So I found myself renting Stranger Than Fiction at Blockbuster Video this weekend, and was quite impressed with the film. However, what impressed me most was the writing. The way the story unfolds and how it all ties together in the end was ingenious writing. So now I’m fascinated with his guy Zach Helm who wrote the screenplay to Stranger Than Fiction. Although the film is not indie, its being archived under New To The IndieSeen because this guy really is fresh blood right now in Hollywood.
However, what I find even MORE fascinating is the fact that this creed that Helm lives by which is his “Manifesto” I surfed onto this blog.
However, what I find even MORE fascinating is the fact that this creed that Helm lives by which is his “Manifesto” I surfed onto this blog.
And noticed an incomplete list of “Zach Helm’s Manifesto”. This was quoted by him from Vanity Fair Magazine back in February of 2006. Unfortunately, the link to his article is outdated and no longer exists. So if you know someone who is subscriber for Vanity Fair, or you’re able to pick up a bootleg copy from the $1 magazine guy at your nearby Subway station, then you should definitely look for Helm’s article.
Here is an incomplete list of his writing creed of life:
Rule No. 1, Section One: "I will no longer allow financial need or career ambition to determine the direction of my work. I will not put myself in any position in which my work is owed to another party."
No. 2: "I won't take re-write jobs, I won't script-doctor. There's a lot of money to be had, lots of money for spending two weeks of work on a script, but I can't do it. I have a slight ethical …It would be very hypocritical of me to try to reserve all this creative power and try to hold on to my scripts as much as I can and then go take some first-time writer's script and bang it up."
No. 3: "I will not sell my work simply to the highest bidder, but instead to those parties that I feel will best represent and develop my work."
No. 5: "Any deal struck in regards to my work will forgo any immediate financial gain if it may mean the surrender of creative control or participation in the work's development."
No. 6: "I will not write for writing's sake. I will write only when inspired to write"
Well maybe it’s something worth looking into…I mean the guy after all got an NBR Award for Best Screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction. Oh yea, and he used to date Lucy Liu. That's cool too.
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