The whole prod. co. 'meeting thing' - Burnaise et al

[KidCharlemagne108]

we realized we weren't getting anything done as a result of spending most of our time in those meetings, which are pleasant enough, but fairly useless.

Hi Burnaise et al,

I wanted to respond to your comment on a seperate thread re. the whole meeting thing. Seems like you've done loads of them.

I've got about 8 meeting possibilities from my latest campaign and will probably get more but I would describe these as 'soft' meetings i.e. these aren't 'we were blown away by your writing, we have to meet you! NOW!' meetings but these are all people who've obviously liked something about the work and have left the door open to submit new projects and have offered to meet me when I'm in LA. In fact there are even more who have said, 'send us future projects', but didn't respond to the meeting request.

They would be 'meet and greets' with the opportunity to discuss new projects, find out what they're looking for, long term stuff etc. My question is - since I have to fly in for these meetings - is there any point?

Sure, I can pitch them new projects but if they like an idea what are they going to say? Most likely, 'we'd love to see the script when it's ready'. So why do I need the meeting for that? The door is open anyway. I can just send it to them when it's ready.

And what are the chances of landing an assignment at these meetings? I don't have a rep and I don't live in LA?

So I was thinking, well, I know what my next script is going to be and I have this bank of contacts who have said they would gladly read any other project of mine then why don't I just sit down, write the script and send it to them.

I guess my question is - is it worth flying in for a 'meet and greet' when the prospect of a dev. deal or assignment is slim to none?

Please bear with me on this one because I am being slightly rhetorical. I'm in the US at the time anyway so I will probably hop over and have the meetings anyway ;-)

I guess the answer to my question will be along the lines of 'you never know' i.e. meetings that look like a dead-cert for a deal/assignment turn out to be nothing and the most casual of meetings can turn out to be something. So I guess I'm answering my own question but it would be great to get some feedback on this, people's experiences etc.

[burnaise]

hey kid,

by and large, i do think the meet and greet is fairly useless. it's an opportunity for a development exec at a production company to get in early on whatever it is you're doing next without giving anything up on their end.

i've never gotten a writing assignment out of a M&G. which is not to say it's impossible. i'm sure someone has, maybe many people. but writing assignments tend to go to writers that are on approved studio lists.

the production company may have something they're developing internally that they're looking for a writer to take the ball and run with. it probably won't be a paid writing gig, but at the very least you'll know going into it that there's a producer who you respect (ideally) and they will get behind the script when it's done.

ultimately, these meetings are pleasant ego boosts and the chance for them to put a face to the name. i wouldn't say don't take the meetings, but i certainly wouldn't go in with expectations.

when you're there, just make sure to ask what sort of assignments they have open because you'd love an opportunity to put together a take on one.

that's my take anyway.

[jimjimgrande]

While I agree with b's asessment of the M&G, I don't share his cynicism. It's a numbers game and if three to five people out the the fifty that I meet have a genuine interest in working with me then I feel that my work has paid off.

That said, my last spec only got me couple meetings, but one exec offered to develop my spec with me in a different direction and take it out again (the spec is dead! long live the spec!) while the other pitched me four ideas their company is looking to hire writers for and asked me what kind of stories I could come up with. (which means she's willing to go to bat for me with her boss to get me an assignment)

Some might call this nothing more than free work, but I see it as getting more people involved in my original work as well as getting myself involved with what a particular production company is trying to move forward.

I also believe that you do get a much better read once you've met someone face to face and, hopefully, hit it off to some degree.

Yes we have to sing a lot for a small bit of supper, but very few screenwriters can sucessfully function as mercenaries, selling their skills to the highest bidder, walking away as soon as the job is done. Most survive as collaborators, folks who get steady work from the same director, producer, and/or studio exec who is a fan and who knows that their writer will go the extra mile to get the job done.