The Screenwriting Life

The classic book about the screenwriting life is William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade,  in which Goldman makes his oft-quoted pronouncement, Nobody knows anything. I hereby nominate a second book to join his, the short novel by Rafael Lima called Screenwriter, which nails it but which unfortunately is only available as a Kindle book, so I can't assign it to my students.

In Lima's novel, here is a crusty old screenwriter talking to an idealistic young playwright and screenwriter, who confesses a desire to write a novel. The old pro is answering the question, "But don't you think there is more to being a writer than--":

Than what. Than making a living? Then providing for your family? Than succeeding at what many would fucking consider to be a dream? 

The old writer gets up. He swings his coffee cup and coffee spills on the rug. "Who are you kidding? You want to be this writer.  This artist. Get a grip, son. You are here, look out the window. What is out there? Out there is nine to five employment in retail. Out there is some waitressing job for your wife and life as a union plumber for you. All those writers trying to get in here where you and I are, making six figures and riding around in fucking limousines. Who the fuck are you kidding? Get a Grip. The novel is dead. We are the new theatre and we are what replaces literature.

You have this idea that your writing is like this untouchable holy vision. Nothing is holy. There are no visions. There is commerce. Life is commerce. Everything in life Bobby, everything is negotiable. Everything is product. Your talent? Your writing? It's negotiable. You have this idea that you have to be the Joan of Arch. This long suffering artist. Bullshit. What you have to be is smart. What you have to be is a negotiator. You're a playwright. You're used to having your lines spoken word for word the way you wrote them. Like holy scripture. The director defers to you. I was in New York. I know in New York it's the playwright that gets the adulation. You get to be the artist. But you get paid shit for it. You own nothing and you can never own anything. You want a home for your wife? You want children? You want them to go to private schools? Have nice clothes? This is the movies. You work in the movies you can have those things. For your wife. For your kids. You know what America is? It isn't the home of the free and the land of the brave. It's the land of the consumer. It's the land of the deal and the land of the dollar. America is the land of the buyer. Bobby, you know what America wants in their movies? What the buyer wants in his movies? They want the strong silent type to get the girl. They want the girl to have cleavage and the boy to have a square jaw. They want the alien from outer space to drool and have claws and be killed in the biggest explosion that producers can afford. They want their romantic comedies funny and their sad stories to have happy endings. They want it all tied up neatly for them at the end and they want to feel good after paying their 7.50 at the door. Don't re-invent the wheel.

This, my friends, is brilliant. This nails it. This is reality. Past and present. In Hollywood. In America. Homo consumerus.