It was a cool idea -- giving screenwriters the opportunity that playwrights routinely get, to hear (and, to an extent, see) their words acted out in front of them and a real audience and get feedback.
Over the next few years I did a number of readings with this group. And of all those readings, this writer/director seemed to really have his act together -- at least from a production standpoint. I had to say I found the script a little, um ... what's the word? A bit contrived in places?
But I recall at the talkback session he spoke very confidently of his budgetary needs, his plans, the investors he was lining up, etc., etc., etc. And now, six years later his film is actually opening in actual theaters across the actual country!
Unfortunately it's being almost uniformly panned. Roger Ebert and lots of others just really ripped it.
Nevertheless, like I said, it's actually playing in theaters. Not just one showing for one night in some stinky art house cinema at some local film fest. The thing's actually been distributed.
It just goes to show that an undaunted belief in yourself can take you a very, very long way in this business. Now I don't know what this debut will do for his future as a filmmaker, but if he never does another thing he's already gone a hell of a lot further than 99.5% of screenwriters (or "screenwriters") out there.
A lot of writers (including me), do so much self editing that it's self-limiting -- always finding something in the plot or characters or dialogue that's wrong and that stops a project in its tracks. Sometimes you've gotta shut off that inner voice and just do it. Beyond all the unwritten stuff bouncing around in peoples' heads, imagine all the truly great finished product that's out there, just languishing in boxes and drawers for want of someone with the ambition and resourcefulness of this guy.
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