Hi everyone. Well, let’s see. I was going to do something about screenwriting. So I guess what I want to say about that is, for a long time I’ve thought about screenwriting. I mean, I’ve thought about it for probably decades, but never really thought about it seriously. And really, I didn’t start seriously continuously doing it until 2012, though I had written a script in 2009 for a course I took online.
Anyway, interestingly enough, I’ve spent the last, how long has it been? 12 years working on my screenwriting craft, and I don’t know, I hope I’m doing better at it. I have finished a script. It’s a short script. It’s about an environmental issue, the dangers of plastic. So having said that, I will just say that I, right now am at the point where I’ve approached a director. She’s interested, still interested. I’ve made several changes to the screenplay since I first showed it to her. It’s now I think eight pages as opposed to maybe three or four when I started.
It changes, it evolves. It’s been through some workshopping. There are a couple of groups I’m in. I think both of them have looked at it. I’m not sure, but I think the latest version is pretty good. I’m always a little bit kind of insecure about the whole thing because God knows I’ve received notes before from less kindly sources. And so I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot, and it’s a humbling experience being a screenwriter. I swear to God. It is a totally humbling experience. It’s also a slightly scary experience because I think you get to feel things while you’re writing this stuff that maybe you didn’t want to feel. I guess the other thing I wanted to say in kind of in conclusion, I want to keep this short, is that please don’t go into screenwriting if you’re looking for quick money.
Did I really need to say that? I mean, look at the writer’s strike. Look at what happened there. I mean, it’s like these guys are getting paid in pennies and residuals. And when I think about the business and how much goes on in the background that people don’t think about when they get into screenwriting, but they learn about in other ways, it’s just mind boggling. So I will leave you with this one last thought. Little did I know that by becoming a screenwriter, I was also becoming a salesperson. Yes, you have to sell the idea of your script. I’m not kidding. You got to be a salesperson. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. And you have to be able to walk into a room with a certain degree of confidence in your idea. You have to have that kind of, “Hey, I’m working on this feature about an FBI agent.
“He’s a burnout, but he gets involved in this rogue investigation because his ex-wife turned up dead with this weird thing carved in her forehead.” Yeah, really? I am. That’s the first thing I wrote. It was for the feature.
So anyway, I’ve been working on that and other things. I’ve got shorts, I’ve got pilots, I’ve got, I’ve got it. Whatever it is, it’s probably bad, but, oh, I was going to keep this short. Darn. It’s over four minutes. Damnit. I’m going to stop right now and just leave you with the thought that screenwriting is tough. It’s a tough field. So if you’re interested, keep watching. I will try to share things as they pop up. And right now I’m excited about this short film and maybe will give you more information about that later.
That’s it. I will talk to you later. Thanks. Be seeing you.
PS: And then there’s this. And there’s this.
Only twelve years …