Presenting Roger
I licked my wounds and as quickly as I could tried to access where I was in life. It meant that I needed a job—any job. I ended up teaching English at a Korean school in Los Angeles while trying to see if I could gain some measure of employment as a writer. I did everything I could to try to get some interest in the spec script I had written, Piece of Cake. No matter how hard I tried, I could not collar any green-light person with enough clout to get it to first base.
At a film conference in Beverly Hills on one occasion, I did manage to get in a few words to a top female mogul at one of the major studios. I quickly pitched her the gist of my screenplay. She listened politely and accepted my resume. Much to my surprise, a few days later I got a call from her office asking me to drop off a copy of my script. I have never accomplished any feat as fast as I did in getting her a copy of that scenario. I did not see her but left it with her secretary. About three weeks later, I got a call to go to the studio and talk with a young man in their story department whom I shall call Roger.
I got to the studio and was so full of apprehension that I almost broke out in shingles. I finally found Roger, who called his particular piece of heaven a small cubicle in a large room of many cubicles. He welcomed me with a big smile, had me sit and proceeded to tell me how much he liked my screenplay. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Then just when I thought Roger was going to lift me out of that Korean school into a new life, he said with a great smile, “Jack, in spite of my loving Piece of Cake, I’m going to have to pass. But you’re a splendid writer. Be sure to drop off your next script for us to examine. Really, I’d love to read anything you write.”
Ah, the web the Rogers of this world spin. Read the next blog and uncover the true Roger.
(If you’re reading this from Facebook then you should know I have a new website where you can read more about Roger. Click here to see the new website.)
