UPDATE ON SELLING THE FEATURE FILM by Anne Phyllis Pinzow,
 "THE NEED" 

from an email posted to simegen-l and writers-l 

Folks:

I'm in the middle of writing the evaluations for ESSENCE OF STORY's final exams, and launching the Radio Script course (thank goodness that Patric and Jeff are on the job or none of the Radio Play course would be accomplished in any sort of timely fashion with only Marge to do all the work because I can't do this stuff, and Karen is off having oral surgery today  while Marge is writing her syllabus for her Beginning HTML course,) and Tracie is working on the /reviews/ and /romance/ sites, and Ddraig has finally resurfaced and will be working on /rathor/ and we have some leads to big time sf artists for the Art Gallery that Patric is building to be part of the new /marketplace/ area and ecards section, and Dancer is still debugging the TREE MORPHING programs,  Patric is well into the redesign of our "look" and "feel" top pages which will deeply involve the entire webmaster department, I need to publicize the Buffy parody writing contest -- and if I could ever get some time I'd be writing THE FARRIS CHANNEL (now that I know the villain's name the story wants to get written) and finishing my Tarot Volume on THE CUPS, but instead I'd probably be out publicizing our catalog because nobody's doing that at the moment, but I've no time and I'm even behind in turning in my review column to THE MONTHLY ASPECTARIAN -- and so NOW this!!! 

I was on my way to the computer to do more Finals when the phone rang.

The writer of THE NEED who holds the option on the short story it's based on is telling me in a matter of fact tone of voice that she exercised extreme maturity last night at midnight by NOT calling me.  With narrowed eyes, I told her she was extremely WISE. 

Then she told me why she would have called me but instead called her Agent for the script.  At midnight. 

While doing an interview for a newspaper article, Anne Pinzow (the script writer) met a man who is well-connected in the entertainment industry, and he told her about some of his other projects -- and asked about her projects -- so she told him about several, among them THE NEED whereupon he offered (without being asked or hinted at -- Anne was being REPORTER and terribly professional) help getting the financing package started for us (he has a track record getting financing and knows the right people who know the right people -- we're a long way from the CENTER of this process here, but closer than we were last month.) 

Anne was so "into" being REPORTER and oh-so-professional, she didn't even feel a rush of adrenalin at that offer, and just pocketed his business card and asked the next question on her interview list.  It was only after she got home that it began to sink in to the level of -- "Oh, wait a minute.  I've got to call someone about this!"  So she called her Agent for a strategy session. 

This fellow is the kind of connection (his track record is a verified fact about him, not just Hollywood Hot Air) that we have been unable to make for this project.  We have the animators aboard - (in writing) - we have production contacts and networking to Distribution to the top of the top, all in favor of this project.  But all of them are waiting on serious FINANCING -- before they can commit to the project. 

MAYBE -- oh, just maybe -- this might turn out to be the lead that will connect us to the connection that will eventually cause this Feature Film to make it into "development"  -- which is a long, long, long way from "production" you understand. 

There's a term in Hollywood, "turnaround"  -- it means that a thing has been "in development" too long and its market is no longer hot or the people who wanted to do the project are gone, or it's just not going anywhere because the energy is gone, or someone else just released a better one of these and it flopped -- and they turn the script back around to the Agent with regrets. 

In other words, you can be "in development" for years, on a shelf gathering dust with nothing happening, and then be axed for no reason that has anything to do with the content of your script. 

Or you can be "in development" not because this company wants to make that film, but because they DON'T want anyone else to make it and compete with one they have in production that they like better. 

This new connection is a connection to the connections who MIGHT start the "in development" process. 

It's SMOKE AND MIRRORS again.  Get a grip on that idea -- this isn't to get excited about.   

On the other hand, it's been several weeks since we had ANY movement, and months since we had a new contact that could lead toward financing.  My head knows not to get excited, "Been there; done that.  Hohum, <yawn>" and there are many of these I haven't reported to this List -- but this time my gut has another opinion. 

THIS one could become significant.  It may not be THE one -- but it could lead there. 

The next step is one of those Power Lunch type meetings in Manhattan -- Agents get involved.  Money involves contracts, time tables, promises in writing --  and at this particular time, our OTHER two legs on this deal (animation and production/distribution) may not have time or capacity to pursue this project, so we might have only financing and NOTHING ELSE -- back to square one. 

We're going into the holiday season, and business grinds to a halt. 

When things start again, the people along this new connection tree may be too busy to involve themselves with this project.  It all could come to naught for no reason to do with S~G at all. 

We have some TIME to get our websites polished up before another bunch of Hollywood types come trolling through here again, but if this thing starts to happen, a good bit of my attention will be siphoned off to attend to the managing of this script marketing and development. 

It's based on a story I wrote, so I'm involved in rewrite conferences even though I'm not the rewriter and have no real say-so about the final version -- and so is Jean Lorrah because she's the one we nominate to do the "novelization" of the script and her opinions count.  She's fleshing out the script and adding genuine S~G DETAIL that will be missing from the film.  Jean's half-owner of this franchise, you know. 

The Agent will be involved in script-content decisions because she has a blueprint involving action figures, the prof game Jenn Vespermann is involved in developing, assorted junk, books, series of books, and I can't recall what all else.  But the commercial interests get the final say-so. 

Those of you NEW TO THESE LISTS, you can read up on THE NEED's origins  at  http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/SGMovie.html  (it's been a long time since we posted an update to that URL, but several updates have been on the simegen-l Virtual Selyn List.) 

If that long link is broken by word-wrap, delete the invisible carriage return at the end of the line and paste the two pieces together in the URL slot of your browser and it'll work. 

If you lose that link, you can always pick it up again at http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/welcommittee/intros~g.html  where you can also get links to much introductory S~G material. 

The short story this script is based on is titled Shybel's Need, and has never been published and is not posted here (yet).  But two of my professionally published Sime~Gen short stories are posted for free reading -- you can find ALL my S~G that's posted here by using our internal search engine and searching on my name.  I especially direct you to the Official Chronology of the Sime~Gen Universe at http://www.simegen.com/CHRONO1.html   --  which includes several of the officially sanctioned S~G fanfic universes you can find in Rimon's Library.  The Agent for the script has in mind that we might put a portion of that CHRONOLOGY up for sale -- a swath of S~G history officially optioned so they can plan sequels if the film goes over. 

You can also read some of Anne's articles on writing in the Writer's Workshop section of the school, under VISUAL WRITING. 

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Sime~Gen Inc. and the WorldCrafter's Guild writing school are now on www.simegen.com
To read my FIRST PUBLISHED NOVEL, free, go to  http://www.bb.com/looptestlive.cfm?BOOKID=1540&StartRow=19  House of Zeor is a rare book collectors have paid $140 for, and it's yours free.   

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