Paul Haggis

Disco got the ball rolling with this, may as well keep it up.

Though I don't plan on drafting/signing him immediately I'm wondering what people's opinions on Haggis are. He's gone undrafted in so far, even after releasing one of the most acclaimed movies of 2005 so far in Crash. Is it that he doesn't have enough of a track record, that he might not be able to repeat or something else? I've yet to see Crash so eprhaps someone like Disco would be better suited to analyse this, however its something which has really tugged at my curiosity.

Disco got the ball rolling with this, may as well keep it up.

Though I don't plan on drafting/signing him immediately I'm wondering what people's opinions on Haggis are. He's gone undrafted in so far, even after releasing one of the most acclaimed movies of 2005 so far in Crash. Is it that he doesn't have enough of a track record, that he might not be able to repeat or something else? I've yet to see Crash so eprhaps someone like Disco would be better suited to analyse this, however its something which has really tugged at my curiosity.

He's a rising star right now. I saw Crash recently, and was a huge fan of that. I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby yet, but the oscar recognition on that has certainly increased his profile as a writer. However, when we did the drafting, most people probably hadn't seen it yet.

I imagine as more people see his work, he'll increaes in potential. I think Crash is one of those films that will grow in popularity over time, much like Usual Suspects.

He's a rising star right now. I saw Crash recently, and was a huge fan of that. I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby yet, but the oscar recognition on that has certainly increased his profile as a writer. However, when we did the drafting, most people probably hadn't seen it yet.

I imagine as more people see his work, he'll increaes in potential. I think Crash is one of those films that will grow in popularity over time, much like Usual Suspects.
Actually, I had forgotten his work on MDB.

I'm almost sure he'll get drafted though (and upon review, I just might try to snag him) just because of all his work in television, and the fact that television is coming into Season 3 play.

I will take this opportunity to *****, moan and whine about the draft process we used in season 2. I didn't like it :D

I mean, theoretically, the process is not all that bad, but I did trade down for more selections (depth) in the 1st draft and consequently, I had a bit more people protected.

I thought it was a bit depressing how I didn't get to draft in season 2 until something like round 6. In fact, many of the people I left unprotected were gone before I couldn't even select. It's not much of an incentive for me to dump bodies this time.

Had I known, I would have traded Eva Mendes and co. instead of dumping her like that.

Also, with TV projects, are we going to have enough of a roster with the current limit? I'm guessing some people will stretch their ressources and we may need TV-grade actors as well.

I will take this opportunity to *****, moan and whine about the draft process we used in season 2. I didn't like it :D

I mean, theoretically, the process is not all that bad, but I did trade down for more selections (depth) in the 1st draft and consequently, I had a bit more people protected.

I thought it was a bit depressing how I didn't get to draft in season 2 until something like round 6. In fact, many of the people I left unprotected were gone before I couldn't even select. It's not much of an incentive for me to dump bodies this time.

Had I known, I would have traded Eva Mendes and co. instead of dumping her like that.

Also, with TV projects, are we going to have enough of a roster with the current limit? I'm guessing some people will stretch their ressources and we may need TV-grade actors as well.
I'll probably expand or take out the roster limit. I wholeheartedly agree that we'll need more people.

As for the waiver draft, what exactly do you propose we use?

I agree with Vlad. I had no idea how the draft was going to go...and had I known the the # of releases from my roster would cause me to get 1 round of drafting at the end, I would not have entered.

If that is the course again this time, I probably will stay out of it. I have more resources to consider this time...but...I did not prefer that method.

An alternative that may work (if not this time, perhaps in the future) is to have a more "traditional" (at least I think it is) Expansion draft. With or without a new Studio/Franchise.

Each Studio gets to protect 10 actors, 3 Directors, 1 Composer. The rest get thrown into a pot and we do another draft.

This is an extreme example and the numbers are arbitrary, but perhaps when 4 Seasons make 1 Year (spring, summer, etc.) each year (or 2) the Expansion Draft shakes things up for us all.

I would certianly like to see the rosters shaken up as there are actors/directors/writers/composers that I never had a shot of getting (having joined in the 2nd Season) and never will have a chance of trading for.

The A List.

This still does not help with many of the higher coveted stars, but it is worth looking at to keep things from getting stale, perhaps?

I think if we do get new Studios, the Expansion Draft should be an important tool for those new studios to get a start; a fair footing.

Any thoughts?

Now back on topic, Paul who?

will have to check on him.

I will take this opportunity to *****, moan and whine about the draft process we used in season 2. I didn't like it :D

I mean, theoretically, the process is not all that bad, but I did trade down for more selections (depth) in the 1st draft and consequently, I had a bit more people protected.

I thought it was a bit depressing how I didn't get to draft in season 2 until something like round 6. In fact, many of the people I left unprotected were gone before I couldn't even select. It's not much of an incentive for me to dump bodies this time.

Had I known, I would have traded Eva Mendes and co. instead of dumping her like that.

Also, with TV projects, are we going to have enough of a roster with the current limit? I'm guessing some people will stretch their ressources and we may need TV-grade actors as well.


Well, the idea of that the protect and release system was that it was going to be hard to get consensus on the number of people of to protect. Everyone had different tolerance levels on how many people they would protect. Personally, I drafted in the first round with the main focus being on short term projects, as I was uncertain as to how long this would go. That's why I dumped a fair bit of my roster, which also lead me to picking up some of the best dumped assets the first time around.

Now that this thing is on solid footing, we really should get a good level of dialogue established on what methods we want going forward. I know it will be key for myself, because, whatever the rules are, it may affect how many projects I release this season, if I know that I may not be able to retain my roster if I wish to push a project back at all.

There are a few issues that need to be addressed:

-Some people have created a long-term roster. One that they can deliver solid projects over a long term. We need to make sure that they have the opportunity to get a return on their drafting strategy.
-We need some mechanism to allow roster turnover. I know, for myself. We have lots of creative people on board in our little club here, it's good to increase the accessibility.
-While TV projects will require a different calibre of actors most likely, I think the roster limit of 85 should still be sufficient to run a full seasons worth of projects. The most output we have seen someone do in a season is 8, by MoP, and I'd have to check, but I'm guessing that with all of those projects, he probably still had at least 10 or so people on his roster that didn't see use.


Here are some things I'd like to see:
-Maintain the same roster limit of 85 people. I may be alone on this, but I rather rosters stay limited, forcing people to better leverage their current people.
-Prepare maximum studio projects maximums. For example, once you've created 3 projects for one director, then you have to release or trade him the next season. The limit for actors, writers and composers would have higher.
-Maintain a similar system for draft and release between seasons, but, the first 3 rounds, everyone should get a pick (with whoever release the most, gets to pick first). After those rounds, then, you can have rounds where those that released more get additional picks.
-Film properties not used after three rounds should become publically available. We haven't had much problem with hoarding recently, but, generally speaking, if you're not using a license, it should go back into public domain. I'm thinking of all the sports licenses that Jonesy picked up in the first season that will mostly go unused.

Those are some quick items for thought.

We need some mechanism to allow roster turnover.

My problem with this (other than my love for my roster) is that we already have some kind of artificial roster turnover.

I mean, MoP said it best by starting this thread: things move pretty fast in the world of movies and there are new, fresh assets in all genres every couple of weeks to fill needs.

There are going to be new hot character actors, new hot indie directors, new action stars, new leading man, new writers and of course, new actresses with... "talent" :D that will pop here and there.

And likewise, existing actors see their "status" change every couple of months. This is why both drafts (version 1 and 2) were pretty different and will continue to be so.

Further, I prefer any drafting scheme to be simple and quick because the draft is a pretty boring part. I mean, the actual drafting can be kind of nice but you have to make a list, then you have to wait your turn. The draft is always annoying at some point as you begin to lose track of who's got who.

As for the waiver draft, what exactly do you propose we use?

I'm thinking about it. I'll get back to it soon :)