New Philosophy

Collapse

Announcement

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

  • New Philosophy

    My main success was with a writing partner. Let's call him Zev.

    So Zev and me did great work together. Specs went out. 1 episode of reality TV show on air. TV Pilot got sent to many people. And we were great together in meetings. And he's great in a room. We made money together from a producer assignment given to us by a top 4 agency. Okay it was WWF.

    Now Zev and me haven't written together in over 6 years. But he never stopped writing. And I'm coming back to life.

    Before we wrote together we both had success.

    When we were looking at reps and signed, I was obessed with saying everything we do has to be for the team. Like we should be writing script we want to sell. And that our solo stuff we should put on back burner.

    Now with clearer eyes, I wonder is it better to be without a rep and able to be a free agent? Be able to write solo, with Zev or I could write something else with John or Sarah... instead of just being Zev and Me scripts.

    What I'm saying is I've been debating should we work together again and I was thinking like 2010 and that means everything we do or done is tied back together. We are seen as ONE. But maybe I should think about it more like I'm my own writer, he's his own writer and we can even have different reps -- or the same rep -- but we may not work on every project together.

    We can write a feature or TV show and it doesn't mean I should stop my own solo work or he should stop his. Zev also wants to do more things then me like direct/act, so be good for him to have his own rep too. We used to fight about that stuff...

    I'm just waking up to the fact that I let Hollywood and reps box us in and didn't do my best work and let ideas I liked slip by because my writing partner diidnt' like any idea even if the reps did or we liked it and the reps didn't... so many ways to get rejected.

    I don't know if I'm making any sense. I'm trying to express how I think I figured something out and I'm happy about that. That I can write again with Zev without it meaning the entire world. It can just be that one project.

    And that having a project and giving to one producer here... and writing another and giving that to a different person to champion may be better than only giving it to your rep who may stop it right in it's tracks...

    I think this is a zen moment.

    Zen with Zev and me and Hollywood.

  • #2
    Re: New Philosophy

    New New Philosophy -- I'm bad at long posts. You guys make it look soooo easy!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: New Philosophy

      Originally posted by Bono View Post
      But maybe I should think about it more like I'm my own writer, he's his own writer and we can even have different reps -- or the same rep -- but we may not work on every project together.
      The issue here is that reps don't like to rep half a team. It's more work than repping a solo writer or a whole team as instead of just getting on with the work they have to constantly consult someone at another company which is annoying and time consuming - and all for half the commission.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: New Philosophy

        i hear that... what I don't get is I see tons of projects with multiple writers all with their own reps.... sometimes they share an agent, sometimes they don't... different managers a lot...

        So it happens.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: New Philosophy

          I've co-written one off scripts with friends at different agencies. The agents figured out how to go out with it. It wasn't impossible. Or really hard. They just split up the town.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: New Philosophy

            Thanks, Jeff. Does this still apply to the unsold writer you think?

            I guess I was just so set on either it's me solo or the writing team getting the same rep. And also that I can't write for myself and with others.

            Do agents like it when they rep you and you're like I"m writing with writer X on that project?

            If I'm repped and the other writer isn't, I'm sure that may be an issue right?

            Do you or anyone know writers who write together a lot, maybe even writing teams, but they have different reps? I think I see a lot of them have different managers, but share same agents. Or vice versa. But all writers have things they want to do themselves.

            I'm unrepped right now. I wrote a TV pilot that I like, but I have lots of work with my writing partner that I love that's our team stuff -- some things we haven't finished, that I can't write myself because we developed it as a team.

            And I'm interested in writing a TV pilot with writing partner because old idea we loved, but I'm asking down the line if one of us gets repped first by ourselves, can they bring the other one in for projects?

            Should we seek same rep for both of us in same capacity like a manager, then eventually say look we both have separate interests so maybe we shouldn't have the same agents so we each have our own people?

            I know I'm overthinking this all.

            But along with the stuff I'm writing now, an old script came back to life. I gave it to a more successful writer friend who pitched it to a producer friend who is very successful writer too and maybe just maybe they'll find a way to bring back life to it. And it may involved a situation where I'm co-writing with 1 or 2 writers who are repped and I"m not. I don't know. Just guessing. Most likely nothing happens, but you get my question.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: New Philosophy

              I think you're overthinking it. If you've got a project you're passionate about with another writer, write it. If whoever's rep likes it, they'll take it out. If it sells, maybe you decide to team up more permanently because it's working, maybe the rep takes on the unrepresented writer, maybe you just stay with your own agents...

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: New Philosophy

                All correct! If we had reps currently... and i"m a classic over thinker.

                I'm asking because good stuff happened with ex writing partner when we were repped as a team -- both unrepped now -- so I don't know if it's healthier for me to find my own rep, then go back to my partner on ideas we like instead of trying to work together again, which didn't work out fully and we haven't written together in like 5 years now.

                I'm saying I think I want to make it back on my own -- but leave the door open for project with my writing partner. We're friends. We like each other. I just don't know if mentally it's healthy to go back into the well after both failing together...

                Like being my own solo writer feels like I'm a virgin. And me writing with him brings back so many happy and painful memories all at once. So if we got repped as a team again, I guess I'll feel nervous. Of course if we sold something, great, changes everything. But I'm afraid of that, get repped, doesn't sell, get meetings, work on next thing... because that's the stage we keep getting stuck in... together.

                Am I just asking the same question again and again that Jeff already answered and it seems it's up to me to make up my mind first anyway?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: New Philosophy

                  Well, the one thing you probably can't do with a shared credit spec is use it land an agent for just one of you.

                  But if neither of you have reps and there's something you really want to collaborate on that's better than any solo project you have brewing... write it! What's the worst case scenario - a rep offers to take you on as a team, and you say "we'd love to be repped by you, but we also will be writing solo projects?"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: New Philosophy

                    Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                    Well, the one thing you probably can't do with a shared credit spec is use it land an agent for just one of you.

                    But if neither of you have reps and there's something you really want to collaborate on that's better than any solo project you have brewing... write it! What's the worst case scenario - a rep offers to take you on as a team, and you say "we'd love to be repped by you, but we also will be writing solo projects?"
                    Yeah, this shouldn't be a big deal. I mainly write on my own, but I have worked on a few projects with a writing partner. We have the same manager, so it works. And he writes his own stuff as well. The trickier part is the agent side, since I have one and he doesn't. But they're aware and haven't objected. Then again, they're not pushing those particular projects (at least not yet; maybe if we get some heat on one, they will.)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: New Philosophy

                      Actually the worst case scenario is this (if you are both unrepped):

                      Reps pass right out of the gate because you and your partner aren't definitively a team going forward.

                      I wrote a script with a buddy last year when we were both unrepped, sent it to one manager who I have an open door with and he said the logline sounded great, but he wouldn't even read it since it was written with a partner. He actually called me to explain himself, making a pretty good argument for the fact that my buddy and I would be difficult to represent unless we were going to partner on everything going forward, since that is how we would be presented around town. I have only collaborated on this one spec so his point made sense.

                      So you can absolutely write solo and separately with a partner, but I think if you're still trying to get repped, I would choose one or the other and stick with that until landing reps. Once you get something set up, then you can start pushing both your solo work and collaborations. Just my two cents.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: New Philosophy

                        I don't disagree with anything you're saying, but neither of them is repped now. If their worst case is that they're offered representation and they have to commit to being a team for some finite period, that still seems like a step up.

                        But yeah, if Bono has a solo idea that he loves more than the team one, it's probably smarter to write that.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: New Philosophy

                          Why did you Doc and NoNeckJoe write those projects with partners? Different genres? Someone else's idea? Just curious the decisions.

                          For me it would be I love horror and my best friend (who doesn't write as much as he used to) wants to write horror and my writing partner is a comedy guy not a horror guy at all, so that's a reason to write with my horror buddy for instance. I could write it myself, but I think the one script we wrote as a team he helped a ton.

                          For comedy ideas -- the fun part of having a partner is to see if I can make him laugh. And vice versa. It's like your first audience member...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: New Philosophy

                            Originally posted by NoNeckJoe View Post
                            Actually the worst case scenario is this (if you are both unrepped):

                            Reps pass right out of the gate because you and your partner aren't definitively a team going forward.

                            I wrote a script with a buddy last year when we were both unrepped, sent it to one manager who I have an open door with and he said the logline sounded great, but he wouldn't even read it since it was written with a partner. He actually called me to explain himself, making a pretty good argument for the fact that my buddy and I would be difficult to represent unless we were going to partner on everything going forward, since that is how we would be presented around town. I have only collaborated on this one spec so his point made sense.

                            So you can absolutely write solo and separately with a partner, but I think if you're still trying to get repped, I would choose one or the other and stick with that until landing reps. Once you get something set up, then you can start pushing both your solo work and collaborations. Just my two cents.
                            Is this spec with your unrepped friend still in play? Did you try to show it to others who may not agree and be fine with reading it.

                            My other friend was more like Jeff -- he said "they don't give a sh%t if they can make money off the script."

                            So I was 100% told team or nothing, but if they do read the actual script, and they love it, I don't think that would stop them... but if they won't read the script at all... that's tough.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: New Philosophy

                              Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                              I don't disagree with anything you're saying, but neither of them is repped now. If their worst case is that they're offered representation and they have to commit to being a team for some finite period, that still seems like a step up.

                              But yeah, if Bono has a solo idea that he loves more than the team one, it's probably smarter to write that.
                              All true and thank you again for the advice. I can tell Jeff is a working writer just by the way he writes less and says more than I do with 45 paragraphs.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X