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ARGUING OVER NOTES - YOU'LL LOSE
Every script or treatment I ever optioned generated notes either from the producer, the story editor, or the development exec. Some were insightful, constructive and invaluable to the process. Other's were not. However; I learned always to listen. A few years ago I optioned a true crime story for television. The producer gave me dozens of pages of notes. After I made some of the changes she requested, she changed her mind again. This went on at an hourly basis. I began to keep a log of her calls and one day she actually called me sixteen times. Needless to say I did not extend her option. That is always a choice. Ultimately it is the story you want to tell. But good notes can get you there so much easier. If you consider notes not as an intrusion or as subverting your vision, but rather as a road map in the journey you intend to take with your story from ACT I to THE END notes are like directions. Good notes can save you from dead ends and wrong turns. No matter what someone says, always listen. The woman who called me sixteen times taught me that. |
