When They'll Take Anything

I'm working on a short film adaptation of a post I wrote last month that got some interest from an Independent Producer (not Producer Dude).

It's a cute little story about The Time I Helped Some Jews (Yeah, that's a link to the story. Go read it if ya want a good read).

The problem with the situation is that this producer, while very nice and very enthusiastic, isn't the most... picky. Basically, they really like the story, they really want to turn it into a short film, and they're happy as all get-out that I'm willing to write the screenplay for them. (As if I'd let anyone else touch my own story).

But they'll gladly take whatever I give them. And that's not a good thing.

Because I need editors. I need people who will read my first few drafts and point out where the script sucks. Otherwise, you get a bad script, which becomes a bad film, which becomes a waste of all our time.

I'm probably gonna send a copy over to Charlie soon (shhhh, he doesn't know yet) and my wife's already looked at it and torn it apart, but it's discouraging to know that I could send crap to the producer and I'd get:

"Awesome, Dave! Just awesome! Thanks so much! We'll let you know when we shoot it! You're the best!"

Now I love to hear that, of course, but when it comes without qualifications, then what's the point?

In many ways, this is also a problem with Producer Dude. He loves EVERYTHING.

We had to hold back Siege until we felt it was good, other people had told us it was good, what have you. Because he loves EVERYTHING. Thinks it's all really great, can't wait to make the movie. (cough, cough.) It's why he's still making B-movies, because he doesn't care about the script. Or rather, he cares, but he is unable to tell when something isn't very good.

I have a script I wrote for him, like, 8 years ago (yipes, it's been a while) and he mentioned the thought of pushing it back to another money man, get some more funding. The subject's coming back around to being timely again, maybe now's the time to do it.

Thing is, I read the script. It's HORRIBLE. Yes, I wrote it, all by my lonesome, but it sucks to high Heaven. And he wants to shoot it?

I don't know why I care, this is Producer Dude we're talking about, so it'll get made in about 2017, but the fact that he even considers making that script is chilling.

Sometimes, we writers need someone to tell us that our shit stinks.