What to do when you have "the call"

zander said:

I need some advice.

A little background: I occasionally write screenplays - I haven't sold any, but I've had three optioned over the years. Mostly I'm a playwright - I write professionally, but I specialize in writing for young people - my plays are among the most-produced in the country in American middle and high schools. I also have a novel or two under my belt and have a literary agent. I make a pretty good living as a writer, but I'm always looking to get into new fields.

While fishing around for extra things to do, I thought of an idea for a television series. Mostly I just wanted to write an original spec script for a tv show to attempt to get hired as a staff writer or a freelancer on a show.

Anyway, as I was dithering around with beginning to think of writing a script, I managed to get that idea into the hands of a director/producer at Nickelodeon. He asked for some samples, so I sent him two stage plays (because of course I hadn't actually written the spec script for which I had the idea) - he got back to me 2 days later saying he loved the material and now wants to talk on the phone.

As far as I know, he's not a showrunner, but has directed quite a few episodes of their shows and is working on developing movies for their Nick-movies division. I've checked him out on IMDB - he has lots of credits and is definitely an up-and-comer (but maybe a not-quite-there-yet) director for Nickelodeon.

So I have questions for you experienced guys out there:

1. What can I expect from this phone call? What do I need to have in order to pitch the show in detail? (My idea, which I sent him, was literally a paragraph long. It was a good paragraph, and I think a really good idea for a show, but it wasn't any more than that.)
2. What does he get out of contacting me? How can I be useful to him?
3. Are there other ways that he can be useful to me regardless of pitching the show? (Ultimately, getting a show picked up is a pie-in-the-sky proposition, I wasn't even trying to do that, I would be more than happy to simply be hired as a freelancer or staff writer)
4. How do I convince him that my utter lack of experience in television (and I mean I have written exactly one 22-minute script ever) is not the gigantic stumbling block it probably is?
5. Supposing everything goes swimmingly, how does a director/producer like this take a show idea to execs at Nickelodeon?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Okay, here's the deal.

First, you can't be more than you are, so don't pretend to be.

Second, you can't have more material than you have, and chances are, in the short amount of time between now and the time the call comes in, it isn't likely that you're going to be able to cook up a huge amount of really good material, and a sliding scale of (tiny-amount-of-good to large-amount-of-mediocre) probably isn't going to do you much good.

What you are is a person with some good experience, largely in another area -- writing plays -- who's written something that has interested another professional in another medium.

That's good. What can he do for you? How is he placed at Nick? Where can he take this material?

These are all really good questions that you should write down and ask him. And don't be afraid to be open about your lack of experience -- because even if you're not, you're not going to be kidding anybody about not having it.

Can he take what you've written and pitch it as a series? Again, it's hard to say because I don't know where or how he's placed at Nick.

But what's important is that you not enter into any agreement with him that involves him taking it anywhere or showing it unless the terms of your relationship with him, in a business sense, are laid out in a way that is very clear.

You don't have to be either aggressive or come across as nutty about it or make unreasonable demands. But it's important that there be a clear understanding as to what's going to happen.

If this is just a matter of -- I liked your script and it's just a "meet and greet" call and it turns out to simply be somebody who'll read more of your stuff -- well, that's great too.

If he wants to show your script to someone higher up then you need to be clear as to what the context will be.

If he's not a producer or an exec, he's not someone who can actually make an offer to you, but he may be in a position to help you walk your material in and be part of a package.

But how large a part of such a package you would ultimately end up being is a different question.

Don't imagine that a scenario might not exist in which you would not get a "created by" credit and not have any additional involvement at all in the show that was based on something that you actually created and wrote.

I'm not trying (though I probably am) to up your anxiety level.

I'd never say never, but it almost never happens that someone outside the business would simply pitch an idea and that idea becomes the basis of an actual TV series.

But if it gets you in the door, it would more than serve its purpose.

So ask questions, listen to what he has to say. If he is interested in reading whatever else you have, that's great.

Don't expect there to be anything like a job offer. If there is, the TV muses are smiling on you.

The point is, the fact that you're getting a call is really good in itself. Making the contact is good. Whatever happens -- it's all good.

NMS

One book you might want to check out is...

Creating animated cartoons with character : a guide to developing and producing your own series for TV, the web, and short film

by Joe Murray

Murray was the force behind Rocko's Modern Life. So he's been there. The book is not about how to give animated characters motion, but really how to do a series.

Something I think you should keep in mind... theatre may not be Nickelodeon. But film and camera was born from theatre, and they still share many of the same fundamentals.

Do your research and educate yourself on this director and the type of programming he (and Nickelodean) does. Find out how your material shares some of the elements, and talk that up.

It's one thing to say, "I don't have experience in that type of programming." It's entirely different to say, "I am very familiar with your projects and Nickelodean's programming. I know you have worked on productions X, Y, and Z. And like those projects, my work shares many of the same qualities such as A, B, and C."

That not only paints you in a more positive (and confident) light, but people get impressed when you already know some detail about them and the work they do.