After more than a century of movie-making, it's understandable that the Industry people have developed their own language. There have even been entire books published filled with industry terms! To assist as I describe my adventures to my reader friends who are not familiar with the movie business, I thought I'd leave a few fun Industry definitions to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Producer: The CEO of the movie production. Most people think that the director is the big wig, but the director actually answers to the producer. There are many different types of producers, but they are the primary driving force behind the production. And the producer is the only one who gets the "Best Picture" Academy Award.
Development: At the beginning, "development" is the process that a producer takes a story/script, goes through edits, creates a proposed budget, attaches directors (or even actors) and does the beginning business stuff behind what you see on screen.
Screenplay/Script: Technically, it's the same piece of material at different stages in the production process; i.e. the writer writes a screenplay; an actor holds the script. However, they're used interchangeably.
Coverage: Movie execs don't have a lot of time, and if something doesn't catch them immediately, they won't have a second look at it. So they hire the lowest level of "entertainment professionals" to read the hundreds of scripts submitted to them, and then write a short summary. The summary is called "coverage."
Option Agreement: When a movie is adapted from a book, for example, the producer obtains the rights to the story in an "option agreement." It's basically the contract saying the producer can develop the book into a script and get it ready for production. The agreement is set for a certain amount of time (usually 12-18 months), and when it expires there may be an option to renew it if they need more time.
Come back often! Next set of industry terms: Studio vs. Independent
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