Comments on: The not-so-well-dressed screenwriter

By: Rachel Ferguson

Rachel Ferguson — Mon, 02 May 2005 04:08:08 +0000

A $2000 suit? What kind of screenwriters are you? That’s four months’ rent! I think the writer should be the most simply dressed in the room, so when people read the screenplay, they can say “you mean the girl in the GAP chinos wrote this? I never knew she had so much depth….” I also think there’s something to be said for letting your ideas be what set you apart, not the amount you shelled out for your Jimmy Choos. (I know- forgive the naivete.)

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:04:08 +0000

nice combed back hair!

ha ha!

By: Nolan J. Werner

Nolan J. Werner — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 05:57:40 +0000

Were you trying to slam T. C. Boyle with the hair comment?

By: don

don — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

In accordance with John's comments, I was always told that it's best to "under-dress" as well. You want to have that personae of the whacky, creative type...whatever that means.

Don't be controversial in what you wear (political, provacative, etc.) but maybe try and go for the zany writer look. I think the streaks in your hair might be a good idea.

I bet the most important thing, as John mentioned, is to feel comfortable so you can focus on what you have to offer as a writer and not worried if like...your wig is crooked.

By: David Poland

David Poland — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I know it may be a shock to some, but I happen to know that John August has a full head of wavy hair and shaves it off daily, embracing the aesthetic he states above… have a little less than the executive you are sitting with. Conversely, as the rule is the opposite for directors, Tim Burton is absolutely bald but has been forced to use the fabulous fright wig to secure his place in the industry!

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Gustav Flaubert's admonition: "Be regular and ordinary in your life, like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work."

If your hair's the most creative thing about you, you need another line of work.

By: Tim Buton

Tim Buton — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The comment about my hair is shocking and libelious.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Wow. You really do have to cover everything when it comes to a pitch meeting. I would be more worried about what I’m about to say rather then what I’m wearing. But I wouldn’t over do it.

I button shirt is what I was thinking about, with nice combed back hair. Remember to tuck that shirt in and polish those shoes. Pass as a professional so that you can get pass security.

By: Howard A. Rodman

Howard A. Rodman — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

John is smarter, and taller, and cooler, and far more knowledgeable than I am about most everything. So it's with great trepidation that I venture a different opinion, i.e., that the writer should be the best-dressed person in the room.

Not the most dressed. Not the suitiest. But there should be, I think, something deliberate that lets them know you care about surface, about style, about presentation.

Sometimes best-dressed means an untucked Prada shirt; sometimes it's a white T under an anonymous zip-up. Sometimes it's Jimmy Choos; sometimes it's six-eyelet DMs with every trace of shine carefully waxed out. Maybe it's a pair of old-school specs with visible bifocal lines. Maybe it's a green blouse from Dosa or a black MA-1 from Buzz Rickson's.

To be sure, we don't want to look like directors (who pretty much dress like duck hunters). But we do want, I think, to convey on some level a correspondence between our charm and wit and style as humans, and what they can eagerly look forward to seeing on the page.

By: Stu Willis

Stu Willis — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Duck hunters? WTF? Duck hunters don’t wear black!

By: John

John — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Listen to Howard — he’s very smart. The writer can certainly be the coolest-dressed person in the room, but I wouldn’t recommend competing on best suit. Some poor executives have to wear suits every day. Let them envy your freedom-from-dress-code.