More on Fox vs. Mcilvaine

As a follow-up to my previous blog post, there has been an interesting development in the Fox vs. PJ Mcilvaine lawsuit. No, I do not have an inside source at Fox, nor do I have any firsthand info on Ms. Mcilvaine's expected response.

What I do have are over eighteen thousand Google pages on the subject that have all cropped up since the story broke last week. Some of these paint Ms. Mcilvaine as the victim of the Goliath that is FOX, while others call for her immediate flogging followed by a painful execution. Still others are just plain weird.

This is good news for Ms. Mcilvaine because, whatever their position on the matter, the story is spreading faster than a nasty case of crabs in a high school.

That's interesting, but not the development I speak of. The subject of my post is how this very important news story has morphed into a punch line, and is a perfect example of how the internet is nothing more than a modern day game of telephone.

The story started simply enough with FOX launching a lawsuit against a struggling screenwriter named Patricia Mcilvaine. Ms. Mcilvaine's plight was shared with the internet community by Nicholl winning screenwriter Max Adams on her personal blog. A few reports later, a fact check not bothered with here and there, and lo and behold, Ms. Mcilvaine has morphed into a shadowy cover identity for a male named Max Adams who may or may not have one double agent foot in bed with FOX.

Come on people! This isn't Amazon Studios. This is a woman's life you're rewriting. If you want your reports to be taken any more seriously than a Fox News story, check your facts.

1) celluloidblonde.wordpress.com is NOT PJ Mcilvaine's personal blog. It is owned by Nicholl winning screenwriter Max Adams.

2) Max Adams is female. (Trust me, if she were male, I would have snatched her up.)

3) PJ Mcilvaine's personal blog is http://pjmcilvaine.blogspot.com. She can also be found on the Done Deal message board and various other dark corners of the internet where writers hang out.

4) Ms. Mcilvaine did NOT receive a Cease and Desist letter from Fox prior to the 15 million dollar lawsuit.

5) Ms. Mcilvaine does NOT have a direct or indirect insider link at Fox. She did not post the in-development script for DEADPOOL using illegal means. She found it available on the internet. She is not a spy or a paid patsy for a FOX publicity stunt, or a robot, or an alien being. She is a normal human being, a wife and a mother. A human being whose life has been turned upside down by FOX. She could be you.

I understand the very human need to distance her from the pack. That way we all feel a little less vulnerable. But this is a news story. One that could have far reaching implications for the industry. So stop doing an Amazon Studios number on it already. It doesn't make it better. It just makes it bad.

Accurate information on this case can be found at:

PJ Mcilvaine & Goliath
Web-script $uit
20th Century Fox vs. The Struggling Mom

And donations to Ms. Mcilvaine's legal fund can be made via PAYPAL to pjscriptcooperative@gmail.com


Great pic by K!T

Open Letter to Rupert Murdoch

Dear Mr. Murdoch,

A while back, a friend of mine gave me some lovely cards (pictured left) on the off chance I ever needed to pass one out to some member of the human race truly worthy of them. I hoarded these cards like weapons during a zombie apocalypse, and even managed to resist the urge to send them to my deadbeat ex. You see, it takes a special kind of person to be truly deserving of such a card.

I am happy to report that I spent the afternoon sealing each one in its own individual envelope and have addressed them all to you. You Sir have truly earned the title.

You entered the race quietly when a 15 million dollar lawsuit was filed against a struggling screenwriter named PJ McIlvaine for posting scripts online, but you became the hands-down winner when Max Adams broke the news that PJ's first contact with Fox about this matter was the same day the lawsuit was filed.

Ummm, have you never heard of a simple cease and desist letter? Does your army of lawyers have nothing better to do than to go after harmless grandmothers?

I get that you want to protect your currently in-development property, and I support your right to do so. I totally get that you're pissed that it's out there. But going after PJ is like kicking a puppy for eating the hamburger you left on the floor. She passed on a script that was already made available online by other sources, which means someone in your inner ranks left out the hamburger. That is where you should be going after your 15 million dollar pound of flesh.

I sincerely hope that this blows up in your face and becomes your worst PR nightmare.

In the meantime, you can look forward to the arrival of these cards.



All my love,

The Single Screenwriter




Visit Orange32 where you too can get these lovely cards.

Feel free to send them to:

Rupert Murdoch
Chairman and Chief Executive
News Corporation
1211 Avenue of Americas
8th Floor
NY, NY 10036


Also, Ms. McIlvaine doesn't have the means to take on Fox. 
Contributions to her defense fund can be made through Paypal at:
pjscriptcooperative@gmail.com

Where to Shove That Apple, and Other Practical Tips for Screenwriters

Don't you just get the overwhelming need to commit unspeakable acts of violence when someone offers you unsolicited advice, particularly when that advice comes in the form of a cheesy proverb?

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Sure it does. If you shove that apple far enough up the doctor's ass, he's unlikely to come anywhere near you for a very long time -- unless he's into that sort of thing. But WTF does this have to do with writing?

The point is, this painfully true-to-life example of lazy dialogue, is a simple coping mechanism used by people outside of the industry when they are confronted with something well beyond their comfort zone and have absolutely nothing of value to say. Like, say, when you tell them you're a screenwriter.

Now that's a conversation stopper. And what does the average person do when confronted by the unknown? They devolve into a fight or flight mentality. But running away from a casual conversation is a societal no-no, so the brain spits out a knee jerk attack in the form of well-meaning platitudes gems of wisdom. Don't believe me?

How many times have you heard, "Don't quit your day job?" If the answer is never, you're not a screenwriter.

Don't take it personally. It happens to every type of artist, especially early in their career. It's nature's way of making sure that only a small number of the species escape the cubicle life.

Still, hearing that one in the hand is better than two in the bush is enough to drive any writer batshit, so here for your sanity pleasure are some real life practical tips you can actually use while giving the finger to the idiot spouting proverbs out of his ass.


1) DO quit your day job.

It will make you hungry and desperate. Two qualities every writer needs. But if you absolutely have to get a job because, say, you have twenty-six little mouths to feed or you're paying off that undisclosed settlement you can't legally talk about, at least get one where they don't mind if you slack off and work on your craft while you do it. Something like a night watchman or a parking lot attendant or an air traffic controller would be perfect.


2) DO put all your eggs in one basket.

With every single script. Don't hold back. Write every script like it's THE ONE.


3) DO bite off more than you can chew.

Yeah, you very likely will die a horrible choking death, but you might just rise to the challenge.


4) If it ain't broke, make it better.

'nuff said on that one.


5) Absolutely leap before you look.

You might just fly, or at least land somewhere very unexpected.


6) Forget about minding your Ps and Qs.

Well, when you're typing you should mind them, but no writer ever got anywhere worrying about being politically correct.


7) DO forget to say your prayers.

The gods of screenwriting prefer live human sacrifices. Daily.


8) DO get hairy palms from playing with it over and over.

No first draft is perfect. Good writing is all in the rewrites. And hairy palms will keep you warm after you quit your day job and the gas company turns off your heat.





Fantastic image by FotoRita