I've been writing for the screen since 1999. I moved from Seattle to Hollywood in November of 2004. Three of my five screenplays are making the rounds.
My latest comedy, FALSE SECURITY, took 2nd place in the WriteSafe.com contest for the third quarter of 2005.
I wrote, produced, and directed a short film titled, Memoir.
I gained representation as a screenwriter in 2006.

davidcdanielATgmail.coµ

Enduring Readers of this wee-blog have seen the notes I've received from Biz folken--the few left in Town who still write them. I always appreciate receiving them and even when they're not even close to glowing. I'm a writer, so I appreciate someone taking the time to write me notes.

I received an email from one of my Pitch Fest contacts. I didn't pitch this exec in person. I emailed her my 3 synopses based on her company's Fest sheet. Anyone over the age of fifteen has seen one or more of the films she and/or her company have been involved with. Some of these films cost a lot of money and made a lot of money. She was at Universal when Universal was big.

Here are her notes to me:

Dear David,

Okay, one at a time.

I'm having trouble with SCRATCH conceptually, because ultimately, I'm not sure who the audience is for this film. It's not enough to say "everyone loves cats"--indeed, I have three. Is it a male fantasy to have a larger relationship with a feline? Do women wish they were loved by men who see them no more than pets? Is this THAT DARN CAT meets the SHAGGY DOG? Once the gimmick is on the table, does the piece lose its steam? CAT WOMAN with Halle Berry, great casting, was a bust. This sounds like a high-concept, but at the end of the day, I believe it to be very limited. (By the way, I had a similar problem with SPLASH, and look how that turned out.)

FEAR OF THUNDER doesn't work for me, because I really don't know why Paul Shannon has to play dad to an eighteen year old he's never met nor cares about--he's a bad guy. And does this film take place on sea? Is this a thriller like CAPE FEAR or DEAD CALM? Or a drama? I'm just not intrigued with this premise.

FALSE SECURITY is, to my mind, LADY KILLERS/OCEAN'S THIRTEEN REDUX. In other words, the worst crew on a heist for statuettes? Again, I'm not jumping up and down for this concept.

As such, I'm going to pass at taking a look at these scripts, but I do thank you for the introduction and wish you sincere good luck with them.

I read the notes and thought. Then I forwarded the email to M, let her know I'd send a thanks, and thought some more.

I didn't feel defensive. None of the notes were necessarily wrong, nor were any of them necessarily right. I might change my one-sheets in one or more ways to prevent misunderstandings about some of the aspects mentioned in the notes. I cringed at her use of Catwoman. I knew that exact comparison was going to be made by a producer one day as soon the show tanked. And I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

I wrote her a thank you note--and I truly hope every writer who gets notes thanks the note-writer. I send thanks no matter what I think of them. Too few producers write notes. A simple note of thanks can ensure the ones who do remain willing to continue.

I couldn't help but mention the double irony of the producer's example using Splash. I related the "Splash with a cat" episode. Perhaps an appreciation (or complete agape) of irony is a requirement for success in Hollywood. Regardless, the producer appreciated the irony enough to request the first 15 pages of SCRATCH.

I know, it's ironic.

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