Off-the-Wall Responses From Movie and Television Executives and How to Deal With Them

I have been hearing some passes that, if they weren’t true, would be really funny.  Here are some:

(Responding to a script similar to the Oscar-winning movie BEING THERE) “I don’t know if we would have made BEING THERE.”

“It’s going to be so successful and we don’t really know how to handle that.”

“”Since you don’t have a kid, you would be unauthentic in writing this show.”

“In the changing brand world, this doesn’t make sense.”

Seriously? How do executives think up these things to say?

However, I do think this brings up a great point. Everyone gets passed on no matter how big or how small you are.  And underneath all the ridiculous things executives say, what they are really saying is “this isn’t right for us no matter what way we spin it; we just don’t want to make this.”

Now you could argue till you are blue in the face but that doesn’t change anything.  If you love a project and believe in it then you have to move on to the next person.  And keep moving on until you find the person who does get it. Because at the end of the day — as we tell our clients — it only takes one person to say yes.

In fact, we know this from first-hand experience.  Everyone in town said “no” on our movie HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. Then we finally found one company to say “yes,” and that company had the last laugh at Sundance when the movie won the Audience Award!

Here’s a clip of writer-director (and lead actor) Josh Radnor speaking at the premiere of the film at Sundance, which was already an amazing accomplishment to have this film accepted in the official competition.  Days later he flew back to the festival to accept the Audience Award.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2W2WqhQRTY

This just goes to show you, never give up!