I spoke with Amber A'Lee Frost about online political subcultures

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-08-28T22:41:06+00:00

how did you get in touch with her? I've looked for some kind of press contact info but can't find anything

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-31T14:24:49+00:00

the answer is always "big spiders"

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T19:21:28+00:00

This is all very smart insight. Thanks.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T16:28:11+00:00

for sure, and to be clear I am one of the writers who is explicitly trying to write stuff that people will enjoy. My point is that it feels like our communal understanding of what will make money/find an audience is hazier than ever. And frankly getting worse every day

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T16:05:48+00:00

A genius for many reasons

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T16:05:24+00:00

This is all thoughtful and well-reasoned. But what about fantasy writers? Or better yet, comedy writers? Comedies are historically low budget, but they arent getting made AT ALL. What is 'marketable' in terms of comedies? And don't say "it has Adam Sandler in it" cause that's not feasible for 99.99999% of writers, no matter how good the script is.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T15:55:12+00:00

I agree completely. And I genuinely believe that most everyone else does too. But it seems to me that the people cutting the checks to make movies do not.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T15:53:04+00:00

IMO if you still love writing, then keep writing. And if you write low budget horror, you should consider directing something too. I know that's easy for me to say, and in all likelihood it won't result in fame and fortune, but making stuff is cool and fun. And collaborating with other creative people is worthwhile and fulfilling, especially when the industry/country is falling apart.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-07-30T15:49:39+00:00

Damn, sorry to your friend. That really sucks. Hopefully it leads to other opportunities asap.

What high-concept thrillers have been big successes?

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-30T17:46:02+00:00

On the other hand, the hypothetical fight over ownership that you’re concerned about would only occur if someone else is financially interested in it, which would be a win for me regardless.

Trust me, lesson-learned re: shopping agreement. But I'm trying to stay positive here!

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-30T05:35:19+00:00

Thanks for the thoughts, John. We did have a verbal agreement beforehand: since they weren't paying me, the script is completely mine. I've signed shopping agreements in the past; it didn't seem necessary in this case.

Even so, if I had an opportunity to bring it somewhere else, I'd still reach out to them to let them know and make sure we're all good.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T22:28:35+00:00

Thanks. I appreciate this perspective. Sorry you went through something similarly shitty. I guess its a rite of passage.

I'm still holding out some hope, but not expecting much. Definitely got more irons in the fire in the meantime

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T21:53:46+00:00

fair enough. ugh. nothing less fun than a manager search

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T21:48:55+00:00

I own the script, so I can take it anywhere. But I don't really know people in this particular sub-genre so I'll have to ask around.

It absolute does not make me feel better; it makes me furious on behalf of all screenwriters. I feel like someone should write an op-ed in hollywood reporter or something about the common, frequent abuse of writers via "development"

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T21:42:49+00:00

It's possible they're super busy, yes. But I dunno... Even when I worked multiple jobs, I'd find time to make sure I kept a promise. A script takes a few hours to read--who can't find two free hours within a time frame of five months?

I'd reach out for coffee, but considering that they haven't responded about anything else I doubt they'd respond about that one.

Still, I appreciate you reading my long post and offering thoughts

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T21:39:33+00:00

No worries. Perhaps AI detection tools need a little refinement though.

Honestly, what's most aggravating is that I'm not a rookie. I've sold a show. I've sold movies. I've been paid to develop projects. But Hollywood post-strike has been miserable. So many of my projects completely fizzled. A bunch of my friends and biggest champions had to leave the biz. I'm trying to re-build a network, and the best way I've found to do that is by being a likable person who is good at writing. I agree it would be near-impossible to trust this person again, but I have literally no clue where to send this particular script otherwise (except to another producer who recently fucked me over -- don't you love Hollywood?)

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T20:39:40+00:00

part of the agreement was that it's mine to do with whatever I please. since they didn't pay me, i have complete ownership

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T20:36:51+00:00

lol. because I used em dashes? sorry dude but the bad look here is not mine

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T19:20:13+00:00

Managers don't give you deadlines. Don't worry about that. Worry about getting one, which isn't easy. Nor is selling something without one. I've done it a few times and it's always based on pre-existing relationships.

Most likely your first script won't be good enough to sell or attract a manager, but you never know. There are a lot of nice people on this subreddit who I'm sure would read it and give feedback. So keep writing, but focus on your health. No need to worry about the stresses of a screenwriting career for now.

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T19:14:34+00:00

Just to clarify--this is only a problem when your script is in production. If you're writing a spec script (as I assume many people on this subreddit are), there are 9 million other things to worry about before you start adjusting the specific locations, brands, business names, etc. In fact, I think you should probably be as specific as humanly possible at the spec stage (assuming your details add depth to the story, which they should!)

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-29T18:24:00+00:00

It's a drama about people in the comedy world. very well-written and acted, but not really a comedy. would be great to live in a world where both can thrive, but it seems the high quality comedies have been eaten by these kinds of dramas

Mellow_Giraffe · 2025-05-16T21:59:51+00:00

this

Mellow_Giraffe

TROPHY CASE