Turnaround questions

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  • Turnaround questions

    I know this is a very broad question based on a ton of factors, but in general how often do screenplays in turnaround get picked up again? In my case, I'm talking a lower budget (million to two) faith-based drama that I sold to a company seven years ago -- and it's now time for me to exercise the reversion rights clause. The reason it's going into turnaround is very simple: the company, which was self-financed, initially thought it had a distribution deal -- but it fell apart and they couldn't find another distributor.

    Along the same lines, are companies discouraged by the fees they'll have to pay on a turnaround project? I do realize that it depends on the amount involved relative to the budget, but I'm wondering if producers in general prefer to deal with a virgin property rather than one that's in turnaround. I have had a lot of experience with sales and options (and do have an excellent entertainment attorney), so I understand the legal process. I'm just curious about the success rate of screenplays that go into turnaround. Do any of you have experience with turnaround projects -- or do you know of any good examples? Thanks in advance.

  • #2
    Re: Turnaround questions

    Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
    I know this is a very broad question based on a ton of factors, but in general how often do screenplays in turnaround get picked up again? In my case, I'm talking a lower budget (million to two) faith-based drama that I sold to a company seven years ago -- and it's now time for me to exercise the reversion rights clause. The reason it's going into turnaround is very simple: the company, which was self-financed, initially thought it had a distribution deal -- but it fell apart and they couldn't find another distributor.

    Along the same lines, are companies discouraged by the fees they'll have to pay on a turnaround project? I do realize that it depends on the amount involved relative to the budget, but I'm wondering if producers in general prefer to deal with a virgin property rather than one that's in turnaround. I have had a lot of experience with sales and options (and do have an excellent entertainment attorney), so I understand the legal process. I'm just curious about the success rate of screenplays that go into turnaround. Do any of you have experience with turnaround projects -- or do you know of any good examples? Thanks in advance.
    I hope that others more knowledgeable will comment, but one example, not especially recent, is "Michael Clayton" which received an AA nomination for best screenplay. I had heard about this great script in the early aughts from someone close to TG, which the friend was amazed had been put in turnaround. Maybe not entirely surprising that they couldn't find a big star that wanted to play the somewhat tarnished lead. A well-known example from decades ago is "The Hustler." In both cases (and in most similar cases) the scripts were pulled out of turnaround because powerful stars -- G. Clooney and P. Newman -- wanted to make them. Obviously good decisions for both.

    The problem with turnaround is the stigma attached to any project that a number of people have already passed on. But I believe that the events described in the previous paragraph embody the bedrock reality of the movie business -- nobody knows anything. Below, I've linked a NYT story dealing with this phenomenon including a brief account of the 'Michael Clayton' situation. Best of luck.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/b...a/24steal.html

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