Producers and Development Executives Panel - 5/12/07
May 12, 2007
"Standing Room Only
for Scriptwriters Network Development Panel
at Raleigh Studios"
by Sylvia Cary *
On Saturday May 12, the Scriptwriters Network proudly presented a panel of producers and development executives who came to share their experiences, give good advice, and answers questions from an enthusiastic audience. The event took place in the Charlie Chaplin Theatre of Raleigh Studios on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. The five panelists were: Gloria Fan, Mosaic Media Group, VP of Production and Development; Hernany Perla, Lionsgate, Creative Executive; Shelley Zimmerman, SVP of Scripted Programming, Warner Horizon Television; Jeff Katz, VP Development, 20th Century Fox; formerly New Line Cinema VP of Production; and Ara Katz, Independent Producer, Artfire Films. The moderator was David Mulligan, Scriptwriter Network Director of Programming. The questions from the moderator and audience members focused on a number of different topics. Here are summaries of just some of the topics touched upon:
What does a development exec actually do?
Getting it down to its simplest terms, a development exec takes material (like your script), develops that material, and gets it to the point of getting it made, which - and this is something all the panelists agreed upon - "is harder than ever before." In a development exec's typical day, half the time is spent working on existing material; the other half is spent looking at raw material for new projects - scripts, books, video games, stories, newspaper articles, etc. According to Shelley Zimmerman, a production company such as Warner Horizon Television may divide up the time in a different way, spending six months of the year getting material, and the other six months of the year in actual production. Ava Katz (Artfire Films) stated that on the independent production side, most of her time is spent looking at scripts and books, but not video games.
Getting Representation:
It's not just having representation, it's who. Panelists agreed that if you're a screenwriter, it's probably best to get LA representation since it's a connection business (and we keep hearing this) so you want somebody who's here in LA and knows people, somebody who's connected to others in the industry and can just pick a phone or shoot off an email and get your script in front of their eyes. Without representation it's tough to get read - for both "legal reasons and volume reasons," says development exec Jeff Katz. "There's just too much material coming at them." Those without representation are less likely to get read. So agents are really important because that's where producers and development executives get their scripts. When you complete a script, "go wide" and send it to as many people as you can for feedback. You are your strongest advocate. And again, because this is a contact business, take a meeting about a script whenever you can because even if you don't sell that particular script, the person you meet with gets to know you - and ten years from now that creative executive you took the meeting with might be the CEO!
Value of Winning Contests:
The panelist agreed -- winning screenwriting contests can help you get your script read. But again, just as with getting representation, it's not just winning a contest, it's which contest. Three attention-getting contests that were mentioned by panelists (but there are more) are the Nicholl's Fellowship, the Disney Fellowship, and South by Southwest. Gloria Fan commented, "If you're in the top 10 in the Nicholl's, you're going to get phone calls." However, Fan has a word of warning: "Be careful where you enter contests. Some have no value and are a waste of money because industry people have never heard of the contests, or have heard bad things, and your winning here may do no good or even work against you."
Make Friends with Assistants
Jeff Katz stressed that the assistant's level is a good way to get script read. When you can't get your script directly to a producer or development executive, you can often get your work to his or her assistant -- and then they may want to champion your work. Also, some assistants have their very own contacts. Assistants are often hungry to get material, something that may help them work their way up in the business. "So cultivating assistants is often a good way to go."
Attaching Talent to Your Scripts
The whole business of "attachments" can be tricky. Don't assume that getting an actor or director attached to your script is always going to help you. It may; or it may not. Again, it depends on the attachment. To be safe, unless you are putting together the financing yourself, don't attach talent or a director. Production companies base a lot of their decision-making on foreign sales, and your attachments may not work in Europe. Different stars and directors are hot (or not hot) in different parts of the world. Even an A-list actor attached here in the States may not be seen as a valuable attachment abroad. For example, currently Will Smith is big abroad; but Leslie Snipes is not. Or the A-list actor attached may not be seen by some as working creatively on the project. Then there's the famous 'loosely attached"-somebody who's attached who turns out not to be attached. Until it's a firm attachment, all kinds of names are thrown around. "It's still the wild west," said Jeff Katz.
"International is Everything"
The panelists all agreed on this -- considering the foreign market is crucial. Researching for scripts with "universality" is crucial. ROCKY BALBOA did much better in foreign markets than it did domestically. Certain kinds of movies, such as action movies, cross over more easily than do comedies, which are unique to specific cultures. But Rocky is universal. Another example is Steven Segal who gets $5 million a picture because of foreign value, not domestic. There are different ways to research this topic and writers would be smart to do the research, said Hernany Perla of Lionsgate. For example, the International edition of Variety has valuable information on foreign markets, as does the Hollywood Reporter in its annual international edition; or you can Google a movie star, such as "Will Smith" and "International Box Office" and come up with some figures.
Selling Scripts
Again, all five panelists agree: This is getting harder and harder. Many factors figure in - ticket prices; marketing costs; production costs. It all results in fewer movies being sold. Miramax can spend $35 million just on marketing one movie. In the near future, fewer movies will be green lit.
"The Story is Still Crucial"
However, writers shouldn't get too discouraged by all this because, when it comes right down to it, good stories still sell. These days, TV is doing more interesting work than a lot of movies, shows such as NipTuck and The Sheild are representative of some of the edgier work being done. The best way to get a sense of what works and what doesn't is to read scripts and see lots of movies - not just big movies, but foreign movies, movies that others aren't seeing. Half the people in this town don't even go to movies. You can't not see movies! See everything. Different production companies want different things. Lionsgate, for example, is specializing in 8-15 million dollar movies right now; but no comedies. They like horror. And they like "passion projects" where a star wants to be attached for little money.
Book Adaptations
Just in case anybody missed this memo on this one, don't ever waste your time adapting somebody's book to a screenplay unless you have the rights to that book from the author. People still make this mistake and waste their time writing scripts that nobody will ever look at unless you have those rights.
How Many People = a Greenlight?
Sometimes it's surprising how few people may be needed to greenlight a movie. It all depends upon the place, of course. At Lionsgate, it might just take one person to greenlight a movie -- if that person is the CEO. Or it may take five people if they are creative execs. However, if it's a huge studio, it'll take more.
Spreadsheet Fever
Unfortunately (and this is the part that so many people in the industry hate), the determination about whether or not to greenlight a movie is made by a spreadsheet as much as it is by a human being. It's the spreadsheet process that determines profit. The math and the numbers are 50% of the battle. Spreadsheets aren't always 100% accurate. Some movies over-perform their expectation; some under-perform their expectation, but, overall, the spreadsheet process works.
Impact of YOU TUBE, INK TIP, MY SPACE, etc.?
The question was raised, "Do producers and development execs ever look for material on the Internet?" The answer from the panelists was: Some do. Some never do. Jeff Katz is one who does pay attention to these resources: "It's a gold rush. I'm panning for gold. You never know when you're going to find something that'll work."
Direct to DVD
The statistics tells us that today's kids don't care where their entertainment comes from - the Internet, iPods, downloads, DVDs. These are all considered additional outlets. By now nearly every studio in town has ramped up its DVD section, because while there may be just handful of people who can greenlight a movie; there are 300 people who can greenlight a DVD. So do the math.
What's the most rewarding part of being a development exec or producer?
The panelists ended the afternoon by answering a question from the moderator, David Mulligan, about what they see as the most rewarding part of their job. Jeff Katz put it succinctly: "Getting things made! Bringing in something; packaging it; getting it made. If you love movies, it's rewarding. It's a dream factory. You get to meet the people you admire. It's like a drug. If you're in this business because you love movies, it's the best feeling in the world. You get to get up in the morning and say, 'I can't believe I get to do this.'"
* Sylvia Cary, MFT, also a psychotherapist, has been a member of the Scriptwriters Network for ten years. Her script, The Ladies War (renamed Peg's War) has been optioned by a Los Angeles production company.