Screenwriting : HOllywood Producers by Patrick Morgan Harrison

I have had similar experiences. However, you do not mention what the original agreement was or the changes that were made so I don't really know what experience you had with this guy. Never give away your script. Never. If a producer cannot come up with an option agreement that producer will never make the movie. Even if the option is $600 for six months the producer has the incentive to work on getting the funding. Anyone who cannot come up with $25 a week to option the most important aspect of finding funding for a movie (the script) is not going to produce any movie. The reason this producer no longer returns your calls or emails is because you called him on his bluff. He is right now in the process of finding another writer to play with. This is not limited to "Hollywood".

His agreement grants him rights to property and a rewrite or polish, no pmt., he can option for additional six months, no pmt. additional two more six months, no pay. If he has agreement with financier or distributor for development/production of motion picture, he can extend for two more six months. Lawyer suggested after polish or rewrite, the first extension, he pays me $100, second extension another $100, if he secures a financier or distributor, he pays me $500 each for two additional six months. The purchase price, for Writing credit, he separates between sole screenplay or written by credit as opposed to shared screenplay. Lawyer inserted statement that the purchase price should not be tied to credit since purchaser purchases rights regardless of what if any, credit, is accorded owner. Travel expenses were omitted in the agreement, lawyer suggested pmt. if I was to render services at overnight location more than seventy five miles away, payment for round-trip transportation, etc., living expenses. Some other things, like providing prints, my being entitled to audit and copy purchaser's books, arbitration by AAA in California. My feeling that he wanted an agreement free and clear of initial expenses on his part and he would tie up my property for maybe up to three years with no pmt. on his part. I was not going to give my property away and, who knows, he may have been a BS artist.

No payment. What incentive does he have to actually do anything? He is not out of pocket ever. Your script rights are tied up so if another producer is interested you can do nothing. You are correct; he wanted everything in return for nothing. The lawyer offered a fair, if very low, option deal and cleared up real issues. This is not typical of "Hollywood" producers but this is typical of producer who will never make a movie but hold a script hostage as they play "producer". You should be thrilled that he no longer returns phone calls or emails. If he does reach out again you should ignore him.

Thanks for the comments.

Good comments, thanks for the reply. I learned you can't get too desperate that you take anything offered, "what was I thinking," kind of thing.

Thanks, sounds good.

All I have to say is beware.

If he's a scam artist, he may have stolen the original documentation he sent you. When he saw the changed proposal it was probably evident it has been through a legal wringer. If he isn't returning your calls, you may feel fortunate you were able to see through the rose-colored glasses, as so many unfortunates fail to do. Count yourself lucky, make sure your idea is registered, and don't waste anymore time on this guy. If it was a serious proposition, he'd be thankful you were playing it safe.

Thanks for the comments, I NEVER send anything out without US copyright and WGA

Was it an actual Entertainment Business Co ,that this guy is a producer for ? My ex boyfriend of three years is a CEO /Founder of a business out in Hollywood He is a Producer .Manager professional ,Drummer Director ,etc . His Co has only been up and running a year and he has a web site ,but he is legit ,so I think .Wish ,I knew the guy's name you went through .Could you private message me his name and the Co.Name ,if you don't mind ? please .

chalk it up as a learning experience and move on

Yes, I've had that same experience. My first & only completed script, The Friars Next Door, rejected several times. Then someone was interested. wanted to "option" it. I gave it up. Newbie mistakes all around from me. A learning experience it was. I now know better and have moved on. But it still hurts that there are so many not so honest people who take advantage of the inexperience of others.

Maybe that can be the idea for your next script.

I am not going to say it has never happened to me. Probably to a majority of us this has happened. I think the hoops one has to go through when dealing with money in circles of power make us all willing to act and react in our own unique ways. True. Getting someone to read one's script without legal representation or a NDA in place is bad. But then again, having the poor thing sitting on your bookshelf collecting dust is an even worse atrocity. There are always risks. Even when the beach is supervised by lifeguards.

Check first if that «producer» is in the list of imbd

Just like there are first time, unproduced writers, there are first time, unproduced producers. Just because a producer doesn't have any imdb credits doesn't mean they cannot be trusted. Many first time writers sell to first time producers.

Did check, is on imbd, has a web site, not wga

And just because a producer has a few produced credits doesn't mean they will pay for an option. And just because a producer will not pay for an option doesn't mean they are thieves.

Thanks for starting this thread. Very useful!

D. Marcus. That is right, but can help you when you are starting in the BIZ industry.

Unfortunately Patrick - you let the horse out of the barn on this already. ANYONE can say they're a producer. Does not make them legit. NEVER EVER give anyone any more than a tease in terms of the screenplay. You can get a list of producers who are signatory to the WGA - you can get a list of legit producers in screenwriters' guides - with contact info and whether they accept unsolicited material - or only want agent submissions - or will let you sign a release form protecting them from frivolous lawsuits - it sounds as if you did none of this. Also - bottom line - if they want your work for nothing - run the other way. Give them nothing. End of conversation. They're most likely full of shit. Once your material is in their hands - they can run it all over town (assuming they have any legit connections) and try to make a side deal for themselves and then come back to you - or worst case scenario - they get nary a nibble - but your material has been burned and you're clueless as to who it was even shown to. This was a bad move. Try not to repeat your mistakes.

I don't understand. I thought the point was to show one's scripts to everyone, try to get someone to read them. No one can steal the script, right, writers own the copyright? And what about all these sites that want us to list our loglines (and sometimes the script itself) with our high concepts? I was told in a script class to never just give out my logline, the idea could be stolen. But how do you sell it if you don't give it out? Sure, there are qualified agent/producer/etc lists. So why is everyone always saying to give the logline/script to everyone we know so we can find an agent or buyer? Are you saying the script itself should be kept secret? Patrick didn't sign anything so how has he been damaged/burned, except for irritation and frustration? Are you saying his script won't be purchased now if this producer-person showed it around? Seems like that would generate interest. What are we supposed to do, only show it to the qualified agents, etc., even tho they don't want to see it because we have no credits? Confused.

I'm with you, Karen. A writer who only sends a script to signatory producers and NEVER EVER gives anyone any more than a tease in terms of the screenplay is limiting themselves. More spec scripts are made by independent, first time and non-signatory producers than by the studios. A writer needs to be cautious - not paranoid. A producer who has not paid for a option is less likely to work hard to find the funding. A producer who buys an option will run it all over town and try to make a side deal for themselves and then come back to you - it's how they get the film made. A writer wants a producer who will run it all over town and try to make a side deal for themselves and then come back to you. That "side deal" usually mean a production and a paycheck.

The best advice I was ever given: If they don't have the money to pay you now, they never will.

sold a short script once in a similar experience. have yet to see the money

Sounds like he's real new to the business and doesn't know the business. Before he has an actress read for it, he had better option it first. Like she said make sure it's registered with the WGA. You don't want a producer floating your work all over the place without paying you for it first, bro. I wouldn't do business with a guy like that, be patient, if your work is worth it's weight it'll find a good home.

You don't need to get your script optioned to have it read. If a producer reads it and is truly interested, he/she will offer an option and it's up to the un-represented writer or hired attorney to negotiate some amount of money. The producer should have skin in the game. No skin, no commitment to you or your material.

An option is the only way to go for a writer, that is the way we do things in Australia if a producer wants to work with a script. He draws up an option agreement then your lawyer approves the option agreement.

If a producer doesn't agree to your attorney's revised agreement, for me, that would send up red flags... Also, you mentioned he's new to the business... Sounds risky. Then again, he may be hashing things over, you should give him some time, he may contact you at a later date. I'd still be most cautious here.

I agree, give him some time, but I'd be extremely suspicious if, after time, he's not prepared to sign a proper option agreement

I want to thank you, Patrick (even though you've had a very unpleasant experience, that ,unfortunately happens everyday in the Music biz as well), because as I make my transition into "indie" film making this discussion is very illuminating and valuable!

If you had included your entertainment lawyer's particulars on your script, you probably wouldn't have heard back from him at all, if he's on the shady side. If you did hear from him, after knowing you had someone in your corner, THAT would be a good sign your producer is legitimate...

Not at the moment... A producer has to make contracts with a writer...

He knew my lawyer's name and his credentials, he just didn't think he would make some of the changes in the agreement.

I would hold fast, Patrick. He's showing his "new to the business" side by not responding like a professional to your contract edits, which is quite ordinary.

To Karen Rogers: No - the point is never to show your script to everyone. The point is to make a sale. To earn some money. To do that - you need to be selective. The best way to accomplish both of those things is to GET AN AGENT. It is extremely rare that an agent-less writer makes a deal. Producers, studios, networks do not want to read unsolicited material. There are various reasons for that. Most come from agent-less writers who are novices and their material is lousy and buyers are deluged by material all the time - that has gone through the pipeline (agents, entertainment lawyers, other producers etc) and the cream has been winnowed down a bit - where some other entity the prospective buyer KNOWS (the aforementioned agent/lawyer/producer) has already done some of the heavy lifting and read the material already - and they like it - and they are putting THEIR rep on the line by passing it up the food chain and recommending the work and asking the prospective buyer to TAKE TIME out of their busy schedule - and read this. It's good - in THEIR opinion. That takes it off the unsolicited list and narrows the field. The main point of a new writer's search is to find an agent. One on the WGA approved list as well. One who will accept unsolicited material from new writers. You can also get a recommendation from an already established writer who can play go between and make a call and say "I read something good. Guy's looking for representation (maybe first time, maybe changing agents). Worth your time to take a look". The point being - once you have an agent - the agent does all the work going forward. Targets producers looking for specific material or types of scripts (i.e. he won't send your sci-fi epic to someone who wants a rom-com). They know the market. Know the studios. Know the indie producers. Have access. You don't. You're flying blind. the system has been set up this way for a reason - because the studios don't have the time or inclination to find a "hot script" from an unknown. They go to the film festivals and looks for indies that were already made that they can buy for distribution. They let others do all the hard work. The major studios (maybe 5 at this point) - make about 6 movies a year in house. the rest they pick up. Development deals are a dying breed. Movies cost too much to develop things they won't make. They want a "package" brought to them on a platter - good script that has already attracted (attached) an A list director and/or star. If you watched the Golden Globes last night - Steve McQueen - who directed "12 Years A Slave" - gushed over Brad Pitt and how the film would NEVER have been made without him. Because Pitt's company - Plan B - got it made. Not a studio. He took a small role - worked with the writer and director - raised financing on HIS name - got the wheels greased - long before a major studio got involved and took it over the finish line. You can't get a script to Plan B w/out an agent or someone already on the inside. That's my point. And this "producer" that Patrick dealt with - ain't Brad Pitt. These guys are a dime a dozen. Their business card says "producer" - but it's in name only. Means squat. When you don't hear from a legit producer after he or she has had your material a reasonable amount of time (and that's SOP) - it's a pass. They didn't like it. For whatever reason. Doesn't matter, They don't like it - you can't change their minds. They don't call - because they dislike having to deliver bad news in person. They're a bit chickenshit in that regard. You're supposed to understand that when you don't hear - they passed. They'd rather do it that way than have to explain what they didn't like - in case you later sell the same script to Spielberg and the movie's a hit and all you remember later - when Mr. Pass comes calling to see what else you've got - is that they didn't like your script - and they've landed on your drop dead list. As for "no one can steal your script, right?" because writers own the copyright - don't be naive. You can't register a title - or an idea. You can register a full screenplay or a detailed outline/synopsis - and I would highly recommend that - the WGA has an online service that allows you to register a script for a nominal fee - but it has to be online in pdf format so it can be done. Or you can put a hardcopy in an envelope and mail it to yourself so it has a postmark on it and then DO NOT open the envelope. Or register it for real at the US Copyright office in Washington. But to think no one will steal anything is foolish. You can present an idea or a pitch or a full script to a legit studio exec in a face to face meeting - and they can pass and tell you they liked it but it's too close to something they "already have in development". You have no way to know whether that's fact or fiction. And they can turn around and pitch YOUR idea to another writer they like and have worked with before and have them write it (none the wiser) and when it hits a movie screen near you - you've been ripped off and have no way to know. Or prove it for sure. That's why you use an agent. They are far less prone to rip off someone repped by a legit agent - especially one at a BIG agency (CAA, ICM, WME) who reps LOTS of writers and directors and actors - and will put said rip off artist on their shitlist - with no access to ANY of their clients going forward - in which case - that person will get canned. the idea CAN be stolen. So can the whole script. I've written screenplays for hire - originals - which went through all the proper channels - was rewritten - got made - and the studio decided I got no credit (and no production bonus). So there are degrees to being ripped off - from start to finish. And you need to avail yourself of every protection there is. I would be wary of posting anything on line unless you know for a fact that the site is legit to the nth degree. Some well established film fest deal or something - because once your work is in cyberspace - it's gone. In the ether. You've lost control. More nefarious than Patrick going to this "new" producer. Because you have absolutely no idea who's reading your work on line - or printing out a copy and changing the title page and marketing it as their own. Hopefully - he didn't deliver to a post office box and actually saw the guy and he had office space - and even that would scare me. Yes - I'm saying the script itself should be kept secret. You give the full script ONLY to a legit agent to read. Than he's the conduit. You're protected. To some degree. I've been asked by legit producers I knew to write a detailed synopsis (usually 3-7 pages) that THEY could take to a production company looking for a piece like I described to THEM. Based on THEIR notes - it ballooned up to 27 pages (I might as well have written a full screenplay at that point) - and they even told me they NEVER give an prospective buyer anything that detailed - because they have all they need NOT to do business with you - and bring in someone else (cheaper, who they know better, trust more...) and you're out of the loop. Guess what - the company - looking for exactly what I gave them - said it was too expensive and they couldn't afford to make it. I did all the work - got zip for it. I had a writing teacher in film school - a writer/director with credits on hit movies - who early in his career - had a full action sequence lifted wholesale from one of his scripts and used in another movie. He did nothing, because he said he was flattered and knew he was on the right track because these big producers had "stolen" from him. I once wrote a big action sequence for a script for a HUGE producer for a movie he ended up not making - (and I got paid for my drafts) - but he used my sequence in a different movie that he made. I was ticked off - but felt a bit like my professor - even though I was an established writer when that happened. Back to Patrick - no - he didn't sign anything - but my poiint is - this "producer" could have submitted his screenplay all over town (I don't believe for a minute that he had an actress who was interested - because if he did - and there are only a handful who are bankable and will get a movie green lit - he would have been sure he controlled the material BEFORE showing it to her - and he can't do that without making a deal with Patrick first - even an option - and money changing hands. Otherwise - Patrick could cut HIM out of the loop - go to the actress himself and have her hand pick a producer or take it to the studio of her choice.) If his script "generated interest" - beyond this would be producer - a deal would have been made. Interested people call you back and ask who your agent is or your attorney and they negotiate - otherwise - there was no interest - and my point was - the script is "burned" with whatever prospective buyers this guy showed it to - and Patrick has no idea who they are. Even when looking for an agent - you can specify you want it read by them - eyes only - as a prospective agent. Not shown around to anyone else (with the exception of a partner at a small boutique agency or maybe one other lit agent at a larger one). You came to them and want their opinion/take - with the endgame being they love it and sign you - NOT that they hedge their bets and "slip the script" to a few producers or studio people "they trust" to get a "second opinion". Make up your own mind. That's what you get 10% for (more if you're a manager). And they can promise and still pass the script around. So when they call back and say they passed - they are NOT signing you - you can never be sure whether it's their opinion alone - or they burned your script by showing it around a bit. Yes - ONLY show it to qualified agents. My opinion. Anything else - and you're playing a dangerous game. It takes time. I've had 6 agents. I had go betweens to every one to get them to read my material. Took me 6 years of writing - WITH AN AGENT - to make a sale where i made enough money to pay some bills. And then another 3 after that before the next one. It ain't easy. If it was - everyone would not only THINK they could write - but would be doing it and making a living at it. But ignorance of the potholes will not make the road traveled any easier. To D Marcus - that's not paranoia - that's fact. Cover your ass. Almost no one options material any more. Not even the studios. But you are right that you want money to change hands - and you want a ticking clock. 90 days. 6 months. A year tops. Only short renewal periods (if any) where MORE money changes hands. With no skin in the game - they don't care. They're juggling a lot of balls at once (your balls are only 2 of them) - and it costs them nothing to make a few phone calls. If they have paid for the right to run it around and the clock is ticking limiting their time - they will work to set it up. Otherwise - no dice. And if the first few calls go unanswered or the first few reads are passes - they're done. They'll let the option expire and go on to the next one. And you'll have your answer. this script is no go. Start writing the next one. Which is always my advice under any circumstances.

To Mr. Lewis. Agreed - you don't need (and will never get) option money to "read a script" - but after it's been read - if a "producer" likes it and wants to run with it and show it around and try to get it set up - with himself as the producer - THEN - money needs to change hands. My first (and best) agent used to call that "getting them pregnant". It doesn't have to be a huge sum - but something - a monetary token of their interest. If they're not willing to do that - you already know you have a potential commodity - take it elsewhere. Producers will always try to get something for nothing - and if nothing is what they think of your work (other than as a means to an end for them - and a deal or paycheck for them) - than beat a hasty retreat.

Patrick - back to you - it's your post. Your attorney is YOUR advocate, He protects YOUR interests in this and no one else's. So if this "producer" didn't think that he could agree to some of the changes that your lawyer asked for - unless your lawyer was being unreasonable - than good riddance. This guy was never going to get it done for you. That's why - IMO - an agent is better than a lawyer at this stage of the game - because they are there to protect you and make a deal for you - they know the boilerplate (before it ever needs to go to a lawyer for longform unintelligible legalese) - and they work ON COMMISSION. So while they're trying to make the deal and sell your script - it costs you nothing. A lawyer is always on the clock and charging - even if in 6 minute increments - and entertainment attorneys don't work cheap. With an agent - AFTER the deal is done and the check clears - they get 10%. Until then - they're in the game same as you - spending nly time and effort.

I have to say I disagree with most people here. In ideal world every writer would have an agent but the reality of things is that these days most agents will not even talk to an unproduced writer. Maybe this producer is nobody but until you are a produced writwr you are even more nobody than a rookie producer so you need to be humble. Your first objective is to get produced and not get paid. Even being able to say that you have been optioned looks good on the resume. A thousand dollars for the option may be pocket money for a rich producer who will still not make it and may be unaffordable for a hardworking producer who woild go out of the way to make this film happen. Statistically speaking the odds of selling any spec script are so low that taking it off the market for a year or two doesnt affect them significantly. The truth is there are hundreds of thousands of scripts floating around. Many unrepresentes writers are thrilled to sign a dollar option so Patrick's producer just moved on to one of those. Everyone is replacable and destiny doesnt always knock twice.

To Irina: I vehemently disagree with your statement about it being more important to get produced than to get paid. WRONG!! I've written asbout this ad nauseum on other threads and will not go into it again - but the 2 things are NOT mutually exclusive. If the writer doesn't get paid - than nothing should get produced from their work. Period. How's it work in your world? Everybody else gets paid (because trust me, you don't get film stock or editors or actors or cinematographers who are likely to want to work gratis) and the writer ends up with a movie he can show around with his name in the credits for which he was not paid a dime? No way. And further - yes - it's very tough to land an agent - but that's how the business is done. With agents as the go betweens. Because if you think an agent won't take your call - but a LEGIT producer or studio exec will - you're dreaming. The buyers want others (read: AGENTS) to do the heavy lifting first and trim the wheat from the chaff. That's their job. Agents have two jobs besides selling their clients for work - to find/discover NEW unrepresented writers and break their careers in the business - or - if they work at a BIG talent/lit agency - to spend 1/2 their time trying to poach/steal established clients from their current (usually smaller) agents. In your "ideal world" it would be all about talent and nothing else. That's not the way things work. Talent is a percentage - a large one when you're trying to break in and get a foot in the door - after that - it diminishes and becomes who you know, what relationships you've established and a large dollop of luck.

To David Savage - there's nothing to "hold on" to. The guy IS already acting like a "professional" - he's ignoring the writer and not getting back to him. That means: he ain't interested. For whatever reason. If he was - he'd call back. A reasonable amount of time for someone - especially someone who has professed an interest in Patrick's work - and claimed to have an actress interested as well (BS) - is a couple of weeks to a month at the outside. This guy is "new to the business" - how deluged with work is he? How high is his pile of scripts waiting at home for a weekend read? If more than a few weeks have gone by - he's gone. Nothing's happening. And - he heard from Patrick's lawyer and balked at changes. Close that door and move on.

You surely are telling it like it is. Hard to hear and even harder to learn for most newbies. Maybe this is what we need to hear and how we need to hear it.

Marilyn -- not looking to play doomsayer here - but people need to go into this game with eyes wide open. I'm not saying I know it all - but I've been doing it a while. RB has set up a great site here with Stage 32 - and if the "newbies" can get a bit of sage and realistic advice from some who've been around the block - that puts things in perspective. There's always room for dreamers - and it all begins with faith in and belief in one's self and one's talent. Hang onto that - but know that rejection is a big part of the game - and you can't go around with blinders on. If anything I say or write here proves sufficient to dissuade someone from pursuing their "dreams" - or prompts them to throw in the towel and give up - believe me - I've done them a service. It's like being a judge on IDOL. If they can't sing - tell them. If they want to ignore you because their mother tells them they sing like a bird - so be it. If their mother is a movie producer - well - nepotism is all part of the business as well. Otherwise - I try to tell the truth as I know it and you can take it or leave it. Just one voice. One opinion. The size of the grain of salt the reader wants to take it with is their call. But thanks for your approving post.

What sage advice you give! Believe me, I know the pain of rejection. I also know that I cannot stop this journey, as I've blogged. I've made the same mistake as Patrick, but you know the old saying, live and learn, let it go, then move on. (Think I've combined 1 too many sayings here). Thanks for your incredible and to the point insight.

Michael, What you're saying is technically correct except that your perspective only applies to the writing career in Hollywood. If you go to Sundance or any other prestigious indie film festival, you will discover that there are some brilliant movies that were produced on virtually no budget and on deferred salaries. Not all of them will get picked up for distribution but the writers will still have something to put on their resume and get noticed. For people who don't live in L.A, don't have industry connections, don't go to film school, etc. a dollar option or a low budget deferred salary sale it's often the only way to go, otherwise they may be waiting for ages. This arrangement is so prevalent these days that it's even reflected in the new WGA guidelines as of this year.

Irina - the WGA has had a low budget deal in place for some time. It was done to ensure that writers who sell their material to a legit producer who plans on making the film on a low budget - will still pay the writer the minimum amount set forth in the agreement as well as to make health and pension contributions on same. The catch is that a producer of a proposed low budget movie can't simply say that that's what they plan to make - they have to prove to the Guild that the money is in place and the movie is actually going to get made. It's not an if/come deal - it's the real thing - on a low budget (I don't know the number - it may be under $2.5 million - maybe a bit higher). The WGA has made it easier for these films to get made - not simply pitched around town - while still protecting its writers. I've been approached a few times to work on something like this - and would have - but there was no money and the producer was stuck in the "hope" stage - so it was not considered legit and under working rules (I'm a WGA member) I was not allowed to give them any material. And yes - Sundance and Toronto and a few other film fests do provide a venue for movies made on a shoestring - and labors of love. usually by people with connections who got friends or others to work gratis or on a bare minimum. And occasionally some great stuff comes out of these festivals. But more often than not - films are shown and never get a distributor. And other times - a company will pay a 7 figure fee for rights - and the movie never earns back its cost. It's once in a blue moon that you get a JUNO or a LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. And unless that happens - your efforts do very little to bolster your career - and you've done it for free - so it hasn't done much for your bank account or paying the bills either.

Michael, I know that number and it's < 200k based on updated WGA guidelines effective as of 12/1/2013. http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/LBAhandout.pdf Ultimately, at least for me, it's not about the money. I write specs for my own writing pleasure and therefore I don't feel a strong need to be paid for doing what I enjoy. Taking the risk of possibly not getting paid is to me worth the fun of seeing a 100+ people come together to work on my story and about the excitement of seeing my characters materialize on screen. In the mighty Hollywood, a writer gets paid for a spec and a lot of time it never gets greenlit for production. Or it gets rewritten by someone else, to the point where it's barely recognizable and you're secretly happy that you lost your writing credit. So you're left with the money and a murdered screenplay. In the end, every time you hand over the righst tn your IP to someone else, you take a huge risk.

Film making is a collaborative industry. Selling your script is like selling a car. The new owner can indeed paint it any way they want, and if they drive it off a cliff, oh well. My favorite screenwriting joke: "How many screenwriters does it take to change a lightbulb? Don't worry about it, the director will change it anyway!" Honestly though sometimes you get lucky and you can stay involved in the process. For Case Number 13, I was kept in the loop, did all the rewrites needed and was even asked for opinions, shown audition videos etc. I was open and agreeable to changing the script anyway they wanted, even letting my favorite ideas, lines and a song choice for the end of the film go, (I had made a video, editing together a montage out of youtube clips similar to what would happen at the end of the film - the kids in the movie like to make youtube videos and want to get a viral video.) The song and the video idea went over so well that for months the producer/director was dead set on getting rights to that particular song. I was excited and proud that something I put together influenced the film so much...then a few days before I went to the set I was told an actor wrote his own song. But hey the idea was the same so it's all good. It's a collaborative industry and they found something better. Cool! Maybe it's because I have so far been hired to write screenplays based on other people's story ideas that I don't come emotionally invested in them as "my baby" or "my art" but I do take those ideas and make them my own in a way. As for money, I had a producer who wanted to pay a lot less upfront than I thought the work was worth.I knew he had offered another more experienced writer more money but the other writer turned it down He offered me less which was fine, after all I had a lot less experience but he also offered me a lot less up front. I was told by a friend in the industry that if a producer does not give you a good price early, he might not have the money later either. Plus I believed that the way it needed to be done made the job worth more. ( A tight deadline of three weeks and a LOT of restrictions on locations, requirements for how much I could write for one character, etc) Do I love the challenge? Absolutely! But the restrictions and the deadline meant I was going to work twice as hard to deliver what he wanted. So I refused his first offer and asked for more upfront. Then I sweated and cursed myself for a week, thinking I lost the job. It really was more money than I had ever been offered for anything, period! But I had been honest with him and said it was like the old saying, "you can get it fast, cheap or good but not all three." I got the job. It was a huge confidence booster and it proved that my work was worth something. I was afraid that if I agreed to that lower price, I' be tagged as someone who will work her ass off for nothing. Producers talk to each other and they talk to other writers. This is how I knew how much the other writer was offered. He knew I was enthusiastic about the project and had even put in some research before the price was settled on, and I wanted that to be worth something more than "dirt cheap". That project, after I was paid and all was said and done, has STILL not been produced. I'm not concerned though because it gave me experience in dealing with a producer, director and his assistant and it gave me confidence to state what I am worth. When I went to the set of Case Number 13, the line producer asked how it felt to see my baby coming to life in front of me. I said it was not my baby. "I'm just the midwife!" (Oops went long here... sorry for the long post but hey, a writer writes haha! )

Lisa Clemens: Bravo!! Good story with a happy ending. Your movie may not have been made yet - but you stuck up for yourself and didn't undersell your talent - or - even worse - give it away. The built in M.O. on the studio/producer side is to get as much as they can for as little as they can - so they pool their resources to overpay the star. You didn't give in. Nice touch that you had inside sources to be able to go back knowing other offers that had been made (that's also something an agent would be able to do when negotiating your deal). Sweating it out until the producer came back with the higher number must have been hellacious, but in the long run, no worse than the wait for the phone to ring when a new piece of material goes into the marketplace and the self doubt begins as you start thinking that the only thing your script is good for is toilet paper. Then the call comes in - and it all smells like roses again. It is a collaborative industry - but never undersell yourself. It starts with the word. You're far more than just the "midwife". The far more appropriate question from the line producer on the set would have been to ask you, "How is it hearing the actor's speaking your words?" That's always a rush.

Thanks and very true, Michael! What was very funny on set was when a scene went 6 minutes before "cut". (It's a found footage and part of the scene involved the characters looking at a video that they found (yeah a found footage within a found footage haha!) It only took the guys 3 takes to get it perfect, after which one of the actors said, "Who the hell wrote a six minute- one take??!" I think he knew I was on set and was joking...I hope!

Apparently they don't aspire to act on the stage. Or in a Scorsese movie. Three takes is pretty impressive for a 6 minute long scene. I've read stories about Billy Wilder making "Some Like It Hot" and had to do dozens of takes because Marilyn Monroe couldn't deliver a 3 word line of dialogue at the end of the scene.