Screenwritersdaily.com

 

"The darkside of production...when getting a screenplay produced goes wrong"

by Crystal Diane Stevens

contact: Crystal[at]thecoveragefactor.com  

 

 “Toto, I’ve got a feeling that we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

When the lovely and talented Judy Garland spoke those lines, I have to wonder if she was thinking what I’ve been thinking lately.

And while I can never know for sure, the only thing I do know is that when applied to the movie business, Judy’s line hit it right on the head, because 'not being in Kansas' is exactly how I feel about leaving the world I knew and entering this other world that seems pretty strange.

Hollyweird

Having existed in the world that most of us do, I brought with me a set of expectations of how things are done, and how things should be done. But in this other world - the movie world - things are a bit different. It’s was a culture shock. I knew that I haven’t left America, or even this planet. In fact, I am in still in New York, but sometimes, I glance around to double-check, just to make sure.

Here's how it goes... when your script is in production, you will have actresses who have never taken a writing class in their entire lives will want to rewrite the script. Producers who want to sleep with them will take their side. Powerful stories will be drastically re-arranged, utterly ruined, all in the name of pleasing or attracting ‘name’ actors. Good parts won’t go to who is right for them, but instead, they will go to the name that raises money; or to the name that expands contacts, or brings in other names.

I’m not saying that this is the case all the time. Maybe I just haven’t lived long enough (in this world) to see the side of it where it’s done with some integrity.

Suffice it to say that you will encounter many crazy and illogical situations as a screenwriter, and you will suffer serious frustration, and defeat - no matter how hard you try to fight it. But never forget that time is your friend. As time passes, those frustrating experiences are actually pretty hilarious to think about later on.

The point is, if you seriously want to be a screenwriter, be prepared for chaos; be prepared to occasionally throw out everything you’ve learned about screenwriting to please producers, actors, directors - and everyone else - there is a very long list of people that the screenwriter has to please. And especially, be prepared not to be paid. Be prepared to be insulted with the amounts of money you will be offered to write for. Be prepared to do battle, over and over, when it comes to pay and credits.

So if you can withstand being eaten alive, so to speak, you just might last in this world.

Inevitably, you, just like everyone else, will wonder if you even want to last in this world.

Of primary importance to your career as a screenwriter is the producer. Not agents, not managers, not directors. I cannot emphasize enough how crucial producers are on any project.

Producers are, without a doubt, The Most Important Person On Any Film. Should you be lucky enough to have a good producer on your film, know that the battle is already won.

Producers are the ones who decide if a script is going to get done, or not. Film producers are like multi-tasking magicians lurking behind the scenes, waving magic wands, sometimes with stunning results.

Producers raise money. Producers deal with boring stuff like insurance, budgets, and unions. They hire writers, negotiate contracts with each and every person on/off the set. They often work on finding locations, making decisions on equipment; casting, and much, much more.

And since the role of producer covers such a vast range of duties, if you get one that can’t handle it, or the endless stress that goes hand in hand with producing, the project will suffer.

It has been said that one feature film can take exactly one year of a producer’s life. That year, ideally, covers all 3 phases of making a film. Pre-production, production, and post-production.

What happens in those 3 distinct stages of making a movie is just plain crazy at times, possibly even brutal on the producer. But to fully help you understand how having a smart producer on board impacts a project, I will share with you my experience of working on a short film recently with some wonderful producers on “Mafiettes.”

Peter Kapsalis, Cine Magic Stages, Soho, NY. Executive Producer, “Mafiettes.”

I met Peter in the spring of 2009. Clem Caserta - the producer who initially hired me to fashion a new short script based on other material he had already written - called one day, asking me to e-mail Peter the latest version of the short script.

I did not actually meet Peter in person until March 15th, on the first day of shooting in Staten Island.

I left my house at 5:00AM that morning to arrive in Staten Island by 7:00AM. We were all to be on the set by 8:00AM. But we got there a little later. Clem was also acting in the short, and so I was held up at the hotel with Clem and lead actress, Darlene Spennato, helping them rehearse one last time before the cameras started to roll.

So we had the luxury of going over the script while Peter was busy working, busy organizing so many people on the crew that I actually could not count them, because there were so many. I suspect that Peter got there earlier than 8:00AM.

But by the time we got there, they were ready for us. I was pretty amazed by the fact that so many people were needed for one short, ten-minute film. Astonishing.

There were lighting technicians, PA’s, the AD, countless actors, a production manager, other associate producers. I can go on. And who was in charge of organizing all of this?

The producers, of course. Peter did a stunning job in organizing an awesome crew, while Clem did his share of casting and dealing with the actors. And in this case, the duties were shared, but suffice it to say that now I understand why we see multiple producer credits on any given film. There is so much to do, that it cannot all be done by one person.

Some producers function as money guys - they pick the script and raise the money, and then others take on their share of duties on and off the set to oversee production, and post-production.

But in the case of “Mafiettes,” Peter and Clem were the two guys I was assisting as associate producer on just about every aspect of this production. Both of these guys were busy, for months. And months. Day and night. On weekends. No matter what, they had work. Decisions to make. Actors to work with. Rewrites to deal with. Shooting decisions. Editing decisions. Wardrobe decisions. Hair and make-up people decisions. Safety on the set decisions. Transportation decisions. Festival submission decisions, and so much more.

But just to give you one specific example of how a good producer operates, I will discuss one aspect here. The voice-over narration in “Mafiettes,” as it illustrates how a producer can also contribute creative decisions that influence the finished product.

While Clem and I worked on the short script, we always knew that Clem had wanted to add in his voice-over narration as Jimmy Whispers in post-production. The footage was shot with this in mind.

Having seen the footage, and having incredibly high standards, Peter was going to hire somebody, anybody, just to do the voice-over to help him judge the time for the shots, to know how long the voice-over would linger over which scenes, etc., basically to get a good rough cut of the short.

Peter and I were back and forth in email discussing it one day, and then I realized that Peter was right. It really didn’t have to be Clem’s voice. Why not work with Peter’s idea? Why not play with it? Someone else. Who else? A woman? Wait. There was an old film that I’m sure many of you know and love. That film is Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets.”

In that film, it is not Harvey Keitel doing the narration for his character, it is Martin Scorsese himself doing the voice-over for Keitel. This is what I told Peter.

Enter the awesomely talented director, Geo Santini. Geo did the voice-over for “Mafiettes.” Peter had suggested that Geo tell the story from the point of view of the main character’s dead lover in the story, Bobby.

It was a great suggestion. It worked. It worked beautifully. Because not only did Geo do a flawless job, we were also experimenting with the voice-over element in an exciting way - you have to admit, there can’t be many films out there that have a dead narrator. But we did, thanks to Peter.

And although this back and fourth regarding the voice over took lots of time, lots of discussion, and lots of contemplating, the producer was willing to listen to new ideas. Willing to be creative, willing to let go of the script and prior intent - willing to go somewhere we never intended to go in the first place.

And when I finally saw the rough cut, I was incredibly pleased with Geo’s performance. So much so that I told Peter that, although we had thought of having it narrated temporarily by anyone, that the voice-over was so good, that he should seriously leave it alone. Keep Geo in, period.

Clem later saw the rough cut and had to agree. Whoever we showed it to - and I mean everyone - first asked who did the voice-over, and then commented that the narrator did such an excellent job.

So I added some very minor touches to the voice-over dialog and sent it off to Peter. Peter worked with Geo once again, and the two of them got it refined. And the rest is history.

Never underestimate the importance of having a producer who is not just creative, but who also cares and cares deeply about what he/she is doing. When someone does something and doesn’t care, one way or another, it’ll show up on the screen. Or, even uglier, the whole project will die.

When you are lucky enough to work with producers who are not just willing to go out and raise the money, not just willing to put in 20 hours days, not just willing to sit with editors so many times that you lose count, be grateful. Appreciate it. And don’t think that they all care, because they all don’t.

And when the producers you’re working with care that their name is going on something, and they care enough to work steadily among massive chaos, endless confusion, personality conflicts - and more - but no matter what, they remain dedicated in their mission, count your blessings. Such dedication is rare.

A good friend of mine, another screenwriter, once told me something along these lines, “some producers are all heart, which means they’ll care about the project, but will fall short on the business/money end of things. Some producers are all about money, and that means that they’ll abandon your project in a heartbeat and will never care; the ideal producer is just the right combination of both heart and business.” Damn right about that.

Having worked with Peter (and often with Clem) extensively for months now, all I can say is that I am grateful to have witnessed first hand dedication and determination in its purest form. Any project lives and dies with its producers. With “Mafiettes,” I was fortunate enough to have worked with producers with different styles, but have learned throughout this experience that when the producers care, they set the tone for everyone else. The impact they have on a film is endless.

This is, I believe, the case with Peter on “Mafiettes,” his boundless energy, I’m sure, had something to do with the calls for an encore from the audience when the short was shown at The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in October. Without his contributions, it is likely this reception would have not been realized.

As a screenwriter, you may work hard on your script. You might devote weeks, months, even years to writing it, but never forget that without the producer, your script will never happen. Never lose sight of the numerous tasks that fall on the producer’s shoulders, and never think that just any producer can make your script happen, or can handle it well.

Your most important task as a screenwriter is not just to write a great script, but to use your common sense, and to deal with qualified and dedicated film producers that can meet the dizzying variety of stressful challenges that await them.