The Artful Writer's Very Own "Awwwwwww" Moment
Hey Dad? Wanna read a blog?I know that people read this blog. Lots of people. But beyond my own thoughts and those of the people who comment, it’s all conceptual to me.
That’s probably for the best.
Still, I got an email today that just made me feel all warm and squishy inside. The sender has granted me permission to print it here.
I really don’t do much in my life that anyone can call “good” or “bad.” I live in the neutral, I guess. But every now and then, I guess some good sort of happens.
Not intentional! I swear!
Anyway, here’s the email.
(read the above sentence with Casey Kasem’s “long distance dedication” voice)
Dear Craig,
I’ve become an avid reader of your blog, which rocks, over the last month. The way in which it indirectly wound up bringing about hitherto unhoped-for levels of familial harmony has blown my mind, and since everyone likes hearing nice things about their work, I felt a kind of karmic imperative to drop you a line.
I saw the film “The Lookout”, which I thought was bloody fantastic, with my dad. Quick relevant background: I’m an actor out here, and reared from the classic middle-class-Jewish-elder-son mold (which it sounds from your blog like you may know something about). I went to Yale: I wanted to go to a conservatory, but my folks wanted me to keep my options open, and Yale’s got the fancy name/quality education/can-brag-about-it-to-neighbors thing, along with a stellar theater program. Despite becoming a theater major and doing well there, and despite achieving some success in my first couple years in LA, my father is still hellbent, titanium in his will, that I need to give it all up and become something respectable and stable, e.g. a dentist, and perhaps resume my long-since-neglected viola lessons in the bargain.
But to the point: We saw this movie The Lookout together, and got into it the way fathers and sons do. For whatever reason, it was a nastier spat than usual; in a nutshell, I was saying it was great, he was saying it was one more dumb thriller. Our fights are very Dawson’s Creek sturm-and-drang, very Oedipal Complex.
We get back to my apartment, and it has come to this. My dad: “Okay, smart guy, if this is so good, let’s see what the CRITICS have to say.” Like that’s going to prove anything. But whatever, we look, and up on the Google screen comes an entry on your blog all about the scene between Luvlee and Lewis, which was the very scene I’d been leaning on in our argument. My dad stops cold.
You see, my dad’s an attorney, and he does labor law, among other things, in Northern California. It turns out he’s read your stuff from Artful Writer and Huffington Post on the Writer’s Guild for the last however many months, and has actually REFERRED CLIENTS to it to help them understand how to discuss labor issues persuasively and with clarity. I’d even heard him mention the site before, but I’d tuned it out.
And he scrolls down the entry, takes a few minutes, and then, for the very first time in recorded history, my father turns to me and says: “Well, you were right.” He got all quiet and reflective for a moment, changed the subject, and then, five or ten minutes later, to my total shock, gave me a hug. First time in years.
Then, just as quick, the moment was over: “So you were right. Sue me for Christ’s sake. Favete linguis.” (that last part is latin for basically “shut your damn trap”, which was a running joke in my fam. Yeah, I know.)
It was actually quite a moment. It seems to’ve opened some kind of door in our relationship. He even apologized for not being more supportive, which was doubly nice because then I was able to apologize for being obnoxious for the majority of my teenage years. I’ve started to read your blog consistently since, because, I mean, clearly the universe was pointing in that direction, and when I recently completed filming on my first lead-sized part in a flick (a truly ridiculous airplane action movie in which I murder a Backstreet Boy), I got in the mail a bootleg copy of The Lookout he’d gotten from some street vendor with the note “Maybe next time you can be in a movie that’s actually good. Congrats! Love, Dad”. Still kind of a sabotaging sentiment, but better than nothing.
Corny, deeply corny, but I felt like I had to send this along, probably to die forever unread in some spam in-box. But I made the effort. Be well, sir, keep up the good work, I hope our paths will cross someday.
Well, as a father with a son, this sort of thing gets me. I’m a sucker for it. And like the writer says, it’s corny…but corny isn’t always bad.
So to the son, I say “Thanks.”
And to the dad, I say “Well done.”
kinda makes me feel bad for all the idiotic posts I make.
Nah, Bobby. I’m sure you’ve mended someone’s family too but just haven’t gotten the email yet.
I was waiting for the “Send this email to 10 writers you know or be cursed forever” at the end, but alas….
AAW
John August: “Craig is basically a smart entertainment lawyer who happens to be a really good writer.”
Who repairs lives.
If you write it, they will come.
Well done to you Craig from all of us.
That was really beautiful.
I half expected the letter to end with the son repeating, “Dad…it’s not your fault.”
Especially touching was the part where the father, an Attorney, acquires a bootleg copy of “The Lookout” and mails it to his son. Gee, Dad, what a lesson.
Yeah, I know why you cheesed out here, Craig. Shortly after my son was born, I saw The Incredibles for the first time and actually choked up during the Hundred-Mile Dash.
fake
What do you mean you don’t do any good?
Making people laugh, that’s good.
“You want to help humanity? Tell funnier jokes.”
Awwwwwwwww… Though we all know Craig added the fifth paragraph himself. There’s a shift in tone -a subtle effort to sound casual inconsistent with the rest of the letter - that gives him away. It’s what’s called subliminal persuasion. Advertisers use it to make you think you’re reading about one thing when really they’re selling you something else.
“Hey, look at the puppy in my backseat!”
“You mean the backseat of your LAMBORGHINI-?!”
Corny done very well! When it happens in real life you don’t believe it. If it happens in a movie you say it’s unrealistic. Because most of us don’t ever experience something like that emotionally. And that’s why it’s shown in movies.
What a sensational post. Consider this mother’s heart warmed!
I was moved - in fact, I was DISLODGED - by that wholly moving and fake letter, Craig.
It’s true.
That PLOP you heard was the sound of a brown dolphin getting its fins.
We live in a cynical world. A cynical, cynical world.
As evidenced by the number of posts that call the letter fake. I’m guessing these are the same people that accused Gwyneth Paltrow of faking being emotional upon winning her Oscar (don’t ask me why I thought of that). I don’t see the point in faking the letter, or the emotional acceptance speech.
Way to go everyone in taking Craig at face value.
Sheesh!
If I were him my next post would be a reeeeeaally dense explanation of the next stage of WGA negotiations. Lots of long, dangling sub-clauses and obfuscation.
That’d shut everyone up.
For about two minutes.
I need props.
For my last post.
I need props.
RIGHT NOW!!!!
CROWN ME, you cynical f*cks!
And to the son I say, hold out a few more years and you just might here “I believe in you,” “I respect you” and other unfamiliar phrases like that. My path is similar to yours (Duke, Columbia Law, then I jetisoned it all for a writing career - and perhaps a bit of acting some day). Big blow to the folks, but now they’re true believers. Sometimes the son teaches the father, much to the father’s shock and surprise. Happy for you!
What a wonderful post. Really made my day. Paula — I went to Columbia Law too! Also a recovering attorney, now on the brink of a relapse. We should talk.
What does going to Yale have to do with the story?
I notice this a lot among Ivy Leaguers. They tend to volunteer the name of their alma mater whether it’s germane to the conversation or not.
It’s never, “When I was in college,” it’s always, “When I was at Harvard.”
Makes me laugh.
Considering how well-written that email is, he should think about writing as a career. Okay, as a back-up to acting, writing’s about as reliable as… well… acting. So his dad won’t exactly rock the house about it. But… the kid’s obviously talented. Maybe he could write himself a movie. Worked for Matt and Ben. And then there’s always ghostwriters, if it needs a polish…
Whyn would someone make up that story? To bolster credibility. When he writes about writing sketch comedy, this is a good site. When he writes about union issues, this is a good site. But Craig is obviously frustrated by the lack of respect he gets as an honest to gosh screenwriter, and every now and then uses this site to position himself as a screenwriting authority.
The analysis of the Frank script was perfectly adequate for a college student, but not on par with the kind of analysis you’ll get from a serious screenwriter. It was an obvious attempt to gain credibility among the amateurs in the audience. The phony e mail is just an attempt to shore up the mostly lackluster response that the original post got. You didn’t see a lot of pros patting him on the back for his keen insight, so he’s fallen back on schmaltz. A boy and his dad. Pass the sugar.
Be what you are, Craig. When you successfully write a serious screenplay, the respect you obviously want will come. Until then, anyone who comes here looking for professional caliber insight into the art of real screenwriting is wasting their time.
Wow! That’s sad.
Mr. Neff-
Just because you have no conscience doesn’t mean no one else does either.
Neff is fake. Fake fake fake. I know who he is.
Craig, this topic isn’t inclusive.
Oddly enough, I know a real Jeff Neff. He’s a gay activist and works Pagan Pride events.
I googled Jeff Neff and found a bunch of different people of little to no significance. I then googled Craig Mazin and found, to name just a few, an imbd.com entry, a Wikipedia page, a few interviews and many articles, all written or about the Craig Mazin that happens to co-run this site. If we’re talking about credibility issues, Craig is the one we should be the least worried about.
I find it puzzling why it is so hard to believe, considering the popularity and respect this site has in the industry, that someone might send an email such as this.
Tim:
I’m tempted to say that we live in a cynical world, but that’s not true. I think people have always been cynical. I’m not a cynic. I’m a skeptic, but I’m not a cynic.
I think there are a lot of people who a miserable, and they just can’t bear the thought of other people enjoying an admittedly corny moment.
Me? I’m a pretty corny guy. So like stuff like this.
Allow me to be even cornier for a moment.
The guy who sent me this email is an aspiring actor. I hooked him up with a casting agent, because he a) flattered me with his email, and b) seemed like a really nice kid who deserves a break.
So here’s what we have.
Reality: a guy and his dad have a nice bonding moment over Scott’s movie and something I wrote about it, and I do him a solid in return for his lovely email
Cynicism: I faked an email to garner myself the respect that I so desperately wish for yet am incapable of earning.
Look, this is as moronic as that MySpace kid who refused to believe I was me. And frankly, I find it so absurd as to actually be amusing.
Here’s the REALLY funny part.
And I’ll be totally honest here.
75% of the reason I posted the email was because I really liked it and wanted to share it with you guys.
But 25%?
I’m really busy this week, and I just didn’t feel like writing anything. :)
And what do I get accused of?
Heh. Stupid internets.
Sorry, meant to say an “increasingly cynical world.”
Hi Craig.
You have failed to address the issue of just how incredibly touching and funny my initial post on this subject was.
Take a moment and do it now.
I’ll wait.
Craig,
The `cynical world’ part was actually a quote from Jerry Maguire’, but I thought it was relevant here. I’m also a skeptic, but that comes from being pretty logical. It made much more sense to me that you actually received an email than that you made it up.
I think it’s a little ironic that you posted the email because it made you feel good and wanted to share that, only to be accused of faking it, which is a little disheartening. Bear in mind, though, there’s a lot of people that read the email and did feel the same way about it that you and I do. It’s sweet, it’s nice…and while it didn’t exactly complete me, it did make me smile. At least inside.
Gay.
And fake.
And fay.
And gake.
But mostly just gay.
Love the pic and caption.
It has always been a puzzle to me that whenever I write a story based on true events, told without varnish and to the best of my memory, invariably other writers call it too sweet to be real and go sniffing for blood.
Craig, I’m really glad you shared this. I’m glad you aren’t so cynical that you dismissed his email. I continue to be amazed and cheered by the generosity of spirit shown by all you successful writers who go out of your way to encourage the rest of us when you could just sequester yourselves away in ivory towers.
Thank you.
Nude-Cular Bomb,
Don’t steal my name. To quote EPMD: “you could get a smack for that.”
Sweet E-mail. Something to be proud of.
lol! I remember reading that Edward Norton graduated from Yale, and that his father was a lawyer, so I decided to do some more research, with the hopes of finding out if this mystery man was in fact Ed Norton. As it turns out, Ed was a histroy major. :(
Ed Norton has been in a good movie or two, already. I’m pretty sure his father would agree with that.
I think it’s absurd that anyone would believe Mazin would make up a story like this for his blog.
I also happen to think that the LW’s father comes across as a slightly nicer verion of Kurtwood Smith’s character from “Dead Poet Society.”
Hahaha. As the person who posted the original “fake” comment let me just take a moment to say:
IT WAS A JOKE PEOPLE.
Join the forum.
AUG 11
CRAIG:
If my Dad was alive (died 3 years ago, too many years to early)…he’d eventually, after reading this letter…probably say the same thing…”awww…”
He started off writing and painting, then met my Mom, fell in love and went into advertising.
That’s what you do with 4 kids in Omaha Nebraska. You go into advertising at Mutual of Omaha. Good, steady job, great retirement.
I didn’t start writing until my 20s; my goal simply being, was to a carpenter.
I started reading again after a 5 year lay off from it, during high school and getting way too stoned.
It was Edgar Rice Burroughs’ TARZAN, then LORD OF THE RINGS, then SALEM’S LOT…in a 1 year period…while working for the forest service. Started with writing short stories. That came very easy, very visual to me.
10 to 15 years later; after Journalism and English degrees…7 years in the Army Guard and many, many heavy construction work road crews putting me through college, applying and not expecting to get into grad film school at UCLA; a few, low, low budget script sales happened…so did a 1 year of being homelss on the streets of L.A., where I also went cold turkey off of drugs and booze.
Eventually I started writing again…and it saved me. Like it has always done in tough times.
My Dad’s proud of me, and has told me a few times in my dreams at night…especially at sticking out the writing.
Knowing I was doing something he had given up on…but doing it on my own terms.
No matter how many roads I went down I didn’t expect to go down.
Reading the letter of the son with his Dad after seeing THE LOOKOUT…really got me going again.
I’d give anything to have my Dad back…and talk shop with him, face to face…instead of in my dreams at night and in very private moments…when I know his spirit is so damn close by.
I’ve got a new spec script to get back to.
A previous one, now in the works of finally securing me a lit manager.
All I can say at this point is thanks. My dad would’ve loved to talk shop with you.
MARK11 MTS1160@HOTMAIL.COM
I love this thread. Not so much for the post, but for the debate on its authenticity. It always amazes me when cynics(?) decide to attack someone like Craig for a potentially fake post. Even if you’re right, which is stupid but pretending you are, what are you really accomplishing calling Craig out? What amazing benefit exists at the end of this? Does he offer you a job on his next film for your keen insight into the validity of an e-mail he received?
I mean seriously, I’ve never been a fan of burning bridges. But I’d love to know what the arm-chair quarterbacks think they’re getting in return for their scathing attacks. Because the guy who complimented Craig got hooked-up. And the guy who insulted him? I don’t know, but I got a feeling he didn’t get to meet Craig’s casting agent friend.
I’m new to this blog, so I needed to go back and read the entry about The Lookout. Now I need someone to tell me who Josh Olson is.
The archive section for this blog is fantastic and really insightful. Josh Olson is the Academy Award nominated writer of A History of Violence. Throughout the archives Josh and Craig have had some fantastic disagreements. Olson is fairly synonomous with “counter-point” to whatever Craig is arguing; although it seems as though they have been agreeing more often as of late.
A friend of mine just sent this to me, so I missed all of it when it was originally posted. Here’s the irony: my father never understood my desire to be a screenwriter. Despite the fact that he was an airline pilot who loved his gig, told me he would do it for free and that I had to find something I loved just as much. He was always telling me that I needed a “back up” or a “fall back” plan. Even after I began earning my living writing movies at age 24, he was still sending me articles about failed screenwriters, or screenwriters who spent years writing scripts that never got made. When he saw The Lookout, over 20 years lager, about all he could muster was, “Yeah, it was good.” Much like when he read Dead Again for the first time (after I’d spent a couple of years writing it) and his only comment was to correct a spelling error on page 43. When I was nominated for an Oscar, his first comment was basically “Where do I sit?” So the fact that my stupid little film sparked a healthy conversation between father and son means the world to me. I know that my father would do anything for any of his kids, that he’s proud in his own way, but he missed the point on something beautiful, something that makes being a parent actually magical: and that is our children are who they are the instant they’re born. We give them love, a moral compass, security and an education. But beyond that, our job is to make them actually feel good about who they already are. And we should always tell them that they can do anything. When they’re young, they certainly don’t need a fall back. For as I’ve seen over and over again, when someone so young has a “fall back” they know they can count on, they almost always fall back. Anyway, sorry to ramble but I had to smile at the irony of the email, considering my own experience as both a father and a son. Back to your regularly scheduled programming…
It’s so satisfying, having this kind of reward for reading so many cynical comments until the end. Thank you.
Ted - it would be lovely to see you again sometime. Continued good luck and blessings to you.