Nobody Likes A Screenwriting Victim

Recently, I was approached by a writer who was eager to tell me how Hollywood had done him wrong in every possible way: He was dumped by his agent, who didn’t respond to the work he was turning in. A writing partner walked away, taking with him the rights to what he considers to be his best script. A screenwriting consultant he’d hired didn’t agree with his story idea, sending him straight into a spiraling depression. A Hollywood production company came thisclose to optioning his script, but decided to develop their own material in house instead, which, you guessed it, my new writer friend thought was EXACTLY like his script.

Not enough to pursue legally, but still… It wasn’t any one thing: It was a collective of them. A singular point of view that it all sucks, and everyone else is to blame.  I knew this about him before I knew anything else, before my tea had cooled down enough to take a sip.

Here’s the thing: I have no doubt that this writer was frustrated. That things had not gone his way, and that, on occasion, it might not have been his fault entirely. Things happen. Writing partnerships break up, agents realize a writer might not be a good fit for their roster, while similar material gets developed in this town every day (for proof, look no further than the recent Snow White fad). It can be heartbreaking. Infuriating. Disappointing. We all know that. But if my writer friend is not careful, all of these will become the things that define him.

I never seem able to advocate this simple truth enough: This is a business. And nobody wants to do business with a victim. Even if you whole heartedly believe that someone stole The Hangover from you, unless you’re ready to take it to court, keep it to yourself. On the other end of the spectrum, I recently started working with an award-nominated writer who parted ways with her long-time writing partner, and could not have been more gracious about their talent and contribution to the partnership and work, though she did suggest she will likely never seek to write with them again. The point is, when a writer I just met tells me that he’s been screwed over a zillion times, he is not only telling me that he is entirely unaccountable for the things that have happened to him, he also informs me that sooner or later I, and anyone I may introduce him to along the way, will somehow find the way onto the list of people who screwed him along his path.

And unless you’re the world’s greatest writer, who is able to prove as much in 5 pages or less, no one, and I do mean NO ONE in their right mind in this industry is going to take that chance.