Notes from a Producer
A neat guy I met at the San Diego Film Festival last September, Andy Cohen with Grade A Entertainment, gave me some lovely kudos on my modern fantasy script, HEAVEN AND NELL. He's a sharp guy -- taught in the American Screenwriting Assn workshop at San Diego (where I learned Katharine Heigl has started her own production company, which is why I pitched Andy H&N -- she'd be good as the lead character, Nell) and has also taught other writing classes. He's been in the business for years, too.
But he had some issues with my script, in that the first 2/3 is one tone and pacing and the last 1/3 is a big, showy, sword-wielding battle. He had lots of other good suggestions. As he said, as it stands it's a good writing sample now. With some edits, it could make a good movie. I likes the idea! And his suggestions were really grounded in story and structure, and that's the stuff I myself yammer on about all the time. So I'm percolating, gonna send him some notes about my ideas on fixing things, and then do a rewrite.
In his original phone calls, he said I needed an agent. Yes, I do! Having a producer introduce me to one is a great way to get an agent. (I've got two agents who want to talk when I get a novel written, but I keep writing screenplays instead of a novel.) And tonight Andy was asking if I had other scripts, so I pitched him DARK BLOOD. And dang it if he doesn't want to read that one as well!
A lovely turn of events. I'm also working on the script DEEPER AND DEEPER for Bright Shining City. Only I'm not the writer, just the associate producer of development. So reading and editing a script is no biggie for me. There will be a trip to LA at some point for the casting, which I'm contractually obligated to assist with. But that'll be months from now. They told me a few weeks ago they'd announced the pre-production to VARIETY and I was listed among the crew. As far as I know (unless some of the screenwriting contests listed us finalists) that's my first appearance in that publication!
Go, me!
But he had some issues with my script, in that the first 2/3 is one tone and pacing and the last 1/3 is a big, showy, sword-wielding battle. He had lots of other good suggestions. As he said, as it stands it's a good writing sample now. With some edits, it could make a good movie. I likes the idea! And his suggestions were really grounded in story and structure, and that's the stuff I myself yammer on about all the time. So I'm percolating, gonna send him some notes about my ideas on fixing things, and then do a rewrite.
In his original phone calls, he said I needed an agent. Yes, I do! Having a producer introduce me to one is a great way to get an agent. (I've got two agents who want to talk when I get a novel written, but I keep writing screenplays instead of a novel.) And tonight Andy was asking if I had other scripts, so I pitched him DARK BLOOD. And dang it if he doesn't want to read that one as well!
A lovely turn of events. I'm also working on the script DEEPER AND DEEPER for Bright Shining City. Only I'm not the writer, just the associate producer of development. So reading and editing a script is no biggie for me. There will be a trip to LA at some point for the casting, which I'm contractually obligated to assist with. But that'll be months from now. They told me a few weeks ago they'd announced the pre-production to VARIETY and I was listed among the crew. As far as I know (unless some of the screenwriting contests listed us finalists) that's my first appearance in that publication!
Go, me!