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Entertainment industry vocabulary
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The entertainment industry has its own very specific vocabulary. A few terms to know:
Rolling a Call – To place a call and connect your boss once you have the other party on the line – “Hi, I have Bob Smith for Mr. Spielberg.”
Leaving Word – If you place a call and the other party isn’t available, then instead of leaving a message, you’re leaving word. – “Mr. Spielberg isn’t available.” “Okay, please leave word.”
Set Up – When a script or idea is purchased by a financier, it is said to be “set up at” that company – “SPIDER MAN 4 is set up at Sony with Laura Ziskin producing.”
Spec – A script written in a speculative manner, most often used to refer to scripts that an agent or manager is submitting competitively to many different production companies and studios, hoping to find the right person to set the project up.
Tracking Board – Email groups that allow executives and assistants to keep track of which spec scripts and general gossip.
Territory – When an agent or manager is attempting to sell a property (spec, book, article, etc.) they will assign different financiers to different producers who are interested in producing it. Each financier is referred to as a territory.
Draft – A version of a screen or teleplay that has been officially turned into a producer or the studio.
Set – A deal making term that refers to a single rewrite of a script. Screenwriters will often be paid for a predetermined number of rewrites as well as the original script. – “This deal is for a draft and a set.”
Polish – A deal making term that refers to a light rewrite that addresses fewer problems and thus is easier than a full rewrite or “set.”
Sample – A script that is either set up or is no longer competitive in the market and is being used to show a writer’s work and help her get her next assignment.
General Meeting – A get to know you meeting, usually set for the purpose of facilitating two parties working together.
Term Deal – A deal made between a producer and a financier in which the financier provides some portion of the producer’s overhead costs in return for either exclusive rights for to the material the producer attaches himself too, an “Exclusive” deal, or, more commonly, the right of first refusal, a “First Look” deal.
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