Sample Pages of "Getting to the "yes" - by iP Founder & Producer, Kerry David

GETTING TO THE “YES”

(or; an insider’s guide to eliminating the “no’s”)

2 Sample Pages of "Getting to the "yes" - by iP Founder & Producer, Kerry David


Getting anything produced these days is cause for great celebration. One of the many questions I always get is how do you get past the “no’s”? If it were an exact science, someone would have bottled it and started selling it online by now.

There obviously isn’t a sure fire way of always getting to the yes but there are plenty of strategies filmmakers can use to eliminate a great many of the “no’s”, taking you closer to the “yes”. So what does getting to the “yes” mean? Getting to the “yes” means identifying the potential “no’s” and having an answer or a solution to the “no’s” you will hear. It’s about being prepared. It’s important to take this in: You WILL hear the word “no” most of the time. That is just the nature of the beast. It’s the industry you’ve chosen. But in addition to “getting to the yes”, I want to take some of the sting out of your “no’s”. If you’re really new to this, it will also give you some insight into the submission process along with uplifting tidbits such as sharing some films with you that heard “no” a long time before finally seeing production! One for up to two decades before finally getting made (Gangs of New York) and infamously, one for ten years before eventually being released and winning the Oscar for Best Picture (Forrest Gump).

Be Honest, Are You Ready?

The first and probably most difficult question to ask yourself is whether your script or project is actually ready to go out. If you are the writer and you feel it’s ready to go out the first step before finding a producer or agent to take you and your project on is to ask valued friends and colleagues to read it, and garner their opinions. I personally feel that spending a small amount of money to have your script professionally covered is always worth the investment (be sure to research the coverage service you use, it’s important to go with professionals with testimonials and longevity than to save a few bucks and have an unknown critique your script). If you feel you can’t see the wood for the trees and also can’t afford a coverage service, here’s a fun and inexpensive way to see if your project needs a little more development and crafting: hold a table-read. It’s always best if you know actors, but if you don’t and you have some extroverted friends or friends who are up for an experience; allocate a role from your script to each of your friends, sit them around a table or in a big living room to start.

Pick someone to read all the exposition (non dialogue) and invite friends and colleagues to attend the reading as if it were a seated play. You will be in the audience and for the first time you’ll get a sense of what your script will feel like when it is brought to life. You’d be surprised how much you can pick up from a simple table read. For even better feedback, craft a one-page questionnaire and ask your audience to fill it out anonymously (trust me, to keep you friends, or to keep their answers honest, you want to do this!).

Sample questions:

Obviously, depending on your genre, these questions will change dramatically. The following were written for a staged reading of a romantic comedy:

Did you find the story engaging? ___terrific ____ good ____ needs work ___yawn

Were you moved? ____Tears in my eyes ____ Sort of ____ Not even close.

Could you see this as a film? ____Can’t wait ____Could work ____ Ixnay.

Do you like the characters? ____ wonderful ______ some _____ couldn’t relate.

Does this story seem dated or new? ____ fresh & new _____ yes and no ____dated.

Does the story strike you as original? ____ totally ____ somewhat ____ seen it all before.

Who is your favorite character? ____ Jack ____ Henry ____ Susan ___ Clare.

Why? ____________________________________________________________

and if you’re really brave!)

How could it be better?

_____________________________________________________________________

When you collect all your questionnaires, you’ll start to see a theme. If you’re in luck, everyone will have loved your staged reading and you’re off to the races. If, on the other hand, you start to see that nobody loved your main character, the script wasn’t credible, they guessed the ending…. then you might want to go back into your script and do some revising.

Why “No” can be a good thing!

Here’s a surprising piece of information; “no” can sometimes be a good thing! Sounds crazy I know because here you are having written or optioned a great project that you want to see produced and the last thing you want to hear is no. Not necessarily the case. If you listen to those “no’s”, you could learn something.

Usually the executive you’re pitching to (fill in the blank when I say exec, in this article I’m referring to anyone who in your estimation can take your project to the next level: producer, financier, agent etc.) has had a great deal of experience in the industry and will have met with many filmmakers, read a great deal of scripts and heard a good dose of pitches. What that means to you is that on plenty of projects before you, she/he has had to tackle issues and potential structural problems in a whole host of stories. Listen to that first no. You may actually hear a good reason why your project won’t fly in its current state, bringing to light something you may not have thought about. This in turn gives you a chance to go back into the project to work through some issues or weak points and strengthen your project before going out again.

If you feel there was interest from the exec, it’s quite appropriate to ask if they’d be interested to read it again after you’ve had a chance to tackle some of the issues you agree should be changed. Their response will speak volumes; if they say yes then there is genuine interest in your project, which is great. If they say no, then you never stood a chance of setting it up with them; take the valuable information you garnered, make your changes and submit to the next company.

It’s your job to consider where the actual no is coming from. If you are unclear, ask her/him! They are not monsters or people to fear; for the most part these execs are film lovers like you who want to be responsible for great material going into production. Remember, their job is to bring in great material, as they will have to make somebody’s film! The executive really does want your script to be good; they look good if they bring in a good script; they look bad if they bring in a bad one. Simple; put yourself in their shoes and give them what they need.

To purchase the rest of this 26 page article, please click here Kerry David -Producer/Founder & CEO www.indieproducer.net

For thoughts and ideas about future Insider articles you are interested in; please email Kerry at info@indieproducer.net

Kerry David is a multiple award-winning producer of such projects as “Like Dandelion Dust”, “Expert Insight: Short Game Golf with Jim Furyk & Fred Funk”, “Perfect Romance”, My Date with Drew”, “Agent Cody Banks”, “Agent Cody Banks: Destination London”, “The Usual Suspects: Deposing the Usual Suspects” and the upcoming: “Seeking Happily Ever After”, “Making Miles: The Miles Davis Story”, “College Sucks” and “The Space Between”. She founded the social networking site IndieProducer.net and has been a guest speaker, panelist, and moderator at film festivals and film summits all over the world. She has spoken at colleges, schools and writing groups and in 2001 Founded www.indieproducer.net to encourage and support new and emerging filmmakers. She is a member of the PGA (Producers Guild of America) and BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television), and a mentor for Step Up, which mentors young women in business. Ms. David has won over thirty awards for producing her film and television projects. This document is registered with the WGA and may not be duplicated, circulated, translated, sold or in any way reprouced without the author’s express, written permission.