The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 3)
“Bottom line: That single idea which we worked up as a pitch results in a sale and what eventually turns out to be a three-year overall…
“Bottom line: That single idea which we worked up as a pitch results in a sale and what eventually turns out to be a three-year overall deal with a major Hollywood movie studio.”
In Part 1, I describe how my writing partner and I met with Rodney Dangerfield’s ‘people’ and I came up with a high concept idea for a movie: Rodney Dangerfield: Mr. President.
In Part 2, I write about how we work up a pitch and a 1-page treatment, pitch the story to one studio [Warner Bros.], then get a phone call while we’re in a meeting informing us the studio bought the pitch.
Here’s a couple of funny things about this particular deal.
First off, there’s the Rodney Dangerfield ‘connection.’
Fact: We had met with Rodney’s people.
Fact: I had come up with the idea for ‘Mr. President’ as a result of that meeting.
Evidently, that information gets conveyed to the studio in this fashion: Rodney is interested in the idea. This is what passes for truth in Hollywood.
In reality, Rodney is not attached to our pitch, but the fact he is so hot at the time combined with the proximity of our meeting and the obviousness of our pitch as a potential project for him puts a significant amount of wind behind our presentation.
Translation: The dissemination of those factors to the studio is good agenting.
Second, concurrent with this whole thing, we are meeting with execs at Lorimar which started a film division in 1988. We have a meet-and-greet, then another meeting. Suddenly, we sell a pitch — which we only take to Warner Bros. — and the execs at Lorimar get pissed we didn’t come to them with the project.
I’m on the phone with our agents, concerned how this will play out with Lorimar. Their reply:
“Trust me. This is just gonna make them want you more.”
A month later, we sign an overall first-look deal with Lorimar Film Entertainment. Two years, guaranteed income, an office on the old MGM lot [Fred Astaire building], a paid assistant, and a producing component.
Translation: More good agenting.
Ironically, within the year, Warner Bros. acquires Lorimar, and our overall deal transfers to the studio which bought ‘Mr. President’ in the first place.
Bottom line: That single idea — Rodney Dangerfield as ‘Mr. President’ — which we worked up into a pitch and 1-page treatment results in a sale and what eventually turns out to be a 3-year overall deal.
Moral of the story: Always be coming up with story ideas. And get yourself a good agent.
Next week: What happens with the project ‘Mr. President.’