My New Hero

"I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script." Hat tip, Naveen.

Which brings us to an ugly truth about many aspiring screenwriters: They think that screenwriting doesn't actually require the ability to write, just the ability to come up with a cool story that would make a cool movie. Screenwriting is widely regarded as the easiest way to break into the movie business, because it doesn't require any kind of training, skill or equipment. Everybody can write, right? And because they believe that, they don't regard working screenwriters with any kind of real respect. They will hand you a piece of inept writing without a second thought, because you do not have to be a writer to be a screenwriter.

With all the digital video equipment these days, the same can be said of filmmakers. One of my parents friends kids did a 30 minute short film and sent it to me. It took me weeks to get around to watching it and sure enough, it was unwatchable. I labored over trying to give notes, but the fact is, there weren't notes to give. The best note was - try again. All I could do was reimagine how I might conceive of the idea or theme or how a great filmmaker might deal with the take or theme. I wrote to him an email about experimental film and tossed in remarks/thoughts on Chris Marker and further thoughts on narrative and non-narrative filmmaking and challenges in both. I told him we do as lit agents in Hollywood and what has market value here, etc, etc. Yes, I got no real response or thanks. The dude just wanted an agent. So who's the fucking dick?