An article in the Los Angeles Times talks about the writing practices of Zach Helm, who wrote “Stranger Than Fiction,’ and whose first directorial effort, “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” is now on release.
He says he keeps a handwritten personal manifesto on his desk “to go back to and look at when I’m in a moral quandary or I’m stuck artistically.” He also noted that it is based on his ten years in the business (including some years of struggle), but doesn’t reveal too much of the content of the four pages lest it appear that he’s trying to set up rules for anybody else.
However, the article does reveal a few of the guidelines he follows: he will negotiate strong terms and a high level of involvement in any spec script he sells; he will write entire spec screenplays rather than pitching ideas; he will refuse to rewrite another screenwriter’s work; and if he is asked to direct an existing script by someone else and the producer wants changes, he will insist that the original writer be hired to make them.
If you want to read more about Helm and more details of the manfesto, see the longer Vanity Fair article here.
My point is not that his manifesto is right or wrong, but that having such a manifesto yourself could be very useful. I don’t have one (at least not on paper), but I think I’ll sit down and write one—how about you?
