Development hell

In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" (or "development limbo") is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development. A film, television program screenplay, computer program,^[1] concept, or idea stranded in development hell takes an especially long time to start production, or never does.

The film industry buys rights to many popular novels, video games, and comics, but it may take years for such properties to be successfully brought to the cinema, and often with considerable changes to the plot, characters, and general tone.^[2]

Overview

In the case of a film or television screenplay, the screenwriter may have successfully sold a screenplay to a certain set of producers or studio executives, but then new executives assigned to the project may raise objections to all the scripts and casting decisions they oversee, mandating rewrites and recasting. As directors and actors become "attached" to the project, further rewrites and recasting may be done, to accommodate the needs of the new talents involved in the project. Should the project fail to meet their needs, they might leave the project or simply refuse to complete it, causing further rewrites and recasting. At any point, a project may be forced to begin again from scratch.

It may also be the case that the screenwriters have an issue with the final rights agreement after signing an option, but aren't happy with the full terms, and the project may go in endless circles until either the situation is resolved, or the project is abandoned.

Sometimes studios or producers will deliberately halt production in order to stop competition on a different project, or to ensure that people invested will be available for other projects that the studio prefers.

This process can last for months or years. More often than not, a project trapped in this state will be abandoned by all interested parties or canceled outright. As Hollywood starts ten times as many projects as are released, many scripts will end up in this state.^[3] This happens most often with projects that have multiple interpretations and affect several points of view.^[4][5]

Related concepts

In software development, unreleased products that have been in long-term development are considered a type of vaporware. In film and television screenplay, unreleased products that have been in long-term development are considered as "vaporfilm". The anime OVA adaptation of Alien Nine has been cited by fans and critics as an example of "vaporfilm" because of its unfinished status after 4 episodes (extending halfway through the manga) and its decade-long hiatus since 2002.

See also

• Shelved
• Turnaround (filmmaking)
• Post-production hell
• Duke Nukem Forever, a famous example of vaporware. Announced in 1997, but not released until 2011.
• The Overcoat, an upcoming Russian animated film, in production since 1981.
• The Thief and the Cobbler, Guinness record holder as film with the longest production time.

References

1. ^ "Interactive development: The new hell," Marx, Andy. Variety. New York: February 28, 1994.Vol.354, Iss. 4; pg. 1
2. ^ "How My Novel Was Almost 'Developed' Into Oblivion," By WARREN ADLER, New York Times. New York, N.Y.: October 3, 1999. p. AR11
3. ^ "Cover Story: Writers Paid for Movies Never Made," Spillman, Susan. USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: January 16, 1991. pg. D1
4. ^ "Dept. of development hell," Kerrie Mitchell. Premiere. (American edition). New York: February 2005.Vol.18, Iss. 5; pg. 40
5. ^ "Books Into Movies: Part 2," Warren, Patricia Nell. Lambda Book Report. Washington: April 2000.Vol.8, Iss. 9; pg. 9. (Best selling novel The Front Runner has spent over 25 years in development hell)