GMM Rejection - UPDATE

Yesterday evening I checked my Gmail before bed to see if a friend of mine had received a short story I sent him.

What I found instead was another rejection email (are there any other kind? At this point, I am unsure) from Greenlight My Movie.com (GMM).

Now, again, I have my suspicions as to whether or not these emails were legitimately sent from these studios/production companies/agencies themselves, or whether GMM wrote these responses themselves to placate me and to get me to spend more money on their site.

Either is a possibility.

Hollywood studios/production companies/agencies are generally very busy, so it is entirely possible that it took them this long (weeks after I sent my submissions) to respond.

But it could also be that GMM is having to fabricate loads of responses from all the submissions that aspiring screenwriter fools (like me) have inundated them with.

Regardless, here are the rationales for their rejections and my rebuttals.

Note: I know I may seem bitter about these rejections, and perhaps I am, but there is another factor to consider here: the fact that none of these people (be they GMM employees or actual reps from these Hollywood studios/production companies/agencies) have actually read my script. Therefore, a lot of their criticism (or, rather, the rationale they give for their rejections) are uniformed and unfounded. The reason I put so much stock into their actually reading my script (aside from the obvious reasons) runs thusly:

1.) I can only cram so much information about my script into a 10-minute pitch video.

2.) They can only derive so much from a 10-minute pitch video.

3.) A lot of their concerns, questions or criticisms can all be answered within the pages of my script (as one rep admits in their rejection).

4.) Just about every time I've submitted the screenplay (Personal Demons) I was pitching in this video pitch to film fests and screenplay competitions, I win, or get an "Honorable Mention", etc. So I know that, when people actually read the screenplay, they are infinitely more impressed and ready to heap accolades and awards and opportunities on me than when they (probably begrudgingly) simply watch  a 10-minute pitch video and then throw some arbitrary criticism my way.  

Really, them judging my script (again, without having read it) by the pitch video, is a lot like judging a movie based purely on the synopsis and commentary Joe Bob Briggs gives on The Last Drive-In.

But I digress.

Here we go.

Response from AMC/BBC America/Sundance TV:

 "We appreciate the time and passion that you have dedicated towards
“Personal Demons”, but unfortunately we will have to pass on the
project. One suggestion for future rewrites is to consider what twists you
can add to the horror genre to subvert our expectations, so we can hear your
own voice more clearly.

Thank you for letting us take a look, and we wish you the best of luck.

-Team AMC"

 My Rebuttal: Wow. First, how can they suggest substance for "rewrites" when they haven't even read the script? It simply boggles the mind. Furthermore, how can they determine the strength or uniqueness of my "voice" when they haven't even read the script? Yikes! And having not read the script, how can they determine that I haven't subverted their expectations or made my voice pronounced? All they have to go is a 10-minute pitch video. And, honestly, GMM cuts you off after a certain point (I think it's somewhere around 10 minutes) and the average person (with a modicum of social intelligence and knowledge of show business) knows that you can't hold the attention of anyone (let alone an executive, producer, agent or assistant to any of the aforementioned bigwigs) for longer than 5-10 minutes, if that. Therefore, in order for me to hit on the characters, the plot, my influences and the marketing points of my script, my ten minutes are then eaten up. 

Now, on another note, I should be worried or upset that AMC, the company that made The Walking Dead and who owns Shudder, and therefore a company who (presumably) knows horror, has rejected me, but two things keep me calm here: 1.) Again, I have no idea if even a rep from AMC/Shudder is providing this feedback... or if it is just GMM gaslighting me. 2.) Even if it really was AMC, it was just the assistant of a rep from AMC (and not someone at Shudder) who rejected me. Perhaps it's even someone who doesn't even like horror. Also, I have no interest in The Walking Dead, so...

Response from Alcon Entertainment:

"Thanks so much for the submission. Unfortunately, it isn't a match
with what we're currently looking for.."

 My Rebuttal: Honestly, this one doesn't hurt so much. Sure, they've produced some truly great films, but also some true steaming piles. And, in all honesty, I can't remember the last time I actually saw the Alcon logo at the beginning of a film I saw theatrically, so... No big loss here. 

Response from Infinity Media:

"This isn't something for us. I'd like to offer a little feedback in case
it's helpful.

First, I think what you've described here sounds like it's well written and
you convey a bit of passion for the genre, and it's good to have those
things seem evident!

Then, I feel like you've taken perhaps a little too much trouble to explain
things that something else gets lost, however. While you express your love
of the genre, it may be good to re-read, edit it down a bit, and see if you
can find ways to inject your enthusiasm into this a bit more. As it is, I'm
thinking the synopsis comes across a little bit dry.

Maybe a little more about the demon would help. Anything which defines it
better, maybe as its own "franchise," so it really pops in someone's mind as
an entity worthy of such films that everyone will remember.

Then, maybe let us know if there is any presence of humor or playfulness, or
perhaps how any of your characters are "larger than life," how any of them
might "pop," too. Also, if any of them can be played by "any ethnicity"
maybe let that be known, too; i.e. "Ellie Dietrich (17, any ethnicity)" and
so forth.

As I believe the "Scream" films made use of the "teen experts on horror
films" idea -- you may need to make this seem even more novel. The "meta"
idea of "this is what usually happens, so we should do THIS" may itself need
to be bent up a bit (although of course I don't know what you do with this
in your telling).

Good luck to you!.

Best Regards,
INFINITY MEDIA"

My Rebuttal: First, doesn't it seem like they contradict themselves here when they praise my "passion for the genre" in the first paragraph, but then encourage me to "inject your enthusiasm into this a bit more"? Also, my synopsis seems "dry"?... First time I've received that note. Not putting much stock into it. 

Their comment about wanting to know "more about the demon" I am going to ignore. The demon is not the Freddy Krueger of this franchise; he is one of many, hence the pluralization of the word "demons" in the title. And indeed I have planned it as a trilogy (with ideas for a 4th and 5th chapter). But I will keep that in my back pocket for negotiations if the first one is ever made (and does well) and I'm called back into a meeting to discuss involvement in further sequels. Also, the mystery and ambiguity of the demon is what makes it scary. When they further explained the origins of the Xenomorphs in the Alien franchise (in Ridley's Scott's Prometheus and Covenant, both of which I thought were awful) I immediately lost interest. Looks like audiences did as well, because they tanked.

Their comment about how my characters might "pop" (gotta love those industry buzz words!) and be "larger than life"... well, again, I only have so much time to cram everything I need to into this video pitch. And, you might get a sense of the characters if you read the screenplay itself! Also, don't modern audiences sometimes (especially with a script concerning modern teens) want relatable characters, and not "larger than life" personalities that will make the audience feel small by comparison? Just a thought.

And their comment of "Also, if any of them can be played by "any ethnicity" maybe let that be known, too; i.e. "Ellie Dietrich (17, any ethnicity)" and so forth". Again, there are those industry buzz words (although here the industry is simply reacting to buzz words out in the wide world). I guess they want my script to be more "woke" (whatever that really means). Here my response is twofold: 1.) This is a detail that would be immediately evident if you read the script! 2.) In this particular instance, my characters probably can't be any ethnicity. My script takes place in a small mining town in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains. If you've ever been to a small Colorado town, you'd know that most of them are whiter than the neighborhood of Leave It To Beaver. I can't imagine the response if a Hollywood studio/production company/agency were to ask Jordan Peele to put in one of his screenplays that the characters could be "any ethnicity". Not that they would ever dare. But the bottom line is: I rarely indicate race in my scripts because it truthfully doesn't matter to me. I only put it in when it is necessary to the plot (if racial tension or religious differences are part of the plot, such as my character Jeremiah Lustig being Jewish in Personal Demons because that element ads to the personal tension and human dynamic of the narrative). But I don't like being told I have to open the door for diversity. If it happens organically, fine. Otherwise, forced diversity is just disingenuous pandering, in my opinion, and the very demographics you are pandering to can sense your insincere and patronizing catering and will react with bristling and avoidance, rather than appreciation and acceptance. 

And their comparing my script to Scream, well, only one character in Scream was a horror expert. And my script does not have a "meta" element to it, at all. But, again, all of this is evident if you read the script. Thy even admit this when they say, "(although of course I don't know what you do with this
in your telling)".

So... yeah... uninformed, worthless blather.

In the wake of all this rejection, I have to just remind myself that Michael Dougherty (one of my many modern heroes, alongside Brian Duffield... and the veterans like Carpenter, Yuzna, Cohen, Craven and Romero) had to fight to get Trick r Treat made. And even when it did get made, it got dumped straight to video. This is a movie that now has a cult following, received a uber Blu-ray from Shout!Scream Factory and has a merch line through both Trick Or Treat Studios and Spirit Halloween. 

Of course, by the time Dougherty made his play to get this film made, he had already written a handful of blockbuster films, but still...