The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 164 - Partnering with a Production Company

Gretchen, the independent producer who first optioned my post-Apocalyptic spec back in June of 2009, was in town this week, and she and I had an opportunity to meet up yesterday morning, before her flight back to LA today. Our meeting over dim sum brought some exciting news. Back in late January, Gretchen and the other producer attached met with the head of a major production company. He's one of the few producers whose reputation engenders enough trust from studios to allow him control over a major budget picture. He was very interested in my script.


As with anything in this business, it only takes interest from one individual to get something made. (That is, keep the saying in mind, "It only takes one person to say 'yes.'") A hundred rejections might precede that "yes," but that single interested party might be enough to bring a script to studios and get it made. We had gone out to a few other production companies, but this particular mega-producer remained the most interested. 


At breakfast yesterday, Gretchen informed me that we'll likely be going with the producer and his company. It's a pretty exciting turn of events, but not an entirely different situation from the one we were in back in October 2009. Then, we came to another production company, which was also interested in the script, albeit from a more developmental position. That was not a money deal, nor is this current one. We worked on a handshake agreement, essentially enabling the production company to try and get the material out there, but with both parties able to walk away if need be. 


The current situation - actually, the official "we want to work together" phone call is scheduled to happen tomorrow, so none of this is guaranteed - would be somewhat similar in nature, but with a different goal. As far as I can tell, we will not be entering into partnership with this particular prod co. (assuming everyone is still on board tomorrow) with the intention of further developing the script at this point. Rather, we go into it with the hope that the head producer and his partner will be able to get a director and maybe talent attached, so that they can bring it to studios as a package. Of course, a director might want changes, and those might be called in before a sale - but all that is down the road.


Right now, I just have to cross my fingers that tomorrow's call goes well, and that the producer still wants to bring the script into his company. If that happens, the next few months will (ideally) bring more certainty about my script's future. In many ways, this will be a major indicator of what 2011 will bring for the script. Hopefully, having a major producer attached will garner the traction we need to get the script sold and the movie made. As with so many other aspects of this business and my journey with this script, I just have to sit back and wait and see what happens next.