Script Shadow in the NY Times!

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #91
    Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

    I think so many of us can't see through how off and goofy Carson is, we've never keyed in on one of his more infuriating traits...

    What bothered me personally was that...Carson didn't really seem to "learn" much.

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

      Originally posted by Dr. Vergerus View Post
      I'll give him this, though:

      This week he sent out to his readers a script that he's attached himself to produce, and he'll review it on Wednesday. I remember a lot of people wondering whether, if he ever got to produce or attach himself somehow to a script, he would send it out and review it or keep it under wraps.
      Well, at least we have some solid proof that he doesn't know wtf he's doing as a producer. Publicly reviewing a script your attached to produce?

      Fvcking idiot.

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

        Originally posted by ATB View Post
        Well, at least we have some solid proof that he doesn't know wtf he's doing as a producer. Publicly reviewing a script your attached to produce?
        My cynical take is that they didn't get anyone to bite behind the scenes, so Carson's reviewing it to drum up publicity. No harm in that - always be closing and all - but Wednesday will be a PR exercise, not a review.

        I read the script a while back, and it's decent as I remember, but a very small story wrapped inside a very expensive sci-fi backdrop. Good concept though.

        I'm tempted to post some detailed notes, but only if I can get an associate producer credit.

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

          I don't think the NYT article is all that bad. It kind of sums up the situation. But all of us here are familiar with the ongoing SS saga. I doubt the average reader could keep straight what is really going on, or care about whether Carson is a force for good or evil in the industry.

          I'm still kinda on the fence about Carson & SS. I like the idea of a site dedicated to talking about scripts & writers, but find his recent behavior off-putting.

          I can sympathize with pro writers not wanting works in progress reviewed b/c studio ppl are twitchy (and studios/companies own the rights to the scripts & rights need to be respected) ...

          But I find it hard to totally condemn Carson b/c when he first started reviewing pro scripts he included a LINK, so anyone reading the review could judge for themselves whether his review had merit or not. Whether the review was good, bad or so-so, anybody could read the script & form their own opinions about it. There was often a lively discussion when others disagreed with Carson.

          And really, a lot of the criticism of SS is based on paranoia...

          The reason the studios are so spooked by these leaked scripts (& reviews) is b/c of the potential for bad buzz. And if they know they have a bad (aka boring & stupid) movie on their hands, they want to be able to SELL IT ANYWAYS. They don't want some blogger warning away potential customers that a movie might be a stinker. That costs the studios money. So for me, the real evil isn't Carson reviewing scripts, it's the paranoid sheep mentality of the film industry causing them to panic & run scared.

          This might not be a popular POV but...

          Along with being a screenwriter, I'm also a movie fan. And I hate crappy movies. So I don't have much sympathy for filmmakers who want to foist excrement on the public sight unseen. In this vein, having reviews of scripts out there of potentially bad movies is kind of a 'consumer advocacy'.

          But I still think paying someone (esp when they've never worked inside the industry) $1000 for a script consult is stupid. Please don't waste your money, kids!

          ETA:
          What Carson is doing now... reviewing pro scripts while at the same time trying to be an industry player himself... is a stupid career move. He needs to show his colleagues some courtesy & stop doing that.
          Last edited by Laura Reyna; 12-03-2012, 08:07 PM.

          "Trust your stuff." -- Dave Righetti, Pitching Coach

          ( Formerly "stvnlra" )

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

            After the giant mess he made by getting involved with The Disciple Program deal...
            Last edited by Terrance Mulloy; 12-04-2012, 02:45 AM.
            @TerranceMulloy

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

              So there was a mess then?
              It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                Originally posted by Jules View Post
                So there was a mess then?
                I'm not going to elaborate, but let's just say he p!ssed a lot of folks off.
                @TerranceMulloy

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                  .

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                    I heard he tried to attach himself to play the lead.
                    It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

                    Comment


                    • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                      Originally posted by stvnlra View Post


                      Along with being a screenwriter, I'm also a movie fan. And I hate crappy movies. So I don't have much sympathy for filmmakers who want to foist excrement on the public sight unseen. In this vein, having reviews of scripts out there of potentially bad movies is kind of a 'consumer advocacy'.

                      You're a dabbler...an amateur screenwriter...If you thought like a real screenwriter you'd want to protect movies and the movie business and not someone who caters to amateur sheep.

                      A mediocre screenplay can end up a great movie... and a great screenplay can end up a crappy movie. So Carson isn't doing anyone consumer advocacy.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                        Originally posted by stvnlra View Post
                        I don't think the NYT article is all that bad. It kind of sums up the situation. But all of us here are familiar with the ongoing SS saga. I doubt the average reader could keep straight what is really going on, or care about whether Carson is a force for good or evil in the industry.

                        I'm still kinda on the fence about Carson & SS. I like the idea of a site dedicated to talking about scripts & writers, but find his recent behavior off-putting.

                        I can sympathize with pro writers not wanting works in progress reviewed b/c studio ppl are twitchy (and studios/companies own the rights to the scripts & rights need to be respected) ...

                        But I find it hard to totally condemn Carson b/c when he first started reviewing pro scripts he included a LINK, so anyone reading the review could judge for themselves whether his review had merit or not. Whether the review was good, bad or so-so, anybody could read the script & form their own opinions about it. There was often a lively discussion when others disagreed with Carson.

                        And really, a lot of the criticism of SS is based on paranoia...

                        The reason the studios are so spooked by these leaked scripts (& reviews) is b/c of the potential for bad buzz. And if they know they have a bad (aka boring & stupid) movie on their hands, they want to be able to SELL IT ANYWAYS. They don't want some blogger warning away potential customers that a movie might be a stinker. That costs the studios money. So for me, the real evil isn't Carson reviewing scripts, it's the paranoid sheep mentality of the film industry causing them to panic & run scared.

                        This might not be a popular POV but...

                        Along with being a screenwriter, I'm also a movie fan. And I hate crappy movies. So I don't have much sympathy for filmmakers who want to foist excrement on the public sight unseen. In this vein, having reviews of scripts out there of potentially bad movies is kind of a 'consumer advocacy'.

                        But I still think paying someone (esp when they've never worked inside the industry) $1000 for a script consult is stupid. Please don't waste your money, kids!

                        ETA:
                        What Carson is doing now... reviewing pro scripts while at the same time trying to be an industry player himself... is a stupid career move. He needs to show his colleagues some courtesy & stop doing that.
                        Bad reviews of an unfinished product are not fair to anyone involved in the process. Nor is it anyones right to be doing so.

                        Like I have said before, Carson represents the entitled generation of people that feel simply why wanting, they deserve something.

                        Writers want to read a script, so they feel entitled to it.

                        While I get the whole we want to learn from it aspect, there are thousands of scripts for movies that have been made you can learn from.

                        You are not entitled to read a script that just sold, nor should you be able to unless you are given permission. And sending out those scripts, those pieces of copyrighted material, is wrong. Just as is reviewing those scripts in development and charging so much for notes.

                        -MB
                        twitter.com/mbotti

                        Comment


                        • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                          That's true. The mentality of the internet generation seems to be "if it exists digitally, I should be able to get my hands on it."

                          Comment


                          • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                            Originally posted by michaelb View Post
                            While I get the whole we want to learn from it aspect, there are thousands of scripts for movies that have been made you can learn from.

                            You are not entitled to read a script that just sold, nor should you be able to unless you are given permission. And sending out those scripts, those pieces of copyrighted material, is wrong. Just as is reviewing those scripts in development and charging so much for notes.

                            -MB
                            Great post...if I could ride your coattails for one minute.

                            Not only reading scripts, but going back to the basics and watching movies from years past. From Cagney and Bogart in 'The Roaring Twenties,' to 'The Long Goodbye' where Elliot Gould nails Philip Marlowe.

                            There are so many great movies from the last 90 years. It's amazing how you see the manifestation of the cop with a problem, or the drunk private detective. Watch 'The Big Combo' and try to tell me that's not a f'ing classic.

                            Everybody wants a shortcut to success, including Wilson/Carson/Chris...but in the end, there are no shortcuts. Just hard work.

                            What difference does it make if you read a great script from the 50's, 60 or 90's? If it works, why did it work? How did it capture the zeitgeist of the time? Can you do the same?

                            Eventually Carson's star will fade. Perhaps, I'm jealous of his success, but in the end, I would much rather starve from my passion then feast with my greed.
                            Last edited by zenplato; 12-04-2012, 07:15 AM.
                            The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

                            Comment


                            • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                              Originally posted by michaelb View Post
                              You are not entitled to read a script that just sold, nor should you be able to unless you are given permission.
                              So that goes for assistants/agents/managers trading scripts, too?

                              If an agent has an actor-client who's heard about a script and who thinks he'd be great for the studly cop role, but the producer/studio is keeping the script tightly held, it's wrong for that agent to call a friend-agent to slip him a copy? And it's wrong for the friend-agent to do it?

                              BTW, I am not arguing the point as to SS or any such site, but blanket comments like yours there are off. Sure, I like a bright-line test, "No - unless you have permission." But the real, if less elegant test really is, "If you're in the industry - Maybe. If you're not - No."

                              Why? Because if someone in the industry does something that violates some unwritten rule, he/she can be punished; if not in the industry, then he/she cannot be punished. And that makes complete sense. Unfortunately (it seems), if someone outside the industry does something bad with a script, it's either send-in-the-lawyers... or not. Otherwise, it's just Sturm und Drang.

                              Or, from John August's POV:
                              Aspiring screenwriters have always had access to this material the same way Reeves apparently got access to it: by working and interning in the industry.

                              In between answering phones and trying to get their bosses on flights out of Kennedy, bright underpaid aspirants have the opportunity to read almost every script in town. Impromptu networks of assistants pass around their favorite screenplays, in the process picking the next generation of hot writers.

                              Studios turn a blind eye to this because it helps the industry. You want the smartest people with the best opinions working for you, and you want them to have a good sense of what’s in development all over town. A boss at Disney isn’t going to lose sleep if an intern at CAA reads a draft of that Miley Cyrus comedy. It’s expected. It’s good.
                              Now I suppose one could say that, from that POV, everyone in the industry has "unwritten permission". But in that case, it's not really "permission" that's the issue; it's whether or not you're a member of the club. Now one could say that that's a proxy for "permission", but IMO that's not "permission".

                              With the new book, SS now has a few bucks. But still - If a lawsuit were filed, that place would fold like [insert a simile for fast-folding].

                              Comment


                              • Re: Script Shadow in the NY Times!

                                I think we can all agree on the facts:

                                Chris Eads (aka Carson Reeves) is a middle-aged tennis instructor/failed screenwriter who created a (let's admit it and give credit where credit is due) very popular screenwriting blog and -- naive, misguided and/or unethical or not -- is now trying to financially capitalize on that blog's success and parlay it into a producing career.

                                Can we all agree on the above and move on?

                                Carson/Scriptshadow seems worthy neither of adulation nor hate. He/it just seems like an easy target. Let's aim higher...

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X