Dare To Be Bold & Always Sweat the Details

Lovely anecdote from an Anonymous commenter, re: The Matthew Weiner Project for AMC I wrote about below:

I had a master class with Matt Weiner out here in Vancouver, maybe two years ago now. He mentioned this series, how he'd written this pilot on spec and how producers who read it always mentioned that what elevated this above the norm was the details, such as: the subway seats at the time were made of wooden slats -- a nightmare for the modern working girl and her taupe nylons. So women sat on newspapers on the subway. Small detail, well thought out. He used this pilot as his sample material despite years and years on Becker and despite his agent wavering about sending out an unproduced pilot as his sample. He had it sent anyway to a certain HBO series. A wise choice, no? Damn, I wish I could see it!

Me Too, man. Me Too.

Anonymous Commenter, if only I knew your address, I'd send you a complementary Dead Things On Sticks(tm) Dead Thing Stick -- suitable for poking your girlfriend/boyfriend, spearing dead critter flesh, or holding up complicated hairstyles. Accept no substitutes. Demand the Dead Things On Sticks(tm) Dead Thing Stick.

Whereever fine sticks are sold.*

That's the thing about bold ideas mixed with details that are so right: we're used to a paste of sameness today. Kickass creative means breathing the thing out your inner eyelid. It means knowing little things like that and weaving them in while having your characters make the bold, entertaining choices. It means having the faith to send out a script that is not the same old same old. It's knowing the difference between quality and crap. It's about having the courage to go out on the limb, and having the faith not to fear that someone will hack the limb off behind you.

If you can do that, then you're playing in the bigs -- whether you've made the sale or not.


*Not a real product. Jackass.