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I cracked up as soon as I saw the author's name which I recognized mainly from her gossip column role. According to Wikipedia she did start out as a screenwriter and I wonder if this book was a part of her transition from participating in the industry to reporting on the industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louella_Parsons

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Nov 4Liked by Cole Haddon

Yes, there is an entire season of the podcast You Must Remember This dedicated to her & another gossip columnist!

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Jeez. The good ‘ole days were just as bad as the current day. But I gotta say, “photoplaywright” has an interesting ring to it.

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author

It's fascinating to track the evolution of terms. For example, who was the first person who said "screenwriter" and how long before that became commonplace?

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Highly recommend ‘What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting’ by Marc Norman (writer of Shakespeare in Love).

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author

I love that book, which I think does talk about this, now that I think about it. It was one of the first books that made me realize how much screenwriters tend to look down on their own profession.

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Indeed! ‘Schmucks with Underwoods’ and all that.

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I remember a great anecdote about Mack Sennett’s gag writers rigging the stairs so Sennett would always trip when trying to creep up and spy on them. :D

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I’ve got this one from 1945…

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author

I fear you've attempted to share a photo, which Substack doesn't permit on article comments. I think you can look at my Notes and one will show this article there...I think. I can't see my own articles show up in Notes.

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This is sort of like the opposite of the meme I saw about LITTLE WOMEN where one of the characters gets paid $100 for publishing in a literary journal and the comment says "So literary journals haven't raised their rates since 1868..."

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author

Which is true. If anything, most pay less than they did 25 years.

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I would love to purchase one! Any left?

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