Great breakdown. But painful to read because I fell for this trap so many times. Like a gambling addict looking for a payday. You could also be one of those lucky writers that gets into one of these no pay development deals (for bragging rights) and it takes a year+ to input their mindless dev exec notes, and by the time the project is actually ready to package, those same dev execs get fired or jump ship to a new company. Then you're left with a Frankenstein story and a new regime looking at you saying, "WTF is this piece of shit?" Happened to me so many times I stopped chasing those opportunities. No answers yet, but good to hear there's others screenwriters talking about it.
Wow! Yes. Absolutely a gambling addiction. Very very very few indications that it's going to be worthwhile considering the odds, and yet... I have to talk myself down from jumping after these kind of "opportunities" are presented over and over again, because you're totally right that it just seems like at best a crap shoot and at worst, exactly what you're describing. Years of free work met with... "Well, we didn't even ask for this, that was the old regime."
I've encountered some incredibly small minded types of people who only want to make money from Western audiences when there is a whole world out there they are just ignoring.
I mean I get my idea is really kind of out there in some regards but it feels like I made a unique dish as a chef and some guy is like "I'd like this amazing and unique dish to be chicken fingers."
Great breakdown. But painful to read because I fell for this trap so many times. Like a gambling addict looking for a payday. You could also be one of those lucky writers that gets into one of these no pay development deals (for bragging rights) and it takes a year+ to input their mindless dev exec notes, and by the time the project is actually ready to package, those same dev execs get fired or jump ship to a new company. Then you're left with a Frankenstein story and a new regime looking at you saying, "WTF is this piece of shit?" Happened to me so many times I stopped chasing those opportunities. No answers yet, but good to hear there's others screenwriters talking about it.
Wow! Yes. Absolutely a gambling addiction. Very very very few indications that it's going to be worthwhile considering the odds, and yet... I have to talk myself down from jumping after these kind of "opportunities" are presented over and over again, because you're totally right that it just seems like at best a crap shoot and at worst, exactly what you're describing. Years of free work met with... "Well, we didn't even ask for this, that was the old regime."
It’s not in the budget is no excuse for wage theft
I've encountered some incredibly small minded types of people who only want to make money from Western audiences when there is a whole world out there they are just ignoring.
Absolutely true! Very easy for people to assume audiences are "just like me" when in fact almost all of the global audience is... not!
I mean I get my idea is really kind of out there in some regards but it feels like I made a unique dish as a chef and some guy is like "I'd like this amazing and unique dish to be chicken fingers."