Script Writing System In Modern Family

Chapter 4: Interest Arises

Returning from the jog, Ryan decided to make a daily routine or schedule. As he knew how important a daily routine is to become successful. So he opened up excel and started making a timetable of a sort.

Summary of Ryan's daily routine -

Ryan would wake up every day at 5:30 am and have a cold shower, waking him up. Then study for a solid hour when his mind was feeling fresh.

He would have breakfast between 7:00 and 8:00 as school began at 8:30, where he would be until 3 pm. Coming back home from school, he kept a 1 hour nap time.

Later, from 4 pm to 5 pm, he would sit down and write the Southland episodes. Then head outside for a one-hour jog to stay fit. After returning, he would finish his homework and continue studying for two hours.

He would then have dinner at 8 pm, relax and watch an NBA game afterward. Sleep by 10:30 pm after surfing the internet or if he is genuinely bored, then work on the script before sleeping.

Ryan didn't make this timetable alone but with his mom's help. She also promised to look out for him and ensure he followed the schedule.

Having adult supervision was something Ryan felt necessary as he wasn't sure how long he could manage to keep on it alone.

Ryan - "Like they say, when in doubt, bring your mom into the town. Wait, that doesn't seem right."

A week passed by, and the date came to 15th September 2009.

Ryan had so far been strictly following his daily routine and, as planned, had slowly gotten closer to Alex.

He had also harvested a total of 500 points this week. It also made him realize that using 200 points for a question was mad expensive. This week, he also learned that the points earned from one character were limited.

He learned this by looking at his points' history page, which showed that he earned a constant of 100 points from Alex daily.

Ryan also guessed that the only way to increase this cap should be to deepen his relationship, but that would take time.

The reason he cared so much about points was that he found the system mall to be very expensive. The cheapest thing turned out to be the next season of Southland, costing 1,200 points.

The system explained the reason for this was that he already owned the starting of the series, so the following season was cheaper.

Meaning that there was a premium to buy the first season of any TV show. This upset Ryan, but he could only divert attention toward earning more points in the pilot.

The only good news was that except for one episode, the rest of season 3 of Southland was all eight or above, so he didn't need a custom script.

Although cheaper than two seasons separately, a custom script would still cost much more than a single season alone. So Ryan kind of lucked out on that.

During the week, Ryan even dreamt that he made a million points in the pilot and got rich overnight. Regrettably, as he was about to spend his points, he was woken up by the sharp ringing of his alarm clock.

Ryan might not have gotten rich on points today, but he sure was going to make a bank this Tuesday afternoon. Ryan received this news early in the morning at the breakfast table.

Ryan was munching down on his French toast when Nathan received a phone call and headed outside.

When he returned, he smiled and informed Ryan that Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox were interested in his script.

Nathan - "So, do you have any preference?"

Ryan asked, "If I remember correctly, NBC is owned by Warner Bros, right?".

Nathan answered, "It's more complicated than that, so TNT owns both Warner and NBC, but Warner does provide their studios to NBC if needed."

Ryan asked, "So, does Warner not produce shows on NBC?"

Nathan replied, "Yes, there are certain shows that both work together, but as a whole, they are separate legal entities under the same parent company. By the way, why are you asking this?"

Ryan bowed his head slightly and pointed his index finger together (Two fingers touching emoji meme). Then spoke, "In the last week, I might have started working on a new TV show project."

Nathan spoke, "What, you wrote a TV script?"

Ryan replied, "Yeah, I was bored and felt there weren't any excellent police shows out recently, so."

Nathan spoke, "So you thought, why not make my own show?"

Ryan replied, "Why not, you know."

Nathan asked, "Wait, so you want to bundle the movie and show together?"

Ryan answered, "No, I thought as they are coming for negotiation, then why not."

Nathan face palmed in frustration and said, "It doesn't work like that. They will be sending an acquisition team to negotiate with us."

"Even the divisions for movie acquisition and TV acquisition are different. Thankfully you told me right now I can still call them and let them send a director, and a production head with them."

Ryan, new to Hollywood, felt extremely speechless listening to his father speak. It seems this industry is more complicated than he had previously assumed.

Seeing Ryan embarrassed, Nathan comforted him as he, for a second, had forgotten that the person he was talking to was just a young teenager.

Nathan spoke, "Alright, you head to school as it getting late. I will look at your TV Pilot and make revisions if necessary."

Nathan didn't doubt Ryan's genius. Before presenting the script to others, he felt he should have at least a look at it. He was also curious to read Nathan's new story.

Ryan, before exiting, responded, "By the way, do look at all the eight episodes in season one."

Ryan, after dropping this bomb, ran away while Nathan was left speechless at the dining table.