Oh my goodness, and I thought chicks were nasty. Love it.

I've only been burnt twice - in both cases it wasn't a huge rip-off, but just enough to have that 'did you think I wouldn't notice?' feeling.

I only talk to two writer friends. I trust them with my ideas, my kids, my soul.

this is freakin awesome

Daaaamn. That dude is pissed.

Scott,

Say you were an up-and-coming comedy writer, who is a NICE person to work with. Someone who is a pro, yet treats people with respect and is a man of character capable of producing top notch films?

If you had the "goods" who would you want to work with?

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

E.C., two things. First, since I did a stint doing stand-up comedy (for two years), I know the background of stuff like this dispute. Say you're on stage and you're riffing with the crowd, and bam -- you hit on a great line. Or stumble on the basis of a good bit. The thing is there's no copyright office there in the nightclub. What there is is a bunch of other comics. And they can hear your bit or line, and do their own variation on it, and have it out in their act the next night before you've even laid claim to it. It's bad karma to steal material, but it happens all the time because there's enormous competition between comics, too. Then, of course, the studios rip off writers (cough - Disney - cough) routinely by inviting in 20 or 30 to pitch ideas for Honey, I Shrunk the Kid VIII, then cull the best ideas down for writers they have overall deals with. It's a messy world, so the level of hostility is in a way understandable.

More specifically to your point, people in Hwood like to work with people they like to work with. So being a 'good' guy can work to your benefit. But talent and box office success trumps all. So at the end of the day, if a gig comes down to hiring nice guy B-level writer and jerk A-level writer, chances are the exec, looking to cover their ass if the project fails -- "Hey, I hired the best writer possible!" -- will go with jerk A-level writer.

and, ironically, budd shullberg passed away today.

Hello, first time commenting. I've been following your blog religiously for a few months now, when it popped up in Google Reader. It's been very helpful in inspiring me to keep writing my short film script as I prep for the feature length one.

While I read the whole of that exchange, I had an unrelated question. So I figured I'd comment on the most recent post. I've been reading a lot of good scripts lately. But I want to read some bad ones. To learn haha.

Good ones are easier to find it seems. Do you have any suggestions as to where I can find some not so great ones?

Thanks a lot!

"Get cancer."

Wow. Nice. Leave it to comedy writers. Reminds me of two searing, brutal bits of writing, both from comedies.

First, from The King of Comedy. As Jerry Lewis is TRYING to navigate the streets of New York, an elderly woman pleads with him to stop and speak on a payphone to her sick nephew or something. He replies that he's in a bit of a hurry to which she snarls, "you should get cancer, I only hope you get cancer!"

The second bit is one I keep close to my heart because it's always sort of defined how I approach writing. It's from the brilliant Neil Simon play BROADWAY BOUND. Eugene is lamenting that he's generally a nice guy all around but when he writes, he really becomes a son of a bitch. His brother (and writing partner) Stanley replies, "Well Eugene, you'd better make good friends with the son of a bitch 'cause he's the one who's gonna' make you a good living."

How true.

Those who write drama, sci-fi, action, I find they're all relatively decent people who just want to tell a nice pat tale and go to bed at the end of the day with their conscience intact.

Comedy writers want to HURT, to STING, to DESTROY everyone who has ever wronged them in their lives.

Er, um, at least, that's what I'm out to do normally. I'm far too much of a coward to ever confront or approach my perceived enemies so what better way to "get 'em" than on the page?

When a comic brings the house down, what's the line? "You SLAYED 'em!"

In my experience, comedy is not nice. And if it is nice then more than likely it's not funny.

I remember this. They sent it to Harper's to help build up for That 80's Show.

:)