There is a mutual distrust between the Show and Business arms of the octopus. Instead of it being a collaboration between different factions that desperately need each other, too often it devolves into an adversarial relationship. The Line Producer is often hired to referee the bout.

“No hitting below the belt. Let’s have a good, clean fight.”

Business:

“You’re going to spend too much of our money!”

Show:

“You haven’t given us enough to do a great job in the first place.”

Business:

“If you can guarantee us a hit, we’ll give you more money.”

Show :

“If we could guarantee you a hit, we could borrow the money from an entertainment bank using our track record, all of the foreign distribution contracts and pre-sales agreements as collateral, rent your distribution system and keep the lion’s share of the profits for ourselves.”

Business:

 “So, what you’re saying is that you don’t know for sure that this is going to be a big hit.”

Show:

“We believe there will be a big enough audience for this project to justify the investment.”

Business:

“And you need our money to make this crazy idea happen?”

Show:

“That’s why we’re here, hat in hand, asking as politely as we know how.”

Business:

“If this doesn’t work…”

Show:

“You’ll have to give us more money to fix it in post that you should have given us in the first place. Otherwise, everything will go down the drain.”

Business:

“If that happens, I’m going to look stupid and I can’t afford that.”

Show:

“When this works out, you’ll be the hero who saves the day. Trust me.”

Business:

“I don’t know. I’m afraid you’re going to spend too much of our money!”

There’s a lot of B/S dialogue at the heart of any Showbiz project because neither side ever knows for sure and everything boils down to luck and totally subjective decisions.

Unless you’re dealing from a position of strength, like having produced a string of winners or are bringing half of the money to the table along with a great project, the producer has to deal with a wide range of wary executives in a wide range of scenarios. You have to respect the fact that your future dealings with the parent company depend on how you are perceived by the particular executive you are dealing with. You have to get out of your head and walk a mile in their shoes in order to truly appreciate their job and the pressures they’re under. They need to be associated with box office or critical successes or it’s only a matter of time before they get to play musical execution chairs up in the executive suites.

Some execs are as passionate and knowledgeable about the process and the projects as you are. Some are almost totally incompetent and you have to wonder who they are related to or whom they’re sleeping with. Most fall somewhere in between these two extremes. They are often overwhelmed by having to play watchdog on too many projects and always border on being burned out. Most of these execs only have time for half meetings. You have an agenda for a meeting that covers XYZ. Their busy schedule, or constant phone interruptions, only allows you to cover X and half of Y before they run out of time. You’ve got to reschedule later to cover the balance. By then, other things will have changed and there will once again only be half the time for what you really need to talk about.

There’s a lot of myopic thinking in the executive suites because many of them are holding onto their jobs for dear life and need good news to report to their superiors. Most execs are given a short window to strut their stuff, 12 –18 months. Most projects take six months to a year to get off the ground so they’ve only got a couple of chances to prove themselves before the “honeymoon period” is over and/ or this year’s development budget is eaten up. Finding anyone who has held onto the same job with the same company for more than five years is a rarity.

These are the survivors. They range from Machiavellian princes to enlightened king- makers. They are responsible for spending millions to hundreds of millions of dollars and the corporate overseers expect a return on their investment. Somehow, a lot of mistakes get through the maze. Even a blind man with a shotgun hits the side of the barn once in awhile. You wonder what they were thinking (or drinking) when they green-lit this or that project. The only rational conclusion is that many of them don’t really have any idea of what works and they’re just guessing most of the time.

Usually it’s a producer, or writer, or famous actor who comes to a pitch meeting, sells the exec a clever idea that gets sent upstairs to the handful of folk who actually make the decisions and somebody bought it, hook, TV Guide logline and sinker. At the other end of the spectrum comes the new or unknown producer with a great script, half the money, a product placement deal, a couple of recognizable faces attached, a budget, schedule and viable production game plan, artwork or even a video trailer. The exec will take a pass on the project because they’ve seen enough to know it won’t fit in with this week’s corporate agenda or it’s so well developed, they can’t readily get their fingerprints on it. Besides, they’re only really comfortable dealing with producers they’ve dealt with in the past and any newcomer will have to pass through the “trial by fire” period. 

Sometimes, as the producer with the great idea, when you’re actually in the room, the executive will say something or give you a piece of corporate thinking that makes you revise your pitch on the fly. “Did I say washed up ballplayer who makes a deal with the devil? I meant to say it was a devilishly handsome dishwasher who wants to be a ballplayer.” Always have a Plan B to fall back on. Go in with two different pitches completely convinced that they’re going to buy something from you today. You’ll often need to make adjustments to the pitch to suit the mood of the room. Is it before lunch and are they hungry? After lunch and they need a sugar fix? Is it at the end of a long day and they’re tired? Are they just back from vacation and want to talk about their trip or how the Dodgers are doing? Is there some artwork or a movie poster on the wall that gives you a clue as to who they are and what they like? Yes, it’s grasping at straws but reading the temperature of the room is an art unto itself.

It all pretty much comes down to chemistry. They have to be thinking, “Do I like this person? Do I want to allow them into my life for a very intense three months to two years? What will this person really be like once they’re under the gun because right now, they’re on their very best behavior trying to make a good impression?” It’s so much easier dealing with people you already know or that friends of yours can vouch for instead of having to break in new ones.

The front line execs are part of the phalanx of people who surround the real decision makers. They have the power to kill an idea in the cradle. If they like it, they are encouraging but they can’t really say “yes.” All they can do is pass something up the ladder when they think they’ve struck gold and keep their fingers crossed that their boss agrees with them.

When you get in the room, never let them see you sweat. You must present a picture of complete confidence without seeming arrogant. Sink or swim. Feast or famine. Rain or shine. It’s Business vs. the Show and the producer has to learn their lessons early because everyone is planning on sticking around for the long haul and this may be the start of a beautiful relationship.