Quote: Janeyboo @ October 21 2008, 7:07 PM BSTPS: Appropos of nowt - again while at Random House I read a story (for children) that had obviously been written by a paedophile. It had this appalling image of a grown man crawling towards a four year old begging for her love. I was so disturbed I phoned the police and social services who tracked this guy down. And found downloads of child porn on his computer. But he said that he was 'flattered I had reacted so strongly to his book'.
Wowwwwwwwww!
Quote: Janeyboo @ October 21 2008, 7:07 PM BSTPS: Appropos of nowt - again while at Random House I read a story (for children) that had obviously been written by a paedophile. It had this appalling image of a grown man crawling towards a four year old begging for her love. I was so disturbed I phoned the police and social services who tracked this guy down. And found downloads of child porn on his computer. But he said that he was 'flattered I had reacted so strongly to his book'.
That is the dark stuff.
Quote: Janeyboo @ October 21 2008, 7:07 PM BSTCherries, if you honestly got intense feedback like that - political comedy is your forte. Bland feedback is much much worse.
I've love to think that that was the case, but in reality a lot of my political comedy was simply just dire! Or mayhap the person reading it was a massive David Cameron fan and took exception to my less than flattering remarks!
However there were a couple of good jokes that I've since re-tweaked and smuggled into other things I've written, so, like all good bad feedback (so to speak) some positives did arise from the ashes of my attempt at political satire!
Quote: Janeyboo @ October 21 2008, 4:23 PM BSTHello everyone
My worst ever feedback was receiving a pristine script in its sae, so pristine that I knew the time between opening the envelope I'd sent it in, and putting it back in the sae envelope I'd enclosed, was approximately 3.5 seconds. There was also a compliment slip:
Thank you for your Quiz show idea. Unfortunately etc etc.
I'd sent them a comedy treatment.
I've also had an idea turned down at radio 4 because it wasn't 'aurally interesting enough'.
Reminds me of a failed job application. They spelt my name wrong and said I was unsuccessful in my application for a job I didn't even apply for. I sent an email to someone above the guys head and got a shirty one back saying the person I tried to contact had left. He then took joy in ripping my CV to shreds. Didn't want the job anyway.
From James Henry's blog:
"While we're still on jargon, a quick email to various colleagues brought forth the following (genuine) reasons for scripts being rejected:
"We feel the script lacks primary colours." (the writer in question says "My offer to specify in the directions that the main character dresses in a pillar box red pullover throughout failed to retrieve the project from the bin").
"There are too many funny bits, and not enough other bits."
"We like the writing but we're not doing grey" (as Oli has suggested, is there perhaps a glut of execs with synaesthesia?)
"This is too intelligent for an ITV audience."
"Hattrick is not at home to whimsy."
"It's very very funny, but it begs the question 'why?'"
"It's great. We love it. The script made me laugh out loud. We're not doing it."
Email from one writer to another: "Well we got the notes from ITV and basically they don't want jokes about people, ideas, books, places, history, travel, cars, politics or things. So far in the script they have approved something about a meat auction."
And from a director about a script that was made: "I don't bother looking at the bits in italics" i.e. the stage directions."
Quote: Tuumble @ October 21 2008, 9:36 PM BSTReminds me of a failed job application. They spelt my name wrong and said I was unsuccessful in my application for a job I didn't even apply for. I sent an email to someone above the guys head and got a shirty one back saying the person I tried to contact had left. He then took joy in ripping my CV to shreds. Didn't want the job anyway.
I was interviewed for a job, where the interview finished at 5.30pm.
I got a rejection letter the next day.
I checked years weeks. The post box they would have used had last collection 6.15pm.
I was the 9th candidate that day.
Bastards. It was a project about creating fairness in employment.
Hypocritical bastards.
Quote: sootyj @ October 24 2008, 1:49 PM BSTI was interviewed for a job, where the interview finished at 5.30pm.
I got a rejection letter the next day.
I checked years weeks. The post box they would have used had last collection 6.15pm.
I was the 9th candidate that day.
Bastards. It was a project about creating fairness in employment.
Hypocritical bastards.
I once travelled for three hours, on four different trains to a job interview at a radio station in Scotland. I waited 45 minutes at the station before being called in to the interview room. The Programme Controller's first words to me were;
"Nice to meet you, take a seat. Now, I'll be honest with you, you haven't got the job"
Quote: sootyj @ October 24 2008, 1:49 PM BSTI was interviewed for a job, where the interview finished at 5.30pm.
I got a rejection letter the next day.
I checked years weeks. The post box they would have used had last collection 6.15pm.
I was the 9th candidate that day.
Bastards. It was a project about creating fairness in employment.
Hypocritical bastards.
Ooh! Ooh! That happened to me with Bournmemouth university, so much travelling to get fake-interviewed by a guy who practically had his finger on the rejection email button the entire time.
The only rejection letter I have from my writing is a a cut & paste form letter from Slave Labor Graphics I got when I was 15. I'm almost finished with my second attempt at making something for them, I'll be upset if I haven't moved up to at least a form letter which has a tick in the the 'we liked you, but not this project box' as opposed to the 'we didn't like the art or writing' box.
The annoying thing is they only have the bedratted interviews due to HR policies and legislation on fairness.
Speaking of job rejections, I had a classic from Freemantle media the other day.
"maybe you could expand on your role duties more. What your responsibilites where"
That's right, what my responsibilites WHERE.
This came from the head of HR. She can't even construct a sentence, but happily binned my CV. This is what we're up against :-(
On the same day, about the same song, two different publishing companies:
1. We really think you have something here, consider making it a bit more repetitive and it should do well in the pop market
2. The first four bars put me off so I didn't bother listening to the rest.
In the early 1990s I had just finished a two year stint at Pontins and had entered several talent competitions around various seaside towns and managed to get as far as the semi-finals of one contest and had the following printed in the Bournmouth Echo: "London comic Dave Short with a string of semi-blue one liners worthy of a Jim Davidson show..." Needless to say I didn't reach the finals, and didn't pusue a career in stand up!
Gagsy I lived in Bournemouth and did work experience on the Echo.
That was the very height of praise. The paper is like a more right wing version of the Mail with a lobotomy.
n.b. did you ever meet Lee who worked at Pontins?
Quote: sootyj @ October 24 2008, 4:04 PM BSTThe annoying thing is they only have the bedratted interviews due to HR policies and legislation on fairness.
A wily manager will always find a way round such things. I worked for one manager who was particularly creative in that respect. His finest hour came when, on being told he had to appoint a candidate whom he considered unsuitable, he got round the problem by creating a second post from a different budget and filling them both on the same exercise. He then appointed the candidate he wanted into the original post and filled the new post with the candidate he considered unsuitable. He then agreed a cut in that budget and axed the post.
Quote: Janeyboo @ October 21 2008, 7:07 PM BSTCherries, if you honestly got intense feedback like that - political comedy is your forte. Bland feedback is much much worse.
PS: Appropos of nowt - again while at Random House I read a story (for children) that had obviously been written by a paedophile. It had this appalling image of a grown man crawling towards a four year old begging for her love. I was so disturbed I phoned the police and social services who tracked this guy down. And found downloads of child porn on his computer. But he said that he was 'flattered I had reacted so strongly to his book'.
Well that's brighten my day up. Least they got the bastard!