Ops stops
One strange aspect of writing a blog is recognizing that one’s online narrative doesn’t always match up very well with reality. There is a lag between when events happen and when you write about them.
Take for example Josh Friedman’s recent and scary brush with kidney cancer. As his real-life neighbor, I knew he was on the mend before anyone online knew there was anything wrong. Quite understandably, Josh didn’t blog about the situation while he was in the middle of it. But it was weird watching the two realities diverge. Josh’s readers would write in to me, asking why Josh hadn’t posted for so long. I knew, but it wasn’t my story to tell.
I’m just glad it has a happy ending.
In the dramedy of my own life, one story thread I’ve let drop is Ops, the one-hour drama Jordan Mechner and I developed for Fox.
For those who’ve tuned in late, Ops is an adventure-drama about two guys who run a private military corporation. They’re the sub-sub-contractors for a giant corporation like Halliburton, providing field operations in really dangerous parts of the world, such as Iraq, Afghanistan or Venezuela. Week-to-week, our heroes could be delivering a blood shipment, rescuing a kidnapped executive, or training a security force. Tonally, it’s probably closest to Three Kings. You could also think of it as a modern-day Western.
Ops was originally Jordan’s idea. He’d been researching private military corporations, with the intention of writing a feature. As he described the world to me, I felt it was really more of a TV drama. Much like the detective shows of the 80’s, you were following two guys. You didn’t just want to see them on one mission. You wanted to see them in a new predicament each week.
Jordan agreed, and we decided to write it together.
Our first hero would be THEO VANOWEN, the experienced soldier who is not only the brawn but the tactical brains — he could tell you exactly how many men you needed to guard an airstrip. His partner JOE McGINTY would be the business side of the equation: the salesman, the negotiator and problem-solver. While there would be other supporting characters, the show really falls on their backs.
We pitched the show to our agents at a hotel bar. (Since I’m represented at UTA, and Jordan’s at ICM, it was helpful to have a neutral location.) The agents loved the idea, and suggested we pitch the show to Fox. Two days later, we did. Fox (the studio) quickly bought it, and set it up for Fox (the network) as a put pilot. That was the end of September, 2004.
There was an article in Variety about the show a few days later.
FULL SPEED AHEAD
While Jordan and I were writing the pilot, we met with the physical production department about location and budget strategies, since the show would no doubt be expensive. We also had preliminary meetings with actors the studio and/or network liked.
We turned in the pilot script in November, and were met with thunderous silence.
After a week or so, we got notes asking about the tone, and asking questions about certain plot points. We addressed those concerns as well as we could, but there was no question we’d lost mojo. Something was bugging them, but what? It was only after a few drafts that we got our answer: they liked the characters, but weren’t crazy about the A-plot. At all.
For the pilot, we began with a teaser in Afghanistan, then segued into a kidnap-and-rescue in Venezuela. The studio liked the Afghanistan part, but was eager to speed up the story. We tried an Alias-like jump-ahead structure which was interesting but a little gimmicky. No one really liked it.
We met with Gail Berman, president of Fox (the network). She said that what she had really been hoping for was more literally Three Kings. Happy to oblige, we pitched a new pilot that had our heroes trying to deliver a shipment of human blood from Turkey to Kirkuk. Everyone loved it. Jordan and I went off to write our new pilot, which was tentatively slated to shoot mid-season.
Then Gail Berman left Fox, to take over as president of Paramount.
THE NEW GUY
She was replaced by Peter Liguori, who had mostly recently run FX. One of the shows he had developed at FX was “Over There,” an Iraq war drama that was not fairing well in the ratings. Concerned, we called our people at both Foxes, but were assured that the Iraq-ish-ness of our new pilot would be no problem.
Much happier with our new pilot, we turned it in. We got a lot of small notes about tone and comedy, which we tried to address. Everyone professed to love the pilot (several Fox folk called it their favorite), but we never got any word from Liguori about whether or not we would be shooting the pilot.
While we were waiting, I had a baby, and Jordan wrote Prince of Persia. So we were both busy enough.
Nearly a year after we’d set up the project, Jordan and I finally went in for a meeting with Liguori and approximately 10,000 Fox executives. (Okay, maybe just 11.) Peter Liguori, for the record, is friendly, polite and thoughtful. He explained that his reluctance to proceed with Ops was the subject matter, and the Iraq setting in particular. And yet he really admired the show, and wanted to find a way it could work.
Generally, I’m the eager-to-please guy, which explains why I wrote a whole new pilot for Gail Berman. But I wasn’t going to write a third pilot without some commitment from Liguori. He agreed we could start casting and looking for directors based on the current pilot script. Meanwhile, we’d be writing a brand-new pilot that would feature a new A-plot set somewhere other than Afghanistan and Iraq. (We chose Brazil and Uzbekistan.)
And this is where I last left the story, blog-wise. We were casting. When I mentioned that Alexis Denisof and James Marsters had come in, I got lots of gushing Buffy fan mail. In reality, we were pretty far down the road with two actors Fox loved: LL Cool J and Luke Mably. Those two weren’t the only choices; we were lucky to have a lot of interest from talented people.
Then something strange happened.
LL Cool J was “offer-only,” which means he wouldn’t come in to audition beforehand. That’s pretty common for a star at his level. Every day or two, I would get a call from LL’s agent asking if we were still interested in him, because Fox business affairs hadn’t called to start making a holding deal for him.
So, every day or two, I would call the powers-that-be at Fox and say, “Hey, let’s make that LL deal.” But it wouldn’t happen. And I could never get a clear answer on why it wasn’t happening.
Finally, I ended up just calling Liguori to ask why they weren’t making LL’s deal. Was Liguori having second thoughts about making the show?
Yes.
In fact, he had decided he didn’t want the show after all.
And suddenly, just like that, Ops was dead.
Our phone conversation was at noon. We had another casting session scheduled in an hour. So my first call was to the casting director, telling him to cancel the session and send the 30 or so actors home. Then I called Jordan, who was bummed. He had just finished seven pages of the third pilot.
He sent them. I read them and gave notes, just for the hell of it. We sent a big basket of muffins to the casting agency to thank them for their hard work, and called it a day.
THE AFTERMATH
When a pilot is announced, it shows up in Variety. Everyone knows about it.
When a pilot dies, it dies quietly in the corner. So for the next week, I kept getting calls from agents about their writer/director/actor client who would be perfect for Ops. It was awkward to tell them that the show was kaput.
In reality, the show wasn’t fully dead, because Fox (the studio) still had the right to take the project to other networks. One of the reasons I didn’t blog about Ops’ demise earlier is that we were still under consideration at NBC and Showtime. They both ultimately passed, which is good, because I had mentally moved on about an hour after the phone call with Liguori.
One aspect of the Ops situation that might perplex some readers is that the show was announced as a “put pilot,” which means that when Fox made the original deal with Jordan and me, one of the conditions was that they basically promised to shoot the pilot. In reality, I’m not sure there is such a thing as a put pilot.
In the case of Ops, there was a substantial penalty that Fox agreed to pay in the event they didn’t end up shooting the pilot. In a few months, I’ll get a check with a few zeroes for my trouble. Given how much time and money it would have taken to shoot the pilot, it’s almost certainly for the best the train stopped where it did. There’s no sense producing a pilot if the network didn’t want the show.
To the degree there’s a silver lining, I can now offer a bunch of new stuff in the Downloads section. In the Ops category, you’ll find stuff from all three versions of the pilot, along with the sides we used for casting.
On the whole, I’m proud of the show that never was. It was my first experience writing with a partner, and Jordan was a great collaborator. While I probably wouldn’t choose to write with someone again, it was good to learn that I could if I had to.
I’m really not angry with Fox or Liguori. I understand his decision, although I wish he’d reached it a few months earlier. The various incarnations of Ops took about six months of my writing, and a sizable chunk of my brain space. The mental real estate can be reclaimed, but there’s a real opportunity cost to the time I lost. I could have written two features in that time.
Or blogged more.
Anyway, that’s the story of Ops. It feels good to have my real-life narrative a little closer to my online version.
Articles
January 24th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
What a bummer - I was looking forward to seeing it! I guess I’ll have to flex my imagination and read the pilots.
January 24th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Well, the cool thing for us readers is the new additions to the Downloads section. It’s really cool to your outlines and beat sheets along with the actual pilot scripts, so thanks for putting that up.
January 24th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
That’s a sad story. Sounds like a good show and with two writers as talented as you and Jordan, it would be more than only good.
Anyhow, as you say, it’s a nice and valuable experience.
I myself write with a partner and it has its up and downs, we all have to agree with that, right? But in the whole picture a co-writer keeps you up, especially if you write on spec…
Thanks for telling us the story of Ops!
January 24th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
thanx for blogging about your life and career…its very inspirational for us up and coming screenwriters/filmmakers.
I saw you speak at the 2004 los angeles film school graduation ceremony and I’m a fan of “GO”.
good day to you, and thanx for blogging.
kairon arnold
birmingham,al
January 24th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Another very interesting inside glimpse at the workings of a major TV network and how shows get to be. Thanks.
Frontline just aired a documentary on PBS – I think on Sunday night – about contractors in Iraq, and I can only say, you hit the nail on the head… that would make some great television. Being that the contracting industry is largely governmentally unmandated and runs unchecked in Iraq right now, you really could aptly describe it as a modern-day Western.
Anyway, I’m off now to read the script.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Sigh. Preach it, brotha.
January 24th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
I learned a lot from this one. Namely, that I love the concept and think it would have been as big as 24, and that when they walk from your project it’s best to move on too, instead of dwelling and letting all your creativity get diverted into frustration and anger.
Oh, yeah, and set it in my contract to get “a check with a few zeroes for my trouble” if the project doesn’t make it.
I’m not sure if you’ve seen it but set aside a few minutes to watch Kevin Smith tell his story of the Superman Lives script that never got made.
January 24th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
Sad to hear it’s dead, but thanks for the update. It’s all very interesting and educational information.
January 25th, 2006 at 3:11 am
Thanks for that, John. That may be cold comfort, but many readers will learn much from your posted experiences and the screenplays and outlines.
Cheers - Mac
January 25th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Same as the previous comment really: sorry to hear the project didn’t happen, but thanks for making all the stuff available in the ‘downloads’ section. I’m writing more and more outlines these days, and it’s incredibly useful to have pro-level stuff to compare against.
January 25th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Thanks for sharing. The levels of bureaucracy in Hollwyood never cease to amaze.
It sounds like alarm bells started to ring when they asked that you rewrite the pilot the first time. I’ve never created a television show before (this is the only place I can imagine I need to preface that), but I can’t imagine making compromises around the show’s tone so early on is the best sign.
The sad thing is, is it seems like you fought through everything, and were just coming out the other side, on the verge of making the pilot when Liguori pulled out. I suppose it never entered into discussions that you could go it alone, since it was initially his baby, and the series was conceived as a partnership? Regardless, I often wonder, if a few thunderbolts hit here and there, and a few executives woke up on the right side of bed, how different the shows on our televisions would be. How many great series have we lost without ever knowing them?
Ops could have been one of them. It’s a shame we’ll never know. And I guess between that and DC, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t have much faith in tv. Third time lucky, perhaps?
Keep up the terrific stuff John. I’m a big fan of this place, and your work.
Rich.
January 25th, 2006 at 11:03 am
Told you you should have cast Rene Heger….
January 25th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Thanks for sharing your story, John. It sucks the show was never made; its sounds like a really cool idea. I’m looking forward to reading the pilots (thanks for sharing those as well).
January 25th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
that sucks about Ops, but let me add my voice to the chorus of folks who are grateful that you’ve put it up in the Downloads section so we can read/appreciate/learn
thanks again for such a interesting and generous blog
January 25th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
As I started to read your post and got to the part where Gail left, I knew your project was doomed. It’s no secret that whenever the President of Production leaves, their replacement will kill whatever projects were in limbo.
Happened to me too. Sort of…
I was working with Lauren Velez (HBO’s Oz), and Lifetime Television wanted to do a spin-off of their biggest show, Strong Medicine. It was called Strong Medicine: First Response. It was kind of a no-brainer and the show was cast. The spin-off was to be introduced in an episode on the original Strong Medicine and then we were to air by ourselves on another night. On the second day of shooting the pilot we got a phone call.
Carole Black, the President of Lifetime was resigning.
Oooohhhhhh Shit.
The pilot was finished and her replacement wasn’t named. The pilot was set to air but then the network did something strange. Instead of holding off for a week, they decided to air it opposite The Golden Globes.
Oooohhhhhh Shit.
Now here’s the funny thing. The show did well in the ratings. And the test audiences loved the show. And they loved Lauren. But there still wasn’t a replacement announced yet. Days passed. Weeks passed. Nothing. But we did well in the ratings! And the test audiences loved it!
After a month, Betty Cohen, formally of the Cartoon Network took the job. And her first order of business?
Kill Strong Medicine: First Response.
I don’t think it mattered who would have taken that post. The rule of thumb is to always kill what the last executive had going.
Do you know what the funniest thing is? This is the 2nd time this has happened to me. The movie I just produced was originally at New Line Cinema with Michael De Luca. And when his contract wasn’t renewed…well, you get the idea.
January 25th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Sorry to hear that, Mr. August. There aren’t many television shows I like, and I was really looking forward to yours. Thanks for putting up the scripts, though, I’m going to read them as soon as I finish typing this. On the subject of scripts, do you know when you’ll have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory up?
Better luck next time!
January 26th, 2006 at 12:36 am
is that the real tim minear posting in the comments?
January 26th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Extraordinary look into the spontaneous abortion of a pilot.
January 26th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Hello all,
I’m new around here. I just wanted to say thanks to John for posting the Ops downloads. I’ve just started reading them but already know they will prove to be a great learning tool.
And a question, how many times are you willing to redo a project for a broadcaster? I have a project I am considering rewriting for broadcaster #3 but am beginning to wonder if it’s worth the trouble (working in Canadian television means you’re almost always doing development for free). How do you determine when you should just move on?
January 26th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Sad to hear, would have loved to see it. But thanks a billion for sharing these downloads, they are a tremendous asset for the young and restless.
January 28th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
I’m glad your show was cancelled, you fucking son of a bitch. Thanks for trying to give your pea-brained viewers the impression that your mercenaries would be real heroes stealing “secret files” from PDVSA (the Venezuelan oil company) and showing Venezuela as “one of the most dangerous places in the world”. Fuck you.
Assholes like you are those who give your “compatriots” their warped view of the world. Why don’t you show the shit that’s happening in your own country, instead of showing “brown” people as tyrannized by their own governments and needing the help of good ol’ America to come to their rescue? Is this your contribution to your national myth?
I can’t possibly express how disgusted I am by your little show. If you want to make money, why don’t you adress a problem that you guys have yourselves, like the incompetent idiot that rules the world and that your own people elected? I guess you are not ashamed of profiting from the fear culture that your own government has helped further and that it comes up with everytime they need to pass another law that attempts against your civil rights. Orange alert! Orange alert!
Fuck you…again and again.
January 28th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Welcome to my world…
January 30th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
It is always amazing how much time and money businesses spend on pointless maneauvering, such as canceling the prior-president’s projects across the board. But, such is life.
Six months for two feature scripts? No wonder you are so prolific.
January 30th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Hey Pepito –
Why don’t you read the pilot, rather than a summary of it on another site? You might be surprised that:
January 31st, 2006 at 12:28 am
John,
The sad part is that your pilot nightmare is the rule not the exception. Your post brought back Viet Nam flashbacks for my own once promising but now dead pilots. I too wrote a post about the pilot process. Less specefic, maybe a tad more bitter.
March 13th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
For a few weeks now I’ve been seeing trailers for “The Unit”, a show premiering on CBS from Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and David Mamet (Fucking Fuck Fuck, the Motion Picture). Before I heard who was involved I thought this was “Ops”, or a mutation thereof. Perhaps a post from you reviewing this show, from the point of view of someone who developed something very similar, would be helpful to writers who spend months (or years) developing a project, only to see it appear in some other form somewhere else (without run-on sentences).
I would have asked you in person at the WGAw event, but my parole officer has warned me against meeting other screenwriters (again). Thanks for the great interview.
September 20th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Listening to Pepito (what a dickhead, by the way) speak seems to reinforce the notion that Venezuela is “one of the most dangerous places in the world.” And with Hugo Chavez as President, that isn’t so far off IMO. In any case John, thanks for putting up the versions of the pilot as downloads. It’s a rare treat to get an insight like this into what does and doesn’t make a TV show in Hollywood.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Thanks for sharing with everyone what happened. I was sooooo looking forward to watching this series, especially that Luke Mably, my favorite actor, was supposed to be in it. I had heard that the Fox network had signed him up for some series and, reading this, I am pretty positive Ops must have been it. I have had a look at the downloads section and I must say that now I am even more disappointed it didn’t go ahead. Bummer!
November 30th, 2007 at 9:23 am
This is a test of the commenting system update.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:25 am
And another test as well. Right here. Changed again.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Here is a brand-new comment to try.