[…] Mickey Fisher, an unknown and unsigned writer until recently, has film studios …read more […]

While I thoroughly enjoy all of the features on this blog, the interview series is by far my favorite. Always insightful!

I want to thank Mickey Fisher for donating his time. A 6 part interview, now that's dedication. I agree....it's one of my favorite interviews on here so far too. I noticed at the bottom of the interview, a sentence that invites readers to ask him a question. I had a few burning questions as I was reading the interview series and kept hoping that he would go over them. 1. What were the meetings with prospective managers/agents like? What did you look for in a representative and what made you choose these particular reps (when you had so many amazing choices)? Any advice for writers on what they should consider in making such a decision? 2. How should you conduct yourself with your agents, manager and the producers/executives you work with?

Thanks, Eric! I was pretty nervous for the meetings with the agents and manager but it helped that the script was my emissary going before me. By the time we had the meeting they were excited about the script and I think they wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Lol. I've read this a lot and I found it to be true as well, it helped that I had a bit of experience behind me and a ton of other stuff on the shelf. (and some similar material to EXTANT) When they asked what else I was working on I had another pilot, a feature contest I'd just won and other work to back it up. I think that's really important, to have at least one or two other scripts coming right behind. And I think it's important to be pretty well versed in what's happening these days in movies and on tv. It would be hard going to these meetings coming out of a bubble. As far as conducting myself with the reps, I consider them my partners. We're all on the same team. They've never asked me to be anything but myself and I've been open and honest with them along the way. The biggest thing I've done is that when they managed to get a door cracked open for me I did my best to smash through it. I worked round the clock on pitches, pitch documents, treatments, my episodes for the show, so that when they go to sell me they know I'm not going to slack. I'm going at it a hundred per cent. In general, the meetings/phone calls are fun and friendly. I'm lucky to be with people who are enthusiastic and love what they do.

Thanks Mickey :) ...for taking the time out of your obviously hectic schedule to draft a well thought out answer---really terrific advice. I can't believe you're answering questions from a fan blog! How cool is that. Like many others last year, I was as intrigued by how Extant got to the screen as with the show itself. The story in the trades was: An unsigned writer comes out of nowhere to stir up Hollywood into a feeding frenzy and capture the attention of every boy's hero Steven Spielberg. It's like screenwriting's version of Rocky. After watching the pilot, I can see what all the fuss about. I like how the show is so confident in its storytelling that it unfolds organically (spoiler alert: When Molly chases Ethan after he has a temper tantrum, it took a really intriguing turn that I didn't expect. Up until then, we had sweet scenes between father/son so when that twist came, it opened up a really interesting can of worms.) Many times in tv shows and movies, they are afraid that you'd lose interest so they throw in a gimmicky scene that's not really that organic to the plot or characters just to spice things up. I can't wait to see how the series unfolds.