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Chris wasn’t even a writer, and he knew this was bullshit. Writers like Daphne and Gemma saw the story in their heads. It was real to them. It had come alive for them. They didn’t need someone to put it up on a screen.
Yep, after three of these meetings, he’d gone from excited puppy to curmudgeonly cynic. More important, it wasn’t just him. Daphne had a faraway look that told him she was present in body only.
“That’s great,” Chris said. “We really appreciate your enthusiasm, and we appreciate you speaking with us today. We’re very excited about the possibility of seeing Edge on screen.”
Did she notice the use of “we”? Nope. He’d figured that out during the last meeting. The execs tended to use it themselves, and he presumed it meant “the team” rather than the royal we, but at this point, he no longer gave a shit. If it meant he could include Daphne, then he was rolling with it.
“We want to see it on-screen, too,” the producer said. “That’s why we’re here.” An obligatory laugh from the assistants. “We are so excited.”
“That’s great,” Chris repeated, trying to sound as if he meant it. “While we’re on the topic of adaptations, tell me a few scenes you’d remove.” He held up his hands. “That’s not a loaded question. I’ve asked it of the last couple of folks, too, and this isn’t a competition to see who’d change the least. We respect changes. We just want a sense of how your changes would align with our vision.”
“I am so glad you’re open to changes.”
“I’ve heard that,” Chris murmured. “Now, admittedly, we do have limits. If you wanted to make the main character thirty, that’s a problem. If you wanted to make her male”—producer two—“that is also a problem. If you want to relocate it to space with aliens instead of zombies”—producer three—“that’s a problem. In those cases, I’m going to be blunt, you should just have someone write an original screenplay rather than optioning our book.”
“Agreed,” the woman said. “I have no intention of making changes like that.”
“Good. So, let’s try something else to get a sense of your vision. Take a scene from the novel and tell us how you’d envision it on screen.”
The woman stopped, her mouth open.
One of her assistants leaned forward. “If I might be so bold, we discussed this earlier and I’d like to talk about the scene where Theo meets Atticus.”
“Yes!” the producer said. “I loved that scene. So dramatic. The first meeting between potential love interests. I wouldn’t call it a meet-cute, but…”
Her assistants laughed.
“So tell me about that scene,” he said. “Frame it for me.”
“Why don’t I let Tricia here—”
“No, I want to hear it in your words.” Chris met the exec’s gaze. “You did read more than the synopsis, right?”
She bristled. “Of course.”
“More than a skim of the first chapter?”
“I read the entire book, as I said.”
“Great.” He leaned back in his chair. “So block out Theo and Atticus’s first meeting for me. In your own words.”
DAPHNE
Four execs, and none had read the book. She told herself that was okay—they were very busy people—and it would be okay… if they just admitted to it. If they hadn’t gushed over the book and her writing and how they were “so excited” only for her to realize they’d just read the paragraph-long description on the cover flap.
Someone in their office—an underling in charge of finding new projects—had stumbled on Edge. That person read the flap copy and thought it sounded viable. That person or someone else in the office actually read or skimmed the book to prepare for the meeting.
It wasn’t about Edge. It was about getting in on the ground floor of a hot new property that might come with a built-in audience and proven appeal. Daphne understood that. She really did. Personally, she didn’t care how or why Edge got on the screen. It would be the next stage—once the writers got hold of it—that people would actually read and adapt it.
She just wanted honesty.
From Hollywood?
Yes, that wasn’t usually the place one went for honesty, but it was more than that. She wanted the respect of being treated like a business partner and not a flaky creative who needed her ego pumped.
Tell me you haven’t read it yet, but you love the concept and would like to work with me on it. Don’t treat me like a teenager squeeing over the chance to see her story on-screen. Talk to me as if I’m an adult who understands how this can be mutually beneficial.
That was why she’d had Chris say he understood those benefits as well as understanding the need for changes.
