How to Work w producers & Anna's Pages - March 3
Really great session today — the kind where we got into the stuff that actually matters. Before we got into pages, @Krystel Biasotti debuted a web tool she built for the group that will let everyone RSVP, claim character roles, and upload scripts before each session. No downloads, no accounts — one link. This is exactly the kind of initiative that makes a community more than just a class. Grateful she brought it. Then we went deep on something I've been wanting to address for a while: how to work with producers, rights holders, and IP — before you've written a single page they've asked for. Ian raised a question about a prequel he's developing based on an existing film, and it opened up a conversation that I think applies to every writer in this group. The instinct is to go away, write the perfect script, and come back with something polished and finished. I get it. I've felt that pull too. But that approach almost always backfires. The people who own the rights — or the executives sitting across from you — need to feel like creative partners. They need to feel like they helped shape what's on the page, even if you did all the actual writing. That's not a compromise of your vision. That's understanding the game. I shared a story about a pitch I took solo a few years back, based on a video game IP. I went in and told the producer flat out: "I'm not here to hand you a movie. I'm here to engage you in a process that a movie results from." That shift in framing changed everything. By the fourth meeting, they'd already let the other writer go — and I was still talking through ideas. The lesson: come prepared, come passionate, come with 200 pages of private notes if you need them. But walk into that room ready to listen and collaborate, not just to impress. We also talked about the difference between a "Story By" credit and a "Written By" credit — and why writers shouldn't fear giving producers a sense of ownership. They want the producing credit. You protect the screenplay credit.