In addition to launching The Projection List earlier this year, I've also been developing another wholly unrelated project under the radar, though this one came together a lot faster, and almost out of nowhere...
Three friends and I have started what we eventually plan to evolve into a full-fledged production company, but for now is simply a "development fund" specializing in acquiring, developing and producing existing literary properties (books, articles, etc.) for the purposes of creating compelling film and television projects. Because three of us in the company are writers (two of which are a phenomenal writing team with multiple deals around town), we're going to be adapting many of the properties ourselves, and then selling them to studios via our other founding partner, an insanely smart, hard working and incredibly well-connected producer/manager.
Because many production companies and financing entities don't have the necessary development capital, we'll be able to further fill a niche by forming strategic partnerships with these companies in ways that are almost never fully exploited by other production entities. In other words, many companies simply don't have the money to actually buy the rights to existing intellectual properties and then to develop those properties into scripts. Either that, or they can't take the risk. So, in addition to buying and developing our own content internally, we'll also be partnering with companies who simply either need capital to secure a property, or will want to officially partner on a project.
This entire idea was born out of the fact that many studios and production companies we've encountered respond more to existing stories - whether they be in the form of books or articles (many of which based on real-life events) - than they do to original pitches. When we can toss something tangible on the table, something with a history, that's easier to grasp than a simple pitch, it changes the conversation completely. So, this past November, we came up with a gameplan, decided to give this thing a shot, and were able to secure the necessary capital. We've spent the past two months not only setting up the company, but narrowing down our potential slate, and have some incredibly cool projects - and even a couple of deals - already in the works. And now that all the legal aspects have been worked out, contracts have been signed, and our branding is complete, we can finally start making this venture a bit more public.
Unfortunately, I can't yet say exactly what projects we're going after until deals are (hopefully) finalized (and even then, I'm not going to get super-detailed), but our aim is the more prestige-type material: Argo, Captain Phillips, The Social Network, Zero Dark Thirty, Zodiac, etc. Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter. Our bread and butter is most likely going to be historical dramas, but really, we're open to any existing story in any genre that could potentially make for a great movie or TV show. And not just books. Again, articles in GQ, Esquire, The New Yorker, Texas Monthly, etc. are all fair game, and we're even close to closing on a couple of articles in those very magazines.
That said, while we currently have an abundance of projects we've found and are going after, we can never have too many options. That, and the four of us can only cast a net so wide. So I not only wanted to offer TexAgs a way to be somewhat involved with this, but, frankly, I also figured this would be a great way to, over the coming weeks, months and even years, comb through more content than the four of us ever could. I truly mean this when I say I legitimately trust TexAgs' ability to potentially find great material. There's a reason I've been coming here for over a decade. The vast majority of posters on this board are smart and savvy as hell, and I trust your judgement/opinions implicitly.
I do need to be upfront and say that if a book or article is posted/suggested here in the thread, on the admittedly off chance that we do end up buying, adapting, selling and producing something suggested here, you'll have this thread as proof of your genius for friends, family and colleagues, but unfortunately we can't officially offer any more than that at this point. Though, should you call our attention to what ultimately results in our first produced feature or Oscar-winning hit, we'll of course do whatever we can in good faith to officially thank you in some formal way, whether it be a finder's fee, potentially inviting you to the premiere (if we even have that kind of power), or something else along those lines.
Just know that while we have legit capital - enough to go after a ton of properties - we probably can't secure the next Michael Lewis book, if for no other reason than we wouldn't we even be considered for something like that at this point. So please don't bother posting super-popular/obvious titles. We're not going to land the next The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Right now, our specialty is finding and identifying the stories no one else has found or considered, and we've done a really good job of that so far. So don't be afraid to go outside the box, either. Even part of an article or book has value, and can potentially unlock a totally new idea. Finally, try not to post anything that's already basically been done. My dad's friend sent me an article the other day about the first University of Texas football team to experience integration back in the '60s, which is basically Remember the Titans set in college. No studio would ever do that, at least not any time soon.
(NOTE: Also, for now, please post any suggestions here in the thread as opposed to email. I don't yet know who's going to be checking the email at our site, so it's best just to just keep all TexAgs-related suggestions here.)
Ultimately, I can't even begin to explain how confident/excited we are by some of the potential properties we've got in the pipeline. All I can say is that we're on to something here. Of that I have no doubt. Our company's name below - one that honors our roots, and one that I'm very proud of - will be on screens in the foreseeable future. It may take a while, but the wheels are officially in motion, and I'd love for TexAgs to come along for the ride.
Let the takeover begin.
Thanks, guys!
O&C Official Site
Three friends and I have started what we eventually plan to evolve into a full-fledged production company, but for now is simply a "development fund" specializing in acquiring, developing and producing existing literary properties (books, articles, etc.) for the purposes of creating compelling film and television projects. Because three of us in the company are writers (two of which are a phenomenal writing team with multiple deals around town), we're going to be adapting many of the properties ourselves, and then selling them to studios via our other founding partner, an insanely smart, hard working and incredibly well-connected producer/manager.
Because many production companies and financing entities don't have the necessary development capital, we'll be able to further fill a niche by forming strategic partnerships with these companies in ways that are almost never fully exploited by other production entities. In other words, many companies simply don't have the money to actually buy the rights to existing intellectual properties and then to develop those properties into scripts. Either that, or they can't take the risk. So, in addition to buying and developing our own content internally, we'll also be partnering with companies who simply either need capital to secure a property, or will want to officially partner on a project.
This entire idea was born out of the fact that many studios and production companies we've encountered respond more to existing stories - whether they be in the form of books or articles (many of which based on real-life events) - than they do to original pitches. When we can toss something tangible on the table, something with a history, that's easier to grasp than a simple pitch, it changes the conversation completely. So, this past November, we came up with a gameplan, decided to give this thing a shot, and were able to secure the necessary capital. We've spent the past two months not only setting up the company, but narrowing down our potential slate, and have some incredibly cool projects - and even a couple of deals - already in the works. And now that all the legal aspects have been worked out, contracts have been signed, and our branding is complete, we can finally start making this venture a bit more public.
Unfortunately, I can't yet say exactly what projects we're going after until deals are (hopefully) finalized (and even then, I'm not going to get super-detailed), but our aim is the more prestige-type material: Argo, Captain Phillips, The Social Network, Zero Dark Thirty, Zodiac, etc. Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter. Our bread and butter is most likely going to be historical dramas, but really, we're open to any existing story in any genre that could potentially make for a great movie or TV show. And not just books. Again, articles in GQ, Esquire, The New Yorker, Texas Monthly, etc. are all fair game, and we're even close to closing on a couple of articles in those very magazines.
That said, while we currently have an abundance of projects we've found and are going after, we can never have too many options. That, and the four of us can only cast a net so wide. So I not only wanted to offer TexAgs a way to be somewhat involved with this, but, frankly, I also figured this would be a great way to, over the coming weeks, months and even years, comb through more content than the four of us ever could. I truly mean this when I say I legitimately trust TexAgs' ability to potentially find great material. There's a reason I've been coming here for over a decade. The vast majority of posters on this board are smart and savvy as hell, and I trust your judgement/opinions implicitly.
I do need to be upfront and say that if a book or article is posted/suggested here in the thread, on the admittedly off chance that we do end up buying, adapting, selling and producing something suggested here, you'll have this thread as proof of your genius for friends, family and colleagues, but unfortunately we can't officially offer any more than that at this point. Though, should you call our attention to what ultimately results in our first produced feature or Oscar-winning hit, we'll of course do whatever we can in good faith to officially thank you in some formal way, whether it be a finder's fee, potentially inviting you to the premiere (if we even have that kind of power), or something else along those lines.
Just know that while we have legit capital - enough to go after a ton of properties - we probably can't secure the next Michael Lewis book, if for no other reason than we wouldn't we even be considered for something like that at this point. So please don't bother posting super-popular/obvious titles. We're not going to land the next The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Right now, our specialty is finding and identifying the stories no one else has found or considered, and we've done a really good job of that so far. So don't be afraid to go outside the box, either. Even part of an article or book has value, and can potentially unlock a totally new idea. Finally, try not to post anything that's already basically been done. My dad's friend sent me an article the other day about the first University of Texas football team to experience integration back in the '60s, which is basically Remember the Titans set in college. No studio would ever do that, at least not any time soon.
(NOTE: Also, for now, please post any suggestions here in the thread as opposed to email. I don't yet know who's going to be checking the email at our site, so it's best just to just keep all TexAgs-related suggestions here.)
Ultimately, I can't even begin to explain how confident/excited we are by some of the potential properties we've got in the pipeline. All I can say is that we're on to something here. Of that I have no doubt. Our company's name below - one that honors our roots, and one that I'm very proud of - will be on screens in the foreseeable future. It may take a while, but the wheels are officially in motion, and I'd love for TexAgs to come along for the ride.
Let the takeover begin.
Thanks, guys!
O&C Official Site