Embrace Business

I just cheated a writer....that felt good.

I'm off to Vegas to spend my money. Got a limo waiting to take me. And, you might ask, how did I get this moolah?

Easy. At a WGA event, I met a sexy young babe who just finished NYU film school. I had enjoyed a minor amount of success so it was easy to exaggerate and make her think I was big. I didn't hit on Alice, like the other guys because I'm more interested in her writing. (wink, wink).

Within a week, I was having dinner with her relatives at a home in Beverly Hills. Within two weeks they had invested in a company I set up for development of "art projects." If her script is great, I'll sell it to a studio. Meanwhile, I'm using the expense account for a trip to Vegas.

Everyone wins. Alice has a project in development. Her uncle is an investor in the arts. And in 3 hours I'll be at the Wynne Hotel getting my jimmy waxed by a stripper named Bambi.

Carlos

Jun 16, 2007 1:21 PM | Link | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Report Content

Name Calling...Let's Bring Back Our Favorite Past time

In my younger, more vulnerable years, my father used to say: "Don't resort to name calling. It doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't even address the problem. It just makes you look stupid."

And I think of my father's words, when I catch myself insulting those who stand in my way.

Yes, name calling accomplishes nothing. It also belittles me when I do it. But it does feel good. Why should we be deprived of this activity which has brought me such pleasure for so many years?

One of my proudest early teenage memories was when I saw a seventh grade girl walking home from school and made her cry by calling her "pizza face."

If you disagree, that's because you're ugly and can't get it up.

Carlos

Jun 15, 2007 7:33 AM | Link | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Report Content

A genuine disagreement

Bottom line: I genuinely disagree with Anthony's perspective. But I may be the one out of step, because his perspective is clearly shared by others on this blog.

His perspective: Anthony and others promote the following perspective: that those in power in the industry are a bunch of pansies who got there through unfair advantage; those in power habitually bar entry to the talented people because those who walk the halls of power must keep out the truly talented to keep their inside advantage.

My perspective: I see the entertainment industry as a meritocracy, a place where those who have something offer are not barred from entry but invited in. Hey, if you have something that will draw an audience and make me successful, why wouldn't I want to get the benefit of your skill? All businesses are imperfect, but as far as welcoming new talent quickly, we know the entertainment business is unusually open to someone rises from being a nobody to be quickly becoming a powerhouse.

Here's my response to Anthony:

As to your vocational therapist retort. Anthony, you're putting these thoughts out there for public consideration. I think they are lame, but you still might be a great writer, a guy who will be very successful and get the opportunity to laugh at all those who unfairly barred your entry into the business.

And that's my point, all this complaining is not the art you are creating. If your blog is your art, then it is lame. But I expect it's just letting off steam. The quality of your writing exists independently of your comments about the industry.

Proof that doors are not closed: Look at all the people working today who are young. Look at all the people working today who were not working 5 years ago. They broke thought and so can you.

Carlos Cabron

Jun 15, 2007 12:08 AM | Link | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Report Content

Don't let me stop you from having fun

Is Storylink a place for whiners to complain about their lot in life?

I thought it was a place to hone your craft, learn the business, and meet other people for feedback.

Novels exist in themselves. They are the authors sole vision. They are finished when written. Screenwriting anticipates that the written word becomes more, that others join in, that business people contribute and deal with practical issues.

Take this guy, Anthony Grieco, for example. He has a blog here which is just complaining. Is complaining now an artform?

Anthony is all insulted that I pointed out to him a simple business point: attaching his inexperienced roomate as director to his script, makes the project less viable, much less. It burdens the script.

Anthony, I was trying to be helpful. But I guess I am the one out of step with the mood of Storylink. Possibly, this place is about complaining, not about participating.

So don't let me stop y'all from having fun.

Here's my follow up letter to Anthony.

**************

Anthony,

Attaching your roomate as a director...please.

You're an artist. May the world bless your artistry.

But if you're asking a producer to put up hard cash, then you're entering the world of business. If you are so insulted by business consideration then stay in your apartment and write and let your scripts be a work of art in themselves, something to be read but not performed.

As they said in the Godfather "It's just business."

The business reasons for not getting involved with a script that has an inexperienced director attached are.....well, you probably know the reasons already, and I'm not going to write a treatise here. If you don't know the reasons, then find out.

If you're artistically connected to your roomate, figure out another way to have him participate, but for a new writer trying to sell a script with an inexperienced director attached, that just shouts amateur.

Then again, this place seems like a place for amateurs to brag about how their non-participant perspective is superior to the those actually doing it. So don't let me stop you from having fun.

Carlos

Jun 14, 2007 8:23 AM | Link | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Report Content