UPDATE ON PLANET GAZZAM…

So, it’s official — we went out with the ol’ spec a few days ago. A fact which thrusts yours truly smack dab in the middle of writer hell. Because, for the next week or two, as your spec goes out…things get nuts. Rumors fly, studios pass on the project, some ride the fence, and some truly want the script, but allow their finger to hover over the “offer button” for days – waiting for just the right time to press down.

I’ve tried to ignore it all – tried to keep working on my TV pilot outline and forget about the spec. But I’ll be honest, it consumes me. It’ll consume until the very last day.

The worst part about “spec week” is hearing all the other anecdotes people feel are timely for you to absorb. Like the one my buddy told me yesterday. It was about a script that just sold for $500k. He claims it was just god-awful. He said it was so bad that he called up the agent (who he was friendly with) and give him crap for having the gall to send it to him in the first place. He told the guy, “This is horrible, it’s a complete rip off of “XXXX” (a recent hit film) and worse, it’s badly written. The agent just laughed and said, “I’ve already got three studios bidding against each other.”

“Isn’t that crazy?”, my buddy says to me. Slapping my shouldall the shitty writers clogging the place up and getting in your way! Which elicited a room full of painful belly laughs.

Because the studios will buy bad scripts for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with quality. Maybe they love the concept or a hit movie in the same genre just made a zillion dollars. Who knows? But, I think writers can take some solace in the fact that…

…a good script will almost always find a home. I swear. The town is also littered with stories like the “American Beauty” script. I’ve read a thousand scripts and this is in my all-time top 5. It was also passed over by EVERY studio in town – but eventually found a home. And, oh yeah — won an Oscar. So instead of wallowing in the negative, I prefer to hang onto the idea that a great script will be recognized by someone — sooner or later.

This is what I try and hang onto – to NOT focus on the nonsense…but instead focus on trying to write a truly great script. That being said — I’ll be honest – it isn’t always easy.

THE SCREENWRITER

 

Joe Gazzam recently sold his first two scripts, entitled “Scared Straight” and “Straight & Narrow”. He’s currently completing an assignment for Sony to write the film version of the hit TV show “21 Jump Street.” He also sold his first show entitled “Deputized” to the Sci-fi Network.

 

SPEC TIME!

Soooo…I’ve been busy polishing up my 3rd spec script which is due to hit the market in the next week or so. This is a special time for a writer — going out with an original screenplay. A time when ulcer building can begin in earnest.

It’s the ultimate in putting yourself out there. You basically throw the script out into the market and see what happens. Does it bounce or thud?

There are a million ways this can go, but normally you have a fairly good idea what’s going to happen pretty quickly. The hardest part about the whole process is that NO ONE on the studio side wants to be the first to make an offer. This is the maddening part because you’ll hear from the agent, “So-and-so at such-and-such studio LOVES the script, but…they wanna see what everyone else does.”

HUH? Or as Lil’ John might say, “Whooooooooo-what??”

Then, a day later — another studio’s exec will say the same thing! Then another and another. I’ve been in a situation where I had 5 execs tell my agent they want the script, but didn’t want to make the first offer. Meanwhile, I’m on the bell tower with a rifle picking off innocent bystanders. As I see it – the only outlet for my rage.

But, then there’s the flip side. If you can get TWO people to make an offer — it’s go time. Two people in Hollywood means IMMEDIATE validation. That means it’s safe for EVERYONE to bid for the script. And if you’re really lucky – a bidding war ensues.

Not sure which way this latest spec’s gonna go, but I know which way my wife is voting. I was lucky to sell my first two – a fact I constantly remind my agents of – insisting they refer to me only as “Automatic.”

Sadly, they’ve never done this. Not once.

Sooooo…keep your collective fingers crossed in the coming month or so. And for you religious folk, pray like you’ve never prayed before. I could use the help.