[...] in italiano Web1.040 risultati per “working in the movie industry”Burbanked Movie Blog – news, insight and snark from a former …Here?s why I miss working in the movie industry?and here?s why I don?t. By Burbanked on Jan 6, 2009 [...]

Where you been?

I’ve got a nice cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket for you.

[...] Here’s why I miss working in the movie industry…and here’s why I don’t. Published 4 days ago by Burbanked at Burbanked … chatting up writers and directors while they’re waiting for meetings with importanter people. As a young man struggling to make it in showbiz, I had more than a few of those The Player moments where my friends and I would all question whether or not we had other things to talk about outside of the movie industry – and not a single one of us could come up with anything. wizard-gifted powers = no match for a studio d-boy with an attitude So when I see an excellent article such as this one by John August about the sudden death of his Shazam superhero screenplay, I get all … [...]

Creative people being argumentative, obstinate and outright rude?

I’ve never heard of such things.

Screenwriters are just as capable of being way, way off the mark and misguided. I worked on a few projects in which my company had purchased or optioned a script mainly on the strength of the premise, the promise of the writing, perhaps because of a favor or two – but we’d purchased it with the idea up-front that it needed work. And I’ll tell you, some first-time screenwriters had NO interest in developing their so-so scripts into something more commercial, more filmable, more meaningful, etc. They could be argumentative, obstinate, and outright rude in protection of their holy-crazy creativity, and were unwilling to admit that maybe a producer with a solid filmography, backed by a major studio, could possibly know better than they would.

But that description doesn’t fit John August or Goldman, obviously, both of whom are not only masters of their craft but also know better than most how to tolerate the development system. And whereas Goldman had good reason to protect Princess Bride as his OWN sacred property, I’m thinking that Shazam doesn’t fit that description for August.

Fantastic post. Just fantastic.

I’ve probably written about this here, but I’ll recount it again. Goldman in his wonderful book Which Lie Did I Tell writes about The Princess Bride and how it had been greenlit and then killed and how it was going to flounder in a studio until Goldman used his own money to buy it back and take it to another studio. So much money is spent and wasted over incompetence and most of it seems to be focused on anything but putting a good product out there.

All of this makes me come to the conclusion that I have come to many a time. It is simply a miracle that great films come out of Hollywood. And because of this, great movies should be celebrated. Should be paraded around on the shoulders of all of us.

@Too too: Here’s a link to Michael Bay’s forums. See if you can reach him that way and apply for a job. I think you’d be terrific! (and make sure you visit his “Women and cars” thread)

While I think that a movie based around SHAZAM should never have even been CONTEMPLATED, it sounds like August understands the material much better than the boot-licking eel cunts at Warners. So many films have been destroyed by endless and incompetent tampering by studio execs … just look at the story behind the making of ALIEN 3, for example.

Hmmm … how many movies did YOU destroy with your decisions, Alan?????