The Rough Draft

What a difference six weeks can make. Six weeks ago the new year looked pretty good. Two days ago, it exploded. None of it was overnight. Some of the seeds of the success of the last two days were laid over two years ago. Which only goes to show that no meeting is unimportant, you just don’t always see where the benefit is going to come from right away.

Most of the events of the last two days are the direct result of two very seperate elements coming together and illustrate the power of the Spec script and the Short film to get you work. And getting work is why we put ourselves through the particular hell faced by every writer who looks at the vast expanse of the blank page.

I’ll deal with the Spec script first. Anybody whose been following these articles knows about my spec, “Darkness,” and its journey to production. This week the production team is at the AFM in LA securing funding for the project. “Darkness,” is a good spec but through the magic of rewrites has become a really good script. Good enough that when another writer bowed out of the rewrite process on a particular in house script, they offered it to me. Mainly because I was great to work with. I told you I’d aced the scratch and sniff. What that means is that I’ll have two writing credits on two seperate films out before the middle of next year. I’m currently playing that personal cache into an Agent.

Once you start the ball rolling never be afraid to pick it up and carry it the extra distance. Self promotion is very much a part of the industry, if you can’t do it get out now and save yourself tons of angst. You’re building a career here.

On to, “The Terrible Old Man,” a script I had a blast writing and even more fun watching. Well two days ago I decided to email a certain Senior VP at Alliance Atlantis I’d met two years ago. Unfortunately, the person before me had been a nut, so I had to lure her out of hiding by offering Evian and Stock tips. So, I’d always felt that the meeting could have gone better even though she felt that I was a nice guy and not a nut (I guess it’s all realative). I thanked her for her time (two years ago) and explained my current position. I should explain here that we had sent a copy of TOM down to a well know DV Production house in LA. They called us the next day offering somewhere in the region of $500,000 US in production funds for our next project if they found it to their tastes. Now I knew that the Senior VP at A/A also knew these people and more to the point they had fronted a rather talented and now oscar nominated Director before anybody else. Further to the point, I had met and talked to each corner of the triangle and knew what names to drop and how to drop them. The end result? Alliance Atlantis is now looking at The Terrible Old Man and judging how they’d like to do business with us in the future.

Six weeks, two days and six years. It’s amazing how it can all turn on a moment.

I won’t even get into the Interactive deal.

I’m Steve Abbott and I’m Waiting to Sell Out.

Rewrites. notice I wrote it as a plural. You may hate doing them, you may feel your story is already there but believe me it isn’t. At least not in the world of film. The story isn’t there until the film is playing in theaters and as Lucas and Spielberg have shown us even then you’re not safe. My current script is now winging it’s way in snailspace down to LA (Mordor for you New Zealanders). It’s about to be plastered across every production company’s desk that will look at it. The initial talent hunt starts next week too with the script finding its way into the hands of stars who are there and actors who want to be there too. Pretty heady stuff and all of it bollocks. Bollocks because it could still end up in development hell or worse.

What does this have to do with rewrites you ask? Everything. The script has gone through twelve rewrites. Nine, before it got sold and three since. Now we’re in the hunt for the Director, and cast, there are at least three more rewrites waiting in the wings as each major component adds their spin to the story or as will be the case with the talent… Pad their dialogue. Am I bitter about this process? No. Am I bitter about the work? Yes. Like most writers I’m lazy and rewrites are hard going because many times you’re plugging in concepts that ripple through the entire script. Producers don’t care about how much work it is, they care that it gets done in a timely fashion. When you ask how long do you have the rewrite done. They invariably say, why are we still talking?

So right now I’m looking forward to talking to the actors about their characters and what they’d like changed. I like actors, they come at your material from places you never thought of and that’s pretty exciting stuff.

Now I’m going to go completely off topic and finish up with a rant on Newsgroup postings.

I’m on a few newsgroups. They’re either production or writing based, and I’d like to give some advice to aspiring writers on these groups and their content. Stay Away! These are bitter people and low rate talents at best. I read them for amusement because some of the flame wars are quite creative. I lurk but do not get involved. That would be a waste of my writing energy and ultimately of my time. As a writer, time is the most precious commodity you posses. Every moment of time you can spare to write is a gift and arguing with some tool on usenet about this or that is wasting that time and keeping you from that finished Manuscript. Do not get bound in that nutshell.

On average, I write for five hours a day time and brain burn permitting. I work from an extensive outline. About eight hours a week are devoted to networking and the business side of writing. You are only as good as your contacts especially in film. This is an industry that believes in paying your dues no matter what you do. Which also means you can write all you like but getting produced is key. Make those short films, the features will follow.

I’m Steve Abbott, and I’m waiting to sell out.