Be Polite / Bring the Fight
A guest post from screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon):
I learned a new word yesterday. Paskudnyak. Actually, it is a very old word. Its meaning is as ancient as time itself. Here’s one definition:
Yiddish insult. THE most potent and offensive insult known to man. it has so much connotation that cannot be truly defined that the closest you can come to its meaning is “horrible person”. no other definition has the meaning, and there is no way to convey how powerful that word is. Use with caution.
There are lots of pretty faces in TV and film. And for every one of those, there is a paskudnyak or two around. Show business attracts both. Sometimes they may even be one and the same.
The answer to navigating the difficult professional terrain — be polite and bring the fight. Writing a great script is the most important thing. But it may not be enough. Navigating the professional terrain with civility is essential. And being tough, cultivating a thick skin.
The system works against quality 80% of the time. There are may be wonderful films every year. But many of them are almost mistakes in the system.
You have to battle to get read, to be understood creatively. This means knowing how to pitch, how to present your scripts, your ideas, your creative persona. Studios, producers, agents, managers are looking for good scripts. But they filter material relentlessly. If your material deserves recognition, you may have to fight to get it into the system, to enlist others to get your movie made along with you.
It is an exciting game. The inherent perils — part of the ride. There won’t be more great movies unless writers create wonderful material, act with civility and fight for their work. And don’t let the paskudnyak get us down along the way.
We have a class covering some of this. Network Hollywood begins next week. We go to the offices of agents, managers, producers, stick a camera in front of them and ask questions. This approach is invaluable because you get to know something about the people you will be meeting before you sit down with them. You will always learn something from these video interviews.
This is one of the most helpful courses we offer at Screenwriting Master Class for learning how to put one’s boots on the ground in Hollywood. To learn more, go here.