No. Really, you do. Eventually. Being a starving artist is only glamorous when you’re young. The Elegant Variation seems intrigued by the subject matter (by the way, starting to save for your old age at 50 is a bad idea; trust us); we’re more shocked that after the failed experiment involving Nathaniel West and F. Scott Fitzgerald, another generation of literary writers could be lured to Hollywood. While the article offers practical advice (we’ve linked to other stories from this series because we like cautionary tales), we liked this quote especially:
He spent the next two decades living well on Hollywood projects, writing more than 20 screenplays from his Michigan cabin, most of which never made it to screen.
Well, yes, we suppose there are different definitions of success. Like when your screenplay for your book isn’t the one they use. Or perhaps we’re feeling cynical because we watched Valley of the Dolls last night — we were lost in the plotline…and we’ve actually read the book.
