movin' on up to the east side

I got my first option today! Yay! This huge for a screenwriter. Somebody who shares neither my blood nor my bed thinks I rock. I'm dying to tell you how it happened, so the story unfolds below:

Last night I couldn't sleep because I took too many diet pills. So I ended up perusing the various "writer's wanted" websites. I queried one in search of short scripts- I'm talking 1-3 pages long with minimal sets. Anyway, I submitted my logline for "Suburban Psycho"- the gripping tale of a bored housewife who murders her neighbors for sport (it's a comedy). Ya'll, I didn't even expect an answer back. Well, wouldn't you know the Creative Director of the company emailed me this morning and said my logline sounded interesting and she wanted to see the script. So with prodding from my writer-friend Elayne (elaynehill.blogspot.com; see what a real blog looks like), I punched up my dialogue, tweaked my format and sent it in.

When I got home, there was another email from the Creative Director. I assumed it was rejection as I tend to attract those dastardly things. So, I opened it up and the first words I read were "Hi Kay! Your script is fabulous and we want to option it from you". Now, when a script is optioned, that means the company basically owns it for a year (or the length of the option). If they produce it within the year, I get paid ($50 for this one) and a DVD of the performance. If they don't produce it within a year, then the rights revert to me and I don't get paid. By the way, if it is produced, it will be shown on KXLA in Los Angeles.

Some say a free option is a bad idea but I see it like this: "Suburban Psycho" is, and probably forever will be, ten pages of a first and very rough draft. What I'm actually optioning is three pages of a ten page writing prompt. A free option on a piece of a half of a screenplay? Sure, why not?

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's difficult to describe just how happy I am right now! I couldn't be happier if Vin Diesel was naked in my kitchen making me toast and marmalade. This shit is totally George Jefferson! We're movin' on up, yo!