Friday, September 02, 2011

Writing Movies For Fun And Profit

First off, I hated reading this book in transit - the cover (while funny in context) kind of makes you look like an asshole :)
So this is a book about.... um... I guess it's about how the movie industry worlds from two insiders who have written big hits.  It's extremely honest, hilarious, and kind of sad.  They spend a really really long time talking about how awesome it is to make money - although they spend equal amounts of time recognizing that they are not, by any means, exceptionally remarkable writers - they aim around the middle and hit the mark every time (that's not to slam them - they admit this stuff).
I think there is a lot of great take-away advice.  I don't really have massive aspirations of going to L.A. and make of go of it there - I like Canada thank you very much, and I think that, while it needs a mass amount of work, that there's a way to make the film industry in our country work. 
I think that anyone with a strong desire to write, and make a living at it, in the entertainment industry needs to give this book a read for the sole reason of making you realize the realities of the system, what's expected of you, when to shut up and mind your business.  This business is a lot about ego, and I think that the really successful people know when to suppress it. 
It was a fun read with some decent take-aways - even if I don't agree with all they've got to say - not from a logic point of view - more from personal choice.
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!

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