Updated*

Breakfast: Mueslix with vanilla oat milk

Fall season's biggest television disappointment: Arrested Development's second season. Talk about trying too hard to get more Emmys. Oh well, at least I have DVD season one ready to roll. And speaking of development...

Hollywood 101:

No matter what people tell you, you should not work for free* unless it's for a real friend. People who make you work for free won't respect you, and instead of paying you in the future they'll try to get more free work from you.

*Internships while in school are okay.

If you ever get an e-mail like the following one, just delete it. I know of an entertainment journalist who sends similar e-mails. These people are users and will not pay/help you in the future or give you credit.

Hey everyone-- As many of you may already know, Rob* and I are currently in preproduction on two films. Both of these films, which are expected to start filming in the first quarter of 2005, were partially derived from stories we hear in the news, as are many of the films or television programs that we are currently developing. Accordingly, I would like to invite all of you to start emailing me (send me the link) to any cool, bizarre, funny, or otherwise interesting news story that you come across and think would make a great motion picture. We will review everything you submit, and in some cases, we will use these ideas to either track down the story's author or internally create a treatment/script for what could be our next film in production. Thanks for taking the time to send me things in the future!

*name changed

I'm not doing anyone's development work for free, and you shouldn't either. More on development later today...

Nomad writes:

"I agree with you 100% re: free work. Basically, these "producers" don't have any creative bone in their body and are a lazy bunch of assholes. I'd do free work for friends, but for strangers, never. Sometimes I would make an exception if it's for some kind of public good, but for anything that resembles something commercial, never. Oh, and I love it when they say that their project will be entered in 'Sundance-type festivals'. Like that's gonna make me wet. If you're gonna do something on spec, make sure you get the best deal and have it written on paper. If you're gonna decide to do free work, make sure get something in exchange, like you want to learn a certain skill, or at the very least, a free meal."

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