Rewrites for a Manager

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  • Rewrites for a Manager

    I recently completed a script. I sent query letters out to managers and got a very positive response. One of the managers who requested the script is extremely well-known (as both a manager and a producer) and has offered to represent me. I've been working with this manager to further develop the script.

    After a month of rewrites, he has now asked that I perform what amounts to a page one rewrite, keeping the setting but not much else. The requested rewrite will undoubtedly make the script more commercial.

    I'm quite torn about what to do in this situation and I'm interested to hear what other members of this forum think. Would you completely revamp a script for a manager/producer based on his reputation if you thought it had a better chance of selling (assuming the notes themselves are not fundamentally offensive to you) or would you go with a manager who's passionate about what's currently on the page but who does not have nearly as much name-recognition?

  • #2
    Re: Rewrites for a Manager

    What do you think of the notes?

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    • #3
      Re: Rewrites for a Manager

      So... the manager was initially really passionate about your script because... of its SETTING? I have to assume so, if he wants to raze it to the ground and keep essentially only that element.

      I write with a partner, so we really vet our **** and bring a pretty polished product to the table, but I would not - even if on my own - fall into the trap of endless rewrites for our reps. Our reps have an understanding that we write what we like, and they try to help sell it. If they want to give some notes, that's fine, we'll take 'em or leave 'em... but no way I'd do a page one on a script I believe in and dig for a rep, especially if the rep was initially really positive about it. People tend to start tinkering and these things can kind of snowball.

      I'd especially be wary if this is a hip-pocket and the manager isn't even fully repping you yet. Now, if you objectively LIKE his version, go ahead and write it (I guess), but I would make it clear that the manager doesn't have any exclusivity with the script even in this new incarnation, if you aren't formally his client.
      Last edited by ihavebiglips; 05-08-2015, 12:56 AM.

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      • #4
        Re: Rewrites for a Manager

        Originally posted by ihavebiglips View Post
        So... the manager was initially really passionate about your script because... of its SETTING? I have to assume so, if he wants to raze it to the ground and keep essentially only that element.

        I write with a partner, so we really vet our **** and bring a pretty polished product to the table, but I would not - even if on my own - fall into the trap of endless rewrites for our reps. Our reps have an understanding that we write what we like, and they try to help sell it. If they want to give some notes, that's fine, we'll take 'em or leave 'em... but no way I'd do a page one on a script I believe in and dig for a rep, especially if the rep was initially really positive about it. People tend to start tinkering and these thinks can kind of snowball.

        I'd especially be wary if this is a hip-pocket and the manager isn't even fully repping you yet. Now, if you objectively LIKE his version, go ahead and write it (I guess), but I would make it clear that the manager doesn't have any exclusivity with the script even in this new incarnation, if you aren't formally his client.

        +1. I actually can't stand the type of behavior the manager you mention is displaying. He either needs to rep you or not. So what likely happens is, you spend months doing his endless re-writes, then he finally says, "Sorry...not for me," and you're back to square one. What does he lose? Nothing but maybe an hour of notes. What do you lose? A month+ of going in circles. I'd ask the smaller, more passionate rep what his strategy for the script would be. Sometimes size/name isn't everything...
        Last edited by CthulhuRises; 05-08-2015, 01:12 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: Rewrites for a Manager

          Not worth it. Man these rep stories bug me. Has this manager talked career strategy, goals, how he/she likes to work with their clients etc? Way too many managers out there to get hung up on a page 1 rewrite with a rep who has had you going round in circles. Ask him/ her what it was they responded to in the original script and how they've gone from that to this. Forget said manager's reputation too and being a big name, it's about the relationship you have together and if you vibe creatively. Defo sounds like a hip pocket/ spec farm scenario from afar but I could be wrong. IMHO move on sooner rather than later. You have other interest and so clearly either your voice, your idea or both have had a positive reaction on industry folks.

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          • #6
            Re: Rewrites for a Manager

            Originally posted by carcar View Post
            What do you think of the notes?
            The notes aren't bad. Their effect is to transform a script that's currently structurally and tonally similar to a movie like Signs into something more closely resembling a movie like Nightmare on Elm Street. The end product could certainly be good but it's a different movie altogether.

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            • #7
              Re: Rewrites for a Manager

              So he wants to transform it from a supernatural drama to a slasher horror film? Jeez. I would certainly question doing that if that genre is not your preference. He clearly was attracted to your underlying world but wants to turn it into a quick-sell possible franchise. That's what spec farms do and it's why those reps have a lot of sales. However you don't read about all the scripts that get trashed along the way (and never sell).

              Take some time to look at all your options, and as others have advised, go with the rep who feels strongly about your vision and about you as a writer.

              Good luck,

              Late Night Writer

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              • #8
                Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                This is PRECISELY the sense of entitlement to writers' time/effort on the part of reps and producers that drives me absolutely bonkers. Politely tell the guy no thanks and move on.

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                • #9
                  Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                  Like others have said, this is a problem. There's nothing wrong with doing a little bit more development to fine tune a few things before your rep sends it out. But sounds like you've already done that and now s/he is asking you to do an about-face on a script you've put considerable time into. It's tough to say what you should do without knowing specifics (particularly who this manager is, but you shouldn't tell us publicly), but it does sound like a bad situation that could get a lot worse if you capitulate.

                  Did you have other reps interested in the material? Maybe go back to them? Hopefully you've kept a line open.

                  And most importantly, are you working on other scripts? New material should be a priority.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                    I tend to agree with the rest of these guys, but what do I know? I've certainly been in that situation where you're writing for months to please a prestige manager only to have it go nowhere, but I'm sure others have had it all work out.

                    If you do this (and it's what I wish I had done in my situation), you need a very, very clear picture of what the expectations are on both sides. Do they have a strategy about how they're going to sell it when you're done? At what point are you going to stop writing and they start selling? How many drafts are they going to want? If you reach a point where their notes aren't working for you anymore, are they still going to take it out as is? etc.

                    It's your work. Where's theirs?

                    But here's another thing -- are these notes interesting? Do they at all intrigue you?

                    How much do you want to sell something?

                    You're the only one who really knows where you are right now, and who you're talking about. Do you know anyone who's had a similar experience with the same people? How did it go for them?

                    It's certainly easier to find a shoe that fits, than to alter your foot to fit a shoe.

                    The main thing is to be careful about handing all your authority over to someone who may not be as invested in you as you want to be in them.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                      Originally posted by shoeless joe View Post
                      The notes aren't bad. Their effect is to transform a script that's currently structurally and tonally similar to a movie like Signs into something more closely resembling a movie like Nightmare on Elm Street. The end product could certainly be good but it's a different movie altogether.
                      To me, these sound more like the notes from the "producer" side of his brain rather than the "manager." He wants to take something that's probably a little more subtle and heady and make it into something more blatant and accessible.

                      So he's not looking at this script as something that will sell you as a writer. He's looking at it as something that will make a quick sell that has a much higher chance of actually getting produced.

                      You can say "no." I think a lot of beginning writers forget that. This won't be your only opportunity to find representation. If you put in the effort, I'm sure you can find a manager that's more inclined towards the project as it is now.

                      Or you can say "yes." Writer the slasher version of your script. Keep it cheap, so it can be produced Blumhouse-style. That will greatly improve your chances of getting a sale, which I believe is what your manager is thinking.

                      I love "Signs," but you have to remember, that wasn't the movie that let M. Night break in. "6th Sense" is deeper than most horror movies, but it's still easy to explain. "I see dead people." = Sale.

                      Spike Lee didn't jump in with "Do the Right Thing." He did "She's Gotta Have It" first. Because sex sells. And once you've made that sale, it's easier to do what you want.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                        I'm going to chime in with agreement with the people saying proceed with EXTREME caution.

                        There are some managers, even very big ones, who have a sort of "spec farm" attitude. They lose interest in their clients very quickly if there isn't a hot spec on the table right this second. You need to dig a little on this guy and see if he really seems to make solid long-term relationships with his clients. (If you want to PM me his name, I'll tell you if I know anything about him one way or the other).

                        Your manager works for you, not the other way around. A guy who expects you to write his ideas to his specifications, which is essentially what this guy is asking, is a surefire way to destroy your confidence and your career. You could easily be better off without this guy.

                        This is a page-one rewrite. It sounds like it's, essentially, a brand-new spec. Here are the only conditions I would even consider writing this:

                        1) I am as excited by the script that this script might become as I am by whatever is sitting on the top of my "ideas to write next" pile. It's got to be, at worst, a very close second.

                        2) If the guy reads it, and isn't enthusiastic about it, I don't fundamentally feel like I've wasted my time. Future project a little. You slave away at this for six months (or however long a new script typically takes you) and he's like, "eh ... I don't love it." If your reaction is anything other than, "fine, I'll go find somebody who does - with this version" (as opposed to the version you have no) then don't do this rewrite.

                        It's super easy and tempting to try to rush through a door that is suddenly open a crack despite being closed forever before. But I don't know if I can think of a story that started like this and ended happily. So proceed with extreme caution.

                        Good luck, whatever you decide.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                          What bothers me is I have plenty of these stories. My friends have them. But then I have a few more successful friends/contacts who have never experienced this and go with "the reps work for you" line of thinking. I have never experience the relationship that way once.

                          3 management firms, 2 agencies and not once did I ever feel like it was a collaboration or they were working for me.

                          I went through this, we had a 1/2 completed spec, they loved the idea, but gave us a way to make it even better... but it never worked out. We wrote so much for it, literally 3 different versions of same idea not including first one. Many drafts. And all we got was fired at the end.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                            Thank you all so much for your responses. You've given me quite a bit to consider. Being an unrepresented writer, it's very tough to say "no" to a well-known manager who has basically promised me the world, but that's the way I'm leaning.

                            I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but the concept of a manager/producer really throws me. It seems like a serious conflict of interest. A producer has a specific agenda which, in my mind, conflicts with a manager's agenda. If this manager/producer were simply approaching the project as a producer, I would undoubtedly want a manager involved to protect my interests. It almost seems to me that, by calling oneself a "manager/producer", an individual whose focus is truly on producing can strip a writer's protection while simultaneously claiming that he/she is representing the best interest of the writer.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Rewrites for a Manager

                              Originally posted by shoeless joe View Post
                              Thank you all so much for your responses. You've given me quite a bit to consider. Being an unrepresented writer, it's very tough to say "no" to a well-known manager who has basically promised me the world, but that's the way I'm leaning.

                              I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but the concept of a manager/producer really throws me. It seems like a serious conflict of interest. A producer has a specific agenda which, in my mind, conflicts with a manager's agenda. If this manager/producer were simply approaching the project as a producer, I would undoubtedly want a manager involved to protect my interests. It almost seems to me that, by calling oneself a "manager/producer", an individual whose focus is truly on producing can strip a writer's protection while simultaneously claiming that he/she is representing the best interest of the writer.
                              A lot of people worry about endless rewrites, which hasn't been my experience when working with a good producer. A good producer provides clear, meaningful notes and is respectful of a writer's time. If you want to PM me his name, I can give a more informed opinion.

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