All in all, the notes were pretty small. That's not to say that there are no changes to be made - in fact, there are some key scenes that I have to re-address. As I was taking notes during the call, I started to feel as though I was being sent back into another long period of rewrites. However, as I reread my scribbles later in the week, the scale diminished quickly. In fact, I had to call my producer at one point to get her take on the notes again; it was becoming fairly apparent to me that the structure, dialogue, and events would remain pretty much the same. The printed final script wouldn't look much different than the current version. My producer agreed, concluding that the re-writes would be more akin to tweaks (with the exception of one scene), and that we should be nearing the end. For the first time, I'd be making revisions and tracking them all with an * on the right-side margin, rather than presenting a whole new draft.
As encouraging as that was, for me, one of the highlights of the conference call was a discussion on what would likely happen next with the script. Since we're working with an exec at the production company, but not the head producer, there was always a chance in my mind that we could do all this work, only to have the head producer decide he wasn't on board. Of course, that's still a reality. However, the exec informed us that she does not want to spur on another huge round of development once the company head gets it. He can and might have notes, but she hopes that development - as far as its concerned before any studios get on board, at least - will more or less be done when I turn in the next draft.
My manager wants to get the script back out in about a week and a half or so. Deep breaths, Cake Man. Now go write.
