Don’t Be Afraid To Dig Into Your Story

“Don’t Be Afraid To Dig Into Your Story” Says Mary Jane Skalski From Echo Lake Entertainment:

Mary Jane Skalski is currently the President of Production at Echo Lake Entertainment where she also represents a handful of clients. She also teaches in the Graduate Producing Program at Columbia University and is a member of AMPAS, serving on the Producers Branch Executive Committee. She has worked with acclaimed filmmakers including Ang Lee, Nicole Holofcener, Ed Burns, Tom McCarthy and Gregg Araki, to name a few. Mary Jane shared her views on the current state of the industry with Creative Screenwriting Magazine.

What most excites you about your current role at Echo Lake Entertainment?

I love having the ability to look everywhere for material – books, articles, remakes or original scripts. And then to let that material find its best way to the world – whether that is a movie for theatrical release, for streaming, an ongoing series, limited series or even a podcast.

What is the current mood of the market in terms of what it’s looking for?
 
I think consumers want things that take them out of their own heads; movies and TV shows that are immersive. I don’t believe that people just want ‘happy’ things. I think they want things that are so consuming they won’t even realize they aren’t constantly checking their phones. That can be in any genre – drama, comedy, thriller, etc. – But it has to captivate.
 
Where does Echo Lake Entertainment fit into the overall marketplace?

Internally, we really just look for things that captivate us – enough to want to work on it for what is often years. We really have to love it. Usually that is something that we can sink our teeth into in some ways. Thematically resonant. Hopefully smart.
 
What most attracts you to a project?
 
A world that feels true and characters that feel real. They can be fantastical, but the world has to feel true to itself and the emotions have to be grounded.
 
Where do you typically source new projects/ clients?
 
Pre-COVID I tried to meet a lot of people – at festivals, screenings or anywhere. Now I find i am watching more material than I used to and I’m meeting more people through fellowships, incubators, and labs.

What is your ideal writer client?
 
A writer who isn’t afraid to dig in. Someone who wants to think and know what the ‘big idea’ is that they are writing about. A writer who believes fully in their characters. I like a writer who knows that writing is not just about the plot.
What does a writer need to know before approaching you to read their script and potentially representing them?
 
That I am very much an active producer so I only have a very small roster of management clients. The clients that I do have tend to be deep thinkers about their work.
 
Should writers have any ancillary material such as storyboards, bibles, and casting lists available?
 
They don’t need those materials to approach me, but they should look forward into diving into those materials and we can work on that together. I find the creation of those materials help a writer articulate the themes in their work and thats always helpful.
How soon into reading a script do you decide if it’s right for you?
 
There’s nothing set in stone for me about that. I think a really good script often feels extraordinary from the first page – as a reader I can feel that I’m in a creator’s hands, and that excites me. Sometimes a script can be a struggle to read, but I can still feel there is a unique voice that needs to be heard. I’m a finisher. I rarely don’t read the whole script (or watch a whole movie).
 
What keeps you reading? What makes you stop?
 
I keep reading when a writer is aware of the audience – not to pander to – but is aware that the experience of reading involves both the words on the page and the person who is reading them.
 
The writer should be actively considering what is going in the reader’s mind as they are reading. Are they wondering what the reader (or viewer) is anticipating based on the information provided?  To me, a script (or anything) feels dead if I am not anticipating anything. If I’m not pulled in and pulled through, I lose interest.
 
When a piece of material is working I have my own expectations built out of the clues on the page. If a writer is not aware of that or not interested in it – then the work feels ‘presentational’ to me and it is less interesting and more of a slog. That said, I usually read to the end because if the vision is there, then maybe we can work together on the rest of it.
 
Where do you see the overlooked opportunities for writers right now?

I don’t know if its overlooked, but I feel there’s excitement about fresh voices and good writing wherever it’s found. So if a writer has a short story published or a poem, a play produced, a podcast, or article or anything — and it’s good — it will get noticed. I was talking to an agent a few weeks ago who appreciated someone’s tweets and thought maybe they could write for TV.  She reached out and realized the writer would be great for TV and for a lot of other things too.
 
There are a lot of ways to get noticed. I think it’s important to show that one is active and creative and keeps moving forward. (But this doesn’t mean send a query email with lots of log lines!)

Do you believe in finding the next big thing like Squid Game or are you more interested in a slow and steady approach to your work?

I am not one of those producers who can reverse engineer the process. I don’t know how to look at the marketplace and say, “Here’s what’s missing. I will go find it.” I’d love to find something that a lot of people want to experience, but I only know how to do it the way I’m doing it, which is to find things I love, and that I think I can make a difference in how they are made. And then work to put them into the world.

What recent film/ TV shows are you most excited about?
 
I’m loving Station Eleven (which I loved as a book and have really looked forward to as a limited series). I just watched Parallel Mothers (Almodóvar) and Drive My Car. I’m also loving Yellowjackets. And I’m a real sucker for any cozy crime on BritBox.
 
If you were given a check for $100 million, how would you spend it?

A lot of fellowships and grants. I think artists need space to breathe and a chance to build community. The Sundance Labs are the flagship in a lot of ways, but I think much of that experience can be replicated. It comes down to people in a room respecting one another’s work and giving of themselves.
 
Everyone needs to find their people who give honest feedback and who you can give honest feedback to. So I’d fund lots of these that would also come with a stipend. And I’d create something similar for producers – providing overhead money, a salary and development funds. It’s so hard to be an independent producer — even in success there is not a lot of money, very little financial stability and very little accolades. Yet the industry needs us to move things forward and take things from page to screen. So I’d invest heavily in producers. And of course, I’d use some of that money to move my own projects forward!