Rejected
I submitted a script to a screenwriter’s fellowship, and I finally got a response. Thank you for taking the time to fill out the submission material. We hope that you will understand that our admission process involves a variety of factors and that our decision in no way should be viewed as a reflection of […]
Falling Behind
Today, I saw a teenager wearing a t-shirt bearing the phrase, “Class of 2012,” a year reserved, until recently, for science fiction. For some reason, he wasn’t shooting robots with a phaser while riding a dewback on his way to Thunderdome. (By the way, I watched a documentary called Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Did you […]
Not That Glamorous
I ran into one of the writers in the office kitchen. I asked how it was going, and he said, “Oh, you know, we’re trapped in that room for hours.” “Working hard?” I ask. “Not really,” he says, honestly. “We’re just sitting in there, talking about stories.” “Man, I wish I had your job.” Then, […]
Learning Experiences
In film school, I worked on a sitcom pilot for the campus TV station. It was for a class, so if you wanted to be either the director, the writer, or the producer, you had to interview with the professors. They made three highly questionable choices. There were a lot of funny people on our […]
Stealing Ideas
Well, I didn’t get to send anyone to the electric chair. (Or whatever it is they do nowadays. Hang ’em? Shoot ’em? Are we still stoning people?) It’s been a long, boring day, so I’ll keep this post short. I was going through some old e-mails, and I uncovered a dream I had totally forgotten […]
Really Writing
I walked into the writers’ office yesterday and saw a ping pong ball and two paddles sitting on the assistant’s desk. I paused, staring at the ping pong ball. This was one of those moments you see in indie movies, where the character is contemplating his life, but you don’t know exactly what he’s thinking […]
A Derivative Post
John August has another one of his Scene Challenges up. The goal is to write a scene where one character explains to another what investment derivatives are. It was a difficult writing problem, since I have no idea what investment derivatives are. I’m #48.
Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee, A PA’s Life For Me!
First, Amanda the Aspiring TV Writer has an inspiring post. If you’re interested in writing, you should check it out. In that vein, I’d like to write my own heartwarming blog post. My wife told me that these posts have been really negative. That’s unfortunate, because I really do like my job. It’s certainly better […]
What’s in it for You?
The purpose of this blog is not to give advice. After four years of film school, and four more of real industry experience, the only thing I know for sure is that I don’t know much. (Which is not to say that youth necessarily equals bad advice; check out Amanda’s blog for a fine example.) […]
What’s My Motivation? (Or, Does the World Really Need Another Blogger?)
Yesterday, I read an essay by Paul Graham, “Good and Bad Procrastination.” Among other things, Graham summarizes Richard Hamming’s “You and Your Research” thusly: What are the most important problems in your field? Are you working on one of them? Why not? I like the third question, because it assumes an answer to the second. […]