Batman??? Really?

So yes, I know, there's been tons said on why Ben Affleck should or shouldn't be Batman. And yes, it's probably all been said to death. But I have my own opinion and here it is. But before I do, let's start at the beginning. First off, of course I was a Ben Affleck fan after he and Matt Damon won their first Oscar for Good Will Hunting. They were a true Hollywood story of kids seeming to come out of nowhere to go on to win an Oscar for their very first movie they wrote, plus starred-in. They had me at "I'd like to thank the Oscars".

Then Affleck goes on to do other movies, where I wasn't so fond of his acting. Shakespeare In Love, wasn't a fan of him, even if I loved the movie. Many other movies he was in, I chose not to see him, because I just wasn't sure acting was his forte. Maybe the Oscar was a fluke? I like many, I wasn't on his side. Then of course the years of where "Hollywood and its fans truly gave up on him"period. I was in that crowd too.

But then came the rumblings of how he was writing and directing and how great his movies were. Gone Baby Gone. Definitely impressed. But still, I was wary. Could this really be Affleck? Did he really have the talent we all thought he did? Or was it just a fluke? Then Argo happened. I went to see it willingly, happily, thinking, this movie is going to be good, and maybe yes, Affleck was a power to be reckoned with. I saw Argo and was hooked from the moment the movie started till the end. Yes, he was good, he was very, very good. When it won Best Movie, I was glad, and I knew it deserved it.

Then word comes of him wanting to play Batman. A role that many think is left for only the super stars of Hollywood. But the superhero fans think, nope not him. How dare he! Some stand behind him, but I doubt as many as the naysayers. But, you know what? I'm going to stand behind him too. Because you know why? Hollywood loves an underdog. And although he's proven himself as a director and producer, he still has yet to prove himself as a power house actor. At least when it comes to the fans. Because if he had proven himself, there weren't be grumblings of him being able to pull this off. I bet you he does it though, and surprises all those non-believers. Because this is his chance as an actor to redeem himself. And although he has redeemed himself as a producer, writer and director, he still wants to do it in acting too. I'm there, I'm behind him, and I want to see him pull it off. And something I never thought I'd find myself saying, but I'm on team Ben.

Can I stand being judged even more?

So we've all had to get used to being judged by other writers as we joined writing groups, took classes, shared our work. There's been many stages of being judged by my peers. It took me some time to get comfortable with opening myself up to critiques. And at this point feel like I've developed a pretty thick skin. Even having some actor friends sit in on a past writing group, and not flinching to notes by fellow writers, and my actor friends saying, "Wow, the people here are pretty harsh." And I didn't even notice they were. So it seems like I could pretty much handle any kind of feedback. But as I start getting ready to see my stuff be on film, it has reached a whole other level of being judged: By the public! And we know how harsh they can be. Especially critics who are looking to tear apart writers for the pure enjoyment of it. And what about the reviewing audience where half of them are probably in a bad mood from having a horrible day at work or miserable marriages, and getting to rip apart your movie is perhaps the only joy they'll have all day. The thought of it is all too much! Of course that can't stop us writers as we see our dreams of seeing our screenplay actually on the big screen. But I must say, the thought of all those critics can almost send me into a panic. I guess the only thing we can do as we get closer to that, is take some steps to realize what it all means. First off, we know we can't read the critics. Sorry critics! But you're not going to help us at that point. 2nd, ask friends who are really going to give you good notes. Not your parents or friends who are proud of you for getting any film made, but your writing friends that will tell you like it is. 3rd, remember whatever ends up on the screen isn't always up to you. I remember one of my favorite screenwriting teachers had a movie destroyed by the actor/producer's wife who started writing pages. His movie got panned and he hid for months! It was a shame because the guy is a great writer. 4th, just remember that wonderful saying, "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one" and take all the feedback with a grain of salt. 5th, be proud of yourself if you get something that actually goes from script to screen. Such a huge feat, as we all know. We can only do our best. So if you did your best, and it didn't turn out as you wished, then learn from that. Be allow yourself the time to be proud of yourself. No reason beating yourself up when there will be enough critics and audience members who can do that. Lastly, remember that you cannot please everyone. You just can't. I think I wrote about this in an earlier post, that the writer of The English Patient, Anthony Minghella won the Oscar for that, and then the next day he opens the paper in England and reads, "The English Patient - the worst movie ever!" It made me laugh. Him too. And you just have to realize, some people will like what you write, and some just won't. And if you made half the audience like it, then you're doing something right. Writing all this sort of calms me down. I talked to the indie producer and she said she wants to produce our script this November. I got excited and frightened all at once! I guess it's that same feeling I had when I found out I was pregnant. Like, "Yay! Here we go!" and then at the same time, gulp, and go, "Uh-oh, here we go." But I know it's what I've always wanted, to have a career as a paid and successful screenwriter. So in order to do that, we need to get our work out. We can't let our fears take over. We have to move through our fears. Because that's all they are. And what if, all our fears never even happen. Who knows, maybe we're on our way to becoming the next great thing. Now how nice would that be?