#Jonkrasinski, #emilyblunt, #martykatz, #martykatzproductions, #carlkirshner, #deanzanuck, #hilaryswank, #jessicachastain, #sundaynightfilms, #charlizetheron, #CAA
In May 2021, after being rejected by Charlize Theron for a second time, we decided to adjust our strategy and go after an A-list actress and an A-list director simultaneously. And who better than Emily Blunt and John Krasinski to turn this film into a success?
We all LOVE Emily and John and thought they would be incredible partners in the film. Emily's such an incredibly talented actress with an amazing range and Jon is an equally incredible director. They're quite literally, a dream team! And so, Marty, being Marty, reached out to Sunday Night Films and pitched the script. They thought it sounded great and agreed to read it. And once again, the waiting began.
In the meantime, we were slowly hearing back from various production companies. Everyone had great things to say about the script, but most couldn't afford to produce/didn't want to take on the risk of producing an original script that required a single, A-list actress to carry the film (even though it's a fact that female-driven films are less risky to produce and make more money at the box office than male-driven films).
It was wonderful to hear such nice things about the script, but at the same time, it sucked and made me wonder if the script really was any good and if the warm comments and well wishes were simply out of respect for Marty. It was hard to stay positive!
At the end of June, we heard back from Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, well we didn't, Marty did. They raved about the script, but due to time constraints they weren't able to do it. I was really bummed. I sent them both a warm thank you card, shook it off and tried to work on another script to take my mind off of things. It was a roller coaster, that's for sure, but this one seemed to have more downs than ups.
I was beginning to think this wasn't ever going to happen. And then I got a call from Marty and Steve. In June, 2021, Steve had quietly passed the script along to one of the biggest A-list producers/directors/writers in the business, someone for whom I have always had the greatest amount of respect. I was a nervous wreck. Would this person even read the script? I had no idea, but the idea that they would was enough to energize me like nothing else. All of the positive what if's flooded my mind. I was beyond excited. I was elated and anxious as hell!
In the meantime, Marty sent the script to Jessica Chastain's people and to Carl Kirschner as a possible director. Carl loved the script, but had to pass due to time constraints. However, he passed the script along to Dean Zanuck. And then we waited, again...
In December 2021, the script went to a packaging agent at CAA, one of the largest, most respected talent agencies in the country, in the hopes that we could get a little assistance attaching and actress and director to a film with no financing or distribution.
It was literally radio silent from then until March. Marty kept reaching out to Jessica Chastain's people and wasn't getting any response. I do believe they finally passed, but we're not sure they even read the script. It was frustrating. It felt like we'd hit a brick wall, and nothing was moving.
But then, in March 2022, we heard back from the producer to whom Steve had sent the script. This person actually read the script cover to cover and LOVED it. I was beyond words. None of it felt real! I kept waiting for someone to say, "just kidding," or "you've been punked," but no one did. This was for real. One of the biggest names in Hollywood had just read my script and...
I felt like I was floating in a cloud. Holy $@!% , so and so read my script and loved it and was super impressed. He said it was incredibly authentic. Not only that, but he made time to give feedback. Does it get any better than this? My own, personal masterclass in writing for FREE! It was beyond exciting, and I thought that once I incorporated the amazing feedback into the script, it would certainly gain traction. And although I was a little disappointed that this person couldn't pass the script along to the A-list actress we thought would be astonishing in the lead role (due to the nature of their relationship), I was still flying high.
And so, I wrote a thank you email. I wanted to send a thank you card, but Steve said to write an email and he'd make sure this person received it at the right time, when they weren't swamped. And so, I wrote the email and got to work rewriting the script based on this person's notes. And no, I can't tell you who it is or even give you a hint. I'm sworn to secrecy.
I told Marty and Steve I could get the script rewritten in 2 weeks and went to work. At the time, my husband was out of town, I was managing medical stuff for a family member, and almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
The old cast iron sewer line in our basement decided to crap out, so I had to move everything out of the way so that contractors could jackhammer the entire width of our basement floor (just feet away from my office) along the line to replace it.
That week, I took my kids to karate and my car's battery randomly decided it was a great time to die, stranding me in town (thank God for good neighbors). My daughter came down with croup so severe one night that I was seconds away from calling 911. Fortunately, a steam shower opened her up again, but it was terrifying. The washing machine died and the only way to use it was to jury rig the damned thing every load. There was no time to shop for a new one and it was during the end of the pandemic, so there were still major supply chain issues anyway. I don't even remember all of the other stuff that went wrong, but needless to say it was an everything that could go wrong scenario.
But through it all, and the addition of a new puppy (a ray of light adopted from a local shelter), I somehow managed to rewrite the script in a week. I pulled multiple all-nighters and worked with the kids playing Legos and cars and swinging on the rings in the basement behind my office chair. I worked with them climbing all over me, demanding attention, needing to cuddle, needing attention. I worked with them running around upstairs, sounding like a heard of elephants as they raced around screaming and chasing each other through the house. I worked and simultaneously shot Nerf guns and was shot by Nerf darts. I worked between phone calls and Zoom meetings with medical providers and cooking and cleaning and kids' activities.
By the time I was done, I emailed the script to my husband, convinced I had completely hosed it. He read it and said it was awesome. I didn't trust him, only because I couldn't believe I could have delivered anything intelligible.
Getting his seal of approval, I sent the script on to my manager. Aside from more typos than normal, she thought the changes I made were great! I was blown away. How could I not have screwed up the script when I was so sleep deprived and totally distracted? Stephanie then sent the script to Marty and Steve and they, too, loved it. I don't know how it happened, but I had somehow managed to deliver.
Marty was super excited to have the new version of the script and a few weeks later, he found a possible in with Hilary Swank...
To be continued...
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