A friend sent me his script. I swear to you I maybe made it half way thru the first page. But I was already realizing it was hopeless in the first paragraph. I changed the names and locations. But you get the idea. As an agent/producer/studio honcho, if you started reading this, what would your reaction be, and why? EXT. SUBURBAN SIDE STREET. MORNING. Trash bins with cracked lids lean at inconsistent angles along the curb, their wheels half-submerged in yesterday’s rainwater. MAILBOXES stand at attention despite having no mail inside, their red flags lowered in silent disappointment. The street slopes gently downward, as if designed to encourage leaving. DAVE LANCER (40s) power-walks with intention. Wireless earbuds firmly seated, baseball cap pulled low but not enough to hide that he once had great hair. His gait suggests discipline, the kind learned from podcasts rather than hardship. He breathes through his nose like someone who read that it’s healthier. Dave is a man who has read the comments and decided not to care. Dave adjusts the strap of his fitness watch and passes ranch- style houses arranged with polite indifference toward one another, their LAWNS trimmed into compliance. A lone INFLATABLE SNOWMAN sags on a porch, still plugged in, radiating quiet defeat like a motivational quote gone stale. Halfway down the street. Two TEENAGERS in OVERSIZED HOODIES stand beside an OPEN TRUNK. One scrolls on his phone. The other stares into nothing. A SODA CAN drops, rolls, and comes to rest against the curb. The trunk closes. They leave without urgency. One gives Dave a thumbs-up for no reason. INT. DAVE’S HOUSE. KITCHEN. Slightly winded from exertion, hoodie half-zipped, Dave pours coffee with unnecessary precision. There’s a corporate-retreat energy to his movements. He taps the counter twice while waiting for the microwave to finish something that didn’t need heating. He knocks on a closed door with authority. DAVE Let’s move it. LUCAS (14) responds from inside, voice cracking with confidence.

I’ve been thinking about why so many smart, committed writers stay stuck for years—rewriting, “working,” consuming craft—without ever breaking through. Here’s what I’ve learned watching writers up close: Repetition alone doesn’t build mastery. Repetition without truth builds delusion. You can do the reps forever. You can write every day. You can finish draft after draft. If you’re avoiding the real problem in your work, all you’re doing is getting better at hiding from it. A few things worth remembering as you work here: • Your voice is specific—but it won’t emerge without friction. If the writing always feels comfortable, you’re probably circling the same lies. • If you're not willing to get lost, you'll never go anywhere interesting. Great writing should scare you. Make you feel like you're wandering alone. Keep wandering. • The moment your script stops giving you dopamine is where authorship begins. Boredom, resistance, and doubt aren’t signs you’re failing. They’re signs you’ve reached the edge of something real. • Discipline isn’t the problem for most writers. Avoidance is. • If you avoid the real problem in your work, you will rewrite forever. New drafts won’t save you. New insights might. This place isn’t about motivation. It’s about clarity. If you stay here long enough—and work honestly enough—you won’t just improve a script. You’ll become a different kind of writer. And that’s the point. What here resonates? If something hits, drop it below—let's start this new year with some well-earned clarity.

Made a thread about this last week. Took my daughter and taking my son and his gf today. This movie is utterly compelling about a narcissistic, ego-manacle, train wreck in the making, brilliant frustrated talented character. This is a script about... a guy who plays PING PONG. PING PONG! Go write a fascinating character study of a guy who plays ping pong. I dare you. Maybe I'm fascinated by this because I discovered this guy's biography 10 years ago and pitched it to my manager, who hated it. In fairness, Josh Safdie didn't make a biography so much as the character and that world as a jumping off point for a great film. But seriously, read the first 7 pages, up until he gets to the ping pong and let's discuss why Marty doesn't bother to save the damn cat and why audiences love him for it.

This community has been such a surprising and great gift this year! Just want you know how much I appreciate you all and wishing you a wonderful holiday with loved ones! Big things coming! Keep on the lookout here and in the Classroom section! Merry Christmas!

I've got my head down this week, prepping for the Emotional Authorship Seminar - aka What They Don't Teach You in Film School ... where I'm going to take students through exactly how I analyze projects at studios. How I create primal character dynamics that take those scripts to the next level and finally get them green lit! So I might be a little quiet here this week as I build that seminar out since this is the first in a series I'll be teaching. And I want everything to be absolutely top notch. What's on your plate and what are you determined to bring to the table this week? Let's get specific about our goals, so we don't get lost in the holiday shuffle. Now, don't get me wrong, it's incredibly important to be able to show up and appreciate everything we have to be grateful for during this time of year. But if we can keep plodding and plotting our way through December, we'll be able to enter the new year with a whole new energy vs having to play catch up. Drop your goals below!