Sunday, October 24, 2010

17 Reasons your film script was rejected...in 1925!




From BoingBoing (via the amazing Steve Ulfelder--thanks!)

24 comments:

Becky Mushko said...

Too bad some film companies don't use these guidelines today.

Heather Eagar said...

I love it! If they used these guidelines I might actually go out to see movies!

Anne-Marie said...

I love the last reason. It's like a violent "all of the above".

xx
AM

Sean Ferrell said...

Well, number 17 leaves me out.

Dan said...

It's interesting that in 1925, the reason for rejection was "idea has been done before". Imagine how hard it is coming up with something new 85 years worth of story ideas later.

Anonymous said...

I might actually prefer this type of form rejection.

Sarah W said...

I'm pretty sure number Seven is obsolete these days.

Unfortunately, so is number Five.

Terri Coop said...

I LOVE #16 . . . #15 is almost as good.

I am glad #6 and #17 have fallen by the wayside.

Otherwise, not much has changed. This reads a lot like the Shark's instant rejection list.

Terri

Emily said...

well, that would certainly force some ingenuity!

Loretta Ross said...

Good grief! I'd HATE a world where all the entertainment had to pass #17. I live for #17 in my movies (et. al.)!

Kathryn Rose said...

This is priceless. But what's with the logo?

Can you imagine? Just checking off a reason, and mailing it back? Ha ha ha...

Daisy Bateman said...

Woohoo! I'm twelve for seventeen!

. . . What? It's not a checklist?

J E Fritz said...

Dang it! I should have checked your blog feed before posting it in my own blog. I wonder what literary agents would put on such a list...the thought of a list from the Shark is a little scary.

Stephanie Barr said...

When I was marketing short stories, I actually tried to be cute and include a checklist for rejection (I included one for acceptance, too). Humor, I thought.

No one ever used it.

Rebecca Christiansen said...

No foreign settings? Haha.

dylan said...

Dear Ms. Reid

This comment is off-topic but I thought this might interest you.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6987175n

This morning the CBS Sunday Morning show did a nice feature on your beloved Lee Child.

As a night owl I thought you might have missed it.

dylan

Janet Reid said...

Holy moly! At the 2:00 minute mark, there's a lovely blonde woman: the wife of my client Jeff Somers!

And those four dancing Reacher Creatures? The one on the far left is Bouchercon2010 chair Rae Helmsworth!

This is very very cool, thank you Dylan!

Jacqueline T. Lynch said...

Coincidentally, I am still waiting to hear from a manuscript I sent in 1925. Now I realize it must be illegible.

L. T. Host said...

This should be brought back. Would a checklist rejection make your life easier, Janet?

Unknown said...

Unfortunately, I keep getting number 4 checked. A little more patience and persistence needed :)

... and maybe a revision ...

Ricky Bush said...

I think a list today would include:
16. No vampire character

m. said...

I reject number 11 on grounds of number 5.

Josin L. McQuein said...

5 and 11 are a bit ironic if taken together.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the poster who said this would make a great rejection letter...it at least gives the author a sense of why they've been rejected and doesn't take alot of time from the agent.

Just an idea...