Success Stories: MAR'28 A Perfect Day

Good advice for all. And congratulations on the project moving forward! Best of luck! :)

Hello:

Congrats for this lovely accomplishment and joyous positivity.

Also, do you enjoy the overall atmosphere of baseball, or do you have a team you follow?

Grateful for your steps.

God Bless,

John German

Hello, John German, thanks for your very kind note. Originally from New York, I'm a New York Yankees fan:-)

And, thanks as well to Richard Hohenrath-- who also has roots in New York-- for your support and congrats. I've seen your bio here, and you have two projects in development with a producer, and have written scripts for hire. Very impressive! Best wishes for continued success.

Congratulations, Staton Rabin! That's great news! Guess what my team is?....... Boston.

Thanks, Maurice! I forgive you:-) It's really the Astros that Yankees fans are not okay with, these days.

You're welcome, Staton Rabin. I forgive you too. Haha Oh ok, I didn't know the Astros and Yankees were big rivals. I'm looking forward to the season.

Yes, Astro-Yankees rivalry-- don't get me started!:-) Yes, am looking forward to baseball season too.

Maurice Yankee fans despise the Astros cause they're jerkface cheaters and I'm fairly sure Boston fans are obligated to hate them too.

You gotta put "jerkface cheaters" in a script, Mark Garbett.

congratulations!

Thank you, Rick!

Yes, Good Luck, Stanton.

congratulations and best of luck.

Thank you, to the versatile Jeff!

Thank you, Asmaa. Your ARABIAN NIGHTS-based series sounds fascinating.

a huge HUGE congrats to you and I bet you’re so proud of your hard work and accomplishments way to go!!!

let me know if you ever need a composer when you get to that point and I will def lend whatever help I can to a motion picture !

So happy for you and glad you got this big step behind you! on to amazing things :)

-Gaelen

Gaelen-- what a lovely note! Thanks so much. I know that composers make such a huge contribution to a movie's success. Composers such as Korngold (the Flynn version of "Robin Hood"), Max Steiner (GWTW), and Elmer Bernstein (theme from "The Magnificent Seven"), and John Williams, of course, really enhanced the movies they worked on. So, you are in an important profession.

Great news and congratulations. As far as baseball goes Detroit Tigers are the team I love.

Thanks so much, Pat. The Tigers are definitely a team on the rise, with a lot of young talent. And former Yankee Gio Urshela-- now a Tiger-- is a player that a lot of Yankees fans miss.

The Tigers are my team. Have always been my team because my father loved them and watched them on TV all the time.

They are on an upswing now again, for sure.

Good for you.

Congratulations

Thank you, Charmane, a Stage32 member from Zurich who is a busy actor!

Thank you to Kevin Hager, who is from Minnesota!

I don't want to be rude or pushy, but who is this producer? I would like to work in entertainment media, and I found help with a project, but I am always looking for more.

Well done!

Thanks again, Charmane!

You’re so very welcome, Staton! Continue to keep shining.

The people love "Betsy and the Emperor" Staton Rabin !

Thank you so much, Pat Alexander, that's very kind of you! Behind this keyboard, I am blushing!

Way cool. Congratulations Staton Rabin.

Thank you, Ms. Elicksen. Besides being a Stage 32 Community Manager, you clearly have an impressive background as a glass ceiling-breaker in broadcasting, film, and sports.

Aww thanks Staton Rabin. :)

You're welcome, Debbie Elicksen:-)

Wow! Congrats. You're living my dream.

Hi, Georgette, thanks for your good wishes. Sounds like you do a lot of good in the world.

Staton Rabin Speaking of baseball, I just interviewed the photographer of the documentary The Last Comiskey this week. Such a fun convo about baseball and especially the dynamics in Chicago between the White Sox and the Cubs.

Sounds like an interesting movie. And like Ebbets Field, Comiskey was an old stadium that is no more.

Keep on pushing @Staton Rabin!

Thanks so much, @Pat Alexander! Always great to have you and Stage 32 in our corner!

Curious....have you had additional perfect days in the last two months since your post?

Coongrats Staton and good luck to you!

congratulations Staton! that is so exciting!! i also have a feature adaptation of my published YA novel (also based on a true story) that i'm trying to find a home for :) so it's really encouraging to see others find success on this path, especially with those cool similarities - it makes me see that it's possible. i'd love any tips you have <3

Hi, Christine Miller. Thanks for your kind note! To get your novel (and perhaps the screenplay based on it) optioned for film or TV, your best bet would be to query (preferably with a personal referral) literary agents at the big film agencies-- or reputable boutique agencies-- who specialize in selling film and TV rights to books. The chances of getting a book optioned for film or TV depends on a number of factors-- and it certainly helps if it's a best-seller published from a major publisher, and/or the true story involves a celebrity or recent famous true events. A top agency with a motion picture literary department (or a lit agency that has a top co-agent in L.A. who sells film/TV rights to books) has a lot of power due to their reputation and who else they represent. If a lit agent represents you and finds you a producer who wants to make a deal to option your novel, if it's an A-list producer they may want to hire an A-list screenwriter to adapt it. But presumably if they've optioned your novel they will at least be willing to read and consider your script. Back when I worked for the film studios and an agency in New York as a freelance reader, most novels scheduled to be published by major publishers had already been shopped around for film or TV rights by their agents when they were still in manuscript or galleys -- whether the author of the book knew it or not:-) That may still be true. If that didn't happen to your book, then getting a literary agent-- based in L.A. or New York-- who is known for successfully marketing film/TV rights to books (or has co-agents who do this), would be a great move. Depending on how well your book is selling and how ideal it would be for film or TV, it is easier to market film or TV rights to a successful book than it is to get a screenplay optioned or sold. IP is in demand-- but the success of the book is a big factor. In lieu of having an agent, there are also a few "cinematic books" contests, and screenwriting contests, that accept adaptations of IP (read the contest rules to make sure), as long as it's an adaptation of your own book and you own all the film/TV/theater rights to it (check your book contract). Stage 32 can probably steer you in the right direction. Hope this helps and best wishes to you.

Staton Rabin thank you so much for the thoughtful response - that's very kind of you. this is all very helpful! my book sold well but it was a small, indie publisher. i'm wondering if i might do better just pitching my script as just a script with the adaptation angle being more of a footnote. since it sounds like if one wants to pitch with the focus on adaptation it matters a lot more about the book publicity/sales. but as you said, it's actually easier to market the rights to a good book than sell an original screenplay :-\ hmm, so this gives me a lot to think about. yes, i do own full rights to film/TV/theater per my book contract, which is good. thank you for the helpful info and wishing you best of luck with your awesome project!

You're very welcome, Christine Miller, and it's great that you kept the film/TV/theater rights to your published book. In this case, perhaps pitch whichever you think is the stronger example of your writing: the book or the screenplay. And if it's the book, pitch to literary agents in L.A. or NYC who handle film rights to IP (or lit agents who have a co-agent in L.A. who does), since not all managers and lit agents market film rights to books. If you choose the screenplay instead, the fact that it's based on IP is an asset, and you'll be pitching to managers and/or film producers-- preferably with a referral. Also a factor: where your contacts are best, and whether you consider yourself primarily a novelist or a screenwriter. I find that-- at least in my personal experience-- the industry will tend to pigeonhole you as either a novelist or a screenwriter rather than both (unless you're someone like Nicholas Meyer). Also, not every great book would make a great movie-- so your judging your book's film potential objectively (or asking someone who will do that for you)-- as I assume you have-- is also important.

great advice Staton Rabin - thank you so, so much for the thoughtful reply. gives me a lot to think about!! i think i will pitch the screenplay, but will think more on this based on the great info you've given me. i don't have a referral or really any inside contacts, so it's been hard trying to make noise, but i'll continue doing my best. thank you again!