Thought I'd pass along this little gem that's making it's rounds on the internet now:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/i_will_not_read.php

While he makes a few good points and amps up his attitude for humor's sake, I feel like he's being kind of a dick.  I kind of wish he'd talk about how he made it, because I'm sure it was by giving his script to someone.

Don's edit:

The above link is to an article that Josh Olson, screenwriter of A History of Violence wrote for the Village Voice:

I read this a while ago and decided the guy was a complete prick.

Just thinking that he felt compelled to compose something like that -- with that attitude -- then place his name on it and make it public --

If I ever become that self-important, I hope someone has the decency to kill me.

where do you live? :-)

Shawn.....><

I posted that link in the "why I love Simply" thread.

A friend of mine who is a pro reader and writer sent it to me. He could relate to it, but that's why I love this place. You can actually get great feedback here for free.  :)

Quoted from Grandma Bear I posted that link in the "why I love Simply" thread.

Sorry, didn't mean to overlap.  I did a sweep of the Portal, but didn't think to look in threads.

I think he stated his case rather well.  I probably agree with most of it.  I didn't like the name calling though and thought he should have left that out.  It was too emotional and undermined his logical and sound argument.  

Quoted from dresseme Sorry, didn't mean to overlap.  I did a sweep of the Portal, but didn't think to look in threads.

nothing to be sorry about. maybe more people will read it now.  :)

How did this guy get his break in the scripting world? Give a little back man.

Good read, thanks.

Dunno if I agree with it all, but I suppose it makes sense.

But yeah, as Gary said, give a little back...

Funnily enough, his article wasn't especially well-written.

His points are valid to a degree, but they're also from a very assured place, so as with anyone who believes themselves better than another - the inevitable realisation this is not the case will be particularly hard-hitting for him. I mean, his only "top" credit is 'A History of Violence'. He's hardly the greatest Hollywood talent, is he. Maybe his tongue was firmly in cheek.

Paul Haggis was much more eloquent and insightful (look on You Tube for a video of him in a screenwriting interview) when he spoke of his - own perceived - abysmal early work, and how he rectified this. He seemed like such a genuinely nice, warm guy. Any profession will have a number of different characters with oscillating egos - bit like SS, really!

Andrew

...his script got an Oscar nomination I think...

anyway, I personally understand what he is saying even though I will never be in his situation, but I know people with amazing skills in different areas and it always amazes me when they reach success and other people will try to get them to do something for free or well below their regular rates. Most people who are real masters of their profession worked hard at it and it's rude to ask them to help for free, just because...

Here at SS we have a give and receive kind of thing which is great and I love it, but to say someone who's worked hard for years to perfect their skill is a bad person for not wanting to read "your fucking script" for free is IMHO crummy on your part. Can you even try to imagine how many times this guy get approached by people who wants him to read their scripts?  just my $0.02  :)

Quoted Text ...his script got an Oscar nomination I think... anyway, I personally understand what he is saying even though I will never be in his situation, but I know people with amazing skills in different areas and it always amazes me when they reach success and other people will try to get them to do something for free or well below their regular rates. Most people who are real masters of their profession worked hard at it and it's rude to ask them to help for free, just because... Here at SS we have a give and receive kind of thing which is great and I love it, but to say someone who's worked hard for years to perfect their skill is a bad person for not wanting to read "your F**king script" for free is IMHO crummy on your part. Can you even try to imagine how many times this guy get approached by people who wants him to read their scripts?  just my $0.02

Are you talking to me?

I never implied or stated that he's a bad person, nor do I think he is. He's free to do as he pleases. It's well established that Hollywood is full of nepotism, and networking, so someone trying to get a foot in must do all they can - that said, - again - one is free to close the door on that foot.

I mean, many people want to get an angle in, so it's hate "the game, not the player" as far as I am concerned.

My only real contention was the flimsy analogies he drew to justify not wanting to read - what he perceives to be - rubbish work. Painting doesn't bring with it all the complexities that film does, so just drop the analogies, IMO.

Andrew

Andrew dear,

yes that first comment was in regard to your comment about his only top credit.

I guess I should have taken my time to "quote" people, but I was lazy I guess. The rest of my comment was to everyone else in general who thought the guy was a jerk and should give some back. Not towards you. :)

Scroll down a bit to read the parody:

http://hollywoodroaster.wordpress.com/

Quoted from Grandma Bear ...my comment was to everyone else in general who thought the guy was a jerk and should give some back.

I know you are not arguing, Pia, just wanted to clarify --

I do not think the guy is a jerk for saying "no".  I do not think he needs to "give back".

I think the guy is a jerk for writing a long, "look at precious, put-upon me" article about it -- as if his opinions were pearls beyond price -- and he has somehow earned to right to rub people's noses in the offal of their own writings.

Sometimes just by reading something you can tell, "I would not like this guy at all."

I agree bert. He doesn't come across as someone I would like either. Just wanted to let everyone know that this happens to a lot of writers who makes their living writing/reviewing and it can be hard to say no.

I still love you bert, broken pencil and all...  ;)

out of all the stuff he's written, I've only heard about (and seen) A History of Violence, and it was pretty nasty.  Awesome movie.  Great sex.

I thought the article was quite good...

I was sooo ready to hate on this guy after the first paragraph, but when he explains the faults in the script he read, I can understand... Nothing worked for him, and he had to tell his friend it sucked.

I catch some flack for being a foul mouth on this site... If i don't like your script you will know. Who am i to say??? I'm the fuckin audience! Doesn't mean i can write. But i can tell you wether or not I liked a movie... same as all of you.

I think with him being a pro and having to read and judge scripts much of his life, I could imagine where he's coming from. Everyone thinks their idea is gonna be the next great movie... Unfortunately, you've got to write it well to have a chance...

This guy's a prick... my kinda prick. Honest.

I understand the sentiments from Josh Olson completely. You know, there's a hierarchy in writing as in anything and people less skilled, work at lower levels.

You can't expect someone who's payed their dues and plate is full to drop their life for you just because you hand them your fucking script. Capish?

Do you know how many people come to them with cool ideas?! Frickamungous amounts. And it all gets very tired and you start to feel like a bad guy.

So Josh, he gives us the ugly truth right out and plain.

He writes:

So. I read the thing. And it hurt, man. It really hurt. I was dying to find something positive to say, and there was nothing. And the truth is, saying something positive about this thing would be the nastiest, meanest and most dishonest thing I could do. Because here's the thing: not only is it cruel to encourage the hopeless, but you cannot discourage a writer. If someone can talk you out of being a writer, you're not a writer.

And it's true with anything in life.

He had also written how long it had taken to read one measly little script. I sympathize.

A couple of years back I had read, actually started reading a script someone had sent me and it was completely wrong in format. Everything was wrong about it.

I wrote back and tried to be as nice as possible, but whoah! I was hit into hard. He was downright mean to me. I can't remember his name, but he's not around here anymore. Some people are just not ready to hear the ugly truth.

Writing isn't about a cool idea. It's a thoroughfare to the reality that you seek to understand and filter it through all of your senses. It's the love of life and connections. It's the struggle and the passion of the struggle.

Writing is your life if you're a writer. And you will die writing even if nothing ever comes of it. Because that's what you bloody well do....

Even if nobody ever reads your fucking script.  ;)

Quoted from bert I read this a while ago and decided the guy was a complete prick. Just thinking that he felt compelled to compose something like that -- with that attitude -- then place his name on it and make it public -- If I ever become that self-important, I hope someone has the decency to kill me.

I guess that makes me whatever the female equivalent of prick might be. I come to his defense and completely understand where he's coming from.

I respect him and he's telling people straight up. There's nothing wrong about it. Though it seems that way. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. That's real love, I think.

Quoted from bert I know you are not arguing, Pia, just wanted to clarify -- I do not think the guy is a jerk for saying "no".  I do not think he needs to "give back". I think the guy is a jerk for writing a long, "look at precious, put-upon me" article about it -- as if his opinions were pearls beyond price -- and he has somehow earned to right to rub people's noses in the offal of their own writings. Sometimes just by reading something you can tell, "I would not like this guy at all."

But Bert, here, I want to argue. This is just your perception too, remember. As much as Josh seems to be pissing you off, try and look beyond that and recognize, that he's trying to make a very brash point.

Some very great people grew up in very harsh environments, my husband, being one and he is very strong because of it. Does it work for everyone? No, maybe not. But then maybe it's not supposed to work for everyone either.

Everyone is ready for certain challenges at different times. It's our own little personal ascending that we are responsible for. It's our job and no one else's. It's not Josh's job to make me or anyone else feel good by giving some "head patting".

He IS doing a favor to people by writing this article. He poured his heart into it.

All I can say is a banal sounding, thanks.

Sandra El.

You'll read it and you'd better fucking like it!!!!!!!

Quoted from Takeshi You'll read it and you'd better fucking like it!!!!!!!

????

Sandra El.

Quoted from Sandra Elstree. ???? Sandra El.

Ugh. I hate having to explain one liners. I was responding to the title of the thread.  

Yeah, I have to take Josh Olsen’s side on this one. I don’t think he’s trying to come off as better than anyone else. I sympathize with what he’s saying. I think he’s trying to make a point about people trying to take advantage of him.

Here’s a video with Kevin Smith being asked by an audience member at a Q&A to read his script. It starts at 7:50 on the first one and continues through the beginning of the next one. The guy said he spent a year and a half writing 40 pages. Seriously, if it takes a year and a half to write 40 pages, you are definitely not ready to be a professional writer and you should know it.

Quoted from Takeshi Ugh. I hate having to explain one liners. I was responding to the title of the thread.

????

Just kidding.

Here's Daffey Duck trying his hand at pitching a script:

Quoted Text

I could relate to this to an extent. I especially like the story about Picasso and the drawing on the napkin. Some of you followed my thread on writing a feature in a month, and truly, it didn't take a month to write it. It took a month to interpret the guy's idea into a feature length script, but it took probably fifteen years (and over 60 other scripts) to acquire the skills to be able to do it. That's why people with more experience at something in the business world get paid more. Writing is underrated as a skill and screenwriting even more so. Try telling your family you want to be  a doctor, and you'll get a series of impressed looks and some "good lucks." Tell the same people you want to be a screenwriter, and everyone will have an opinion, usually negative, and they'll all somehow "know" just how hard it is, even though none of them have ever tried it. Pardon me, but I believe it's also hard to be a doctor, or did I miss the education, internship, and expensive malpractice insurance side of things?

That being said, one of the actors on the movie I shot did, of course, tell me he'd written a script with a friend of his and asked if I'd read it. Me not being a prick, I said sure, and he emailed it to me. I gave him an honest and thorough review on what I thought of it, and how some of the weaker points could be improved upon (in my humble opinion). He thanked me and I've not heard any more of it.

What do you expect to hear from his GW?!

Keep you constantly updated on every rewrite he does?

No, I wouldn't expect that, of course. When he was telling me about it, he carried on for some time about it being easy to shoot and such. I didn't iterate after I read it that while it wasn't complex, trying to garner two business offices across the street from each other would be rather difficult for someone who doesn't have the cash to just rent the spaces. He never brought up whether they rewrote anything or if I thought I would want to shoot it at some point. Then again, I haven't hit the release of the movie we worked on yet either. If we wants to work with me again, I would imagine I'd hear about it between scenes the next time we do something.

I have a script that needs a read. Sadly though it's not about fucking. Do you think he'll give it a look?

Quoted from Sandra Elstree. But Bert, here, I want to argue. This is just your perception too, remember. As much as Josh seems to be pissing you off, try and look beyond that and recognize, that he's trying to make a very brash point.

I know you mean this in a friendly way, Sandra, but since I have been name-checked, I do want to respond.

I get his point.  I just do not think it requires a soapbox -- particularly such a "brash" one.

You know, every career you might choose is going to be fraught with frustrations and challenges and demands on your time.  I have no sympathy for his plight.

You can give people in your own circle of acquaintances or demanding strangers a polite "no thanks."  It is no big deal.

To me, this article smacks of arrogance, and frankly, I find it a little insulting.

But I have no argument with his defenders.  It is all perceptions.

I just think the guy needs to get over himself -- lose the attitude -- and show some gratitude.

I thought it was kind of funny. He does come across as a bit pompous, but it fits the style and subject of which he's talking about. And sure, I'd wash his fking car, walk his fking dog, pick up his fking dry cleaning or some way to personally return the favor for reading my fking two pages...(of which, if anyone here would like thier car, dog, or dry cleaning picked up, I'd be happy to do it, or at least cheer on the Gators even though I live in Bulls Country...Ok, I lie. Maybe I root for the Gators anyway, but regardless. Heck, I'd even volunteer my rooting abilities for any soccer teams for you international guys...Go Wallabies!)

Quoted from bert I know you mean this in a friendly way, Sandra, but since I have been name-checked, I do want to respond. I get his point.  I just do not think it requires a soapbox -- particularly such a "brash" one. You know, every career you might choose is going to be fraught with frustrations and challenges and demands on your time.  I have no sympathy for his plight. You can give people in your own circle of acquaintances or demanding strangers a polite "no thanks."  It is no big deal. To me, this article smacks of arrogance, and frankly, I find it a little insulting. But I have no argument with his defenders.  It is all perceptions. I just think the guy needs to get over himself -- lose the attitude -- and show some gratitude.

While he needs to get over his attitude, you have a solid point in every job having its frustrations, etc. In fact, our minds may race to reading scripts, but this would be rather similar to a plumber's friends asking if he might look at their toilet on his spare time or asking the mechanic to work on their car on the weekend. You know, as if he doesn't have anything better to do. There are times where this is cool, but  it's hard to say no to people because people genuinely want to be helpful and show off our superior prowess to others (mostly the latter). We probably don't give much thought to "reading a couple pages," but it is akin to asking someone to work on the weekend for free.

Screenwriting is a job like any other; it just works differently on occasion.

Quoted from rendevous I have a script that needs a read. Sadly though it's not about fucking. Do you think he'll give it a look?

Zingading ding!!!  ;D

Sandra

Quoted from Grandma Bear Andrew dear, yes that first comment was in regard to your comment about his only top credit. I guess I should have taken my time to "quote" people, but I was lazy I guess. The rest of my comment was to everyone else in general who thought the guy was a jerk and should give some back. Not towards you. :)

Fair enough :)

Very interesting to see all the different opinions on this.

Nice article link Pia and Dressel.

Andrew

I am a transportation analyst, and I never have people coming up to me at parties asking if I can come up with a better transportation solution for them.

That is thoroughly depressing. . . :(

Quoted from steven8 I am a transportation analyst, and I never have people coming up to me at parties asking if I can come up with a better transportation solution for them. That is thoroughly depressing. . . :(

I was going to ask, but I was afraid you'd say no... I could really use a good transportation solution.

Quoted from George Willson I was going to ask, but I was afraid you'd say no... I could really use a good transportation solution.

Go buy Streets and Trips ya Jag-off and figure it out yerself!  I ain't got time for every yahoo who can't figure out how to get from point a to point b without me drawing them a map!  I've got FIVE YEARS invested in this transportation ability of mine, and I'm not gonna go handing it out for free!!

. . .and I mean that with all due respect. . .

Transportation solution? Is that a euphemism?

Quoted from rendevous Transportation solution? Is that a euphemism?

Yes, like expediting your freight. . .

I think it's an oxymoron, like Military Intelligence or "Restricted to Unauthorized Personnel"

Or Jumbo Shrimp.

This is funny

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/harlan_ellisons.php

Quoted from Steve Jarrett Until they lay me in my crypt I will not read your f-king script

Read with verve, panache and appropriate bloviation by Mr. Ellison.

I just had a chance to read this article and I have to say that I understand what he is saying, I even agree with it. I also understand what some are saying about Mr. Olson not needing to come out and say it the way he did.

But, like he said, if I do it I'm an a**hole, if I don't I'm an a**hole. So I guess he figures it's better to be an a**hole with more time on your hands than a stressed-out a**hole reviewing other people's scripts before getting to your own work. And I'll bet since the article came out he hasn't gotten as many script-read requests.

James

If random people were coming up to you, bugging you all hours of day and night...  I would have smacked someone by now and let the press handle it personally.  Don't ask him, he'll smack you, read it in the trades...  
I don't take things from random people why should anyone have to.  

INT. MEN'S ROOM

MAN 1 walks in toward the urinal's.

He unzips, then quickly snaps his head to the right.

                                     MAN 1
                         Are you... You are...  Sorry to disturb you...

MAN 2 stands at his urinal and stares at the wall.

                                     MAN 2
                         And yet you do...

Man 1 chuckles.

                                     MAN 1
                         Hey you're in the industry get me in...

Man 2 turns slowly and stares at Man 1.

                                     MAN 2
                         And you are?...

                                     MAN 1
                         Here at the same time you were...

MAN 2 turns back to stare at the wall.

                                     MAN 2
                         Of course, I'll just pinch this piss off, zip
                         up and grab a copy of your script.  When
                         can I call you back?  What works for you?  
                         I'd hate to inconvenience you like some
                         people do.  Don't you hate those people?  
                         Don't you want to stab and dig shallow
                         graves for those people?...  

Man 2 shakes and zips up.  He turns and kicks MAN 1 in the shins.  He walks to the sinks.  MAN 1 rubs his shin and urinates on himself.

                                    MAN 1
                          So, you want a copy then?  

Poorly written...pitiful grammar and punctuation.

You're out!!!!!!

Next...

I dunno. I chuckled. Sometimes the right audience can make something weak that much better. He certainly picked the right audience.

I saw where this guy was coming from and I totally saw the humor in it all but boil it down, it sounds like he's got some sand in his vagina. Fair enough to say that amateur writers don't consider the implications of their requests but can you blame them for wanting professional opinion? I totally respect this guy's mantra when it comes to reading scripts. Totally. I wouldn't think anything less of the guy for refusing to read one of my scripts. On a personal level, I don't think the writer of A History of Violence needs to give me the time of day... or anyone else, for that matter. But to write a two page article about this just sounds butt-hurt, especially considering he's supposedly taking time off from reading his friends' and agent's scripts to write the fucking thing.

Quoted from James McClung I saw where this guy was coming from and I totally saw the humor in it all but boil it down, it sounds like he's got some sand in his vagina. Fair enough to say that amateur writers don't consider the implications of their requests but can you blame them for wanting professional opinion? I totally respect this guy's mantra when it comes to reading scripts. Totally. I wouldn't think anything less of the guy for refusing to read one of my scripts. On a personal level, I don't think the writer of A History of Violence needs to give me the time of day... or anyone else, for that matter. But to write a two page article about this just sounds butt-hurt, especially considering he's supposedly taking time off from reading his friends' and agent's scripts to write the fucking thing.

Execpt this guy actually has to deal with nimnuts... well...  alot more that any of us.  

Would you really be that guy to begin with...  It's totally acceptable this man broadcasts a loud and clear message.

"Do not offer sympathy to the mentally ill.  Tell them firmly.  I am not paid to listen to this drivel.  You are a terminal fool."  
                 William S. Burroughs

It's not particularly soap-boxy to write a quick rant for a blog, is it?

He was treated unfairly after putting a lot of effort into trying to do the right thing.  Writing is a nice way to vent frustration.  From my limited experience, a lot of people do so in blogs.  Would it be soap-boxy if he wasn't a working screenwriter?

Personally I have found over the years that the majority of un-produced writers are overly sensitive, viciously defensive people who often lack serious commitment to the art of storytelling.  When you tell the truth, you often get s*** on for it.  Olson experienced that one too many times and got annoyed.  Fair enough, by me.  

I think I agree with him.

I don't agree with the profanity, because I don't think it gets anywhere but I understand his point.

Say you spent $120,00 to learn how to write, and then succeeded in it and was nominated for an academy award and were highly revered in your writing community.

Then say a friend of a friend, someone you don't really know, asked you for your opinion because they were expecting a pat on the head, but you don't give it to them. I would be mad, sure, but I asked for the honest opinion and I got it. Can I complain? yes. Should I? Probably not.

No one on here is professional (that I know of) and so that is why this "give and recieve" thing we have going on here works. Because no one is professional. Who knows how many of us have actually studied and spent their money on screenwriting. If you are on here and helping us, I salute you.

But it was not the bloggers obligation to read the script, and he did it for free. And then he was called an a**hole .Not a lot of things are free these days, and I think we should be gracious for what we do have.

I realize I reiterated the whole article, but none of us can really say anything until we are in that position.

Unfortunately, it seems that the guy's attitude (in the nominal sense of the word) and his profanity (which I'm nonplussed by) have usurped his didactic and truly poignant disclosures. All of the "fucking script"s and the vitriol is, as many have rightly called it, a personal attack and yet I didn't take it personally and nobody here should either. It was a personal attack on the guy who handed him some unedited, unfinished and amateurish work who then went on to be most unappreciative about the time this professional writer had given him with absolutely no obligation to do so. (Maybe he should have told the guy he was going to nominate him for a Bulwer-Lytton Award? "An Award!" The guy would have been flattered, googled it and then learned the awful truth.)
Perhaps if Josh Whatshisname had waited a week and let the water stop boiling he could  have exorcised the rage from his piece and just left the lessons. I completely understand why he had to use analogies to make his point because it is so hard for people to separate "writing" from putting words on a page and even among people somehow miraculously employed in the business, the difference is lost. I recall several years ago when that horrible book came out "A Million Little Pieces" and it was chosen for the Oprah Book Club and blahblahblah, I picked it up because it was sitting on my mother's dining room table and she had already read it. The accolades in the front matter were of the highest order "Best writer of his generation in America..." Then, I read it. Or, I should say, I read 98 pages of it because the "writing" was as horrible as the rest of it and yet somehow those reviewing it for their major-city dailies thought it was the ultimate demonstration of talent. "Best writer in America!!!" (I should say, this was all before the truth came out about the book being a big fucking hoax.) Along those same lines, Stephen King was recently lambasted on some message boards for declaring that Stephanie Meyers (I think?) who wrote the New Moon books was a bad writer. All of her fans just couldn't understand that he was talking about the craft itself and not whether the books were precious to them and entertaining. It's like people arguing that  Transformers Revenge of the Fallen is a good movie because it made a lot of money. Nonsensical and specious.
Writing, like anything else in the world, is something you get better at as you spend more time honing the skill and talent to execute an engaging work. And, like anything else in the world, once you've gotten to the point where your strengths are profound (like Stephen King), you can see the weakness where they exist in others' works.
Another point this Josh guy diminished by proxy to his emotional diatribe was that so many "writers" don't have the introspection to look at their own work with a judicious eye. This isn't exclusive to writers but it just happens to be topical to this discussion. Of course, it is of great (almost indispensable) value to be hypercritical of one's own work as it is the primary impetus for improvement. One always finds things about oneself interesting and compelling but that doesn't make a piece of writing about oneself or from oneself a good piece of writing.
Alright, not trying to lecture here. Just putting in my 2 cents and offering that if you remove the "fucks" and the reactionary stuff from that guy's article and pull out the valid points, there's a lot there that could only be said by someone who has put the time into making himself into a writer. He's defending writers and proclaiming the truth that it is difficult, worthy and admirable to be a writer and not something available to just anyone with an ego in need of attention. I have to applaud that. (And, as someone stated, A History of Violence was a pretty damn good flick.)    
  

I kinda agree with this guy when he gives the example of  a

Quoted Text "painter to paint your living room for free"

He is right about it.


I loved the way simply embraces new writers and gives them a chance to grow.

hats off

check out one of the comments  haha

Nick says:

Quoted Text I hate to break it to you, but as a screenwriter you are not even exactly qualified to speak about writing. For us legitimate writers (prose, poetry, drama) screenwriting has always been a way to make a few bucks. But even in your article, your writing is sloppy and cliche-ridden. Most importantly, what makes you a wanna-be, not a writer, is that you lack empathy and humanity. It's as simple as that. So stick to adapting picture books into motion pictures, kid!

Quoted from Mr.Z Scroll down a bit to read the parody: http://hollywoodroaster.wordpress.com/

That blog is possibly one of the most depressing script related things I have ever read. Humerous but still very much depressing as hell.

As for the article Ill just copy what I said on the article into here.

'To be honest, If I were to ever make it as a scriptwriter big time, make a mediocre movie or two, and people were to ask me to read a script for them, I wouldn't say it like this. But it is a very much true statement. Writers want to write - they do not want to have to look through amateur stuff.

I would say instead, like I have always thought that it is down to you as a writer to succeed. It doesn't matter what quality of writer you ask to read it, or even if they read it or not, if they give encouragement or blast your confidence to ash - It is always down to you.

That pro writers opinion will not wreck your aspirations or make them - your talent and application will. And if you see it like this it makes the critique of a pro writer redundant. Get critique from sites, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, enter competitions, try and prise your way through the door that way. And if you are calling someone an asshole for saying they won't read your script you are taking your eye off the ball.'

I support the following commenter:

Frank "Grayhawk" Huminski says:
Josh, you have nailed it square on the head.

More to the point, this applies to many people in many professions. To you critics of Mr. Olsen's position, would you go up to a doctor at a party and say "Would you mind looking at this rash"? Or asking an IT person at that same party if they can help with your computer problems? A lawyer for legal advice?

(Actually, from some of the whining, I'd bet you would)

It's still rude & inconsiderate of you to do so. Don't do it. Don't be the dick.

Well said, Mr. Olsen. Well said.