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THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH SELLING OUT!
I don't want you to compromise your principals. I don't want you to stop writing your heart-wrenching tale of childhood trauma and broken dreams. Please don't give in when you absolutely know you're right.
But...
Sometimes the quickest route to your final destination involves turning off the road that you're on. Sometimes the big superhighway with tons of traffic is actually moving faster than the side street with all the signs, lights and people turning in front of you. That's what it was built for. The smaller streets are for the people trying to find their way in that little portion of the world. Some are just passing through on their way to a further destination. It's many roads lessed travelled.
But...
I've talked before about the trouble successful people have when trying to get their unusual projects made, and the obvious relative difficulty that unknowns would have. But, they compromise by making the movie the studios think will be a mass-consumable hit so that they can make "Dances with Wolves". You may find it easier to sell "Short Bus and Helmet Head" for Ashton Kutcher and Adam Sandler and then hold out to make "The Incredible Depths of My Inner Child's Dance of the Mystic Pan Flute" for Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson and Leelee Sobieski.
Crappy movies are made as an example of what not to do. As writers, we all rail against the turd piles that get churned out instead of our brilliant projects. I never fault a writer for taking on a work-for-hire project where they get a paycheck in exchange for building the wreck some producer hires them to write. If someone hires a contractor to build a lopsided giant doghouse out of balsa wood with a windmill on top, it's not the contractor's fault for giving the customer what he wants. You gots ta get paid. It's not about integrity. It's about supporting your art until your art can support you.
Would it be better if all writers had enough integrity to stop writing crapola just to cash in, thereby forcing producers to consider better scripts? Of course it would. But, expecting Hollywood types to pick integrity over payoff is like expecting a hooker not to empty your wallet while you're asleep.
The preceeding suggestion that you look out for #1 was brought to you by sarcasm and frustration. No celebrity endorsement implied. Not valid in Los Angeles. |
