I told Virginia I’m no good at “pitching” and would rather write the secret-society idea as a “spec” screenplay. She said that in that case, it might be a good idea for me to go into these meetings and talk about kinds of movies I like, “so you don’t appear tongue-tied.”

Oliver North is testifying on TV as a sort of running background to everything.

(Game? What game?)

Working at home is not working out. I need to find a way to start splitting my time between screenwriting and the game. It would be ideal if I could finish the game, achieve some kind of closure on that, before I move to L.A. and devote myself 100% to screenwriting.

A day of meetings set up by Virginia. One was with Hal Lieberman at Disney. Just being on the Disney lot was quite a thrill. 

Gary Cosay called to tell me that Virginia is leaving the agency. I need to sit down and think about this.

Had lunch Tuesday with Ed Badasov. I told him I’ll be done with the screenplay rewrite in a month, then we can sit down and work out a new timetable for Prince of Persia. 

Ed tried to talk me into staying with video games as a career. He said I have an extraordinary talent and ability, possessed by only a few people, to actually conceive, design and execute a game all by myself. I felt like he was talking about somebody else. All I could do was stare at him and nod politely.

I have no idea what will happen now with Prince of Persia. Maybe I can hire someone else to finish it? Or sell it to Broderbund as it stands, as a work-in-progress? I can’t think about it. I’ll think about it a month from now.

Gary Cosay encouraged me to write my secret society script on spec, if I have the inclination and the financial freedom to do so.

“You’re in a good position right now,” he said, “in that Larry Turman is waiting for a script from you that stands a very good chance of going. If this movie gets made, whatever you write next will automatically have a lot of interest, and potentially be worth a lot of money.”

He also said: “If you write a couple more scripts on spec, and if they’re good, you’ll be in a position to do more than just write. You’re carving out a road for yourself. You can drive your car down it any time you want.”

I want Birthstone to get made so bad… I can’t let myself think about it.