Listen to this podcast.

A true team effort. I think the key points are:

• The manager pinpointed the right producer for the material and then cold-called him, instead of just sending the material to a bunch of his usual contacts and giving up after getting passes.
• The writer never gave up on the idea after years of rejection and was game enough to do notes for free even after writing the entire script on spec.
• The producer instilled so much confidence in the writer that he would sell/set-up the project that the writer took a chance on him and did major revisions on spec. The producer instilled confidence in the agencies that although there were 2 similar projects already set up at the studios, this one was special.
• The producer attached a director that was well-known but yet young and hungry so he was game to jump on board a spec project with no financing and create a visual presentation to help sell it to the studios.
• The team told the studios “We don’t want a development deal we want to make this film and be in pre-production in 3 weeks” and had the confidence to walk away from any financial offer that didn’t grant them such.