It’s 9am and I’ve got a lot of hard calls to make today. Where to start?
Well, last week in the life of Down, Boy! (with partner Jillian Crane) was a week and a half. I thought we were going to lose the BIG PRODUCER I’d finally attached. We were re-writing a five page synopsis for him, and I thought it would make us break up. I swear-to-god, if I was in between this powerful guy (BIG PRODUCER) and this crazy girl (Jillian) one more minute I was going to shoot someone.
It’s a good thing I love her and I think he’s a stand-up guy and will be great for the project.
Anyway, Down, Boy! is out to a writer who won an Oscar. Do me a favor and pray with me that he likes. At least that’s what BIG PRODUCER told me to do. I’m told that if this OSCAR WRITER likes it, we’ll have no problem setting it up. This, after having worked-up a treatment from a how-to guide with no narrative, pitching it 17 places (just as producers, no writers attached), getting loads of interest and excitement, then all passes except one, BIG PRODUCER. He’s been wild about the project all along -- since last August, in fact, but he’s been up in Vancouver producing a movie.
So, after the passes, with BIG PRODUCER unavailable, we start being told, “go here… go there…” but there’s no overall plan. Finally, we start meeting with writers on our own and at that very moment BIG PRODUCER comes up for air and pledges his professional life to the project. By then, though, the ball is rolling in a different direction. One of the OTHER WRITER’s managers calls us up and says, “My client, OTHER WRITER, can sell this to X and Y next week, but if you don’t give it to her by Monday OTHER WRITER’s not interested.” He’s a good manager, I guess… practicing his swing at hardball.
So… we are new to this. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it sent us into a bit of a tailspin. After that call we had to do research. Can OTHER WRITER really sell this? Who exactly does OTHER WRITER want to sell it to? Do we want to work with these people if OTHER WRITER does sell it? Will they kick us Baby Producers off the project once they get their hands on it? How does BIG PRODUCER feel about all this?
Like any ultimatum, the whole thing was a bit stressful.
The upshot? We are waiting on OTHER WRITER while we are, well, waiting on OSCAR WRITER. I’ll keep you posted.
Sheiza. It’s 9:30 and I’ve got some hard calls!!!! More on them later…