Forget Undeniable, Think "Combustible" / The Rules
Happy Friday and welcome back to the R&D Report!
So far the studio has set up five pitches for the new series, starting the second week of October and going to the first week of November. I’ll start memorizing about ten days before and I’ll do a practice pitch with the studio and the producers a couple of days before the first one to work out any last little issues. I'm psyched we're finally taking this show on the road.
After a quiet summer there is finally some movement on my feature spec. We’re sending it out to a few additional producers in the hopes of creating a package we can take to a studio. I was excited about all of the names on the list, so fingers crossed.
A couple of months ago I told you about a pitch I had at a studio for a modern spin on a public domain character. At the time I got a great response and it sounded like I made it up one rung of the ladder. Well, I finally heard back and I got kicked off the ladder. The person on the next rung passed without hearing the pitch. Tough break, but maybe there’s some life for this character down the line. I’m not ready to give up!
I had a meeting a couple of weeks ago with a studio exec who used the word “combustible” when talking about the kinds of ideas they were looking for. I like that word so much more than the “undeniable” buzz word that we’ve been hearing lately.
"Undeniable" is ambiguous. It’s not actionable. But combustible… combustible is about having materials that easily catch fire. A high concept. A role (or roles) that great actors would kill to play. A star that moves the needle. Stellar execution. Timely themes. A fresh take on a familiar idea. The more of those materials you collect for your project the better chance you have of catching fire.
This past week I had two general meetings. The first was with a company I’ve met with a few times now. Since I was so familiar with their work, I spent a little time the day before combing through my notes and notebooks, looking for brief sketches of ideas in the center of my strike zone that fit their mandate. I picked one and wrote down a very brief paragraph with the most compelling, easily pitch-able elements.
My combustible elements were a high concept and timely themes. There was a familiar, beloved comp, in the vein of (but not) “DIE HARD in a…” The opportunity came up to talk about it and we ended the meeting with an invitation to come back and pitch the whole thing when it’s fleshed out.
I did the same thing with the second company. I pulled out two new ideas I’ve been thinking about for a while and polished up a short thumbnail sketch for each. I soft pitched the first one and we talked about it for a minute or so then moved on. I could tell it wasn’t working. I switched to the second idea and we ended up having a great creative conversation about it. It had A) a high concept and B) timely themes. It was observably more combustible than the first idea and I came away with an enthusiastic invitation to bring that one back, too.
After both meetings were over I started a new note on my laptop/phone where I’ll keep a running list of these very short soft pitches. In the past I’ve gotten hung up on talking about the projects where I have full pitches ready to go or scripts that have already been written. Nine years in I’m still figuring out how to optimize and make the best use of these general meetings beyond the basic goal of making a personal connection.
In the middle of all this I listened to the latest episode of my friend Ben Blacker’s Writer’s Panel podcast. Early on, a couple of the guests talked about their shows and how they pitched them. Will Graham talked about going to Sony to pitch a series based on the classic movie A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. He had the combustible elements of A) valuable IP in a beloved movie title and B) timely themes, digging deep into the queer subtext of the original movie and telling the story they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell back then.
My friend Melissa London Hilfers talked about her great new show, MONARCH. She knew Fox was looking to do a show set in the world of country music. Melissa comes from a musical family but she’s also obsessed with dynasties. Her flash of genius was, “What if we tell the story of the Romanovs but set in Austin, in the world of modern country music?” Then she created a character at the core of this story, a woman in her forties who was finally getting her big break, only to find that it might be too late. Combustible elements, A) a high concept, B) A character any number of great actors would want to sink their teeth into.
The more I make that shift in my mindset the more helpful it is. From now on, when I hear “undeniable” I’m going to think "combustible" instead.
The Rules
One thing you probably don’t know about me is that in most areas of my life I’m a compulsive rule follower.
I don’t know how or why it started but I’ve been like this since I was a little kid. Maybe it’s tied to my deep need for fairness, like if we all just follow the rules everybody will be treated the same and we can all live in perfect order and harmony.
Of course, I know the world doesn’t work that way. Everybody’s parent tells them at some point, “Life isn’t fair.” Regardless of where it started, I’m a 49 year old man who will obey any and all signage as long as it looks official.
Julie is the opposite.
Early in our relationship we went to a pet store and I watched, horrified, as she tapped on the glass of all the cages to get the animals’ attention, in clear violation of the sign on every cage asking her not to.
A few years later we took a road trip to a place called Shark Valley in the Everglades. There’s a lovely paved trail that winds around the park and on the website there were pictures of alligators in the grass. On the drive down we talked about how cool it would be if we got to see at least one alligator in the wild. When we pulled into the parking lot there was an ALLIGATOR IN THE PARKING LOT, surrounded by orange traffic cones to keep it safe. The place was crawling with them. It was amazing.
There are signs all over the trail warning you not to get too close to the alligators, which seems like a crazy thing to have to tell people. Again... these are ALLIGATORS. Being a rule follower, I kept a respectful distance, giving wide berth to any and all alligators we spotted on the trail. Julie, not a rule follower, actually tried to sneak up on one from behind in the hopes of touching its tail. It whipped around and hissed at her like a cat. It was terrifying. I have a picture of her standing WAY TOO CLOSE to it.
At this point I know her well enough to know that there’s no point in asking her not to break the rules. And she knows me well enough to know that I’d rather break my own leg than a rule. We make it work.
A few years ago we went to Disneyland with the whole family. Somehow we got split up. I was with my nephew and Julie was with the rest of the horde. When we found them again they were on the other side of a roped off area. Julie lifted the rope and said, “Just crawl under.” I said, “JULIE…” and they all busted out laughing. She had told them exactly what I was going to say and exactly how I would say it. (I did not crawl under the rope.)
I used to give her a lot of grief about it until we made a trip to New Orleans in 2006. We did one of those guided ghost tours around the French Quarter, and after it was over we stood around talking to our guide for a few minutes. I mentioned that I loved Tennessee Williams and he said, “You know he wrote STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in an apartment around the corner, right?”
Sir, I did not.
He walked us over, pointed out the building, and left. It was all boarded up, under construction, "No trespassing" signs. While I was standing there looking at the front of the building Julie reached out, grabbed the door handle and gave it a jiggle. “JULIE! What are you doing?” She said, “I thought it might be open.” Before I could stop her she jiggled it again and we heard a man’s voice yell, “HELLO?” from inside. I bolted like a middle-school kid who got caught playing ding-dong ditch. Before I made it across the street the door opened up and a guy wearing painter’s overalls opened the door.
Julie explained the situation, that I was a writer and that Tennessee Williams was one of my idols. The guy said, “I’m painting the apartment right now, you want to come up and check it out?” He let us inside and we got to hang out, just the two of us, in Tennessee’s apartment overlooking the French Quarter. I got to stand on the balcony and imagine him out there, smoking a cigarette and listening to the sounds from the street below, inhaling inspiration before he went back to work on his masterpiece.
I kept saying, "He was right here."
I never gave her a hard time after that.
I'd like to tell you I learned a valuable lesson that day but I didn't. I still follow the rules when it comes to things like traffic signs and putting your shopping cart in the little cart corral.
The one place I don't feel like following rules is in my writing. In fact, the older I get the more I want to chuck them all out the window and just do whatever is most interesting.
That's what Tennessee was doing up in that apartment.
He was breaking rules left and right.
Starting with THE GLASS MENAGERIE, he experimented with more avant-garde forms of expression, creating the "plastic theater" he hoped would elevate the theatrical experience from mere realism.
He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
People love to tell writers about the rules. I have to admit, I found them helpful when I was just starting out. There was some comfort in the idea that if you did all these things right you had a better chance of breaking in.
You might break in by following the rules.
But you'll never break through to anything new.
So, learn the rules.
Then, be like Julie and Tennessee.
Start breaking them and see where it leads you.
And who knows, maybe sixty-years or so from now some young writer will be standing on your old porch or looking out of your window, saying, "Can you believe that? They were right here."
The Writer's Panel episode I mentioned:
The Writers Panel: Will Graham (A League of Their Own;); Melissa London Hilfers (Monarch); Conner Shin (Harley Quinn) + The Ebo Twins (Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.) on Apple Podcasts — podcasts.apple.com Will Graham (co-creator, A League of Their Own; showrunner, Daisy Jones and the Six), Melissa London Hilfers (creator, Monarch) and Conner Shin (Harley Quinn; Fairfax) discuss writing for actors, building a machine that works, and why Will wants you to bring photos of your loved ones to the writers'…
Yoda of the week: Allison Russell
I don't know how I slept on this so long. This song has been on a constant loop in my head all week. The emotion, the imagery, the storytelling, it's just beautiful.
Want to support this newsletter?
You can spread the word, and/or you can "buy me a coffee" at the link below. You can do it one time, monthly, or never. There are no obligations or expectations. The newsletter is free, I just appreciate you taking the time to read it. Thanks!
Buy MickeyFisher73 a Coffee. ko-fi.com/mickeyfisher735846 - Ko-fi ❤️ Where creators get support from fans through donations, memberships, shop sales and more! The original 'Buy Me a Coffee' Page. — ko-fi.com Become a supporter of MickeyFisher73 today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.