The decision

As much as I need the work....as much as I want to work....as much as having another credit on my CV (with this director, this producer, DP and so on) - not to mention adding another layer of contacts and a work history for these people to remember and think on when next they need a scripty in MI (or anywhere)....

I am telling them "no thank you."

It hurts to think about, and I am readying myself for making that call in a couple of hours. I just that I can't bring myself to do it all again for very little pay.

Hey! I hear you out there. Trust me, I know I have to 'pay my dues' (by the way - blah, blah, blah [raspberries]). I know I should be grateful for the work - and I am. I am flattered that the director liked me and my book and asked me right there and then to join them. I am good at what I do, that is why I was selected. Even his comment about my lack of experience didn't put me off that much, because I know we all start somewhere. But hey, fella...if you interviewed a couple other ["older"] scriptys and you're willing to forgo their experience for me, um....what am I missing? I mean YOU also needed to gain experience before you had a buttload of credits, and at some point broke through 'the barrier.' I am no different, so quit with the condecension.

But, more than that, have a little respect for the position and pay for the work involved! Stop thinking that the camera and lighting teams are worth more because of the physicality of those positions. Try remembering that we script supers sit, hunched over in the dark, in the cold, in the heat, in rain and snow and whatever else, notating every little thing, and taking the abuse for opening our mouths. And then, work beyond the end of day to get [your] reports done.

Just because I am not toting cables or setting lights or carrying a large camera does not mean my work is any less grueling. At lunch, I am still working to give your team a lunch report, and fielding questions and trying to catch up if necessary. You all sit and laugh and kibbutz, and I look anti-social.

So think on that for a while.

Yes, I would love to jump on this project, but I have to get my own house in order. As much as it pains me to turn the gig down, I think for the sum of money they want me to swallow I would be better served passing this one by and staying home for June, working on my own project(s) and waiting for the next something to come along instead.

Decisions, decisions. Sometimes I hate being the adult.