John August

Film Industry

Bailing on an idea

Film Industry, Pitches, QandA

questionmarkI recently got representation, and my agents fell in love with my latest spec idea. Cut to nearly six weeks later and I still haven’t been able to hash it out completely. How do you know when to keep going at an idea in an attempt to crack it and or when to call it a day and realize the idea is not as good as you first thought it was?

What do I tell my agents if I can’t crack it?

— Stef

Your agents probably got excited by the idea because they think they can sell it — and you, as the writer.

Six weeks is a long time. I say this not to panic you, but to make sure you understand that employable screenwriters need to be able to produce on demand. You promised them something and didn’t deliver — that makes them nervous. How can they convince producers to hire you when you can’t hand them the script you yourself pitched?

Yes, sometimes seemingly-good ideas collapse upon further scrutiny, and it’s ultimately better to bail. If you truly can’t make your idea work, you need to move quickly on writing something else that is similarly marketable, even if it’s not the same genre. And you need to do it now.

When your agents ask, “What are you working on?” you should be able to answer immediately and passionately. So if it’s not the project you pitched them, make sure it’s something they’re going to be excited to read.

Sending out to multiple agents

Film Industry, Producers, QandA

questionmarkI’ve sent out 25 query letters to agents. To my surprise I’ve received three request to read my script. Do I send all three out or am I supposed to only send to one agent? My thought is to get my script in front of as many people as I can.

— Kenneth Dunlap

Yes, it’s okay to send out your script to multiple agents (or producers) at once. Advised, in fact. You don’t know which, if any, of these people will work out. And waiting around for magic to happen isn’t a viable strategy.

If multiple agents are interested, you’ll meet with each and decide which one best represents your interests and ambitions. Sure, you’ll leave one or more agents disappointed.

They’re grown-ups. They’ll get over it.

Indie film, cont’d

Film Industry, Follow Up, Indie, Sundance, The Nines

At AFF this weekend, I had conversations with several writer-directors who had read my [earlier appraisal](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/nines-post-mortem) of the frustrating state of independent film distribution, and my experience with The Nines. One director of a college comedy (whose name and film escape me, unfortunately) was planning to do a get-in-the-van tour with [Todd Sklar of Box Elder](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/self-distributing-an-indie-feature). Probably a smart choice for his film and audience.

Others had different plans and questions. And while I didn’t have any new answers, I wanted to share some of what’s going on.

First up: [Splinter](http://splinterfilm.com/Home.html), which looks to be a straightforward and stylish creature horror movie. Director Toby Wilkins made the film for [Magnolia Pictures](http://www.magpictures.com/profile.aspx?id=fd521545-10ed-49f1-b017-b68146596d80), which is distributing it theatrically and via HD on demand. (In fact, the on-demand version is available right now.)

Here’s the trailer:

While it won’t be getting a big theatrical push — and there’s no point expanding it after Halloween — I bet this will do reasonably well for everyone involved. Horror fans are fairly easy to reach through genre sites and publications, and the mix of theatrical and video-on-demand creates a national release in advance of the DVD. Wilkins and writer Ian Shorr (a USC grad) will get more exposure than many horror filmmakers, who often find themselves hitting a few festivals before the movie eventually comes out on DVD, nearly forgotten from its earlier hype.

But will they get any more money? Hard to say. Since Magnolia has a relationship with HDNet, where they can theoretically show the movie as much as they want, is there the same motivation to squeeze every cent out of video, both in the U.S. and overseas? Time will tell. I was very hands-off with The Nines when it came to international video, which is part of the reason the DVD just came out last month in Australia. ((Ballast director Lance Hammer dropped out of a similar-sounding deal with IFC when the dollars involved were just too low, ultimately choosing to self-distribute. But Magnolia apparently invested in Splinter from the start, so their investment is likely quite a bit higher.))

summerhoodAnother filmmaker I spoke with was Jacob Medjuck, whose film [Summerhood](http://www.summerhood.com/Trailer_Site/Summerhood_Trailer_%28Facebook%29.html) has gotten a steady string of festival awards. It’s a summer camp comedy with John Cusack and Christopher McDonald, but it’s the little kid who (appropriately) seems to be the potential break-out star.((Note to all indie filmmakers: embrace embedding for your trailers.))

Jacob is trying to figure out what to do next in terms of distribution. Whereas Splinter was an easy sell based on genre, Summerhood is what we call “execution-dependent.” That is, in order to be worth something, Summerhood has to be better-than-good; Splinter just has to be competent. (For the record, I haven’t seen either movie.)

In a perfect world, Summerhood would sell to a distributor like Fox Searchlight, who could make it the next Juno. Or at least the next Waitress. But if that hasn’t happened yet, I would take all offers seriously, even if they’re really for TV and video rights. If a Magnolia-like company wants to do a day-and-date video/theatrical experiment, consider it. If iTunes gets an indie program going, try that.

Jacob wisely asked how he should be proportioning his time between working for his movie and working for his career. In truth, he should probably be splitting it 50/50 — but doing it with such intensity that it’s 100/100. He can probably get into 40 more film festivals this year, and if he has the inclination, he should. Festivals are probably his best bet for getting people to see his work on the big screen, and his persistence will lead to some good contacts along the way.

Both Toby and Jacob are evidently blog-readers, so I’m hoping they’ll jump in to answer any questions or comments that come up.

Two from the file

Film Industry, News, QandA, Words on the page

The mailbag gets a little backed up here. I thought I’d reach back a few years to look at two unanswered questions.

questionmarkI am working on a romantic comedy and much of the comedy is situational, physical comedy. Is it appropriate to specify in the script a generic location and the physical actions of the characters? For example, if someone was going to jump out of his chair and run to chase a dog only to grab the leash and be taken over the hood of a car as the dog jumped for a Frisbee (whew!!), would it be okay to specify all that? I have been under the impression that, as the writer, it isn’t my place to dictate specifics…that is for the producer and the director.

— Ryan O’Donnell
January 18, 2005

As the screenwriter, it’s your job to give readers the experience of watching a movie. If you’re writing a movie with a lot of physical comedy, that means writing a lot of physical comedy. The same holds true for car chases, dance numbers, fight scenes and every other kind of cinematic moment that a layman would assume “aren’t really written.” They’re written. By writers.

Might some of those beats change based on directors, actors, choreographers and stunt people? Certainly. But your goal is create moments so funny and original that all parties involved want to do it your way. (Or at least, try to top it.)

questionmarkI know this might be a little strange but you’re obviously in the loop. What’s going on with the movie “Stay” written by David Benioff?

Additionally your commentary on CA: Full Throttle was interesting. What are the Wibberleys like?

— Sean Sullivan
January 25, 2005

Unfortunately, Benioff’s once-promising career was killed by Stay. (Too many people thought it was a downbeat follow-up to Go.) Last I knew, he was making a good living writing those things you get in the stores with the covers, and the words and the pages…

Instruction manuals. He’s writing instruction manuals. Mostly for vacuum cleaners.

As for the Wibberleys, they’re lovely people. If only a producer could convince them to write something commercial, as opposed to the [high-minded literary fare](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436339/) they’re known for.

(In truth, David and the Wibbs are great and busy. One of the best developments since 2005 is that name-brand feature writers know each other better than they used to. The strike and the internet are equally responsible for this.)