Take a Number in Development Hell

I have a client who got a manager recently. I was very proud of him and he was beyond excited. As he should be. Having representation puts a writer in a completely different sphere. Suddenly, you feel legitimate. You get to say things like “I don’t know, I have to talk to my manager.” Other, unrepresented writers will look upon you with envy. After having belly-crawled through the desolate landscape of the Unrepresented, your new manager or agent will look like an oasis, fragrant with dates and cool, sweet water. You will pore over his credits and clients. You will look for his name-ergo-reputation in every conceivable corner. You will boast to the unrepped that your manager is very busy and probably won’t read their work.

Then some time passes. You’re not getting the meetings or the sale you wanted. Or maybe you are. Maybe you get your script to a producer who is very serious about your work. Then you go into what we like to call “development hell”. Development hell is an unpleasant place to be. It’s right there in the name – hell. Meeting after meeting; pushed meetings, late meetings, long meetings, cranky meetings, excited meetings during which your material, which the producer originally LOVED is slowly picked apart. You may develop an eye-twitch. You may notice a racing heart, insomnia and the temptation to crush a butterfly’s wings. Other people will tell you how lucky you are to be “in development” with “x producer”. You will smile thinly and pretend to agree. You will beg your manager to just option the stupid thing because your credit card is close to being maxed out. He will refuse, saying boldly, that this material will not fall into the producer’s hands so cheaply. No – a sale is what we want. You note that it’s been some months since the producer has “loved” this script. Soon, your manager says with a smile. So soon. Your eye twitches.

My client with the brand-new manager called me in a panic. My new manager has some changes! He doesn’t like the ending! Is he going to drop me? No. He won’t drop you. This is normal. A rep’s first response to new material is, in order, a) can I sell this? and b) can this person write worth a damn? Once the material is repped and has “gone out” to various producers, the real work begins which is a) can I make this movie and profit from it? and b) how can I improve this script to that end? You will be asked to change x element in your script. You will do so. At the next meeting, you will be asked to change it back to the way it was. Ridiculous suggestions will be made and you will be required to keep a straight face. Your manager will continue to cheer you on, saying how great this is and how close you are. Your eye will twitch. Visiting the lot has now changed from an exhilarating experience filled with wonder to a grueling trek during which you seriously think about carjacking a golf cart and going postal in the commissary.

This story can and usually does end in one of two ways. It starts with a phone call. And ends either with a euphoric spending spree or a phone call to mom and dad asking to borrow some cash to help pay the rent. The end of my story has not yet come. I’m not sure which it will be but I feel really bad about the golf cart thing and I am making up for that with community service.

This is a nerve-wracking business and for every new level of accomplishment I have reached, there has been a whole new vista of challenges, both good and bad. Sorta like life. Being repped is fantastic, and something to be proud of. Being in development is also fantastic and something to be proud of. But it’s not the end-all be-all. Holding on to my perspective as a human being is the most important thing. Yes my writing is important to me and yes I need to pay down that credit card. But in the big picture I know this is just one interesting chapter of many in my life. And whatever I experience on the other end of this, at least I’ll always have my eye twitch.

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