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American Zoetrope
Jan. 31st, 2013 09:49 pmLast week, Ciro threw out a copy of Democracy Italian Style, by Joseph LaPalombara - threw it out! From the first chapter, it was plain the author didn't know what he was talking about; in Ciro's words, he was "hand-wavey, writing off the top of his head, out of touch, and myopic." It would be immoral to give away such a book, such that someone else might read it. Into the trash!
The very next book Ciro opened, the very same hour, was Making Democracy Work, but Robert D. Putnam, and it covered exactly the same topic with exactly the same structure, but it was well-written and intelligent, and its scholarly conclusions had a strong foundation.
Wouldn't it be nice if life was always like that, we marveled. What an ideal world it would be if you could throw out an ugly sweater and open your drawer to find a perfect sweater. How wonderful if hanging up on an annoying phone call meant the caller would immediately call back and say something delightful. Don't like your sandwich? Toss it out and discover a feast in the fridge, spirited there by top chefs.
Last night I said to Ciro, I wish someone would pay me to write screenplays. I have so many in my head, and they're good, and they're finished. I just don't have time to write them out, or to film them if I did write them.
Tonight I got an e-mail from Francis Ford Coppola's company, telling me they like my Ratcatcher script and will be sending it around to agents and production companies if I don't mind. Top 10 of 2500 submissions. I don't know whether this means things are about to change in a big way, or whether it only means I got a compliment from Francis Ford Coppola. Either way, not too shabby.
(On top of everything else, Coppola's magazine Zoetrope All Story is my favorite short story repository, tied with or slightly edging out Tin House. Check it out if you haven't.)
The very next book Ciro opened, the very same hour, was Making Democracy Work, but Robert D. Putnam, and it covered exactly the same topic with exactly the same structure, but it was well-written and intelligent, and its scholarly conclusions had a strong foundation.
Wouldn't it be nice if life was always like that, we marveled. What an ideal world it would be if you could throw out an ugly sweater and open your drawer to find a perfect sweater. How wonderful if hanging up on an annoying phone call meant the caller would immediately call back and say something delightful. Don't like your sandwich? Toss it out and discover a feast in the fridge, spirited there by top chefs.
Last night I said to Ciro, I wish someone would pay me to write screenplays. I have so many in my head, and they're good, and they're finished. I just don't have time to write them out, or to film them if I did write them.
Tonight I got an e-mail from Francis Ford Coppola's company, telling me they like my Ratcatcher script and will be sending it around to agents and production companies if I don't mind. Top 10 of 2500 submissions. I don't know whether this means things are about to change in a big way, or whether it only means I got a compliment from Francis Ford Coppola. Either way, not too shabby.
(On top of everything else, Coppola's magazine Zoetrope All Story is my favorite short story repository, tied with or slightly edging out Tin House. Check it out if you haven't.)
