I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell - August 5, 2008

Sorry I haven't posted for a day or so, but this week we are shooting the strip club scene, and it is ridiculously hectic. Lots of extras, lots of moving parts, lots of scenes to cover. I am not complaining, it's just a lot of work. [On a side note--sorry, but no pics this week at all, for reasons that should be obvious. Don't worry though, what you see on film will make up for it.]

So of course, this is the week that a tempest in a tea pot scandal breaks out over the movie. Here's what happened:

Some random person who says they are a script reader got hold of a (recent) copy of the script, and posted a review. I won't link to it because it has spoilers in it (you can find the link pretty easily if you look), but, to summarize, she shit all over it. Here are some relevant excerpts that don't include spoilers:

"Tucker Max is an asshole but the kind of asshole that all of his asshole friends love because his antics distract them from the thinning hair and gentle mediocrity that characterize their post-college years.
...
Most Tucker Max stories involve him doing or saying crazy/offensive things, getting into trouble for them, and then going home with one of those girls who, when a guy says something sort of awful to her, hits him on the shoulder and says "you asshole" but also smiles and sticks to him like glue for the rest of the night.
...
Invariably in Tucker's stories, someone gets pissed off and says his jokes aren't funny, and if that someone is a woman, she's dismissed as ugly and/or fat and therefore too bitter and angry to get the joke, while if that someone is a man, he's dismissed as being a meathead and therefore not cool or smart enough to get the joke. If you are confused by this last, let me clear it up for you: Tucker Max is unaware that he is the definition of a hazey, rapey, fratty meathead."

The whole post is just that same sentiment, repeated over and over again. It's not really even a script review, it's just a piece of naked contempt and disdain, thinly veiled as a script review. When someone doesn't critique your work, but instead just hurls scattered vitriol, it always makes me wonder: What is she so angry about?

Then I looked at her bio, and it all made sense. From her own site:

"Cecelia has worked as a story analyst in the film industry since practically the day she arrived in Los Angeles almost eight years ago, and in that time has worked for a number of LA-based companies and read an estimated 4-5000 scripts, books and plays."

If you don't know anything about Hollywood, that might sound impressive, in fact, it might even make you think she's something of an expert. But that's not what it says. Let me translate that for you:

Script reader is almost the lowest level of existence in Hollywood; it might be above personal assistant, but it's not above working in the mailroom. Bragging about having read 5000 scripts is like bragging that you've been working the overnight shift at Waffle House for a decade. It means you are so bad at your job, you can't advance. To have read 5000 scripts and never become an executive, a producer, or even ANY position above script reader is an almost breathtaking failure (of course, if you want to understand why she can't get above an entry level position, just read her writing, the answer is right there).

I have always believed in getting the most honest feedback possible from people, and respecting the judgment of those who have accomplished what you are trying to do. If you are a rookie, listen to the veterans. In that vein, when I showed the first draft of the script--a draft that Nils and I were pretty proud of--to David Zuckerman, and he came back with some pretty substantial notes, at first Nils and I balked. But then we looked at them again and realized that not only was he one of the best writers in Hollywood and we were lucky that he was even talking to us, but he was right. So Nils and I swallowed our pride and took his feedback and guess what? It made the script much better. That set of notes is what made the script great, and that set of notes is what got the movie made. We learned how to win by listening to a winner.

There are two sides to that coin, though. The reverse side is that, generally speaking, you should NOT take advice or counsel from those who have FAILED in your field. If your thoughts and instincts line up with those who are winners, you are probably on the right course. If your thoughts and instincts line up with those who are losers, you might want to reevaluate your position. Losers are usually losers for a reason.

Yeah, it was great to hear big time, established artists like David Zuckerman and Richard Kelly (and tons of others, but I've name-dropped enough) lavish praise on our script. But in its own way, it's just as good that some random who can't get above an entry level position, and a website whose book couldn't even sell 1000 copies, doesn't think my script is very good. When a loser thinks you're on the right path, then it's time to worry.

[For comparison, my book just passed 400k copies sold. You can check it out on BookScan. And almost three years after its release, it's the highest it has ever been on the NY Times Best Seller List.]

Ultimately, the movie will only be judged on how well it does in the market place, and that's how it should be. But until then, here is another take on this issue by David Cohen at Variety (warning, he quotes a spoiler, but I loved his last line too much to not link this piece).

I'm back to the strip club shooting (which I will write about extensively when it's done). We have some more video interviews going up this week, but my posts will probably be sporadic until Saturdayish.

EDIT: So there has been even more press since I put this post up. If this is your first time here, welcome. There is nothing I like more than attention, so please, look around.

I have to admit, I love this scenario so much--it is 8-14 months away from the movie being released, and everyone is talking about it. This is so awesome. That's the best part of being controversial--you can spend a tenth of what something vanilla has to spend, and get the same results. God bless everyone who hates me, they draw more attention to me than I do to myself.

EDIT #2: Radar got another response from me about all of this, posted here.

Comment and discuss

Posted by Tucker Max at 5:08 AM