Just for sh*ts and giggles I thought I would share with the DDP community my recent experience with a manager who is very well known. I'm not sure if my experience is unique but it just goes to show what an up and down business this is.
So I sent a few queries out on Virtualpitchfest.com and got a number of reads out of it. This manager got back to me very quickly, in fact the first communication I got from him was 7:15 am as I was pumping my gas. It said, "really into this so far." I was very excited, great way to start the day.
A couple days later he e mails and wants to meet my writing partner and I. We get to this place in West Hollywood and the guy is late, like really late. So late we just about left. Finally shows up. He's in jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball hat. I treated this like a business meeting, he apparently didn't. No big deal. Just caught me off guard.
He starts talking a mile a minute how he loves the script. He goes on and on about the projects he's sending out right now. Then starts talking about how he loves to see his name in the trades, etc... I was able to get a couple questions in like, "Where do you see this landing ? You think it's a feature, streaming, or Premium Cable ?" He continues talking at a torrid pace, "Who the hell knows (he didn't use the word hell... but you get the idea)... I just stir the pot, where it ends up, we'll have to see."
My writing partner and I are just looking at this guy and wondering if all managers are like this or did we just catch the guy after a triple espresso. Seriously, are heads were spinning.
As he leaves he asks us to send him some of our other work. Great, we said. And when I got home I immediately sent him something else.
After about a hour and a half he leaves. We both look at each other for a couple minutes without saying a word. We had to decompress. We were both exhausted, yet excited about the possibilities.
On my drive home I was Jerry McGuire in that scene where he's driving in the car looking for the right song to play because he's so excited. I think I found "Free Falling" just like Jerry.
About four days layer I get an e mail about 10:15 at night from the manager. He says he's done some thinking and after talking with someone else in his office and some people around town he decided not take on the project. He said it wasn't his brand and thought it would be a tough sell.
To say I was stunned would be an understatement.
Since that time I have other people (producers, managers) like the script and are interested. We quickly signed with another manager and next week we will have polished it up and will send it out to the world.
Not sure how common our experience was but it was one to remember.
So I sent a few queries out on Virtualpitchfest.com and got a number of reads out of it. This manager got back to me very quickly, in fact the first communication I got from him was 7:15 am as I was pumping my gas. It said, "really into this so far." I was very excited, great way to start the day.
A couple days later he e mails and wants to meet my writing partner and I. We get to this place in West Hollywood and the guy is late, like really late. So late we just about left. Finally shows up. He's in jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball hat. I treated this like a business meeting, he apparently didn't. No big deal. Just caught me off guard.
He starts talking a mile a minute how he loves the script. He goes on and on about the projects he's sending out right now. Then starts talking about how he loves to see his name in the trades, etc... I was able to get a couple questions in like, "Where do you see this landing ? You think it's a feature, streaming, or Premium Cable ?" He continues talking at a torrid pace, "Who the hell knows (he didn't use the word hell... but you get the idea)... I just stir the pot, where it ends up, we'll have to see."
My writing partner and I are just looking at this guy and wondering if all managers are like this or did we just catch the guy after a triple espresso. Seriously, are heads were spinning.
As he leaves he asks us to send him some of our other work. Great, we said. And when I got home I immediately sent him something else.
After about a hour and a half he leaves. We both look at each other for a couple minutes without saying a word. We had to decompress. We were both exhausted, yet excited about the possibilities.
On my drive home I was Jerry McGuire in that scene where he's driving in the car looking for the right song to play because he's so excited. I think I found "Free Falling" just like Jerry.
About four days layer I get an e mail about 10:15 at night from the manager. He says he's done some thinking and after talking with someone else in his office and some people around town he decided not take on the project. He said it wasn't his brand and thought it would be a tough sell.
To say I was stunned would be an understatement.
Since that time I have other people (producers, managers) like the script and are interested. We quickly signed with another manager and next week we will have polished it up and will send it out to the world.
Not sure how common our experience was but it was one to remember.
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