Tonight I went to a mixer hosted by the Los Angeles Film School. As part of their new film development program, they invited writers, directors and producers to come and mingle. I decided to go. It's one of those necessary evils that I have to learn to do better. Being a paid screenwriter involves networking. If it involved coax cables, it would be easier. Instead, I need to meet people face to face and learn the Art of Small Conversation. Damn. I took Basic Pistol 101 in college instead. What was I thinking??

Anyway, the mixer was more organize than I expected. They had a structured setup where a writer (so noted by a blue name tag) chatted with a director/producer (who had red tags). Every three minutes the couples changed and so circulated throughout the room. It was a great structure, because it made the idea of selling yourself not only acceptable but expected.

That didn't make it any easer, mind you, just well-structured.

In the process of this, I met up with someone I'd previously met at a friend's brunch party. His name is John, and he owns a production company. He must be pretty good at it, because he makes his living on making movies. We renewed our acquaintence and talked about one of my scripts that I'd sent him -- Three Hundred Lions, a drama set in ancient Greece. I, in turn, ran my current adaptation project by him to see if he was interested.

Indeed, he is. His eyes lit up by my pitch (and I'm sure it wasn't the flair of the pitch but the material), and he invited me to fax him the treatment. So, once we meet with the novel's author and have his signature on the dotted line, I'm sending the treatment to him. If John likes it, and decides to put his expertise and company behind it, this may actually get made.