Welcome to Development Hell

Episode Summary

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In the upcoming mini-series titled "Welcome to Development Hell," Malcolm introduces listeners to a unique and often overlooked aspect of Hollywood: the realm where promising scripts and movie ideas go to die, known as development hell. Malcolm shares his personal journey into this world, recounting an adventure years ago when he and his friend Steve pitched a movie idea across Los Angeles. Despite initial excitement, offers, and the involvement of stars, their project ultimately went nowhere, providing Malcolm with his first lesson in Hollywood's harsh reality: most things never happen. The series aims to explore this phenomenon further by sharing stories from screenwriters and directors about their own projects that got lost in development hell. These tales reveal a side of Hollywood that is heartbreaking, yet also funny, weird, and fascinating. It offers a glimpse into a Hollywood that never materialized, drawing parallels to the drug industry where researchers spend their careers working on drugs that may never reach the market. This comparison underscores the emotional and intellectual investment in projects that, despite their potential, remain unseen. Listeners can expect a diverse range of stories, including a sci-fi story with a twist too complex for the movie business, a biopic about the world's most famous chimpanzee, and an utterly insane musical about Elvis as a cab driver. The series promises not only an exploration of lost cinematic dreams but also an abundance of name-dropping, celebrity gossip, and digressions that are sure to entertain. The emotional depth of these stories is so profound that it moved both Malcolm and his producer, Nina, to tears during an interview, suggesting that listeners might find themselves similarly affected. "Welcome to Development Hell" is set to offer an incredible story of ambition, creativity, and the often harsh realities of the film industry, starting February 29th with the first two episodes, followed by weekly releases.

Episode Show Notes

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Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. On February 29th, Revisionist History is returning with Development Hell, a series of untold stories about Hollywood projects that never left the page. There's a Philip K. Dick adaptation with a twist too shocking for the studios, a biopic about an exotic pet, and Malcolm’s own misadventure trying to adapt his bestselling book, Blink. Coming soon!

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Episode Transcript

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SPEAKER_01: Hello, hello, listeners.Malcolm here to let you know that next week we're bringing you something completely new.Many years ago, I had an adventure in Hollywood.Me and my friend Steve pitched a movie idea to a whole list of studio bosses and fancy offices all across Los Angeles. We waved our fingers in the air.We jumped up and down.Agents called us from their cars.We put them on speaker.There were offers.There were stars. It was a deal.And then nothing happened.And I got my first lesson in Hollywood, which is that most things never happen.In fact, maybe the best things never happen.There's a phrase they use out in Los Angeles to describe the purgatory where once promising scripts go to die.Development hell. And our idea here at Revisionist History is to do a little mini-series, half a dozen or so episodes, where we tell development hell stories.Call up a screenwriter or a director and ask them to tell the story of the story that got away.And it turns out there are a ton of great stories about great stories that got away. You know what the analogy, the best analogy to your world is? If you work in the drug industry, most people who are researchers for drug companies will spend their entire career working on drugs that will never make it to the market.It's the same thing.So it's like this weird thing where there are these incredibly smart people who are doing all of this brilliant work and nothing they do will ever see the light of day.Yeah, yeah.It's a little bit heartbreaking. Oh, it's heartbreaking, all right, and funny and weird and fascinating.It's a glimpse into the Hollywood that never happened.We're going to start with the story that got me going on this adventure. My wild ride around Los Angeles years ago with my friend Steve.I must say the entire time we were with Leo, I was like so hopelessly starstruck. And from there, we're gonna talk about a sci-fi story with a twist that was a little too twisty for the movie business. SPEAKER_00: He kicks down the door and he points his gun and then the hacker turns around and it's a child. SPEAKER_01: We've got an amazing biopic about the world's most famous chimpanzee, an utterly insane musical about Elvis as a cab driver, and so much more.Not to mention an unhealthy amount of name-dropping, celebrity gossip, and endless digressions. Oh, my God.At one point during one of these interviews, I looked across at my producer, Nina, and realized she was crying.And then I realized I was crying.And guess what?When you listen to that little bit, my guess is that you'll be crying, too.Unless you have a heart of stone.And if you have a heart of stone, maybe this podcast isn't for you. You can hear Development Hell right here in this feed starting February 29th, when we'll be dropping the first two episodes. Two for the price of one, then weekly after that.And as always, you can hear all of Revisionist History ad-free by subscribing to Pushkin Plus. SPEAKER_00: So, it's actually an incredible story.