Are We Shooting Yet?

I'm getting nervous. The movie I wrote the script for was supposed to start shooting in late August. Well, it's about as late into August as you can get and I haven't heard a word.

"Don't they keep the writer informed?" you might ask. No. It doesn't really work that way.

A Screenwriter is Like an Architect

Being a screenwriter I've found is much like being an architect. Your job is to design a story in the form a screenplay that an actor, director, producer, etc. can work from. You're just like an architect who designs plans for a house that a builder, plumber and electrician can all work from.

Once you buy the house plan, you don't want the architect around anymore — especially if every time you want to add a window or take out a door the architect stands there screaming, "You ruined my vision!"

It's the same with screenwriting.

You Will Lose Control

Screenwriting is commercial work. You're an architect of stories. What they do with your scripts is ultimately out of your control -- unless you never sell them. There it is. (But it beats working at WalMart!!)

But back to my original point -- they haven't told me when it's shooting. I'm nervous. I better call someone, because no one is going to call me.