The First Thirty

There are many things in Hollywood I wish weren’t the way they are but my job is not to change the system, it’s to make movies within it.  However, there is one thing that happens in Hollywood that I dislike that I actually do myself.  And it’s not going to change anytime soon.  So I thought I’d take a second and explain what and why.

I am not a very slow reader, but I’m not a particularly fast reader either.  I don’t move on in a sentence if I don’t get what I’ve just read and if I get interrupted and lose my train of thought I have to go back again.  So when I sit down to read a script I sit down to read the script.  I clear my schedule to read.  I give the writer my full, undivided attention.  For thirty pages.  What?!?  Yup, that’s it.  Thirty pages.  And here’s why.

None of my two days are ever alike, but here’s today’s schedule for example…

5:30 am                        wake
6:00 am                       drive to beach
7:00 am                        surfing lesson
9:30 am                        conference call on way back from beach
10:30 - 11:30                read & return emails and write blog
11:45 am                        drive to meeting in Hollywood
12:30 pm - ?                 meeting
drive back to meeting in West LA
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm     meeting
4:30 pm - 8:00 pm     read scripts, read & return emails, read 3 scripts for tomorrow’s meetings
8:00 pm                        drive back to Hollywood for another meeting

8:30 pm - ?                  meeting
10:00 pm                      read whatever I couldn’t finish earlier/collapse and go to bed

So this is a particularly busy day but I’ve yet to come across a calm one so let’s just go with it.  I’ve got three scripts to read.  I would like to devote 2 hours to each.  Six hours to reading scripts.  It can actually just about fit in this day so that works.

But when I sit down and for thirty pages, that’s thirty whole minutes, I’m bored, confused, annoyed, or whatever I just can’t justify going on for another hour and a half.  I cannot.  And anyone that tells you they do is either A) lying or B) has a little too much time on their hands to be a working professional and you should be suspicious.

All I can say to you writers, is believe me.  Aside from those readers who get paid to read and produce thorough reports on what they read, everyone in town reads like this.  Some also pick a random few pages later on in the script as well but mostly, this is it.

I want to fall in love with the script, but if takes longer than 30 pages to keep me even remotely interested, I’ll never get to that amazing thing the happens on page 60 because I’ll have put it down.  So if you’re going to send your script out, please, for your sake, and for mine, make sure the first thirty kick ass.

Sorry readers, I gotta fix the formatting later.  I’m late!