A Time to Write
I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I can’t work a sixty-five hour work week and work on my screenplay at the same time. I sold a dollar option last summer, but I haven’t had a chance to develop the screenplay since I’m at work ALL THE TIME. So the other day, I told myself, […]
Maybe I Should Quit
Here’s how I tell if someone is smarter than me– when they tell me something, I think to myself, “That makes perfect sense, and I never would have thought of it.” Case in point: I suspect a lot of people aren’t sure what’s the top idea in their mind at any given time. I’m often […]
Authorship
I was talking with a friend the other day. Well, actually I was talking at him. Railing, really, against the injustice of auteur theory. A large part of my argument is that normal people don’t really care about what a director does. People care about characters (which is at least 50% the writer’s doing) and […]
Believe in Yourself!
I really enjoy the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast, despite the fact that their interviewer, Jeff Goldsmith, is a massive tool. (That’s a post for another day.) The most recent one features several of this year’s Oscar-nominated screenwriters, and I highly recommend it. One problem I have with this sort of panel, though, is the constant […]
Screen Story Success
Since I’ve been talking about executives all week, I figured now would be a fine time to direct you to Screen Story Success, a blog by former studio executive Lindsey Hughes. Some of her advice is good (“If your story is episodic, your main character better be incredibly compelling”), some, not so much (sorry, Lindsey, […]
Colorful Response
Just over a week ago, I related an anecdote about the producer’s assistant indirectly checking that the intern was doing her job correctly. A lot of people took exception to the assistant’s methods. Final Girl’s comment was typical: What a passive agressive moron. I hate people. I have to admit, this surprised me. At the […]
Questions, Questions
In response to yesterday’s post, univoked asked if writers’ conferences could be helpful in finding an agent. Ugly Deaf Muslim Punk Gurl! replied: Writers’ conferences aren’t really for screenwriters, they’re for BOOK writers. So if you’re looking for a literary agent for a BOOK you’re writing, then you could go to a conference. Otherwise, don’t […]
Networking
After working in low budget film for a number of years, I started running into people I’d worked with before. At a certain point, I realized this was a bad sign. As they say, you’re the average of the five people closest to you. Professionally, the five people closest to me were all working on […]
And While We’re on the Subject…
Coincidentally, John August was also dispensing career advice today. Very few others see such a jump in pay grade as the writer, but his advice is still probably good for anybody climbing up the Hollywood ladder. The one think I take issue with is his $850 per week figure. I don’t know any assistant making […]
If It Makes You Ha-ppyyyyy…
Robert commented on last Thursday’s post, but for some reason, WordPress thought it was spam. Strange, but whatever; it’s available to read, now. Go ahead and take a look. Robert gives us a lovely sentiment (in all caps, to emphasize his point), “DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.” I wish I could. I wish I was […]
Luckiest Motherfucker Ever
You know my feelings on luck. I generally don’t believe in it, but Peter Steinfeld is trying to very hard challenge that disbelief. The other day, I listened to Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s interview of Steinfeld after 21. (By the way, it’s a great podcast series, if you’re interested in writing. You can download old podcasts […]
A Moral Quandry
A conundrum, if you will. Today, I overheard the showrunner talking to some other person who gets paid enough to not know my name: “I don’t know what _____ is going to say when she finds out she doesn’t get one. We’ll just keep assigning them until there aren’t any left, and then we’ll see.” […]