Got an e-mail from Gersh (through GMM) that reads:
"This is a pass for us, because; Not right for our company."
And that's fine; I'm not heartbroken.
I realize that companies like Gersh and some of the other big heavy hitters don't really look at you when you have a small horror script... They wait until they small horror script gets made and makes $100 mill (on a $10-20 mill budget) its first weekend... Then they come knocking at your door.
After all, there's a whole slew of guys who've written small horror movies, who then went on to write Hollywood blockbusters (everything from superhero movies to Oscar fodder)...
David S. Goyer wrote (in his earlier days) Arcade (for Full Moon Pictures!), Demonic Toys (also for Full Moon) and the 1994 Robert A. Heinlein adaptation The Puppet Masters (not to be confused with another Full Moon franchise)... Now, this is not exactly the stuff CAA would look at and say,
"We gotta sign this guy!"
But he later went on to write Batman Begins, Blade 1-3 (and direct part 3), Man of Steel, etc.
Mark L. Smith wrote & directed a small horror film called Seance, then wrote Vacancy 1 & 2 (the first was one of my favorite films of 2007), then moved up in the big leagues and wrote The Hole for Joe Dante (who, like Wes Craven, was a bit of a mainstream horror darling... probably, and mostly, because of Gremlins), wrote the script for the ill-advised American remake of the superb French horror film Martyrs and then wrote The Revenant, which was an Oscar nod for DiCaprio.
See?
And that's not all as far as stories about horror guy getting to the big leagues.
I've compiled a whole list of writer/directors who started out on either small horror projects, or doing their time on tired horror franchises, then made it to writing and directing big Hollywood blockbusters... Here's the list so far:
· Sam Raimi (Evil Dead I & II and Army of Darkness)
His
horror half-blockbuster: Darkman
His
Blockbuster franchise(s): Spider-Man
· Peter Jackson (Meet the Feebles, Bad Taste, Dead Alive)
His
horror half-blockbuster: The Frighteners
His
Blockbuster franchise(s): Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong
· Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Mimic, Devil’s Backbone)
His
horror half-blockbuster: Blade 2, HellBoy I & II
His
Blockbuster franchise(s): Pacific Rim
· James Gunn (Tromeo + Juliet, SliTher, Thir13en Ghosts)
His
horror half-blockbuster: Dawn of the Dead
His
Blockbuster franchise(s): Guardians of the Galaxy
· Scott Derrickson (Hellraiser: Inferno, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil, Exorcism of Emily Rose)
His
horror half-blockbuster: Day the Earth Stood Still (??)
His
Blockbuster franchise(s): Doctor Strange
And now we've got horror directors directing Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong (a very wise move, in my opinion).
So... I don't blame Gersh. And, in all honesty, it was a bit of a pipe dream and a long shot that they would have looked at my video pitch and decided to take a look anyhow.
It's fine... they'll want me when I'm bigger. I get it.
In the meantime:
1.) I honestly cannot wait to clear off my CapitalOne card (from all the inevitable summer charges I've put on it) and buy some more VIP submissions through GMM so that I can query more people with Personal Demons and submit to more festivals via WithoutABox.
I mention this because, for once, I'm not excited about clearing off my CapitalOne so I can buy Blu-rays, PS4 games and concert tickets... I'm excited to spend money to (potentially) further my career.
2.) I'm a bit relieved by the fact that I submitted my video pitch to VIPs on July 16th and here it is August 2nd and they are still getting back to me. It's reassuring. I fully expected them not to respond at all if my pitch didn't click with them (and most don't). But I should know better than anyone that the wheels of business (especially show business) turn slower than the wheels anywhere else in the world.
Guess now I play the waiting game... Again.
At least I can write and submit elsewhere in interim.
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