December 2024
Last we left off, I'd just had dinner with THE ONLY WAY OUT's Producer, Steve Schklair, and Marty Katz was waiting to hear back from his contact at Netflix to see to whom we needed to submit the script. I'd also had a massive stroke of good luck...
Every once in a while, something really cool happens to an ordinary screenwriter and, from out of nowhere, an opportunity strikes to pitch your script to someone amazing. That's exactly what happened to me!
My dad and I talk often and one day he called me, excited, and said that he said he knew someone who might be able to help with getting THE ONLY WAY OUT made.
He said he was talking to a long-time tenant of his, Jim, about THE ONLY WAY OUT and the Catch-22 we were in while trying to find talent, financing, and distribution.
Jim got excited about the project and immediately said he might be able to help. Turns out that he knows and has worked with one of the Co-Founders of Utopia Distribution, the company started by the Coppola family, yes THAT Coppola family, as in the Francis Ford Coppola, Sophia Coppola, Talia Shire, Gia Coppola, etc.).
I about had a heart attack when my dad told me. As a teen, my boyfriend and I had watched and rewatched and analyzed so many Francis Ford Coppola films that I even couldn't begin to count.
My boyfriend (at the time) and I worshipped Coppola's films. And then, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I'd had the opportunity to study his incredible films and break them down with like-minded film geeks as part of the Film Studies Program (that, due to budget reasons and naivete I never completed, but that's a story for another day).
To me, Coppola is, and always will be, a mythic film god. But he's not the only Coppola I admire. There's Talia Shire... To this day I'm still blown away by her performance in the Rocky series. And Sofia... I love how her films push the limits of storytelling in new directions. I could go on and on, but I won't.
Jim told my dad to have me give him a call, so my dad gave me Jim's number and mentioned that I should call as soon as possible. My dad was in shock. He couldn't believe that this was the first time Jim's connection to the film industry had come up in the 13 years Jim had been renting from him. I guess that goes to show that you don't know who someone knows until you ask.
Ordinarily, I'd have hung up with my dad and dialed the number immediately thereafter; however, there was one, big problem.
I COULDN'T TALK!
And by I couldn't talk, I mean I physically couldn't talk. I'd contracted a bad case of laryngitis. It'd been going around the dojo and I was the latest victim. Of course, I'd have this amazing opportunity that was probably time-sensitive come up when I literally couldn't take advantage of it.
I did everything I could to try and get my voice back as soon as possible. I rested it, consumed half of my bodyweight in throat lozenges and drank so much Throat Coat tea with honey that I damn near floated away, but none of it worked. My voice would come back for all of 30 seconds before fading into nothingness again. I had no choice, but to wait it out.
While I waited, I researched Utopia Distribution and did my homework on Jim, so I'd be fully prepared for our conversation.
The following week, the second I had an audible voice that I knew wouldn't give out on me, I called Jim. We had the best conversation. Turns out, he'd been in the industry for years before he moved to Colorado and started his own business. He'd done a lot of work for one of the Co-Founders at Utopia Distribution and they were still in touch.
I pitched THE ONLY WAY OUT to Jim, told him all the details, that it had been an Academy Nicholl Semifinalist and that there were 2 Hollywood producers, and a director attached, but we were caught in the Catch-22 of not being able to secure financing or distribution.
He was excited about the script and said that Utopia could definitely help get it made. He said Utopia was the only company that actually made money during the pandemic. They produced and distributed films and were incredibly successful at it. This was sounding better and better all the time.
Jim then talked about what a great guy my dad is and how much he's done for Jim and his family over the 13 or so years Jim has been renting from my parents. He said he'd do anything for my dad, and said he'd be more than happy to make the introduction to the Co-Founder at Utopia Distribution. He said to be on the lookout for an email introduction.
HOT DAMN! I was on a roll!
Or was I? I kept waiting for the email to come in, but it wasn't coming. UGH! Yes, people are busy, but...
It took a couple of weeks, and a warm and friendly reminder call, before I finally had my email introduction. (Jim's incredibly busy running his business and I'm sure the Co-Founder of Utopia Distribution is just as busy).
As soon as that email came in, I made a very general pitch to the Co-Founder of Utopia Distribution. He thought the project sounded great, looped in someone else on his team, and told me to go ahead and send the package over. But there was a problem. His email asked for a top sheet of the proposed budget, which I didn't think we had.
And so, I called Marty and asked him about the top sheet. I was right, we didn't have one. He said he didn't want to waste time and money on crafting a top sheet (a best guess, line-by-line budget) because that budget would be based on numbers pulled from thin air.
He said once the script was picked up by a studio or once we had found talent, the top sheet would be redone, and an official budget would be created based on the resources the studio wanted to put into the film. He told me to tell the Co-Founder of Utopia that we could shoot the film from between $25 and $45 million dollars.
I immediately began drafting a reply to the Co-Founder and person he had looped into the conversation. Being a perfectionist, I struggled with not having everything he was looking for but solved the problem by explaining Marty's rational. I then attached the script, synopsis, and lookbook, looped my team in, and hit send.
The second that email was out the door, I sent Jim a giant THANK YOU basket of dried fruit and nuts to express my sincere appreciation for making the introduction. It was the least I could do.
Once again, now, all we can do is wait.
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Congratulations Amy I am so happy for you.
Hooray! A new lead. Hope this one works out.