Producer screwed me... what are my options?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Producer screwed me... what are my options?

    I recently signed an option with a producer for my screenplay... immediately after signing he wanted MAJOR changes that I did not agree with.

    He sent me a treatment, which didn't work (there's a reason producers aren't writers) Not wanting to sour the relationship, I did the best I could with it, threw out what didn't work, kept what did (very little) and came up with a movie that improved upon my original script. I was happy... but he continued to push his ideas and told me to go ahead with a draft based on his treatment.

    I just sent him an email, telling him I couldn't do that, and am waiting for his response.

    My question is, if I went ahead and tried to self produce this, (it's a small, indie thriller) would I have to wait until the option expires (1 year)? If so, I'm pretty screwed, because it's obvious he wont pursue financing unless I rewrite, so my script will sit like a dumb sh*t for the next year, a total waste of time. I'm furious.

  • #2
    Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

    Yes, he has the right to renew for two more years after the first year. OMG.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

      I didn't get much for the option (wont say how much out of embarassment), but it was mainly because I've been trying to make this for 5 years, and another year of it collecting dust vs. having a small shot at being made? I took the option because I was sick of nothing happening with it.

      The funny thing is, around the same time I came into posession of a small production cache (cameras, lights, sound, all the editing/hard drive space I'll ever need)... so now I can make this movie with very little out of pocket cost since I have all the equipment... I'm casting my actor friends in the leads, so they're cool with deferred, small film student crew, etc.

      Now I have to figure out what to do with this producer. I like the idea of just bringing him on as a producer in my self made production, give him the credit just to get him off my back if he doesn't agree to release the option when I pay him back.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

        I don't see where you were screwed. Did you not read your contract carefully? Put yourself in this producer's shoes for a minute. People's careers, money and reputations ride on his back. Are you sure he's not making it as commercial as possible for the distributers? To attract the right actors? At some point, you're going to have to trust the producer to make the most out of your story. After all, he's the one looking at the big picture.
        Never mistake motion for action. ~Ernest Hemingway

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

          Originally posted by Bellabell View Post
          I don't see where you were screwed. Did you not read your contract carefully? Put yourself in this producer's shoes for a minute. People's careers, money and reputations ride on his back. Are you sure he's not making it as commercial as possible for the distributers? To attract the right actors? At some point, you're going to have to trust the producer to make the most out of your story. After all, he's the one looking at the big picture.
          Sorry, that's bullsh*t... he gave me several notes about the script before we signed the option and they were VERY MINOR changes. He agreed to option the script after I made those changes. The day we sign the papers, he tells me he's going to send me some notes for changes, and it's a TOTALLY different movie he has in mind. It went from Star Wars to It The Terror From Beyond Space. Hyperbole aside, I realize he wants to make it more commercial, which is why (like I stated earlier) I went ahead and made the changes, but threw out what didn't work. But he wouldn't budge and wanted it exactly like he wrote (which doesn't work at all). I'm not stupid. I know the realities of the commercial film business. Producers by and large are scum bags, but they're needed to get your films made.

          Sorry if I sound bitter, but this guy knew exactly what he was doing. Why didn't he give me those notes BEFORE I signed the option? Because he knew I'd never sign it. He's not interested in my script (which was very well received by several industry people I have no relationship with). He's only interested in his version of my script, pretty much throwing his weight around.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

            what r you gonna do? arrest him?
            "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
            -Maya Angelou

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

              better a bad movie than no movie

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                I don't know if you have other screenwriting credits but if not, at least you can tell people you've been optioned (sounds good in query letters, etc.) while said producer has your script. That's meant to be a "look on the bright side of life" thought.

                -Derek
                My Web Page - shameless vampyre fiction & other shameless writings.
                You know what the definition of insanity is, baby? Performing the same task over and over and expecting different results. Learned that in murder rehab.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                  I agree with dpat.

                  I know the position you're in sucks, and I definately chuckled when I read your line about how producers shouldn't be writers.

                  I've been in your shoes to a certain degree. I didn't get an option, but I had a handshake agreement with a fairly well established production company that wanted me to make changes to a script of mine that I didn't agree with.

                  Man, I lost some serious sleep over it. I couldn't even function for a day or two until I finally wrote a long, sappy Jerry McGuire-style manifesto on why the changes couldn't be justified.

                  In the end, they listened. Of course, in the end, the script never sold either. Looking back, I regret my lack of flexibility. To begin, it was my first script. I was lucky just to have someone interested, and I should have been more willing to listen to their ideas if I wanted to make some money and get a credit.

                  How many scripts have you written, Colt? If you haven't written many and haven't sold any, I say do your best to go with this person's ideas and chalk it up to experience. A lot of us would be thrilled to be in your shoes. I've been at it for six years and have worked with different companies and had some exciting things happen, but not a dime has come my way. At this point, I would probably option my latest script for a booklet of McDonald's gift certificates.
                  Goonies never say die!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                    Originally posted by Colt45 View Post
                    Sorry, that's bullsh*t... he gave me several notes about the script before we signed the option and they were VERY MINOR changes. He agreed to option the script after I made those changes. The day we sign the papers, he tells me he's going to send me some notes for changes, and it's a TOTALLY different movie he has in mind. It went from Star Wars to It The Terror From Beyond Space. Hyperbole aside, I realize he wants to make it more commercial, which is why (like I stated earlier) I went ahead and made the changes, but threw out what didn't work. But he wouldn't budge and wanted it exactly like he wrote (which doesn't work at all). I'm not stupid. I know the realities of the commercial film business. Producers by and large are scum bags, but they're needed to get your films made.

                    Sorry if I sound bitter, but this guy knew exactly what he was doing. Why didn't he give me those notes BEFORE I signed the option? Because he knew I'd never sign it. He's not interested in my script (which was very well received by several industry people I have no relationship with). He's only interested in his version of my script, pretty much throwing his weight around.
                    If it is a breach of contract, as you described, than get yourself a good lawyer and produce it yourself, but just remember, you are taking a big risk for future work. Not many people will want to work with uncredited writers with a lawsuit. Unfortunately, you're going to have to learn to work with these scum bags for your entire career, they're the ones raising the money to pay you. I do wish you the best and hope you can resolve this.
                    Never mistake motion for action. ~Ernest Hemingway

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                      I know this isn't a great philosophy for an "artist", but I say give the producer what he asks for. If you think his suggestions are bad, you might offer some feedback about why it wouldn't work, but in the end he's paying you to do it his way.

                      As an analogy, I like my steaks well done. When I order a $30 steak dinner, I don't want the cook lecturing me about how I'm ruining my steak by asking for it to be what I consider to be fully cooked. Maybe a steak is more flavorful when it's still twitching and bleeding, but it's my money and he's wasting his own time by trying to convince me. If the cook says, "Find another cook," then that's what I'll do.

                      There are millions of steaks out there waiting to be cooked. Burn this one just the way he likes it, collect the check, and move on.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                        i think the bottom line with this is, and speaking from experience is that the producer or director has his own version and at the end of the road a new comer, like you, me, and the like have no pull.

                        we all know that a director producer has at least a dozen or half dozen separate deals going on trying to make one pop.

                        they have their pet projects, like yours and an idea on how to make it marketable and they will move on if you don't show any deference to them.

                        it gets that much more complicated when you have a writing partner, so consider yourself luck it's just you making the decisions and not a three way dialogue where non of the sides agree.

                        options are crumbs for the writer who has nothing.

                        vig

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                          This is simply a matter of integrity. I have written over a dozen scripts, have had a manager before (who I dumped), have been through the hollywood meat grinder for a while now, and know the realities of the business. This producer has never produced a movie before, in fact he's just an employee on film sets (I wont mention his position). He has been through several writers before me, and all the deals fell apart.

                          I am totally open to notes, IF THEY'RE GOOD... his notes took my clever little thriller and turned it into DOUBLE JEOPARDY. I'm trying not to toot my own horn, but my script was great, very well received by lots of people. This movie is designed to be small and cleverly constructed, that's it's appeal. It was an intricate puzzle, that's what people liked about it. His notes took that celever mindtwister of a puzzle and made it a pedestrian crossword puzzle in the Sunday Times.

                          I didn't get into the film business to make money, and I'm not interested in being a screenwriter for hire. I'm a filmmaker... maybe I should've mentioned that earlier... I only started writing so I could direct. If I made the changes he's asking for, it would turn my script into a by-the-numbers thriller only good enough for Showtime and I'd be just another monkey at the typwriter (no offense to screenwriters).

                          If you knew rewriting something would take your script from a 9.5 to a 6.5, would you do it? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. The thing is, he wouldn't compromise with my compromise (my new outline based on his notes), which HE EVEN ADMITTED HE THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING AND TOLD ME I DID A GOOD JOB. Then he tells me to stick to his notes? At what point did he change his mind? When he realized he had to play "producer" and "make changes". Instead of trying to reach an understanding, he came back and ordered me to stick to his notes, citing a character motivation in my new outline that didn't work, but was integral to the structure of my original draft, that was the whole point of the movie he agreed to option! If that's not a producer throwing his weight around, I don't know what is.

                          In a way, yes I am being stubborn. But goddamn it, I know I'm right about this.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                            If he's never produced a movie before there could be even more problems down the road even if you did give in to this round of requested changes. Which means you need to get him "stabilized" ASAP.

                            You could get creative in the way you negotiate with him.

                            Let's profile him:

                            All his previous projects have fallen through, he's chomping at the bit to produce something. He wants to get to the next level of his career. He's psychologically open to suggestion because he likes your script.

                            So I'd say to him, "You need to trust the spark that attracted you to my script. Don't overthink it and weed the spark out with your changes. You need to trust me as the writer.

                            I made some of the changes you wanted because my instincts told me you were right (aside: validate the producer, tell him he was right, people like to hear they were right on something). But these recent changes you requested don't feel right to me, you may be too close to the script to see that these changes would strip out the freshness of my story.

                            I love this script - I love it so much I'm willing to give you back your option money. Or, I'll wait till our deal expires, even if it takes three years, and take it elsewhere. Or, I may even shoot it myself. Or, you can trust my instincts and go with my take on this script as it is now. And we both move forward. The choice is yours."

                            Whatever his choice you live with it.

                            Q: Do you really think this guy can produce any script?
                            Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Producer screwed me... what are my options?

                              why sweat this if you're not a screenwriter?

                              professional screenwriters aren't in the business of writing for themselves (until they are filmmakers)... we are an employee...

                              you have equipment and a potential cast and crew... go film the thing how you want to, change some names and settings and call it something else...

                              you made a deal somewhat out of desperation w/ someone who has no track record and seems to have lost your trust... you kinda screwed yourself here... but don't feel too bad, we do that all the time...

                              and I know it's easy to say, but lose the attachment to your script... it's one idea of many in your mind... if you're not comfortable w/ others taking the idea and bending it over the counter in front of you then you're in for a lot of headaches

                              do you have a lawyer to consult?

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X