ARIANNA EISENBERG "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!" Interview

"Dream of Orpheus" by Nicole Bolla, 53rd Venice Biennale

MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU: 3rd in a series of special posts giving extended versions of the interviews for "Rejected? 3 Industry Pros Tell You: Don't Give Up!"

Can you think of any other reasons why a producer may reject an otherwise well-written, *good* script?

I can’t get in the head of another producer but one reason for us is that we normally do in-house projects only; meaning we produce our own concepts/projects.  As a writer/producer I certainly have so many ideas that it keeps one constantly busy.  Having said that, I have optioned some amazing projects in the past.  If you get a script that is on a subject matter of interest to you and has that “magic” you’re hooked.  We get so many submission inquiries weekly that it’s difficult to handle all of them.  We don’t normally accept unsolicited material for a variety of reasons including the fact that we may have something similar we’re already working on and don’t want the legal hassle down the road.  So it’s not that your script or idea isn’t a good one, it’s that a producer or production company may just have a large slate of their own.

Do you have any advice for writers regarding rejection? 

Rejection is always difficult but it’s a fact of life – so you have two options.  You either fold or you deal with it and move forward.  My father told me years ago that the “only reason you won’t succeed is because you quit.”  That was good advice and I’ve always kept it in mind.  Just because this person or company isn’t enamoured by your script doesn’t mean it’s not good.  It just means it’s not a fit for them.  Keep trying.  If you’re lucky you may be able to get “notes” from a producer as to what they would have done differently.  Critique is not criticism.  It’s an opportunity to hear another’s POV and to make changes where applicable.  Change can only make it better.  Even at the studio level there can be upwards of 25 to 30 rewrites on a script.  So don’t feel defeated – make changes and keep going.  You should be your own critic as well – that way you’re in a position to take any critique to heart rather than it being a dagger to your soul.  KEEP MOVING FORWARD ALWAYS.  If it’s your passion then you ultimately will succeed.

Is there something positive you've learned from rejection you yourself may have experienced as a producer that you'd be willing to share? 

I began as a journalist and can’t tell you how many stories were rejected in the beginning.   I kept an actual file for all the rejection letters and with each letter I kept looking at what I had written and think about why it was turned down. I would change it up, add to it, take away from it, do more research, put in more detail and eventually I got my foot in the door.  The thing is I kept trying to make it better, always better.  From that point on you continue to get better at what you do – you make it your craft.  Again – rejection is a fact of life.  There is a great deal of content out there and an even greater deal of competition.  Be smart about it in thinking “how can I make myself or my work stand out?”  Come with something unique and different.  It doesn’t matter if you get a thousand rejections – the only one that matters is the one who says YES.  At that point all the others fade to black!