Heart says, “do it”, others are advising against it.
TLDR; I have a character-driven, open-ended, dark story that is very close to my heart. Informed friends are advising against developing it because it doesn’t have the economic hook to sell.
I have been developing a story for over a year and half. I think, it has enough legs to be a 4-episode show. The character requires someone who can emote internal turmoil very well (think Jaideep Ahlawat). Barely any dialogue in the story or screenplay. A director like Chaitanya Tamhane would be the ideal person to direct this.
I’ve run the story by a few friends who have been working in the industry for a while now. Most of them absolutely love the story but have told me that it doesn’t have enough to pull an audience in. It’s a fair concern because it doesn’t have a conventional emotional hook that pulls in commercials. But I feel it has an emotional anchor that could get an audience.
I could treat it as a passion project and write the screenplay either way, or halt it and save my energy for something else.
What do you suggest? Opinions welcome.
TIA.