Critical Response

“This is one of the best scripts I've ever read! The story is really well thought out. I can totally visualize the scenes as they'd appear on the big screen... After reading this, I feel like I've been introduced to a true mentor... this is definitely top ten material.”

“I felt nothing. I just wanted it to end. The writing was very wordy, but not in an interesting, catch you and keep you, kind of way. I'm glad it's over!”

Two completely separate scripts? Nope, both writing about Holding Pattern. Anyone else see a bit of a disconnect here? I know, there’s no accounting for taste, but I’d suspect that a more rational assessment of the screenplay would fall somewhere between those two extremes (though, for the record, the first critique above was not used for scoring, while the second was).

I was going to go off on a rant about each individual critique, but after a weekend spent largely in a moderately (though doubtless not clinically) depressed funk, I’ve pretty much been able to put it past me. (I did manage to watch quite a few movies over the weekend, and even got out to see the new Kevin Smith release Jersey Girl; I do recommend it wholeheartedly — though watching a movie about a father and his seven-year-old daughter may not have been the best choice on a weekend when I’m upset and my own family is out of town.) Some of the criticisms actually did bring up some valid points, but even those were frequently couched in a morass of poor spelling, inept grammar, and a healthy dose of “fanboy” aesthetic.

The thing is, though, that there is one hell of a lot of random chance inherent in any “audition” process. Either you get screened by people who like your work, or you don’t. The same probably goes for the directorial scene. I was really happy with it, and those who’ve seen it have been uniformly supportive, if not effluent in their praise. But I’ll concede that it certainly wasn’t breaking any really new ground. I do wish there were some feedback on why it didn’t catch the viewer’s eye, but at its core, Project Greenlight was a competition, not a film class. I’ve found it helpful to think of it like a job interview. You either get the job (or a second interview) or you don’t. And if you don’t, you get a form letter back.

Discouraging, but not enough to make me quit trying.