I was sitting in my car, parked at Pan Pacific Park on Beverly one recent November morning when my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Is this Jack?"
"Yes..."
"Jack, I've got David Saunders calling from APA..."
What followed was a surreal day, forwarding all of my material to the agency before my 3pm meeting with the head of motion picture lit and partner...
I rolled up to the valet there as the attendant peeked into my car, questioning me as to if I knew where I was... And yes, it was that bad inside which is a whole other tale...
By 4:30pm I had agreed to sign with them. Didn't take much persuading other than rave reviews and seeing a stack of my material on the desk already cloaked in APA jackets...
By the following Friday, one of my scripts had already gone out to Participant Films. A week later I signed with Elements Entertainment and by midweek, I was already booking meetings due to Michael Bay, Wes Craven, Tobey Maguire all interested in seeing this spec that was about to hit the town.
Last Monday it went wide. 40 companies. Above average for a spec in the thriller genre. By Wednesday, the script had hit the tracking boards so hard that producers which hadn't been part of the submission were calling to read it. From the creative minds behind Milk & American Beauty to the exec behind Jason Bourne... I'm a bit excited to meet with Brett Ratner's company this Monday.
Sitting at a table read the other night with Lea Thompson and Howard Deutsch along with a well rounded cast and director Richard Zelniker followed by what I'd like to describe as the icing on the cake to my week. It was just after midnight at the 101 cafe when I found myself chatting with the brilliant Kat Dennings and then the greatest screenwriter in the world came and sat at the table with us. Shane Black. The Holy Grail to the silver screen. From Lethal Weapon to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and a cameo in Predator, the man is a legend. After talking for a few moments, he asked one of the most obscure questions given the setting...
"Are you married, Jack?"
"Ummm, no...not yet..."
"Good. Stay single. Don't get married if you plan on staying in this business."
I could see the sincerity in his eyes. A truth from one writer to another. Brilliant. I probably will get married eventually, but I will take that lesson to the grave with me and hopefully won't regret not listening.
As we move into the week before Xmas vacation and the town shutting down from the 18th to the 3rd... I wait with great hope as everyone should in this business. I will part with the words spoken to me by Jonathan Hensleigh 2 years ago...
"It's not a question as to if you will have a career out here, it's a question as to when it will begin."
Happy Holidays.
