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I Will Not Read Your F'ing Script

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Interesting rebuttle:

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/op...ad-your-fucking-scriptis-an-asshole-colea.php

I get what Josh is saying, but I disagree with his general sentiment... maybe it's a Canadian thing, but I find that people understand things better when you are polite and understanding- and at least if they don't get that you know not to bother with. I love the angry rants and all, I mean it's funny, but other than establishing "I'm an asshole no matter what I choose", what was the point of all that?

I've sent scripts out for feedback and got nothing back and I don't think "fucking assholes won't read my goddamn script"... I figure that either they never had the time or didn't like the material (which is fine, cause everyone has different tastes). And sometimes I get feedback I can't or don't want to use, but I'm still grateful for the feedback- sometimes it might inspire another choice or direction elsewhere- you never know.

But on the same token (even though I'm no "pro") I've been submitted scripts for feedback (some of which were terrible) and tried my best to critique them... and have been met with the resistance to feedback that can only come from a personal attachment to the material- and despite my efforts to politely explain why certain things might not work, or why you don't need to have 23 scenes that hammer in the same point, or why the concept isn't original... they just don't want to change it because in their heads they are only looking for affirmation... but that's cool, because even if they don't take my feedback- I'm still learning and growing from my own feedback, so why be an asshole?
 
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There are two points here, Spatula.

Most people do not understand when a pro they meet says
they cannot read a script even if they are polite and
understanding. The vast majority just don't get it and feel
slighted by the pro who politely and with understanding says
no. They then think the pro is an ass.

A non pro like you can afford to take a little time to read a
script or two. A pro gets dozens of requests a month. That,
as Olsen said, takes time away from the script their close
friends what them to look at, takes time away from paying
gigs and takes time away from family and friends. And how
does a pro pick and choose? They cannot say yes to every
request so if a new writer hears that the pro actually reads
script and the pro doesn't read theirs....

Why be an asshole? I think Olsen said it well; if you say no
you are an asshole. If you say yes, take the time and don't
love the script you are an asshole. If you say yes, take the
time, love the script but don't refer the writer to your agent
you are an asshole. So the only way a pro is not an asshole
about this is if they say yes and get a production deal for the
writer.

And we all know the odds of that.
 
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Josh has saved himself and the world a HUGE amount of time. Instead of having a long string of people feel snubbed and ill-used and take it personally, he's let the world know his stance & people can call him names but all at a distance.

Raised his profile, too.

Surprised more hasn't been made of what I thought would be the primary reason to stay away from other people's scripts: legal liability. Studios I've worked with often get heavy manilla envelopes. Unless we know who sent them they are never opened, to avoid the likely chance that they contain a legal bomb in the form of a script. We don't care how good it is. If we shoot a picture next year about Nazi combat dog & someone has sent us a spec script last year, in which one of the characters' names is Otto, we'll hear from that writer's lawyer. Not worth it.

I think this article was a public service. If it helped even one treatment not get written by a casual non-writer -- well, that's a fine f**king thing.
 
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Great read.

I run an actors group who meets once a month, and we attract all kinds of people...every now and then someone will ask me to read their script...it never a comfortable situation. I've been there. Often times they are bad...I feel obligated...it's never really been a good thing.

At least this article gives me some ideas on how to get out of it...
 
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A very entertaining article.

I'd like to think that he's playing up to the masses with a piece like this, and hasn't ditched the common courtesy of a "Sorry mate, I don't have time" or it's equivalent. If not, then there's little denying his dick nature.

Of course, the other side of the argument is that if you persist beyond his apologetic and humble neglect, then there are two dicks involved, thus making the whole situation "Gay".
 
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Colmforest said:
A very entertaining article.

I'd like to think that he's playing up to the masses with a piece like this, and hasn't ditched the common courtesy of a "Sorry mate, I don't have time" or it's equivalent. If not, then there's little denying his dick nature.

Of course, the other side of the argument is that if you persist beyond his apologetic and humble neglect, then there are two dicks involved, thus making the whole situation "Gay".
Click to expand...

I completely agree. If he really IS this hardcore, then like you said, there is little denying he's an outright dick. I think the article is a bit of a hyperbole, but that's OK...I read it as such. The point of the article is true and clear, and it was entertaining.
 
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I read it and feel he should look in the dictionary and read the definition of the word "No"... then stop making himself feel guilty because he's got his theoretical stacks of work/ friend's scripts to go through. He can't change the way people think about his response. He can, however, change how I perceive him as a human being. He's successfully done this and I don't care for the way he treats others, even if it's only in this article for the purposes of scaring off people from asking him to do something that he doesn't have the balls to politely say "no" to, then walk away from.

He successfully went from convincing one person he's a dick for rejecting their script to proving to me that he's a dick and I've never asked him to read a script.

When I fixed computers for a living, I easily put in 60-80 hours a week doing so... and still fielded questions from strangers about their computer woes. If I didn't have time, I told them so - and didn't feel an ounce of guilt from it.

I resolve that I'm a better person than Mr. Olson. His parents should have washed his mouth out with soap when he was impolite or something of that ilk to break his mindset early. Polite gets you farther in life than the dysphemism he espouses in this article.
 
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@rik

For clarification, I'm neither pro NOR non-pro... I'm semi-pro baby!!!! LOL!

I get your points there, but let's say a non-pro asks a pro for a read and the pro politely turns down the request due to whatever personal reason. If the non-pro then thinks that the pro is an asshole, it is truly the non-pro who is entering the territory of the sphincter.

So my point is, the screenwriter need not be an asshole at any point... if the people who don't understand the writer's rationale and get angry, then they are the assholes.

So really, the whole article is trying to justify the fact that it's ok to be an asshole. Well, maybe that's how things are conducted in Hollyweird, but it makes no sense to me. If the writer is nice and polite and even takes the two seconds to explain why he can't read a screenplay and then he's met with "you're an asshole" then it's only confirmation of the fact that he turned down an asshole's script.

See, he could have wrote the article with a positive spin... instead of "no, I won't read your fucking script" and ranting about how much he hates n00bs, he could have written "why I won't read your script, and stop calling me an asshole" and listed his reasons, suggested alternatives and asked for some level of understanding. Fact is, anyone who would call you an asshole after that wouldn't be worth the time- and the smart ones (the ones who'll matter anyway) will understand and at least have some idea WHY and what else they can do instead!

Besides- over 75% of writers spend 90% of the time sitting around thinking (and indulging in distractions), 5% actually writing, 4% away from their computers and 1% making up fake statistics on internet forums so people think they sound like they know what they're talking about.... and those statistics are 99.9% accurate 60% of the time.
 
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Spatula said:
Besides- over 75% of writers spend 90% of the time sitting around thinking (and indulging in distractions), 5% actually writing, 4% away from their computers and 1% making up fake statistics on internet forums so people think they sound like they know what they're talking about.... and those statistics are 99.9% accurate 60% of the time.
Click to expand...

i like this
 
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Spatula said:
So my point is, the screenwriter need not be an asshole at any point... if the people who don't understand the writer's rationale and get angry, then they are the assholes.
Click to expand...


It is worth pointing out that, at times, Dick's fuck assholes. Perhaps the asshole deserved to be fucked for their crimes.

And then there are pussy's...
 
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Colmforest said:
It is worth pointing out that, at times, Dick's fuck assholes. Perhaps the asshole deserved to be fucked for their crimes.

And then there are pussy's...
Click to expand...

Well I'm an avowed dick and I hate assholes.... but I got no problems with pussies.... so I guess fucking Josh Olsen (or whatever the asshole's name is, LOL) would be quite an unpleasant experience for me...
 
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M1chae1 said:
This thread is quickly going downhill...I'd like to catch the lift back up please. :)
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I'd just like to point out that I've put a copy of this thread into my safe deposit box and if any of you even THINKS about making a Nazi combat dog movie I will be on your ass with a barbed subpeona faster than you can say am besten zur Bekämpfung Hund in der ganzen Welt
 
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