I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...
Just a few days later Kevin called with news: the Warner team read the script and liked it, but they didn’t love it. They were on the fence about it. So Kimberly, who now no longer worked for Warner, told Joel & Bill to send it to Paul Reubens. An end-run. They did just that, sending it to Reubens’ agent. The idea was that if Reubens and his people liked it that would be enough to push Warner off the fence. Or entice Rueben to set it up elsewhere. Or just option the damn thing. In the meanwhile, Bill and Joel were still all set to send out the Flebber version of the script to others as soon as the option expired. Not good news, not bad news, just different news. “Stay tuned,” I noted.
Good thing I did. A couple of weeks later I get a surprise bonus from Hollywood (“Manna from La La Land”). Due to some wacky clerical decision, Warner issued me a check for the last draft of “The Kringle Project.” Kimberly had submitted the rewrite as a new draft. The committee read it as a new draft. The account department designated it a new draft and cut a check under the terms of the contract for new drafts. Since Kimberly was no longer there to point out the details of our verbal agreement (or maybe she did it for the same reason), the written contract clause is invoked. Les the Lawyer said the money was mine, for keeps. There was a check on the way. This was a remarkable surprise and needed to be celebrated, the family later decided.
Also, Paul Ruebens’ people had read the script and they liked it! They wanted Ruebens to look at it! But, he was on leave somewhere. Word was he had doubled up on the production of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” to knock out two seasons of the show in one season, fulfilling his contract with CBS and allow him to move on. So; Ruebens was on off the grid. The option had expired. I Ruebens wanted to do it, Warner would have to renew the option. Sure, I’d be nice and let it be renewed, instead of forcing them to give me a new one from scratch…
Also, Paul Ruebens’ people had read the script and they liked it! They wanted Ruebens to look at it! But, he was on leave somewhere. Word was he had doubled up on the production of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” to knock out two seasons of the show in one season, fulfilling his contract with CBS and allow him to move on. So; Ruebens was on off the grid. The option had expired. I Ruebens wanted to do it, Warner would have to renew the option. Sure, I’d be nice and let it be renewed, instead of forcing them to give me a new one from scratch…
I wouldn’t make any new entries until 8/5/91. At that time I merely mentioned that Kevin called. The check had arrived. Bill Squire called to inform me that I got the TV gig! “Where’s the Party?” was going to be produced at the ABC affiliate in New Haven, Connecticut as part of its “Great Summer Nights” series, which was a bunch of people and pilots testing out ideas to get ABC into the late night game.
Then the news broke. I wrote about it as “my big Hollywood moment” and posted it on my blog here. I tackled it as an amusing Hollywood anecdote, back when I thought there would be others. Some of the stuff in the story predates my journal. None of the story referenced my journal. But I continued to journal…
Then the news broke. I wrote about it as “my big Hollywood moment” and posted it on my blog here. I tackled it as an amusing Hollywood anecdote, back when I thought there would be others. Some of the stuff in the story predates my journal. None of the story referenced my journal. But I continued to journal…
