I'M SORRY

But I've slaved two years of my life writing a screenplay
that's currently in the hands of every agent and film festival
in the country and, if you were in my position, would you put
a word of it on the web for anyone to see and quite possibly steal?
Not that I'm calling you a thief, but someone out there is, and with
identity theft being all the rage nowadays, I just can't take any chances.
But once I sell it, you can read it. For free. I promise.

Of course, what it looks like now probably won't look anything like
the version that'll hit the screen in the year 2013. For example,
here's the first draft for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind",
by Charlie Kaufman, a writer I truly admire.

His first draft begins and ends with Clementine erasing Joel - except
this time it takes place fifty years in the future, she's an old woman
and it's the fifteenth time they've erased each other from their memories.
Personally, I love this ending because it reinforces the human truth
of the film, that you can erase your memories but
not the hard drive of your heart. I don't know why it was edited out.
Such is the way of the Hollywood system.

So what's my point? Well, the first draft is usually the best draft.

So, in 2013, when you're leaving the theater after seeing a film
written by that guy who teased his screenplay on his website
six years before, tell whomever you're with that you can get a copy
of the first draft. And I'll send it your way.