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Hey Scott, I was just curious what you thought of the "True Detective" controversy? I never quite understood the quote: Good artists copy, great ones steal? I'm not really coming down on either side of the controversy, just that the controversy brought up an issue that comes up in Hollywood movies and tv shows.... I see plots, phrases, concepts, catch phrases and characters borrowed from tv shows and films all the time. In fact, certain phrases have been used word for word over and over again in various shows and movies... the rear window plot has been "homaged" a million times... One article about the controversy made an argument about it being a "pastiche" and defending the show as not doing so. As for this topic, the 70s was one of the best decades for film and the filmmakers of the time fully embraced the slogan. You didn't have characters playing "nice" the way they did in the safe formulaic box office 80s.

I flagged some articles re the whole True Detective 'controversy' which I don't believe it really is. You can't copyright ideas and concepts which is pretty much what I think the complaint was going after. It's a sticky issue however. I did stand-up comedy for 2 years and you see that happening there. A comic comes up with a bit on stage. Other comics hear it. Next night at another club, do a variation of it. The thing there is comedians have a pretty tight community, so if you steal something, you can get a bad reputation awfully quick. It gets even stickier in movies and TV because of the whole homage thing. Generally speaking, because of the 'similar but different' ethos in Hollywood, there's a pretty damn wide swath cut for creatives in terms of being 'inspired' by previous content. Re the 70s: Great decade for film, no doubt. That's when the young guns were let loose by the studios because they were clueless about French New Wave and youth culture, so we had some great films. In fact, that's going to be the next monthly series, probably in October: 70s movies. To go along with the 80s and 90s we have already covered.

I think the accusation was that while it wasn't a Shia LeBouf complete copy and paste, it was a paraphrasing or changing of the words here and there...which leave a real gray area. Even the Godfather took direct quotes from the headlines... "We're bigger than US Steel" was a direct line from a real life gangster... all the different storylines I recognize from the different real life mobsters...albeit, the creators made everything even more interesting...but there was definitely some word for word going on there. One of the True Detective articles goes into the distinctions between paraphrasing and changing words around. If it's not a direct word for word lift, is that even "stealing?" Artists are exposed to so much material, I just wonder if that brilliant idea they think they came up on their own isn't just a mix of something they saw a while ago and are now blended with other ideas in their head that they think they came up with. I think the defiant attitude is very attractive and why the 70s films seemed to be so groundbreaking. They were not afraid to go there, unlike the 80s where they'd pussy out almost every time.

"Defy authority. Destroy property. And take people’s clothes off." And the equivalent for the older generation, according to advertizing 101 - The Top 3 ingredients: "Babies, animal babies and... nudity." (nudity seems to be an all time classic...)

Got a kick out of the nude swim scene. Just wanted to let you know that the Hayes Commission is still alive and well in Hollywood. Recently had a gal who was an industry reader complain about three lines in one of my 100 page screenplays -- claimed that I was objectifying women. She wanted to know why I didn't do the same to men. Gave me four paragraphs of reprimand. Suggested that women readers were taking a stand against this sort of thing. Not sure she would approve of that swim video clip.

"Defy authority, destroy property, and take people's clothes off." I think the comedy spec I'm working on just got a lot more interesting! Signed, Rebellious, Violent, and Nude in Wisconsin