On Oct 16, 7:17=A0am, Jere Lull <jerel...@mac.com> wrote:
> On 2008-10-15 19:48:54 -0400, "jmsa...@aol.com" <jmsa...@aol.com> said:
>
> > But the Changeling sale was such a major event, such a transformational
> > experience, that I thought...this really has to be something special to
> > mark the moment. =A0A once in a lifetime splurge.
>
> You are such a master of understatement.
>
> I've just seen in Angelina's interview on the Today show. The clips
> show that she got some powerful stuff to work with. This sure ain't
> Lara Croft. Thought it interesting the Clint opined that her beauty
> gets in the way of people accepting her acting skills.
>
> > So I got something I've long wanted: the Torneau Gotham Tahiti del Sol
> > watch. =A0It's my lucky watch, and I only wear it to big events and
> > important meetings. =A0The rest of the time I just kind of look at it a=
nd
> > smile.
>
> Cool watch!
>
> Wonder though....
>
> I can imagine that Changeling is an understandable "pinch me, am I
> dreaming?" situation. Despite your rather full plate for most of the
> decade or so I've been following r.a.s.t.b.m, it seems you might be a
> bit surprised that your work is as accepted as it is, that you might
> have a feeling that the well might run dry after your latest success,
> that you need to live within the means that your past work affords you.
>
> Might I be so audacious to suggest that there are few/no other WRITERS
> who have such a loyal following as you? In my own case, I've added
> cable and then premium channels to follow your work, will be going to
> the movies for the first time this year to see Changeling; the majority
> of the few DVDs and tapes we have are dedicated to your legacy. My
> wife, a SF-phobic, Lit major and recognized poet, is as excited as I am
> when something new of yours is released, whatever the genre.
>
> You really are *that* good in my estimation.
>
> --
> Jere Lull


Thank you...

I don't actually know how to describe what this is all like. It
wasn't anticipated. It was never on the agenda. It just happened.

I don't normally allow self-indulgences, but I will allow one just
this once, because it may illuminate the discussion. So there will be
a measure of ego in what follows; forgiveness is requested in advance.

Leaving aside B5 for the moment, I often felt that I was a better
writer than the shows I found myself working on. By that I mean...you
can write the best Jake and the Fatman script in the whole world, but
it's still Jake and the Fatman. It's like putting in ten years
teaching a pig to sing; even if you achieve the goal, at the end of
the day, what've you got for all your work? A singin' pig.

So I'd kind of reconciled myself to the notion that probably nobody
would ever know what I could really do when I pulled out all the stops
and had a clear field to play in. As has been quoted in B5, happiness
is "the exercise of vital powers, along lines of excellence, in a life
affording them scope." The scope was missing. Now, suddenly, that
scope has become available, and I'm writing at the very edge of what I
can do. Every day is a huge challenge. Now the question has become,
am I good enough for the venues I'm now occupying? The onus is now on
me to live up to the venue, not the other way around. And I like
that. I like having to prove myself. I like to stand out on the
crumbling edge of what I can do, to see what I can see from there.

It's almost like the universe saying, "Okay, bigshot, you've been
running your mouth about what you can do, so here's your chance to run
with the big dogs. Nobody's holding you back now. So let's see what
you can do. Put up or shut up."

Just on its own terms, Changeling has been a huge validation of my
life's work. And I'm very much at peace with that.

As for having a following...I think that's true within a fairly
refined demographic. Most of the mainstream public really has no idea
(or had no idea, before being hit with ten zillion Changeling posters)
who I am. That's kind of the writer's lot in media, and I'm totally
cool with that. I watched Angelina and Clint and others having to
deal with the level of celebrity they have, and it's no fun. You
can't go anywhere or do anything without being stalked. I would
never, ever want that. So I'm happy to be just where I am.

And that's a nice feeling.

jms