Sent a script to several production companies. Now one wants to meet

Question

HI there. I have sent a biog and script for an idea for a tv show to several production companies. I am an unknown who has been writing in his spare time for many years. One company expressed an interest in my script and asked for more work. I complied. They then asked for a more meaty script. I complied. This process was stretched over several months. Then I got a phone call asking if I would meet them.

As a guy with no experience here I would love to know what to expect? Is it an opportunity to discuss ideas? Is it a real expression of interest in my show? Or do these people meet lots of writers just to see if they have anything to offer? Any input would truely be appreciated.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]HI there. I have sent a biog and script for an idea for a tv show to several production companies. ... people meet lots of writers just to see if they have anything to offer? Any input would truely be appreciated.[/nq]
Well, it's impossible to say for sure most likely, it's what's known in the business as a "meet and greet." That is, they like your work but aren't excited enough about anything in particular to buy or option it.

So what's the purpose of a meeting like this? From their perspective, they want to find out if you've got anything else that they might "go into business with you" on and they want to find out what kind of person you are a weird creepy nut or, perhaps, a nice, reliable, friendly, professional open-to-ideas kind of person that they'd like to work with.
Irrespective of the kind of person that you actually are, needless to say, you will want to project the idea, over the course of the meeting, that you are the latter kind of person, rather than the former.

In addition, you will want to be ready with some idea to pitch because almost inevitably, they'll ask you "So, what are you working on now?"
Now, it doesn't really matter what you're actually working on or really, even if you're working on something now. For a writer "working on something" could mean almost anything - like, for instance, just thinking about writing something could sort of like be "working" on it.

What you don't want is to be tossing out five different ideas. You want one. Your best idea that is, your most saleable, but as yet unwritten idea. That's because, ideally, you want them to pay you to write it.
What makes an idea, from their perspective, "saleable" a great "hollywood" idea?
It should have a premise that can be described very briefly ideally in a sentence and that is clear and immediately graspable. Think about it this way. Whatever it is they're ultimately going to have something like thirty seconds to explain, in the course of a TV trailer, enough of what the whole thing is about to an audience in order to get the audience to want to go see it. So they want you to be able to explain enough about the idea to them in a comparable amount of time to make them want to buy it.
It should be star castable.
And whatever it is when they make it, it should be commercial it should have an identifiable audience that wants to see it and will pay for it and will more than justify the cost of making it.

If you've got an idea for a movie like that spend some time thinking about it come up with a log line that is, the premise in a sentence and the story as a whole laid out in a few minutes, beginning, middle, end but don't go crazy. They go bored easily and they're probably not going to be looking for the entire encyclopedia. If you're not sure how something gets from point A to point B - just say that. Don't know. Haven't worked it out yet.
Of course, there's always the possibility that they're calling you in because they want to talk to you about buying or optioning something that you've sent them. If that's the case, then what you need to do is to listen more than talk. If they have suggestions, listen to them. If this is a matter of "we're interested but we need these changes before we buy" then you need to look at the changes and decide whether you really want to do them because, obviously, you're doing this work on spec for a company that probably ought to be paying for them but isn't. Understand that, while this really isn't right a lot of companies pull this *** and a lot of writers will do it up to a point.
What is most important, however, is that if it reaches a point where they make you an offer don't sign anything and don't agree to anything until you have gotten yourself an entertainment attorney or an agent to negotiate the deal. If you're talking about an agent, it should be an agent that is a signatory of the WGA Agency agreement and has offices in LA. If an attorney, it has to be one that specializes in entertainment law. These don't usually come cheap however, most states have what's known as a Volunteer Counsel for the Arts where lawyers provide inexpensive legal services for members of the arts community. So if it comes to that, you should check that out.

Any other questions?
NMS

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]As a guy with no experience here I would love to know what to expect? Is it an opportunity to ... people meet lots of writers just to see if they have anything to offer? Any input would truely be appreciated.[/nq]
Don't expect anything more than a "hi, nice to meet you." They want to get a sense of who you are. (I'm not saying nothing more than that will happen, mind you, but that's all you should expect.)

Probably what they're doing is scouting you out to see if you're someone they'll want to work with down the line, when they have assignments. You might also have another story or two ready to pitch them (it doesn't matter if the script is done or not) since they'll probably else, "what else do you have?")
-Ron

Usenet · Answer

Thanks for your very thought provoking response. I had thought it was more like a meet and greet, though they did mention that they liked my script and would be happy to pitch it to some tv people they know. They also said to me to be realistic - they have no budget for anything right now. They did mention they would like to meet to discuss any other ideas I might have.
I am not a nutter, so I think I'm okay on that front. As long as I stay away from the drink!
Would it be prudent for me to mention my other ideas to them? Is there a chance they could take those ideas and leave me high and dry? It is a reputable company who's name I'd rather not mention at the moment so I presume I am safe from that, but I do not want to be overly naive.

The other thing is, would you have recommendations on what sort of questions I should ask them? Or ideas about what sort of questions they might ask me?
And I presume in the best case scenario that they wouldn't make me an offer on the first meeting?
Thanks sincerely for the advice.

Usenet · Answer

Thanks for your thought provoking response. I had written a long response to you but I think it got lost in the posting. The only other things that worry me is what sort of questions should I expect them to ask, and what sort of questions would you advise me to ask of them?
I should be able to convince them I am not a nutter! They did mention that they would be interested in pitching my idea, but they said that realistically at the moment there is no money on the table.

Sent a script to several production companies. Now one wants to meet

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