The Rough Draft

While I realize that I owe a great deal to Vancouver and the members of it’s film community, I was also eager to get back to Toronto, and business more or less as usual.

An interesting thing has happened at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival Trade Forum, something of a watershed. Somebody once told me that I should be nice to people I pass as I ascend the ladder of success because they would be there and remember me, and how I treated them on my way down. The truth is, the people you meet on the way down in film are all different, such is the nature of this industry. People come and go like Fireflies to a flame.

There are a decidedly large number of faces missing from the forum annex this year. Perhaps they got that production deal and are busily pursuing other things, no time to go to the numerous forums. Perhaps they didn’t care for the venue. Maybe the ongoing hat in hand state of Canadian film finally got to them. More than likely, they’ve given up and moved onto easier challenges. This makes sense, as five years seems to be the basis for most achievement models in our lives. Otherwise the Russians would not have ben so fond of all those five year plans.

There does seem to be a very constant thread running through all aspects of the creative film community right now. Not that it’s anything new. I’ve been hearing the same thing in Toronto for the last year. Seems Canadian filmmakers are tired of the same old model foisted upon them by the various development funds. It seems we want to pursue the stories we want to tell. Of course the problem is that we’re not too sure how to go about that but the vast majority of us are toying with the idea of private investment funding from corporate sources. This is as good a model as any and when done right can generate very good returns on investment. Still, the problem remains with the distribution access currently available and of course how do we show the distributors what we’ve got to offer.

On a more personal level it’s been an interesting study betwen posers, players, going to be’s and wanna be’s. Of everybody in these four groups, the posers are the easiest to spot. They dress up too much and talk too loud, and when pressed for hard details they run for cover. Your average wanna be, will wear some sort of film school or obscure film T-shirt and will have all of the answers regarding German or French cinema. You should be able to figure out the difference between them and the going to be type of individual in about three seconds flat. The going to be type, have at least made one short film, usualy, they’ve made more. There’s been some industry interest in what they’ve created and they’re suprised as hell at that. They can discuss film in calm even tone of voice but are deeply passionate about their own work. Which brings us to the players. They dress how they want, and say what they feel because they don’t have much to prove to anybody other than themselves. They have access to funding sources and know it. They’re there to meet people and make contacts they can follow up on at their leisure… much later. They carry enough presence that people know them or know of them. They’re humble, and try to help other through either their contacts or through their experiences. In other words, they know why they are where they are.

They were part of bringing a good story to the screen.

And just to bring you guys up to speed in regards to my stuff. I just don’t know. I’m meeting next week with my producers to discuss our current projects and their status as well as talk about some future work that I can’t go into in this forum right now. I’m also looking tentatively at writing for a two million dollar horror project. It intrigues me but a bunch of stuff will have to be in place to ensure my participation. I’m currently working on a new spec and it’s shaping up nicely and last but not least my agent has demanded our story ideas for the 10th of October, so I’ll be proceeding with one ofthose ideas from that point on, with completion slated for mid to late April.

Hollywood’s about to get a big shock.

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

Well I finally broke down and bought one of these Palm Pilots, and seeing as I’m sitting at 39,000 feet with little else to do, why don’t we tackle the Agent, Manager, Producer thing.

You’ve just finished your script, now what? My first question is, “What draft is it?” The usual answer is, “It’s my first draft.” In reality, it’s your rough draft and in no way ready for anybody to look at yet. You’re going to go through at least five to seven drafts at the rough stage before you share it with anybody in a professional capacity. You don’t achieve first draft status until you are going to camera. That draft is the first draft, subsequent rewrites during the filming process generate the second, third, fourth drafts etc.

But lets for argument’s sake say you’ve got a rough draft ready to go to the next stage. Do you try to get an agent, a manager? Can you show it to a producer, without either of these? Well it depends. How many agents, managers, producers do you know personally? None? Well that’s going to make it difficult. Got any friends who can introduce you? No? More obstacles. It’s starting to sound a lot like what your character went through in act one. Don’t worry. Like the man said, “The first test of getting into the film business, is getting into the film business.” It took my wife two years to get into the industry and she’s below the line (accounting / film services). You’re trying to come in above the line (creative). Our gatekeepers are serious bastards indeed. So, you need to meet some of these elusive creatures, how do we do that?

Which brings us to why I’m on a plane at 39,000 feet. The Vancouver International Film Festival. The Toronto International Film Festival just ended last week, and having milked it for all it was worth, I’m now winging my way to Vancouver to try and consolidate on gains made during my Leo Award bid. Bottom line, I’m after some hard and fast contacts on the West Coast and in Toronto for that matter. Because as we all know it really is who you know. My point being, Film Events are where you meet film people. Get their contact info and then contact them.

All very interesting but what about who I go to first you ask? Well I’ll be blunt (as always). Your chances of getting an agent right out of the gate are almost nil. Much like anybody else in the industry they’re going to want to know what you’ve done, and how that did. Cause even though they’re going to be taking a bite out of your earnings, they need to know if you’re a worthwhile investment, and frankly so do you.

It is at this point that you need to really think about what the future of your feature script is going to be. Is it a forty million dollar big budget Hollywood Studio piece or os it a one milion dollar guerilla style story full of grit and piss, that can be shot with no name actors and a miniscule payday for you. We all want the forty million dollar studio piece but our careers are often better served by the low budget gritty piece. See the thing they never tell you in the screenwriting classes is that we’re always working towards the next deal. You eat a bit on this one to get closer to the next one. It sucks but it’s pretty much the way it works. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but they are few and far between.

So my advice is you go to the producers of low budget films and show them your wares. You get a couple of low budget sales under your belt to show that you can sell. You go to film festivals and talk yourself up to any who will listen. Hook up with any agent who will give you five minutes of their time, and get them interested in you on a personal level. They’ll be much more interested in you when they find out that you’ve actually sold something. More than likely, they will hip pocket you, which means that they will rep you but you’re not ready to be signed with them yet. Again, don’t worry, this is the way it’s done and is just one more step on the journey.

What it really means is that you are doing everything right, and growing as an artist and a writer.

Too often as writers we want instant gratification for our work. Unfortunately instant is not a word that is readily associated with the film industry. And if your suffering under the present Canadian model of how film is created, then instant doesn’t even exist in your universe.

The only animal that we haven’t touched on is the manager. To understand what they can do for you, you need to understand why they came about. Under California law, Agents are not allowed to be producers of the films they represent. They are also only receive ten percent on any sale of the writer’s work Managers can take fifteen percent and can attach themselves as a producer to the writer’s work. So right of the bat, they’re taking a bigger piece of your pie but they’re also much more attached to your project and will receive n even bigger payday through their producer’s fee. It’s sort of extreme double dipping but hey you get your film shot and a screen credit and that’s more money in the bank for your next film. The jury is still out on the possible benefits / downfalls of managers. No doubt it will all come out in the wash in the next ten years or so.

I hope some of this helps you make a decisonthat’s right for you. Just remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No it’s not a train.

Good luck and good writitng.

Steve Abbott

Sabot Productions

“Who Dares Wins”