I hosted an interview for the ISA where Danny Manus and I talked about the fallacies of the biz, and how writers can approach developing their careers in this ever-changing industry.
I found the interview to be discouraging, and a bit patronizing. Writers need to do 95% of the promotion work now. We love to polish our screenplays, but refuse to do the hard work of actual re-writing. We love to network with each other, but refuse to do the hard work of networking with those who can advance our careers. And, personal fav - quarterfinalist placements are worthless: executives don't care.
Pardon me, but I find quarterfinalist placements to be encouraging. They tell me I am doing SOMEthing right. I'm afraid Mr. Manus's wisdom is far above my pay grade.
Hi Harry. I understand how you came to this conclusion. Sometimes the hard realities need to be stated out loud, though. Danny and I were sharing our own experiences over the course of the past 20+ years, and those experiences have shown us patterns in how SOME writers act and respond to the development process and the industry at large. And you're right that a quarterfinalist placement is encouraging, but from the standpoint of the title of the interview, executives aren't interested in screenplays that make a quarterfinalist placement, but do not continue on toward the higher rounds. We each have different experiences and responses watching interviews and webinars like this, and your response is certainly valid.
I found the interview to be discouraging, and a bit patronizing. Writers need to do 95% of the promotion work now. We love to polish our screenplays, but refuse to do the hard work of actual re-writing. We love to network with each other, but refuse to do the hard work of networking with those who can advance our careers. And, personal fav - quarterfinalist placements are worthless: executives don't care.
Pardon me, but I find quarterfinalist placements to be encouraging. They tell me I am doing SOMEthing right. I'm afraid Mr. Manus's wisdom is far above my pay grade.
Hi Harry. I understand how you came to this conclusion. Sometimes the hard realities need to be stated out loud, though. Danny and I were sharing our own experiences over the course of the past 20+ years, and those experiences have shown us patterns in how SOME writers act and respond to the development process and the industry at large. And you're right that a quarterfinalist placement is encouraging, but from the standpoint of the title of the interview, executives aren't interested in screenplays that make a quarterfinalist placement, but do not continue on toward the higher rounds. We each have different experiences and responses watching interviews and webinars like this, and your response is certainly valid.