Back in good-old Indiana. We walked in from the airport at 3:45 am yesterday morning. It would have been nice to make a triumphant return – a ticker-tape parade and perhaps a few “Hail Caesar’s”, but sadly it was much less ceremonious than all that. Instead, we were treated to a torrential downpour and 20ft. visibility the entire drive back from Chicago…Good times, noodle salad…
I tried to write you guys a post before I went to bed, but I was spent and I had to be up in a few hours to be in Yale’s wedding. That’s right, Yale got married yesterday! It was a wonderful ceremony and a good time was had by all, despite the exhaustion of the trip. Congratulation to Yale and his beautiful bride, Sarah. They grow up so fast.
Okay, I think We’ve kept you guys in suspense long enough. I apologize for the delay in updating you. It’s been a very busy week. I’ll start by telling you where this story goes:
We didn’t sell the movie…but we DIDN’T NOT sell the movie either…
Confused? Yeah, well such is the way in Hollywood. Allow me to explain…
First off, I wanted to clarify something. There was a comment that questioned if Isaac or anyone else was with me. Yes, I had the benefit of the whole team. Isaac, Yale and Jason all joined me on the trip. Isaac shared the load with me on pitch responsibilities while Jason and Yale helped us to actually craft the content of the pitch.We had a very productive week. Monday was dedicated to practicing our pitch and presenting it to our actual producing partners (up until this time, we’d been working with their second-in-commands on everything). This was the first time they had a chance to really see what we’ve been preparing over the past few weeks. It was a bit nerve-racking. These guys are both titans in the industry and we were terrified that they wouldn’t like what we’d put together and we’d be asked to change everything at the last minute. Fortunately for us, they were very pleased and felt completely confident in what we’d be walking into the room on Tuesday.
Tuesday began with lunch and then a final run-through of everything. Strangely, neither Isaac or I really felt all that nervous about the enormous task we were about to undertake. It was just what needed to be done and we knew how to do it. It certainly helps to be walking into the pitch room with two partners like ours. Their presence speaks volumes to a studio executive about the quality of a project.
So, this studio executive walks in, introductions are made, our video plays and then we begin to speak. We’re doing a great job. I feel like we’ve been doing this for years (calm as a Hindu cow, as Tyler Durden would say). Feeling good. All is well. And then, five minutes into our pitch, the executive’s assistant pops into the room and indicates that he’s pressed for time. It’s a tough week to be pitching. Comic-Con has everyone in the industry very busy. Lots of commitments to be in a zillion different places. Our pitch was a bit long, but we get the go-ahead to continue. He’s really trying to give us the opportunity to show him what we’ve got. And we do. We’re tearing it up in this room. Finding new and interesting ways of talking about Myst.
The executive seems engaged, leaning forward in his seat…and then halfway through the pitch, the questions start rolling in from across the table. He hasn’t grasped anything we’ve been putting out there. He’s confused. Our pitch included A LOT of details about the universe of Myst, and somewhere along the way, we lost him. And not just kinda. We really lost him. Information overload, I think (a mistake on our part). We did our best to answer his questions, but he was just really struggling. He couldn’t wrap his head around “The Art” and its purpose. This isn’t because he’s not a smart guy. He’s wicked intelligent, but I think he was just overloaded and circumstances a meant that he didn’t have the opportunity to absorb it.
He realized that Myst carries a lot of brand equity and was also convinced that our partners being in the room was evidence that there was something of value and quality in what we were attempting to present him. He ended the meeting by asking us to put together a document that clearly and simply explains the major concepts, the hook (linking) and the story we are wanting to tell. He’s a story-based guy and he wants to know what the character motivations are, what the themes are and how the story plays out.
So, we didn’t get a “No”. We got a “I’d like to see more info and we can talk about it”. And this is probably for the best. As lost as he was, if he’d allowed us to finish the pitch, it would have been a flat out “No”. This way, the ball is still in play. Time has slowed to an almost-stop. The ball is hanging in the air and our bat is inching toward it with all of our might behind it.
The rest of Tuesday was dedicated to strategizing. We needed to figure out the best way to present the info in short-form. We needed to figure out how to keep him engaged long enough to set up the crux of the franchise and give him enough information to understand how it all plays into BoT.
We decide to expand the video element of our pitch. It had only included the sales figures. It was clear that it successfully held the executive’s interest in the room, so our plan is to add in the information about Linking, The Art and Ages. We’d also add in the description of the D’ni race and their cavern home. This way, we’d be totally set up and we could just launch right into our story pitch.
Back at the hotel, our team dives into ways to pop the story a bit more. We begin trying to find ways to up the stakes. We come to the conclusion that we need to open the film with a prologue/teaser that set up A’Gaeris and his agenda. This leads to a really cool discussion in which we come up with some awesome visuals and an addition to the plot that makes the story both smart and badass. We’re excited.
On Wednesday morning, Cory sets to work recutting the video. Jason, Yale, Isaac and I begin exploring a new format for the story. We want to cut it down in length, but still manage to convey the characters, motivations, themes and plot. Somehow, the target length of one page is settled on (I think we were all just terrified that the executive wouldn’t have the time to read anything longer). We all talk with Cory and he comes up with some pretty interesting ideas for our prologue/teaser and we talk as a group to flesh it out and combine it with what we came up with at the hotel.
So, we all start trying to come up with something short and sweet. My heart sinks with every attempt. I begin writing and find myself at 1/4 of a page before I’ve even gotten Anna down into D’ni. Trash. Try again. Trash. Try again. Trash. Yale isn’t having any luck either. Trash. Try again. Jason is banging away on his keyboard writing up a Dramatis Personae – introducing the characters and their traits. He’s doing a great job. All is falling into place there. Yale stumbles across a format for the story outline that reads a lot like poetry. It’s just a bunch of fragmented sentences (many of which are just two words long). It has an energy about it and it’s a quick read, but we have concerns that it’s not really selling the themes and motivations solidly.
Isaac and I step out of the conference room we are working in and attempt the story outline again. I’m failing left and right. Isaac finally hits on a style that seems to work pretty well, but it’s clear it’s going to be way more than a page long. We head back inside and I suggest that it is physically impossible to convey everything we need to convey in one page. Cory agrees. The target length goes up to 3-5 pages.
Isaac’s document has laid the groundwork, but it isn’t quite where we need it to be. I set in, this time with a more realistic length restriction, and it starts flowing. Finally, 8 1/2 hours after the day began, we’re getting something solid down. Cory’s still cutting and it’s coming together. We leave the studio lot after 11:00, totally spent. Cory goes home to cut some more and we head off to the hotel so I can talk with the guys about the third act and figure out how things have changed because of the elements we’ve added to the plot. We make it to food and then we’re done. Bed. Pick it up tomorrow.
Up early and back on the studio lot. Into the conference room and right into writing. Things are going well. By lunch, I have the story document done. We print it out and everyone reads it. Anna, an assistant to another producer in the building, offers to read it over and give us some feedback. Isaac runs Yale to the airport so he can catch a flight back to Indiana in time for his wedding rehearsal on Friday.
We return from lunch and talk with Anna about her notes. Cory makes some notes and we implement them. All is finally coming together. Finally, around four, we’ve got our document done. We have a “producers’ bible” that defines the characters, story and universe-specific terms like Linking, The Art and Ages. All is well. We need feedback from our producing partners, but otherwise it’s ready to go.
Isaac meets up with an old friend back at the hotel and they take off for a bit. Jason and I go have a much-needed beer at a fantastic little dive bar called “The Blueroom”. Back to the hotel and into bed.
Friday, we go have a final coffee with Cory on the lot and then it’s off to the airport. And that brings us to where I began this post.
Crazy week. We’re waiting for feedback from our partners and then we’ll shoot off the document to the executive. We’ll see how things turn out. Hopefully, we’ll hear something early this week.
I’m very proud of everyone on this team. Everyone worked brilliantly to achieve the goal. In the end, we have a retooled pitch that is stronger than it was before. Spirits are high. We have no doubt that this movie will sell to someone. If this one’s a pass, we have seven other places to go. No worries. There will be a Myst movie.
Be there! /shamelessplug
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. Very long post too. Well worth wait.