by Heath Davis Havlick
Five months into my year after winning the Spirit of Moondance Award, what's going on? In my first installment, I said that I'd optioned a script and had another option deal looming. Well, I took that second option deal, too, and wondered how I would juggle two sets of notes and rewrites while working full-time.
No need to worry, though, as I immediately started rewrites on the crop circle comedy while waiting for the legal issues to get sorted out with the second script-a traveling angel comedy set in Spain. My producer, the great lady I met at Moondance, gave specific notes based on the wonderful screenwriting book "Save the Cat!", which I had just read. I ended up with a better second act climax, better characters and a better ending. I felt pretty satisfied sending it off and expected a good response.
"Free or cheap options can be dangerous, though; the optioning entity hasn't invested anything meaningful (that is, money) into the deal, so they may not be as personally invested in the project, and the writer ends up doing a bunch of work for free." Alas, no. The response I got was, "Well, let's do THIS instead" -"THIS" being an idea so completely different from my original story that it led me to wonder why she had ever optioned my script in the first place. So I asked her. I got a response about why she thought the new idea was great, but not about why she had optioned the script initially. So I asked again. I truly wanted to know. Then she responded that she just couldn't figure out a way to make my original story relevant to what's happening in Britain right now, so she would regretfully terminate the option. I was in total agreement.This is one of those situations in which having a $1 option really comes in handy. I know, I know, everyone tells you not to do it, but I'm glad I did in this instance. It freed me from continuing working with someone whom I just couldn't find a common vision, without having to return any money. Free or cheap options can be dangerous, though; the optioning entity hasn't invested anything meaningful (that is, money) into the deal, so they may not be as personally invested in the project, and the writer ends up doing a bunch of work for free. In addition, there's no legal requirement to terminate an option if it's not working out, which means my script could have been tied up another six months until the option expired.
Why would I take a $1 option? In this case, I'd already made money off this script from the previous time I'd optioned it, and I really just wanted to try to get it made. This story is very specific to the U.K. and here was a British producer who liked it. I took a chance. It didn't work out. Would I take a free option again? Well, probably not.
So, if anyone knows someone who could use a comedy set in Wales about a guy who fakes crops circles, give me a holler.
The other option, however, is going well so far. This one I did get good money for, from a director/producer in New York. He really gets the heart of the story and has a vision for taking it to a higher level. I've done extensive character profiles of all the major players (about 10- it's an ensemble piece!) and am awaiting his feedback. I'd hoped to have the script rewritten by now so that we could then raise the money, cast and shoot this puppy by September. That seems unlikely now, but it just means that I'll have more time to create a script that I can be really proud of.
Part of the delay is my own fault. I could have optioned the script back in August, before Moondance, but I wanted to see what would go down in Boulder. Once I saw the lack of "money and power walking around," I took the option. However, at that point, the director's finance partner was jetting all over Europe to raise finances for another project. And I decided that I wanted back end, which the initial contract did not offer. I ended up taking half of the original purchase price in exchange for a tiny percentage of back end, which I was fine with. It's a calculated risk, and it's a matter of principal. I think that writers should be entitled to a share of the profits from what began in their own heads. Of course film is a collaborative process, as everyone else involved in the film industry will be quick to point out-until it comes time to share the proceeds. I wouldn't have gotten rich from the initial purchase price anyway, though it was good. I'm not a starry-eyed screenwriter looking for the big payday. I want to get a movie made and share in its success and even in its failure. Back end is actually an incentive for working even harder, and I'm up for it. That's just my stance; everybody has to do what's right for them.
As for the agent I met in Boulder, we keep in touch. He's asked if I have any other scripts he can look at. Now that the first option's been nixed, I'll send the script to him. I don't know that it's saleable in the U.S., but sending it to him is a sure-fire way of finding out. He's a genuinely good guy who'll give me the straight dope.
At this point, I've got a script that's better than it was before, another script in development, and a new friend who happens to be an agent. Two of those three items are a direct result of my Moondance win, for which I continue to be grateful. 2011 is a good year so far.
Heath Davis Havlick is an award-winning comedy screenwriter with three screenplay options. A former freelance journalist and MovieBytes contributor, she currently works in PR and marketing. She can be reached at irelandfiend@yahoo.com.
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