#michaelgrant

What is a pitch document?

AJ: A pitch document is used to identify key things within the intellectual property, in this case the GONE series. It identifies:

·         Who the author is;

·         The books publishing history;

·         A short synopsis about the world Michael has created;

·         Character bios of key characters;

·         How the series could be broken down into episodes;

·         A detailed synopsis;

·         Bios of the production company and producers involved;

·         Contact information for all involved; and

·         All of the work we received from fans, to showcase the amazing, active audience that the series already has.

As well as all of the above, we also had some key scenes drawn up by a concept artist.

What is a concept artist?

AJ: A concept artist visualises and brings to life ideas, so that they may be ready for production. We do this because Film and TV are visual mediums: the whole experience is centred around watching and listening. Having these graphics created is a great way to illustrate the series on a basic, captivating level. Some absolutely fantastic images were produced - some of which you may have seen already…. Keep your eyes out for more!

If you haven’t seen any of the images, head over to our Twitter (@ajriach).

Who will see the pitch document?

AJ: Most of the people viewing the document will be parties/companies that we’re pitching the project to, be this a studio or another production company. I will be spending some time in LA with Michael over the coming weeks, so watch this space for any updates…

Of course, we are sure some of you are interested in seeing the document too, so over the next couple of weeks we will roll out some screengrabs. Keep your eyes peeled for these, they’re pretty great! Here’s a taster...

Next, Michael shares his experience of putting the document together, and his feelings about bringing GONE to life.

How did you feel when putting together the pitch document?

Michael: I felt guardedly hopeful.  I feel guardedly hopeful about most things in life, and I suspect that caution annoys people who expect me to be more excited.  But I don’t really do excited, guardedly hopeful is as close to excited as I get. (Gilfoyle from SILICON VALLEY is my spirit animal).

I’ve really enjoyed working with AJ and Ian, as well as Imogen and the two writers, Danny and Ron, who’ve been my mentors in the script-writing work.    

Which did you feel was the most exciting aspect?

Michael: Well, see above.  The original astronauts had a line about, ‘maintaining an even strain.’  In other words, don’t get too worried by the problems, don’t get too excited about the possibilities, try to maintain a sort of level flight through life.  By the way this also answers the question: ‘Why have you never worked in publicity, Michael?’  Also, ‘Why are you not fun at parties, Michael?’

What was it like revisiting GONE more than a decade after originally writing it?

Michael: This will sound like one of those bullshit writer answers, but it’s humbling realizing that something you did a decade ago still resonates with people, that it has a life of its own.  You might think that would make me proud or egotistical, but rather the contrary because it’s a reminder of how much the fate of my work is in the hands of other people.  I’ve never really seen myself as working for publishers, I work for the readers.  I am their dancing monkey. 

Were you impressed with the artwork we received?

Michael: It was amazing.  When we wrote ANIMORPHS, Katherine (my wife, Katherine Applegate) and I were some of the first writers to encounter the emerging phenomenon of fan-fic and fan-art.  At that point no one knew what it all meant.  Should we try to stop it, ignore it or embrace it?  Our conclusion was that it was incredibly flattering, humbling, and kind of wonderful.  So, I’ve always been a supporter of fan contributions.  

Now, was I surprised that GONE readers were such a talented bunch?  No, not at all, of course they’re talented, and smart, and charming, good-looking and quite frankly the finest bunch of humans ever to tread the soil of this benighted planet!  (I’m bad at publicity, but I know how to suck up to fans).

What do you think of the pitch document?

Michael: It’s rather better than the sorts of things I produce on my own with my very limited skills at layout.  It’s, like, professional.  

How did you feel when you saw the concept art of the key scenes?

Michael: I thought, damn, given the ridiculous time constraints we put on the artist, they were excellent.  I know some fans have had concerns, but they need to bear in mind that they’re seeing the embryo, not the eventual fully-formed thing.  

What is it like seeing GONE start to come to life?

Michael: Katherine and I were in London looking at neighbourhoods with an eye to moving there.  Seriously.  I was thinking of a sort of genteel semi-retirement where I’d write just one book a year, hang out in London smoking cigars and drinking Scotch at 10 Manchester Street (my London cigar hideaway) then, whenever the sun deprivation got too bad, hopping down to the Algarve and... well, I had this meeting I’d agreed to and entirely forgotten about until about an hour before.  I met AJ and Ian at a restaurant and they basically said, ‘We’d like to try and produce GONE for TV and would you like to write it?’

So, Katherine and I went to dinner that evening and it was instantly obvious to both of us that we were going to do it and that between us we had enough stuff going on in Hollywood that moving there made more sense than moving to London + Algarve.  So, because our lives have never been planned in any rational, adult way but always just improvised in a series of ill-considered reactions, we thought, ‘Let’s go to Hollywood!  Yay!’  So we pulled a 180 and bought a house in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles where, I believe by city ordinance, all writers are required to live.  

Stay Tuned!

That’s everything for now - stay tuned and keep an eye on our social media, where any and all updates will be posted. This blog will also be updated regularly, to keep you in the loop!

Join the conversation using #GONE and #EngageInTheFayz!