The Koepp and I (A Play in Two Parts)
Well the blog's been open for twelve hours and so far there's two requests for Black Dahlia and one request for War of the Worlds. I'm gonna have to stretch this stuff out because these are my red meat. After that I may have to start dipping into my "back when I was rewriting Chain Reaction for Keanu" stories.
The WOTW question relates to the arbitration and of course that's a sticky little fucking wicket. But it's a question I get asked a lot. I did a Q&A at the WGA theater after a WOTW screening a few weeks back and the moderator prepped me ahead of time by saying: "Whatever you do, don't talk about the arbitration." The Q&A starts and maybe the second question out of the box is: "Tell us about the arbitration". I lean forward with my microphone and she puts her hand in front of my chest like she's a parent trying to keep her kid's head from hitting the windshield. I shrug her off. Fuck it. These people stayed late on a Friday night to ask me questions. The least I can do is give a little love.
A little history: I wrote the first three drafts of WOTW for Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise in late '02 and early '03. We handed the script in to Paramount and the previous regime (NO ONE remains) did not greenlight the movie. I had no more steps in my contract and there wasn't much talk about paying me to do more work. I left and went on to other projects. After some months David Koepp was hired and rewrote me. After MI-3 was delayed Cruise's schedule opened up and the movie was greenlit. The fellas went off and made the movie in record speed.
All movies are assigned temporary credits which are the studio's best guess as to what the credit will be. The Artful Writer has a great discussion on this topic here.
Obviously it's a complicated issue as temporary credits can be a studio's good faith effort to figure out what they think the credit will be...But the temporary credit is just as likely to be an expression of the studio's wishes. Does it matter what that temporary credit is given that the WGA arbitrators have final say? Of course it matters. WOTW is a perfect example.
Now...ya'll may not know this...but David Koepp is a much more successful and well-known screenwriter than I am. I know. Shocking to find out. I'd link you to his IMDB but frankly the guy doesn't need my help and you probably know his credits better than I do. He's very good and he works his ass off and people trust him to get movies made. And they should.
So they put David up for sole credit. What was their reasoning? Was that their best guess? Was that what they wanted to see happen? Dunno. Didn't ask. Didn't care. Didn't surprise me. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IF I WORKED FOR THE STUDIO. It's better for every single person working on WOTW for David Koepp to have sole credit on the screen. Except for me. And my wife. I'd include my parents but I think Dad secretly thought it finally validated his theory that I was too lazy to be successful.
So what happens? David Koepp is free to continue being David Koepp. He can do interviews. He can be in magazines. It's his movie, baby. Well, his and Steven's and Tom's...but we can dream, right? And here's the thing...he's doing EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IN HIS SITUATION. How often to do you find yourself the sole credited writer of the most hyped movie of the summer? Granted, it happens to him about every other year, but for the rest of us...
So you're David Koepp and you press your advantage. As far as you and just about everybody else is concerned, you're it. He was on the set. It's his shooting draft. He's David fucking Koepp. Let me reiterate. He's doing EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IN HIS SITUATION.
Where does that leave me? Did I mention that when I was working on the script it was supposed to be hush-hush? Yeah...nobody knew about it...Kinda cool when I was working on it...Kinda not so cool three years later. Here's sample dialogue of meetings I would have in the months before the arbitration:
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Dude. Whattya been up to?
ME: Not much, you know. Getting ready for the summer...
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Excited for anything comin' out?
ME: Well, you know, besides the obvious...
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Yeah I'm a big Star Wars fan, too. Hope it rocks.
ME: Uh, no. I meant War of the Worlds.
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: I'm psyched for that, too. I think Steven's gonna knock it out of the park.
(Awkward silence as I try for the smooth segue...)
ME: You know I wrote that, don't you?
So I write my statement. I can't give out any details but to say this: it was twenty single-spaced pages and I rewrote it more times than I do my scripts. I'm not exaggerating and here's why: it's worth more fucking money than any script I've written. A shared screenplay credit on WOTW puts my son through school. K thru Graduate. All private if he wants. He can probably bring a friend. Am i being crass? I don't think so. Because what it comes down to is BUSINESS. The studio does what's best for BUSINESS. They're SELLING a movie. Not trying to punish Josh Friedman. You MUST believe this or you can drive yourself crazy. Because ultimately arbitrations are the products of success. If you're not arbitrating, you're probably not getting movies made. Is there ego involved? Professional pride? The Quest for Justice?
Eh.
Gettin' all Norma Rae about it might help you but it just got me a little too hopped up and made it tough for me to sleep without drugs. The point is, it's a long and painful process. So whatever trick you play on your brain to help you write the best statement you can is strongly encouraged. For me I prefer not to consider the idea that the most powerful people in Hollywood don't like me.
I win the thing. Thank God. Because I cannot tell you how short this post would've been had I lost. There are rumblings. I hear that Koepp's not too happy (no shit), CAA's apoplectic (Koepp's agents), and my father takes the time to remind me that Koepp is only three years older than I am and (said with emphasis by Dad) ALSO A PRODUCER AND A DIRECTOR.
Don't ask.
So it's gold, right? I'm whisked away on everybody's shoulders (well, me on one shoulder and Koepp on the other).
Hmm. No. Because remember, this movie's been made so fast it's probably traveled through a wormhole and by the time the arbitration is done almost all of the advertising (especially the posters and trailers) is finished. And they don't go back and correct things. It's not like they pull 3500 trailers and start over. The studio is only responsible for any new promotional material going forward that hasn't already been finished.
Which means of course: I've got a credit on this movie and still nobody has any idea who the fuck I am.
In Part Two of "The Koepp and I" I'll detail the face-to-face showdown between myself and David Koepp at the New York premiere...
The WOTW question relates to the arbitration and of course that's a sticky little fucking wicket. But it's a question I get asked a lot. I did a Q&A at the WGA theater after a WOTW screening a few weeks back and the moderator prepped me ahead of time by saying: "Whatever you do, don't talk about the arbitration." The Q&A starts and maybe the second question out of the box is: "Tell us about the arbitration". I lean forward with my microphone and she puts her hand in front of my chest like she's a parent trying to keep her kid's head from hitting the windshield. I shrug her off. Fuck it. These people stayed late on a Friday night to ask me questions. The least I can do is give a little love.
A little history: I wrote the first three drafts of WOTW for Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise in late '02 and early '03. We handed the script in to Paramount and the previous regime (NO ONE remains) did not greenlight the movie. I had no more steps in my contract and there wasn't much talk about paying me to do more work. I left and went on to other projects. After some months David Koepp was hired and rewrote me. After MI-3 was delayed Cruise's schedule opened up and the movie was greenlit. The fellas went off and made the movie in record speed.
All movies are assigned temporary credits which are the studio's best guess as to what the credit will be. The Artful Writer has a great discussion on this topic here.
Obviously it's a complicated issue as temporary credits can be a studio's good faith effort to figure out what they think the credit will be...But the temporary credit is just as likely to be an expression of the studio's wishes. Does it matter what that temporary credit is given that the WGA arbitrators have final say? Of course it matters. WOTW is a perfect example.
Now...ya'll may not know this...but David Koepp is a much more successful and well-known screenwriter than I am. I know. Shocking to find out. I'd link you to his IMDB but frankly the guy doesn't need my help and you probably know his credits better than I do. He's very good and he works his ass off and people trust him to get movies made. And they should.
So they put David up for sole credit. What was their reasoning? Was that their best guess? Was that what they wanted to see happen? Dunno. Didn't ask. Didn't care. Didn't surprise me. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IF I WORKED FOR THE STUDIO. It's better for every single person working on WOTW for David Koepp to have sole credit on the screen. Except for me. And my wife. I'd include my parents but I think Dad secretly thought it finally validated his theory that I was too lazy to be successful.
So what happens? David Koepp is free to continue being David Koepp. He can do interviews. He can be in magazines. It's his movie, baby. Well, his and Steven's and Tom's...but we can dream, right? And here's the thing...he's doing EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IN HIS SITUATION. How often to do you find yourself the sole credited writer of the most hyped movie of the summer? Granted, it happens to him about every other year, but for the rest of us...
So you're David Koepp and you press your advantage. As far as you and just about everybody else is concerned, you're it. He was on the set. It's his shooting draft. He's David fucking Koepp. Let me reiterate. He's doing EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IN HIS SITUATION.
Where does that leave me? Did I mention that when I was working on the script it was supposed to be hush-hush? Yeah...nobody knew about it...Kinda cool when I was working on it...Kinda not so cool three years later. Here's sample dialogue of meetings I would have in the months before the arbitration:
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Dude. Whattya been up to?
ME: Not much, you know. Getting ready for the summer...
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Excited for anything comin' out?
ME: Well, you know, besides the obvious...
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: Yeah I'm a big Star Wars fan, too. Hope it rocks.
ME: Uh, no. I meant War of the Worlds.
PRODUCER/STUDIO EXEC: I'm psyched for that, too. I think Steven's gonna knock it out of the park.
(Awkward silence as I try for the smooth segue...)
ME: You know I wrote that, don't you?
So I write my statement. I can't give out any details but to say this: it was twenty single-spaced pages and I rewrote it more times than I do my scripts. I'm not exaggerating and here's why: it's worth more fucking money than any script I've written. A shared screenplay credit on WOTW puts my son through school. K thru Graduate. All private if he wants. He can probably bring a friend. Am i being crass? I don't think so. Because what it comes down to is BUSINESS. The studio does what's best for BUSINESS. They're SELLING a movie. Not trying to punish Josh Friedman. You MUST believe this or you can drive yourself crazy. Because ultimately arbitrations are the products of success. If you're not arbitrating, you're probably not getting movies made. Is there ego involved? Professional pride? The Quest for Justice?
Eh.
Gettin' all Norma Rae about it might help you but it just got me a little too hopped up and made it tough for me to sleep without drugs. The point is, it's a long and painful process. So whatever trick you play on your brain to help you write the best statement you can is strongly encouraged. For me I prefer not to consider the idea that the most powerful people in Hollywood don't like me.
I win the thing. Thank God. Because I cannot tell you how short this post would've been had I lost. There are rumblings. I hear that Koepp's not too happy (no shit), CAA's apoplectic (Koepp's agents), and my father takes the time to remind me that Koepp is only three years older than I am and (said with emphasis by Dad) ALSO A PRODUCER AND A DIRECTOR.
Don't ask.
So it's gold, right? I'm whisked away on everybody's shoulders (well, me on one shoulder and Koepp on the other).
Hmm. No. Because remember, this movie's been made so fast it's probably traveled through a wormhole and by the time the arbitration is done almost all of the advertising (especially the posters and trailers) is finished. And they don't go back and correct things. It's not like they pull 3500 trailers and start over. The studio is only responsible for any new promotional material going forward that hasn't already been finished.
Which means of course: I've got a credit on this movie and still nobody has any idea who the fuck I am.
In Part Two of "The Koepp and I" I'll detail the face-to-face showdown between myself and David Koepp at the New York premiere...
posted by josh at 3:01 PM
24 Comments:
Great story. Can't wait for Part Two.
PJ McIlvaine
I'm sure people know who you are now. I made a point to visit IMDB after seeing the film to find more of your work.
Welcome to the scribesphere!
I don't know if it matters, but I'd heard or read about the Koep being the "only" author debate before WOTW's came out - I think I read about it somewhere (when I wasn't reading about how Cruise is a nut) here in nyc - I'm really glad that you won your arbitrition and they betta' show you the money -
Love your blog - please visit mine when you get a chance!
writeonbklyn--
The "Ray-only POV" aspect of the movie was in there from conception. Thanks for the question.
How much does the final Dahlia script resemble the one by Eric Bergren that was floating around ebay for several years?
www.lmharnisch.com
Hmm, I still haven't see it yet (the buggers took it out of the local metroplex and now I'll have to drive ALL the way across town) but there's the rub. Do I now stick up for my blogger writer pal and NOT go see it and wait for the dvd release which may have his name credited by then? Or do I find out what parts of the finished film were definitely his and see? BTW, if you wrote a draft for it, are you contractually forbidden to post a PDF of it on your site?
larry--
I never read the Eric Bergren script so I couldn't say. Those who've worked on the project since the Bergren script say it's not similar.
Moviequill--
That's an interesting question and honestly I don't know. My preference currently is that the movie stand on its own and not to parse out who wrote what...
Love your fuck it mentality.
Wow, thanks for sharing this.
There's one other writer I know of who talks about arbitration, Max Adams. She lost her bid for credit. She wrote about it in her book. Frightening stuff. Glad to hear your fight had a better outcome.
"He's doing EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO IN HIS SITUATION." Sounds a little bit like "Brutus is an honourable man." to me ;-)
Great blog. I'll be there.
Melville
F@ck it. 'Secret Window' stank, if you can stay ahead of that kind of crap, history will remember you MORE fondly.
Congrats on the arbitration!
Dahlia script? Ellroy's novel was pretty great - I hope you can do it justice...
Well, people know who you are now.
I just did check David Koepp out on IMDB, and I'm not impressed. Most of his movies are shit I never saw, or shit I wished I'd never seen. I wouldn't even waste any more brain cells worrying about where you stack up next to him.
That just isn't justice enough bro and I do feel you.
Hopefully as a writer you aren't in the habit in using "myself" when it would be correct to say "me", as in "between myself and David Koepp at the New York premiere..."
Josh -- nice to stumble across this blog... I noticed your credit on WOTW and didn't know much about you. Excellent script, by the way.
I'm going to express some skepticism about your claim that the studio was just looking out for its own bottom line in wanting to give sole credit to Koepp... come on, nobody in the world believes that screenplay credits affect box office. I've been through an arbitration myself, and found out, as many have, that what the studio suggests has much more to do with stroking egos than anything else. They wanted Koepp to have sole credit because he's powerful, and A-List, and you're not... at least, you weren't then. Hopefully, with your name in first position and the box office way about 100 mil, you will be now...
good luck, and many congrats.
Josh:
I'm coming to the party late here, but glad to have found your blog.
I saw your name on the posters before WOTW's release, but you obviously have a hook into reality: most regular people don't give a damn about who wrote a flick and only care who's in it (okay, and -maybe- that Spielberg directed...). Only those of us who are film freaks or aspiring screenwriters care.
I enjoyed WOTW though, but would love to know if any elements from your drafts made it into the final film.
Josh, your blog is good reading. I like it very much. But I am not a fan of WOTW as far as I could tell from the preview and my movie friends' reviews. I'd have to see it for myself to get a more definitive opinion, of course. I'm glad a talented writer like you gets success. Even though I may totally dislike WOTW, I look forward to your future projects.
Not that you should feel any better about this, Josh but... in my worthless opinion, Koepp has always been a little sheisty with his writing, as in, he's really awful at endings. When I was watching WOTW, subconciously, every cool thing that happened I attributed to you (even though I had no idea who you were), and every contrived moment to Koepp. And don't believe the hype, a Spielberg movie will make $100 million no matter who the writer is (witness: Saving Private Ryan. Robert who?)
-ajw
Josh, it's just possible that Paramount did that because David Koepp wrote A BRAND NEW SCRIPT. The WGA rules in an arbitration involving adaptation suck and reward the first writer oftentimes no matter what. Simply by crediting them with all of the selections made from the source material. It is a phallacy that studios think that a writer's name means anything to the public aside from film nerds such as ourselves. I don't know what your 20 page statement said but you could have written no statement and probably still would have gotten credit, wether you deserve it or not is another matter. Simply working on a film first, does necessarily mean authorship. The guy wrote his own script. They didn't use yours. Live with it and quit trying to rewrite history.
Did you know that "anonymous" in Hindi means.. David Koepp?
David Koepp is a second cousin of mine - never met the man but I finally googled him. I didn't find pt 2 of this blog. Anyways, good luck in the future and move on.
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