Two Different Hells

Development Hell happens most often with projects that have multiple interpretations and reflect several points of view.

Production Hell refers to when a film has entered production but remains in that state for a long time without progressing to post.

Film industry companies often buy the film rights to many popular novels, but it may take years for such properties to be successfully brought to the screen, and often with considerable changes to the plot, characters, and general tone. This pre-production process can last for months or years. More often than not, a project trapped in this state for a prolonged period of time 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 limbo state. Less than two percent of all books which are optioned actually make it to the big screen.