Screenwriting - Getting To Yes

A development executive or creative producer’s job is to find compelling material, and create saleable projects from that raw material.  Mel Ferrer, former Creative Executive at Paul Schiff Productions, describing her company’s process, says, “I look for material via books, magazine/newspaper articles, internet, television, spec material. My favorite place to find material is in the room.  I think there is nothing better than developing an idea with a writer while you are in the room, spitballing back and forth. The ideas always feel more organic this way.”  When an idea is generated in house, she says, “You start by reading tons of samples to find the right writers for your idea. Then you have the writers you like come in and pitch their take on the material.  Once you choose a writer, then you work with the writer to develop a treatment, then you either pitch it or write a full draft. For original ideas, we usually like to put a writer on first before going out to directors.”

As a former development exec at Showtime,
Barbara Ghammashi was responsible for finding stories,
but she relied on producers, writers, and directors to
bring them in.  “Rather than generating story
ideas in house, more often than not, I looked for ideas
that are already in some more developed form, whether
it's a script, treatment, play, documentary idea, etc.  That
material came from a variety of different places, producers,
agents, managers, festivals or screenplay competitions.  The
elements that are already in place dictated what the
next step is.  For example, if a book came in with
producers attached but no writer, finding a writer was
the first order of business.”  Ghammashi was
also responsible for some of Showtime’s successful
story-driven documentaries, such as festival favorite After
Innocence (pictured),
the stories of exonerated ex-felons working to rebuild
their lives.

The key word for
producers and network executives is “passion.”  In
the words of Ghammashi, “For  me, it
was almost impossible to successfully pitch a project
[within the studio] that I didn't feel passionately
about.”  Jon Eskenas from Orly Adelson says, “Every
day of the week, wherever we are, we’re constantly
thinking about what could be the next project we
can be passionate about.  A couple of months
ago, a true crime story was breaking late on a
Friday evening.  Orly and I were both watching
it and called each other.  Saturday, we were
pulling up all the articles on it, and Sunday we
were preparing our pitch. That way, first thing
Monday morning, we were ready to present it to
the networks.”

However, passion must be tempered by an understanding of the realities of the industry. “I think as a young executive,” says Ferrer, “you have to remember first and foremost that this is a business, no matter how bleak that may sound.  You have to remember that this is the most subjective business in the world.  What you think is the best idea you've ever heard may be a bunch of hogwash to another person. [The key is] to know what you love and stick by it if you truly believe in it.”