold, rapid switches. It would be nice to settle in. (I’m not complaining, just making conversation here, jeez! I’m thankful for what we’ve got!)

-Went to dinner tonight with my good friends, JJ and Cheyna, who are back from a Guatemala trip/adventure. They took me to a Santa Monica, low key trattoria called Fritto Misto. In a word? Fabulous. It’s a real simple, store front pasta joint. A good go to, italian dinner. Not too expensive, fresh food. So, along with the always good conversation and stories from their trip, they introduced me to a great new restaurant right down the road. And they brought back Guatemalan coffee for me, which I’m cold brewing as we speak.

-We went to dinner at six. When we walked up to the restaurant, which is on the corner of 6th and Colorado, near the Promenade, their were about ten or so simple plastic chairs – like lawn chairs – you’d find in a patio or around a dinner table in a frat house – on the sidewalk. In a perfect neat row, empty and waiting. We all cast a glance at them as we strolled into a mostly empty restaurant, grabbed a table, and commenced with dinner and catching up. When we left near 8:00 o’clock, the restaurant was full and had that storefront clatter to a busy night; but when we hit the sidewalk I did a double take – all the chairs were full up with people waiting and their were an additional ten or so in little clusters waiting as well. That’s usually the mark of a great restaurant. If nothing else, the manager or owner is smart and prepared.

-Did anyone catch the Cardinals-Pirates game tonight? I didn’t either. But, true to form, I checked the Cardinals box score upon arriving home from dinner. (What? You didn’t? I know my Father did. Anyone else?) In the top of the ninth, with the score tied 3 a piece, Joe Mather (a.k.a. Joey Bombs), came in as a pinch runner at first with two out. Joey got the steal sign from TLR or The Secret Weapon (Jose Oquendo, Current Third Base Coach, Former Utility Player Extraordinaire) and took off from first. Risky call, but you gotta push it – even in May. What transpired next was a thing of absolute hardball beauty. You see, Joey Bombs was dead to rights, out by about two steps, but being the bench player he is (A young Tony LaRussa bench player) who doesn’t want to head back to Memphis if he can help it, dove for the bag. BUT, as the Shortstop swept his glove for the tag, Joey Bombs – in mid-leap, outstretched, all his kinetic energy committed forward to the bag, arms outstretched – raised his arm AND then tilted his body a half-turn UP, completely avoiding the tag in an improbable moment of gravity defying, split-second baseball physics. Joey Bombs barreled into the bag, slid over it, but had the presence of mind to clutch the bag with his right toes to kind of brake his runaway forward momentum. SAFE! Even on the replay, in slo-mo. Yadier Molina doubled Joey Bombs in for the winning run five minutes later. That’s how you play May baseball, people!

- I gotta finish my play this weekend. At least the first draft. Plays evolve. Kind of like novels. So, this is more a just do it thing. Though, I’ll have to do a quick burst of serious rewriting because it will be read by actors in a workshop table read the Tuesday before graduation.

-I think I mentioned that I went to a series (three) of the one-acts from my classmates in the playwriting class. They were all really well done. That’s not meant as a polite bit of propaganda. That’s an honest critical statement. You don’t always see that in your peers in grad school. I was completely enthralled with each piece. I did notice in the course of the night, that I have successfully immersed myself in the theater side this year. Even the professors I haven’t taken know me now and were saying hello and I was there with one of the playwrights. It made me think, this year has been – in terms of school – all about theater. Even though I’m in a Screenwriting 434, I don’t feel of the screenwriting side, like you normally do when that’s your main focus. Part of that’s because my 434 is on a Thursday, which is opposite most everyone elses (which are normally on Monday’s and Tuesday’s.) I’m pretty thrilled that I have had the experience I’ve had in my playwriting classes. It’s the one part of graduating that I’m sad to leave behind. I’d love to keep taking classes – some theater history, more playwriting. It has had a fantastic effect on me.

-Been knocked off the new sleep regimen lately. I have this current determination to see a movie or some TV and read before I turn out the lights. It’s one of those rituals to end the night. Three hours is the usual block, though sometimes it’s two. (I know. That’s a serious chunk of time.) It’s hard for me to give up or get around the drive for it in my head, even when it doesn’t make sense; which with the new sleep schedule is anytime (like last night) that I go out and I’m out past 11. I have the strangest time coming home and just going right to bed. For some reason, I can’t do just that. That’s gonna have to change.

-May go to AZ next weekend to see Big Daddy and Aunt Ginger. I’m planning on it. Hopefully nothing will crop up and disrupt my plans. I have a great time to go over. They’re the absolute best. I’m pretty fortunate to have them relatively close. Plus, I should be able to swing through Prescott and see Tiff, which is an extra added bonus!

-Figured out finances for June, which is good. We’re at the one month at a time point. It’s a tough spot – not the lack of cash flow or uncertainty, though. That I’m used to. I’ve been there plenty of times before and am decidedly non-phased about it right now. It’s more so the in-betweeness careerwise that the option puts us in. It’s not all that unlikely that we could make some money sooner rather than later. When that is (as JJ and I talked about tonight) is anybody’s guess? Is it next month? Is it in six months? Just saying six months is a fantastic thing. Heck, even saying we should make some money in the next year (which I would say, yes, we will almost certainly right now. Like ninety percent certain and rising fast to a hundred,) is a major accomplishment as far as I’m concerned. But, can I hang out for a year until that happens? That becomes the question. And a rather slippery one. Of course, at first blush, I can’t. But the financial space between no and yes for an answer to that question is shorter than one would think, so how do I traverse it, if I have to? Don’t know that yet. Not even close.

- Consider this a part two to the above. You see the trick is momentum and really that’s the core of the dilemma. Sure I could pick up a variety of jobs, patch together a means to make rent, and gut it out. BUT, I can’t stop writing. You have to keep that forward momentum. You have to keep taking meetings, keep pushing, be ready to redirect your efforts on a moments notice, all in, all the time. So, taking on that barista gig is dangerous, because it’s not as flexible as it appears. Momentum must be maintained, now more than ever. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, it has to be pushed harder to make the final summit to paid, working writer. It’s a hustle and if you’re not focused on the hustle, it can pass you right by and getting back becomes a difficult proposition.

-Still haven’t watched The Lovely Bones yet.

That’s all I’ve got tonight, folks. Be good to yourself and do something nice for your Mother or a Mother! Nine months is a long time!

Not much doing today. Though it was sunny and wonderful for the morning walk. Lots of wind, too, out on the Pacific. If I had a sailboat, I would’ve been out there in a heartbeat. It was a nice, stiff wind – not too gusty from what I could tell. After the walk, though, I returned to the apartment and sunk in to a long day at the keyboard. Actually, a long late afternoon into evening at the keyboard. Which was wonderful, even though I never get as much done as I tell myself I am going to  when I set in. I often set unrealistic goals for the day. It’s all part of the dance for me. Someday I would love to cast that part of it aside; but that’s easier said than done for me.

Still no word from the traveling Manager on the pilot negotiations. We sent off an email, just to check in. He had contacted us briefly from NY last night, letting us know he was returning to L.A. and would be in contact today. He had spoken with the Lawyer, which is great, because the Lawyer wasn’t certain about proceeding on this whole deal. They had their ducks in a row for the negotiation. Now he needs to review with us, before getting down to brass tacks with the Exec at the company. No contact from the Manager, though, as I said. Probably still in transit, or recuperating from being in transit and the trip back east. We’ll probably hear from him earlier in the A.M. tomorrow.

It’s kind of amazing how many phone calls need to be traded and conversations, which don’t last very long, need to happen; before a deal moves forward. It’s kind of like a televised major sporting event.  Football’s a good example. If you took out the commercials and all the down time in between plays and the time-outs, you’d be left with about an hour of playing time, instead of three. Same principle at play here. If you took out all the extraneous time, this negotiating/deal making would last an afternoon, at most. Remember last summer, I sat on the sidelines while the Lawyer and our, now, Manager, who wasn’t yet, negotiated for the entire summer – nearly three months – a one hour meeting time!

Ahhh, Tinseltown. You’re nutty sometimes, but that’s probably why I love you so much. You can be impossible and complex one minute, frustratingly so, and then unbelievably simple and clear the next. Makes the whole ride an adventure, in the very least.

Neat visual today on the walk? A young couple, possibly Gypsies, on the walkway by the South Beach, dancing (I think some slow, soft form of tango) in the cool, steady breeze, cheek to cheek, oblivious to the world around them, sun beaming down @ 9 A.M., both smiling beautifully.

Well, it wasn’t quite rainy; but it was overcast, and I did feel a bit down. Rather fleeting and not really tied to anything. Just uncertain. I think because we’re still waiting for the Manager to speak to us officially about the whole hullabaloo last week around the pilot script, and I’ve realized I have an enormous amount of writing that needs to happen in the next month. Normally, the amount Jason and I have professionally is a lot, but factor in my school work and, well, I got a little dizzy with it all. That happens. It passes.

I always equate that feeling with looking down when you’re climbing up something and get a bit of vertigo. It hits you in that moment exactly what you’re doing – the full context of it and it overwhelms you for a minute. There are other things, too, fluttering around on the edge of my thoughts. Namely, the financial kind. But, honestly, I’ve been there before. I know the drill. I’m fairly scrappy when I need to be, and God always gets you what you need when you need it. I just have to remember that. May not be what I want or when I want, but he hasn’t brought me this far, through all I’ve battled, to  drop me on my keister in the street. That much I know to be true.

Alas, it’s all part of the journey. This too shall pass. I did get to bed last night at One A.M., which was an amazing feat. I am going to try to duplicate that tonight. I don’t think I’ve been to bed before 2 a.m. in I don’t know how long. We could be talking years. I got seven hours of sleep, which was positively amazing. (I’m sure you all are like: More sleep talk? Come on! But this is my next frontier to conquer. Seriously. I have ignored the whole deal far too long.) I have taken to the walk first thing in the A.M. Get out. Get into the sun, which is invigorating. I have even, on select occasion, gotten in the car and slipped down Pico Boulevard to a little side street right by the beach. There are always meters available in the morning. I pump a few quarters in and go for a vigorous stroll along the Santa Monica Beach. Absolutely love that! Makes me want to live on the Ocean so very badly, so I could do that every day. Soon enough, hopefully. Soon enough!

This weekend, my dear, dear friend Elissa, (from Chicago) was in town. She’s a big time, hard-working class action/worker’s rights lawyer back in the windy city and an old movie buddy of mine. It was a treat to see her. I’ve been thwarted, more times than I care to count, in attempts to return to Chicago to visit friends their. Either, I had the money, but couldn’t get away because of some deadline, or I didn’t have the money, but had all the time in the world (usually in the summer.) It’s been frustrating, to say the least. On just a personal level now that almost three years have passed, I’ve been dying to go back just to see the city again, visit the old neighborhood, and just be on its streets again for old time’s sake. I lived their so long that I would experience, if it’s possible, the thrill of visiting Chicago; which I remember so fondly from when I was little and would come with my parents, as well as in college in Milwaukee when we would jet down for various escapades. It was, and always will be, my first “big city” – the capital of the midwest – and carries all the thrill and electricity when visiting that it means to go to a big, cosmopolitan place where roads from all over converge. L.A. feels slightly different than that. First of all it’s big, so much bigger than any other huge capitaleseque city I’ve ever been in. There is nothing close or compact about it. Secondly, and more importantly, it’s incredibly de-centralized. Incredibly, almost maniacally so. Therefore, it feels more like a grab bag of towns, villages, and a few small almost-cities loosely arranged in one general spot everyone refers to as “Los Angeles.”

Regardless, I digress. With Elissa in town, I traveled over to Echo Park, where she is staying with another old friends of hers, Julia, whom I know also from Wicker Park in Chicago (the old ‘hood.) Julia’s been out here awhile – since 2002, or so. We had not crossed paths yet. Turns out Elissa is here because all her close girlfriends were getting together here to kind of have an informal reunion. Some had moved on from Chicago and it had been a long time since they had all been together in one place. In the midst of this, Julia had just moved and was throwing a kind of house warming party, which is where I caught with Elissa and the rest of the crew – most whom I know fairly well from Elissa. It was great to sit and chat and catch up. Elissa’s always been such a good friend. For a long time we went to the movies weekly – usually on a Tuesday night, or Wednesday. I mean over years. She was in law school by then. We had met through the bar business. She had been a Server when I first met her, then got out to go to law school. It was a wonderful ritual.

Echo Park, though, to give you an idea is way on the east side of L.A. Remember back in the 80′s when latino comedians like Paul Rodriguez and Cheech Marin would make jokes about ‘East L.A.?” (I think they even made a movie, right? Born in East L.A.?) That’s Echo Park. It was the barrio once upon a time. Now, it’s one of three neighborhoods in L.A. where there’s been some gentrification – not completely – but some and a ton of Hipsters flooded the area. Most all of L.A.’s music scene is actually centered in and around there – the bands all live there, the clubs where they start out are all there. It’s its own world almost, because it’s so east. So, heading over to see Elissa was an adventure – which in L.A. is always fun. Again, vast being the key word. In traffic, this neighborhood is over an hour away; but without traffic is more like a half hour. The terrain is a bit bit different – very hilly and the streets are quite twisty. It’s much grittier (in certain parts); but really just reminiscent of places in Chicago that were a lot rougher – like Humboldt Park in the late 90s, Wicker Park in the early 90′s, and Ukrainian Village in the mid-90s. So, in a lot of ways, it felt like I was traveling back to Chicago (and in time) by going to the party.

Julia’s apartment is in what must’ve been a mansion of some kind, or, possibly, a municipal building. It was this epic columned, old, stately two story, high up on this steep hill (we’re talking four flights of stairs just to get to the front door.) The building had been carved into 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom apartments some time ago. The interior was very vintage. Julia’s apartment had some detail that was period (maybe 50s, maybe 30s.) She was up on the second floor, with an amazing view. At the party their was a tarot card reader, so I got my cards read. One word that came up in my reading, unprompted, was “teacher.” The spiritualist felt strongly that being a teacher was a part of my future. (Also, Jason – as long as we are cautious in our negotiations – financial success, professionally, should be coming soon. Very soon.) The last element was that I would find love, as long as I wasn’t guarder – but rather open to it – in the next two weeks to two months. So, somebody remember that and we’ll check back in August, see how things turn out. I think my odds are good.

Good night!

Been having a lot of those lately. Kind of strikes me as funny. A lot of them, oddly enough, have been while I’ve been out and about. In fact, I’ve taken a good bunch of them in my car in the past week, the Starbucks up in Brentwood, on the corner of the street in Silverlake, in an empty classroom at UCLA. Have iPhone, will travel. Though, I have yet to participate in one in a wetsuit on a beach in Malibu (`ahem`Jason?)

This is a brief build-up to the “call” to straighten things out at the company that’s interested in one of our scripts. If you’re just entering the discussion, I wrote a fairly lengthy blog post about it here. Check it out. That provides all the backstory that you need.

We had the call yesterday (Monday) at 6. It was a very last minute affair, obviously. Jason and I were slated to go out to dinner with a very good friend of ours, fellow Bruin Scribe, and current staff writer on Medium. We were going for Lebanese in Westwood @ Sunin Cafe (awesome Falafel and these beef pastry puffs, as well as Hummos.) So, Jason swung by  North Campus, because I was already there for Playwriting Class, which ended right before we were to get on the conference call, which was right before dinner. Ah, the serendipity of it all! Love it when the schedule works out like that. All nice and tidy.

We found an empty classroom in the Sociology building. We dialed up the exec – the two of us hovering over an iPhone on speaker phone talking to him. It was a decent enough call, if you shake it down to its brass tacks. I think we accomplished the objective – we soothed ruffled feathers, cleared up misunderstandings, and set a new course of action that addressed most of our needs, but kept the project moving forward a bit (which was the exec’s cheef primary concern.) But, that’s a pretty boiled down look at the phone call.

In the end, things weren’t quite that simple, the conversation took several maddening twists and turns, covering the same ground (Us reiterating to him points we had seemingly just got across moments ago) several times to less and less effect, and a lot of contradictions and conjecture being floated as the way to go in this whole scenario. Ultimately, a collaboration we’ve been really into for the past month collectively, and we’re still into (for the most part unchanged, but with the seeds of some reservation now, undeniably) was recast in a familiar and disappointing light – that of producer/company/veteran industry person interested in screenwriter/unrepresented or barely represented/newbie industry person piece of material. This inevitably falls into the “Listen only to me. Hand over your material to me. I am your only guaranteed path into this difficult, unforgiving industry. If you pass this up, you will pass up the one and only chance you have to have a career. We are going to make you rich in x amount of weeks. This is a unique open door to take this to x head of the whole network or studio. We don’t have any money to give you up front, not even five dollars, but I know that I can get you a big fat check immediately when I set the script up in a matter of weeks or, at the worst a month or two. I envision you as part of our team, with us.” And on, and on, and on.

It’s incredible, because it’s such a common scenario that plays out with so many different shadings that it’s almost an absolute given that in the early stages of your career, or in planting the foundation of your career, these are the types of situations and offers you will have to navigate. The battle inherent in these situations, and the one Jason and I sort of find ourselves in right now, is simply to slow everything down a beat or two (what our reps are asking us to do) and go about the whole process (negotiations for what might happen in a possible deal, explore the different rights issues of who owns what, etc…) and do everything the above board, legal accepted professional way. Unfortunately, in these situations, that usually is not at all what the Producers want to do (do things the above board way.) Why? Control. They see a clear path to control of the property and, therefore, all the decisions around the property going forward – in development, in casting, in production, in marketing, financially, etc… Think about it from a business perspective – it’s the best position for them to be in, the highest reward for the enormous risk and investment, etc…”

I’m speaking in a general sense here. Our conversation on Monday was still pretty amicable. I’ve watched friends involved in a lot worse and I’ve been involved in more frustrating examples. In the end, what they serve for the writer, who is by nature a shy, nocturnal, non-confrontational, eager to please animal, is a bit of baptism by fire and a toughening up that they don’t get eaten alive when they have to go swimming with the sharks in this town – which is exactly what they’ll have to do if they have any hope of getting paid to do what they love.

Though we haven’t reaped any concrete gains yet, if you get some distance and look at the past few weeks, Jason and I have done quite well setting ourselves us to reach that next level, sooner rather than later. That next level = working, paid writers.

We decided today to go with the old school, veteran Lit Manager with the corner office in the skyscraper on West Sunset Boulevard. So that means we’ve got two high-powered A List representing pieces in place – our Entertainment Lawyer and our Lit Manager. Both guys who don’t normally take on new talent and break them in at this point in their careers. But they really, really believe in the writing and respect us for it, so they’re willing to invest their time, influence, and resources to make that happen. That’s a heckuva a place to be in, so quickly after leveling the old team. This is what the Lit Manager emailed us today, in part:

Also, as we all discussed, D**** and I are going to get ready to notify several agencies to begin laying the ground work for meetings. We will talk with the both of you to go over this in more detail, so you have a clearer sense of the plan.

Something about that reads as truly comforting to me. They, as two-thirds of the team – are going to go out to the town and sell us to the right agency. That means one of the bigger agencies with a decent stable of talent and a good reputation for getting projects set-up and/or off the ground. With an agent in place, we will be as loaded with representatives as we can get. Work should follow from that kind of momentum.

To that end, though, we had the meeting with the production company that’s interested in one of our pilot scripts today. They expressed their official and full interest for the script, ready to attack the town with it and make it happen with the right package. Unfortunately, true to form, their is no money up front. When it sells is when we would get paid. The exec feels like he can make that happen in three months or so. We hope so. It’s hard to totally buy into those statements, but I think he can pull it off with his contacts and relationships. He’s in a particularly good place to do this particular script, he gets every last nuance of it, and is really determined to make it a top priority – if we give him an option on the property.

Which I think we’ll do. It’s a tricky story with a big, huge world that’s some people don’t quite respond to, right away. In other words, it’s audience is a little more specific than your average network show. The company, according to plan, is ready to invest time and money into the pitch materials, which with this idea is saying a little something. As long as we’re willing to commit time to further developing the story and world with them, honing it for the industry. All in all, it’s a good situation. Do we want money up front? Of course. But it’s not the norm, sadly, because we have no track record of past successes to point to in asking for it. When you’re established, then you get paid in advance. You really don’t need it, but that’s the system. As Jason commented, walking out of the building, and in his post tonight: “It’s amazing how this whole industry is set up to not pay people.” No truer words have ever been spoken.