He will not read your F*ing script

j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
I doubt if working writers are the best group to ask for 'criticism' from... at least writers who are not also involved in teaching or inclined to mentoring...

The 'best' critic is one's self... and that needs to be developed to a fine edge...
Click to expand...

I don't know if this response to my previous post was meant to imply that I had gotten the 15 reviews/comments I referred to from 'working writers' only (or largely), but I didn't. There were people from various fields, both in and out of the entertainment business(es), some writers, some not...

I do agree though, quite fully, that in any case, the proverbial 'buck' will stop with me...
 
Might as well try and reignite this fire after two weeks of silence (sorry - I just found it).

As an amateur screenwriter and aspiring filmmaker I find Josh Olson's diatribe perfectly understandable and quite amusing. Sometimes a straw breaks your back and you go ballistic. So what? It wouldn't happen if people were considerate and had good manners in the first place.

I have personally found that amateurs have alternatives other than imposing themsleves on working professionals. Local writing collaberatives offer workshops where a professional writer/teacher and other students read your work and offer criticism. Some of the teachers can be pretty good, and if approached, will read additional scripts for a reasonble fee of $200 or $300, and provide you with cogent written criticism.

Similarly I've found that local cinematgraphers, when they have the time, will, for simlarly modest fees, review your storyboards, and camera and lighting plots and advise you.

I think the important thing is recognizing that services have value, and that it's rude to ask strangers for handouts. Why is imposing a script on this writer any different from asking a lawyer to review an amateur will for free?

We are lucky that professionals like Roger Deakins will answer questions form the lowliest of us; but that's his decision to give something back, and not the obligation of any working professional.

Olson's bombast is perhaps hyperbolic, but does anyone really think it's unjustified?
 
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