"Hitting the boards"

[LauriD]

At what point does a script "hit the boards" and start to be tracked?

Is it when it goes from a manager to an agent?

Or when the agency does coverage on it?

Or when it goes from an agent to potential buyers?

Or at some other point?

Is there a way to check whether a script has "hit the boards" yet? (And if someone has this access could they please PM me?)

Thanks!

[Geoff Alexander]

Originally Posted by LauriD

At what point does a script "hit the boards" and start to be tracked?

Is it when it goes from a manager to an agent?

Or when the agency does coverage on it?

Or when it goes from an agent to potential buyers?

Or at some other point?

Is there a way to check whether a script has "hit the boards" yet? (And if someone has this access could they please PM me?)

Thanks!

It's when it goes to buyers. But, it can go to some buyers/production companies under a request that it not be tracked, to keep it confidential. It's up to the reps.

[EJ Pennypacker]

LauriD,

My understanding, and I've asked an ex-Disney exec about this, is that the spec gets tracked when it goes wide into studios. It seems packaging/coverage/agent to manager holds low weight with tracking, it seems really all about it going to sell, whether studio or buyers.

I also understand different studios have different tracking boards, it's like they have their own internal ones. But there is the common ones, like trackingb and tracking-board.

EJ

[LauriD]

Thanks!

[jtwg50]

Lauri: The boards that matter are private, by invitation only -- they are in effect little communities where the participants, who all know each other, share notes and thoughts on scripts. Some honchos are members of multiple boards. The real, most important ones are highly confidential.
The commercial ones like TrackingB mean virtually nothing, except to be an information source for paying customers who are mostly wanna-be writers.
Here is the link to what is by far the best serious article ever done on industry boards, from Wired:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...lywood_pr.html

Read it and weep...

[Storytell]

Just a question: I've noticed when a script hits 'Trackingb' it's picked up by 'The Tracking Board' and ususally it's also posted on "It's On The Grid." Do industry CEs, DODs use these at all? Or just the private ones we don't have access to?

Thanks for posting the 'Wired' article. Illuminating to say the least.

[ATB]

Originally Posted by jtwg50

Here is the link to what is by far the best serious article ever done on industry boards, from Wired:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...lywood_pr.html

Read it and weep...

That's probably the saddest thing I've ever read.

[jtwg50]

ATB: Yeah, it's pretty scary -- and depressing. The fact is that an awful lot of deals in Hollywood happen or don't happen based just on buzz or word of mouth, pro or con. An incredible number of people simply do not actually read scripts. They go by coverage or a verbal summary or what they hear from somebody else. It's amazing.
But it also explains the mess the industry is in, with so much garbage floating to the surface as bad movies that bomb.
But that article is an eye-opener.
For what's it worth, I've had producers and studio execs tell me it's not as BAD as it sounds and that truly great scripts really do rocket around town and get read and get people talking. It just happened with The Disciple Program, for example. And before that with Snow White and the Huntsman.
Let's hope that becomes more true... sinced it's the only hope we have of breaking into an industry that is fading fast (fewer movies being made, fewer of those actually making money, even working pros having a hard time making a living as writers... not good).

[jtwg50]

Storytell: It's On The Grid is having some general impact and getting attention, but the real purpose of the insider boards, per the Wired article, is so people can cover their asses or their bets.
Everything else is just "informational" for general curiosity. And not many folks in Hollywood, especially people up the food chain, have much time for general curiosity anymore.

[YakMan]

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