Success Stories: JUN'1 Developing dramatic series from Stage 32 pitch session

awesome. please share your experiences from pitch, spec, rewrites (stuff u dont learn from textbooks)

Hey Dan. I pitched a sci-fi script that the company ended up liking. So we (my writing partner and I) had a phone meeting and the exec gave us a couple of projects they had on hand and asked if we had any thoughts on how we'd approach them (they were looking for writers more than projects to develop, as it turns out). He also asked what else we had written. So I sent him a couple of other scripts we pitched right then and there, and one of them was in line thematically with what his boss has been looking for in terms of developing a TV drama. So he told us to drop the stuff he gave us and see if we could develop our own script into a TV series. We outlined season 1 and then did a serious outline of the pilot, got it all OK'd, then wrote the pilot. It went up the food chain there and we're just finishing a rewrite based on the VP of development's notes, which were superhelpful. The exec we have been dealing with has had some amazing notes as well. So now, naturally, the project is nothing like our original script and nothing like the original approach they wanted to take. It changes based on what these guys are picking up from meetings with the networks. Anyhow, when the pilot script is done and stamped "approved," they'll share it will ALL cable networks and we'll see what we see. It's been 5.5 months since our first meeting...

thank you for sharing! 5.5months is fast track. Best of Luck! fingers crossed!

That is so exciting!!! Congrats to you

Congratulations, Tony! Thanks for sharing the details. Always interesting to learn the chain of events from someone who is experiencing it first hand. :-)

Quite awesome and right where I want to be! Congrats to you Tony!!

Hey Tony, You are getting paid for all the rewrites, right?

@Dan I'm guessing not since it has not been optioned as of yet, unless I'm misunderstanding his post.

It's dog eat dog with these things, so no pay unless a network picks it up. Our agent confirmed that this is the state of affairs (but he also noted how amazing it is that it's happening at all, considering we're as yet unproduced).

@Tony, yup. My boyfriend is going through the same thing. Been working w a producer for months and lots of rewrites. No $ yet.

Wow! That's terrific news Tony. Congratulations on the massive score.

That is bloody amazing... congrats.

Just read the Mickey Fisher story (Extant Creator) on BlackList website. In his words, he didnt get paid until CBS Network committed to the series.

How does one find the "right person" when Hollywood puts up road blocks?

George Write something great and people with power will put their name behind. Mickey Fisher's original pilot was backed by Brooklyn Weaver, Spielberg, Amblin, Greg Walker, WilliamMorrisEndeavor, Halle Berry.

Dan, I have something great in mind. However, as the saying goes, everybody says that. Right now, it's just a matter of trying to get help. I sent an e-mail to a professor at the local University for some information. As expected, she could not even bother to respond.

@George you said you have something great in mind, so I'm assuming you haven't written it yet. Before you can hope to get someone interested in your writing, you have to actually write.

George, if one professor ignores your request for info then contact another professor at another university or another or another. You're going to get this response from people in all walks of life and if you're passively waiting on them to help you complete your work then it will never get done. No one has such a unique job that you can't find someone else to answer the same question, move on, find someone else and get your project done.

Tony, this is incredible! I wish you would have let us know so we could have congratulated you earlier! Please keep Erik Grossman and Matt Hurd from the Stage 32 Happy Writers in the loop as things progress. Cheers! So happy for you!

Congrats!!!!

Truly phenomenal. Appreciate you sharing this with us, Tony. And as Amanda mentioned, please keep us posted on the progress!

Just an update to show everyone how these things progress. Just this week, the pilot is starting to go out to studios: Fox21, UCP, Warner, among a couple others for the first round of subs. And my initial post was a year ago!

Thanks for the inspiration! There are opportunities here at Stage 32 that we need to be reminded of and not take for granted. It must be awesome to see your “once seedling idea” come to fruition in a produced series with big industry guns, and remember that first pitch.

It's just going out to studios, so it's a long way form being produced!

So exciting, love hearing about the process-hang in there!!