The college guy has pushed the button. The roller coaster is leaving the safety of the loading platform.

I spent last night consolidating an eight page treatment into a three page outline, incorporating the changes that Paul, Tom, John and I discussed. Once I had Tom's OK on it, I faxed it to John.

John doesn't waste any time. He called me back about three hours later, to approve what I'd sent him. He liked one of the changes I made in a romantic angle, calling it "the link we needed", " good added poignancy" and "good storytelling." He also said I was the fastest writer in the west.

Well, hell, I'm not wasting any time on this project! (To give myself due credit, I am on the fast side. And this project has been easy to visualize, which makes it a snap to outline.)

John had already called his Vegas contact, who is "ready to move on this project now." The New York connection already has something on their plate, so they're probably not going to be able to produce the $3 million John hoped for. However, it turns out that his excited Vegas group is good for the same $3 million. It's not enough to make a full movie, but it's certainly enough to pay two writers.

Now, John is waiting for Paul, Dan and myself to give him a contract proposal. All of a sudden, we're the ones slowing down the train! After all this waiting...

Fortunately, the three of us are meeting on Tuesday to do exactly that. We're going to talk about our roles, compensation and rights. Then, it goes to John and negotiations are open. Then, if the Vegas people are truly up for it...

...I get paid.