alex whitmer
Veteran
There are many topics that bring heated debate: Religion, politics, sex, inebriants, violence, labor disputes, etc. As these are part of everyday life, they naturally will and should be in film, and open discussion as how they relate to film should be encouraged, especially as concerns writing as we are the first in a long collaborative process to tell to story.
In a perfect world we should have disagreements. Differences of opinion, numerous takes on solution, and the haggling over the benefits of risk vs. sound strategy, provide us all with depth and color. In a perfect world we would each say ‘I don’t agree with you, and here’s why’. Sadly that is the exception. The preferred method is to accuse the other of sheer stupidity, utter ridiculousness, and of having absolutely no idea how the ‘’real’’ world works. What they really mean is ‘no idea how MY world works’. Hence, cheap barbs and Valley Girl hissy fits are the best we can muster. Yea, I’m guilty too.
There are a few here in DVX that rarely have much to offer other than childish taunts, but there are also a rare few that consistently remain above the foray and stick to intelligent discourse (with an occasional snarl to prove they're human after all!). It isn’t hard to figure out who will make better films. A firm grip on rationale is a pretty necessary tool in this biz.
The labor dispute is obviously a sensitive issue for many, and understandably. For others, it has little if any effect on their career or lives, but they do care about the issues and the outcome. And for still others, they just don’t give a crap. As this relates to the craft of writing for film, television, and plays, the passionate and the ambiguous are bound to disagree over personal responsibility to their brethren of the quill. I would love to keep a debate going, but it all too quickly turns into a stone throwing drunken brawl, and the thread is locked, as it should be. How else to save the world from this escalating to nukes?
I have strong opinions about the dispute and unions in general, and have no problem stating them, no matter how unpopular. I also have no problem listening to ‘reasonable’ dissent, and am always open to changing my mind, or at least adjusting my paradigm, when all the facts prove me F’d up.
Should I show solidarity with those who, through sacrifice, are most likely to benefit all writers and film industry professionals in the long-run, or with those writers and film industry professionals that are losing big in the short run. It’s not a black and white issue by any means. Yea, in the long run it is more likely than not all film industry professionals will benefit, but who will be the short run collateral damage? Do they get a choice? Do we even give a rat in the pursuit of the good for all?
As a writer, my goal in life is to tell stories. The human race has, throughout history, and across every imaginable face, created some kind of storytelling, from puppet shows, to oral traditions, to complicated tragedies, to campfire ghost stories, and most recently, to film.
No matter what happens around me, my pen will never stop writing, not for a lack of respect for those who strive for a better deal, and not for a lack of respect for those who just want to eat today, but for my own well being. I cannot not write.
As concerns a fair deal for all writers, actors, and all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ players that make a film successful for the producer, I would hope their value is never underestimated. Hey, one can always hope, no matter how preposterous it may seem.
Any producer that tries to do what they can to screw the very talent that brings them their financial rewards is just a piece of turd in the first place, and just plain low class in the second. If it were up to me, I’d parade them naked through the streets, but sadly / luckily law prevents it.
The Producer takes the financial risk. Sometimes they win big, and sometimes they lose big. That’s the risk. If you want good stories, and good actors, and a good crew to make this risk more likely to succeed, you gotta put out, or forever be a footnote on some B-film latrine floor.
Okay, enough said. For now. In the future, lets try to keep our heads when discussing how anything and everything affects writing for film, no matter how vehemently we may disagree with the complete dork, utter dweeb, head up their azz fellow DVXer. We’re all here to network and find friends in the biz to better our life in the world film, the greatest vehicle for the exchange of ideas ever created. That and the gun. I choose film.
And if you don’t like it …
www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
www.guerro.wordpress.com
www.thestarvingdramaturge.wordpress.com
Try to find your inner Buddha! And it’s Om, not Um.
In a perfect world we should have disagreements. Differences of opinion, numerous takes on solution, and the haggling over the benefits of risk vs. sound strategy, provide us all with depth and color. In a perfect world we would each say ‘I don’t agree with you, and here’s why’. Sadly that is the exception. The preferred method is to accuse the other of sheer stupidity, utter ridiculousness, and of having absolutely no idea how the ‘’real’’ world works. What they really mean is ‘no idea how MY world works’. Hence, cheap barbs and Valley Girl hissy fits are the best we can muster. Yea, I’m guilty too.
There are a few here in DVX that rarely have much to offer other than childish taunts, but there are also a rare few that consistently remain above the foray and stick to intelligent discourse (with an occasional snarl to prove they're human after all!). It isn’t hard to figure out who will make better films. A firm grip on rationale is a pretty necessary tool in this biz.
The labor dispute is obviously a sensitive issue for many, and understandably. For others, it has little if any effect on their career or lives, but they do care about the issues and the outcome. And for still others, they just don’t give a crap. As this relates to the craft of writing for film, television, and plays, the passionate and the ambiguous are bound to disagree over personal responsibility to their brethren of the quill. I would love to keep a debate going, but it all too quickly turns into a stone throwing drunken brawl, and the thread is locked, as it should be. How else to save the world from this escalating to nukes?
I have strong opinions about the dispute and unions in general, and have no problem stating them, no matter how unpopular. I also have no problem listening to ‘reasonable’ dissent, and am always open to changing my mind, or at least adjusting my paradigm, when all the facts prove me F’d up.
Should I show solidarity with those who, through sacrifice, are most likely to benefit all writers and film industry professionals in the long-run, or with those writers and film industry professionals that are losing big in the short run. It’s not a black and white issue by any means. Yea, in the long run it is more likely than not all film industry professionals will benefit, but who will be the short run collateral damage? Do they get a choice? Do we even give a rat in the pursuit of the good for all?
As a writer, my goal in life is to tell stories. The human race has, throughout history, and across every imaginable face, created some kind of storytelling, from puppet shows, to oral traditions, to complicated tragedies, to campfire ghost stories, and most recently, to film.
No matter what happens around me, my pen will never stop writing, not for a lack of respect for those who strive for a better deal, and not for a lack of respect for those who just want to eat today, but for my own well being. I cannot not write.
As concerns a fair deal for all writers, actors, and all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ players that make a film successful for the producer, I would hope their value is never underestimated. Hey, one can always hope, no matter how preposterous it may seem.
Any producer that tries to do what they can to screw the very talent that brings them their financial rewards is just a piece of turd in the first place, and just plain low class in the second. If it were up to me, I’d parade them naked through the streets, but sadly / luckily law prevents it.
The Producer takes the financial risk. Sometimes they win big, and sometimes they lose big. That’s the risk. If you want good stories, and good actors, and a good crew to make this risk more likely to succeed, you gotta put out, or forever be a footnote on some B-film latrine floor.
Okay, enough said. For now. In the future, lets try to keep our heads when discussing how anything and everything affects writing for film, no matter how vehemently we may disagree with the complete dork, utter dweeb, head up their azz fellow DVXer. We’re all here to network and find friends in the biz to better our life in the world film, the greatest vehicle for the exchange of ideas ever created. That and the gun. I choose film.
And if you don’t like it …
www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
www.guerro.wordpress.com
www.thestarvingdramaturge.wordpress.com
Try to find your inner Buddha! And it’s Om, not Um.
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