But I’m Not Bitter
So here finally is an article that really all about the business side of things. I know I’ve been bashing out mostly personal shit as of late and the truth be told I’m suffering from a bit of burnout. Just a bit, nothing fatal. It has once again been a year of ups and downs and to be honest, the ups haven’t been all of that either. When the pressure is constantly on to get out new product, and you are for the most part working in a vacuum (you know what I mean), it does tend to get to you. I think that there’s also that small evil voice deep in your brain that whispers to you in the small hours of the night, “Maybe Hollywood really is giving them what they want…” At which point you jerk awake bathed in sweat screaming, “No!”
But then you see an ad for, “Deuce Bigalow, European Gigalo,” and you’re not so sure…
The absolute worst thing other than not getting a film made can sometimes be getting a film made. You’re called in at the last minute and asked to make diamonds from pig shit. Most sane people would say no but being a writer you’re pretty much crazy anyway and sure enough you knuckle in and get the job done in record time. Work done, you disappear into the ether and you’re on to other things. While this bit of writing you do takes on a life of its own in the hands of others. Hands you hope are as dedicated to the whole smash as you are. Trouble is, most times they are not. I’m coming to realize why there are a large number of writer / directors (notice which designation comes first), it’s so their scripts don’t get fucked up by somebody else. Now I can’t really complain (too much). Most times I do come in, in the eleventh hour and have to pull the rabbit out of the hat. Honestly, the majority of those projects never see the light of day as you’re sort of pulled into a mad scramble to keep a project in play by the production company. While it’s nice to be thought of as sort of the cavalry for that situation, the truth is that the cavalry almost never makes it in time to save the day.
The hope is when you take on any project regardless of what stage in its development, that the people involved know their shit. Nine times out of ten, it seems they don’t have a clue. And you the writer end up being burned each time but I must say it happens to you in a variety of ways, some of them big, others very small but important. The Devil really is in the details sometimes.
So, if the Director doesn’t do their job, the writer gets blamed for bad pacing or improbable plot issues. The Actors fail to deliver a good performance and you get nailed again for wooden dialogue. Actors would say that the script was shit and that’s why their performance sucked. How about one more take with some fucking conviction behind it. I’ve heard Christopher Walken say the most outlandish shit in film and yet he always does it with conviction. Maybe you don’t always buy into it but you always enjoy hearing it. And to directors I say, yes you’re on a budget but if you’re not getting what you need, what’s the point?
So yeah, blame the writer if you want but just remember, we’re just the first link in a long chain and everybody takes a whack at our script before it ever sees the inside of a theater. So in the end, don’t blame us if it all looks a bit tatty in the end….
….Unless of course we directed it.