I've been with my current manager for about 10 years, and we're nearing the end of a long development process on an action/thriller which we think has a cool character and a tremendous franchise potential. The script has undergone a series of rewrites that have in overall strengthened the narrative but in the last year or so I have found myself being pushed off the page, and at times completely as nothing I have written or write seems to be of good enough standard. I understand that after all this time insecurity about prospective passes and mild paranoia creep in but the fact that I am more of a typist rather than a writer who contributes something tangible has started vexing me as he has become more controlling about the validity of his own ideas/contributions.
Last year I had another script placing well in a competition, and my manager agreed to take it out to producers. He did a round of submissions, but dropped the ball as there was no interest due to the script's premise (incest). Last July I sent the same script to an Emmy award winning DOP, who is a personal friend of mine, and he agreed to come on board as the cinematographer. I went back to my manager and told him that we ought to capitalize on this and get the script out to producers again. He did nothing for a few months, and I found myself again being the one who was insisting and persisting about taking the script out. During the past year, the guy had some major health issues, and I didn't want to come across as an insensitive prick who only cares about himself, and so I was very mild in my approach. After a lot of discussions toward the end of 2020 with regards to attaching cast and taking the script out to a specific bunch of producers (related to demographics), he has only done a few submissions.
Over the course of these years, we has been evasive on certain issues, i.e. finding me agent. This coincided with WGA's most recent campaign, and he told me back then that this is not a good time to seek an agent and such. Back then, this seemed to be rather logical but now that the campaign is over he hasn't brought back the issue. He has also been evasive (what I would describe politely forgetful) in sending me a list with the submissions he's made, and a few other minor things along the way.
I've reached a break point where I really do think that our relationship is dysfunctional (something I have told him at some point in the past) and that I need to part ways with my manager and look elsewhere for representation. However, I am worried about this script we've been working on all this time as he seems to have a claim on it and it won't be easy for me to find another representative who will be willing to go wide with it with my old manager still on board one way or another. It is also evident that he only agreed to take the other script out solely because he was scared about me pulling the plug on our relationship if he didn't do it. Something that also pisses me off as I've been working on this script every day for almost 3.5 years.
It seems I have to deal with a dilemma/catch-22 situation in which parting ways with the guy at this point does not seem to be a valid option, but again staying with him also does not seem to be a valid choice anymore.
I have often thought about being patient and see where the first script will land me then part ways with him, but again I don't know how this move will be received from other industry insiders due to disloyalty (and I understand that had I acted like this I'd be very cynical). Am I being too emotional and should suck it up and carry on instead or tell him out right that this is not working?
I would appreciate any advice you can afford to spare. Happy to provide clarifications on aspects of my professional relationship with my manager, but please refrain from posting knee-jerk reactions and condemnations as I do not find them constructive.
Thank you for reading, and apologies for the length of this post.
Last year I had another script placing well in a competition, and my manager agreed to take it out to producers. He did a round of submissions, but dropped the ball as there was no interest due to the script's premise (incest). Last July I sent the same script to an Emmy award winning DOP, who is a personal friend of mine, and he agreed to come on board as the cinematographer. I went back to my manager and told him that we ought to capitalize on this and get the script out to producers again. He did nothing for a few months, and I found myself again being the one who was insisting and persisting about taking the script out. During the past year, the guy had some major health issues, and I didn't want to come across as an insensitive prick who only cares about himself, and so I was very mild in my approach. After a lot of discussions toward the end of 2020 with regards to attaching cast and taking the script out to a specific bunch of producers (related to demographics), he has only done a few submissions.
Over the course of these years, we has been evasive on certain issues, i.e. finding me agent. This coincided with WGA's most recent campaign, and he told me back then that this is not a good time to seek an agent and such. Back then, this seemed to be rather logical but now that the campaign is over he hasn't brought back the issue. He has also been evasive (what I would describe politely forgetful) in sending me a list with the submissions he's made, and a few other minor things along the way.
I've reached a break point where I really do think that our relationship is dysfunctional (something I have told him at some point in the past) and that I need to part ways with my manager and look elsewhere for representation. However, I am worried about this script we've been working on all this time as he seems to have a claim on it and it won't be easy for me to find another representative who will be willing to go wide with it with my old manager still on board one way or another. It is also evident that he only agreed to take the other script out solely because he was scared about me pulling the plug on our relationship if he didn't do it. Something that also pisses me off as I've been working on this script every day for almost 3.5 years.
It seems I have to deal with a dilemma/catch-22 situation in which parting ways with the guy at this point does not seem to be a valid option, but again staying with him also does not seem to be a valid choice anymore.
I have often thought about being patient and see where the first script will land me then part ways with him, but again I don't know how this move will be received from other industry insiders due to disloyalty (and I understand that had I acted like this I'd be very cynical). Am I being too emotional and should suck it up and carry on instead or tell him out right that this is not working?
I would appreciate any advice you can afford to spare. Happy to provide clarifications on aspects of my professional relationship with my manager, but please refrain from posting knee-jerk reactions and condemnations as I do not find them constructive.
Thank you for reading, and apologies for the length of this post.
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