Interview with Chrissy
Blumenthal
Interviewed by Jenna Glatzer
Chrissy serves as
Vice President of Production for Black & Blu Entertainment, a production
company with a first-look deal with Sony Pictures. She is currently
developing several in-house projects with many different writers and
filmmakers.
Along with the other principal members of Black and Blu, you worked at
Mandalay Entertainment previously. What made the three of you decide to strike out and form your own production company?
Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal were the President and Senior Vice President at Mandalay
Entertainment. They were the guys behind the smash-hit I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and WILD THINGS. Sony loved these guys! When
Peter Guber moved his deal to Paramount, Todd and Jason were offered a deal at Sony. They accepted and asked me to come along... or now that I think about it,
I actually told them they weren't leaving without me. I knew they would create a great, fun and flourishing atmosphere to work in. They also hired Brian
Morewitz, our Senior Vice President of Production (who came from Lucas Fosters company), who is also very smart, very connected and very cool. So all in all --
I think we have a great, well-rounded production company.
You are very actively involved in the development process at Black and
Blu and have several projects in the works. How do these projects typically come about? (Spec scripts, novel adaptations, treatments, etc.?)
Most of our projects are hatched from ideas we have brought to writers who we want
to be in business with and vice-versa. We have a few
projects that we are adapting from novels as well as magazine articles. We read
spec scripts every single day but we don't buy them very often. It's hard to find a spec that's exactly what we're looking for. We have found the best way
to get the greatest possible script is to sit in a room with a writer, day after
day, pounding out beat by beat, twist after twist, until the script is exactly how we all pictured it to be.
Your company is one of the first legitimate production companies to
establish a strong Internet presence. Can you explain a little more about why you merged with Hollywood Literary Sales and what that means?
I think this question goes hand-in-hand with my answer above. If I sat in my office all day and just waited for a spec script to land on my desk -- we
wouldn't have any projects. I'm in the "development business" -- it's my job to
go out there and bring in material that will eventually become movies. Aligning with
Hollywoodlitsales allows us to look at material before it goes out to the entire town. If I read a logline that interests me, I'll request the synopsis
or the script and if the story line holds up and it's something we haven't seen before, I might offer the writer some type of development deal with the company.
Inherent in that merge is the idea that your company is very open to new
writers. This is such a heartening move to those of us who are living out in
Nowheresville, unconnected to all things Hollywood and plunking away at the keys. Why are you willing to take the time to read credit-less writers?
Credit-less writers could be just as great as writers with credits -- they're just lacking the "Hollywood contact." We feel our merger allows every
writer an equal opportunity in getting their scripts read by the people who are making the movies. We regard the website to be better than having a relative in
the entertainment business.
When we sit down to write, if we plan to sell, words like "high concept,"
"blockbuster," and "hook" dance around in our heads. How much do you pay attention to whether a script can be easily pitched versus the quality of the
storytelling?
Unfortunately, "high concept" sells more often than "a craft for storytelling." Studios need to know how to sell (and market) a movie, to their
audiences and to their foreign partners overseas. They can sell a high-concept idea much easier than a well-written,
nice story. However, the writer must also possess the craft for telling a story in three acts with great voices,
amazing twists, original plots and interesting subplots.
Black & Blu has a first-look deal with Sony. Does this mean that you
tailor your projects to suit their needs?
Yes, for the most part. We do have to consider what they're looking for, what's done well for them, what hasn't and what has international appeal.
But if Sony passes on a project we can take it to another studio that might be looking for something totally different than Sony.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
I love picking up a script, reading the first couple of pages only to realize it's going to be a fun read. I love when everyone in the company gets
excited about a script and we all talk about casting, directors, budgets, etc. I love my job because I always get to meet interesting people and I love my job
because my office is really close to the Starbucks cart. The least favorite part of my job is when I have an inbox full of scripts and I have to read ten
scripts in a weekend. That's a drag.
Have you ever regretted rejecting a script?
I think everyone has that one script they passed on that someone else didn't. It happens. There will always be some scripts that just aren't
your cup of tea and others that are... that's why there are so many different type of writers, producers and studios who feed their products to all different
types of audiences.
Any particular pet peeves of yours that would land a script in the trash?
I never throw a script in the trash but I will throw it in the recycle bin if there are a lot of
misspelled words and scripts that aren't in script format. That drives me crazy! I actually had a
writer email me and ask me if it was important that he do a spell check before he sent me the script.
Can you believe that?
What's coming up for Black & Blu?
We have so many great projects in the works. But just to name a few... we're working on CACTUS
FLOWER, a remake of a Goldie Hawn film from 1969 (this is set-up at Sony), we have a female-driven,
psychological thriller (adapted from a book entitled NEED) also set-up at Sony. We're getting ready
to cast a snow-board film about two young lovers on the run (think Bonnie & Clyde on snowboards). We also have
a high-concept, adult romantic comedy in the vein WAR OF THE ROSES that's getting a lot of heat from great actors.
Anything further you'd like to add for pre-pro screenwriters?
Make sure your script is perfect (or as close to perfect as possible) before you send it out. You usually only get one
shot. If the script is bad, full of story holes, has misspelled words, typos etc., chances are, you won't
be read again. When you're done writing the script, just remember, you're not done. Stick the script in a drawer for a few weeks and re-read it, have friends
and associates read (maybe even a script consultant); make sure the story is three acts, that the characters are real, three-dimensional and all have voices
of their own. Make sure you check facts and research you story. And most importantly, before you send the script to anyone, make sure you do a spell
check!
Visit Hollywoodlitsales.com, Black
& Blu's home on the web, here.
