Prejudgment by ethnicity from a producer who replied to me

[Inarius]

I've sent a query letter to a producer from NY, one I found on This site. Here is his reply:

No, I will never work with you until your people stop the oppression and wanton murder of innocent Palestinian souls.

FREE PALESTINE! FREE PALESTINE! FREE PALESTINE!

I don't care what he thinks about Israel, but how could someone reach the rank of producer, director and writer, with such a childish way of thinking? I would understand if he had Arabic name, but no, his name is Angel Mendez, from NY.

 

[Filman]

Ha-ha. The man is disguising himself as a Latino.

You asked his boss, for another partner?

 

[Inarius]

No, I will just query to another producers/agents.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

I guess he's part of the BDS movement, and many non-Arabs are part of that movement.

I'm a conservative, so I would be pro-Israel.

 

[Alcove Audio]

I feel sorry for people like that. All they show are their own sense of inferiority and inadequacy.

 

[Cryogenic]

Yep.Typical lib. There is little innocence on their side.

 

[Filman]

If you didn't provoke him in any way first, these kind of things give you an opportunity. I mean it's basic screenwriting to get the boss to care for you a bit extra and that can triple your chances in a blink of an eye.

 

[Alcove Audio]

Yep.Typical lib. There is little innocence on their side.

That type of attitude is not limited to the left.

 

[mus]

Tell him you will personally free Palestine if he decides to work with you.

Tell him the moment the project is over, you will live up your end of the bargain.

 

[FantasySciFi]

Maybe on the site you referenced, you should search producers and not directors. Directors--especially glancing through the list you referenced--are mostly film students working on their own projects. Producers are more likely to be interested in your idea and line up their own director for your project. I would not recommend trying to sell a director your concept. Largely because they often think what they come up with is better than anything you could, especially if they've gone to a film school. Just my experience. And while it may seem a bit prejudicial, you may wish to approach producers with more Jewish surnames as they may be more inclined to review your material. Marketing your material is about knowing your demographic. In the US, prejudice is alive and thriving unfortunately. There is racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, political, well you name it. That is one reason that identifying information is not provided to script readers in contests. But in the real world, it can't be avoided when marketing your own materials. Good luck.

 

[Will Vincent]

I'm libertarian.. I'm pro mind your own damned business and everybody leave everybody else the hell alone.

The world would be better if more people were like me.

 

[georgiahoosier]

I'm libertarian.. I'm pro mind your own damned business and everybody leave everybody else the hell alone.

The world would be better if more people were like me.

Thank you.
The only cabinet level department I would endorse would be the "Leave me the hell alone administration"

 

[Inarius]

If you didn't provoke him in any way first, these kind of things give you an opportunity. I mean it's basic screenwriting to get the boss to care for you a bit extra and that can triple your chances in a blink of an eye.

Hmm... But I doubt that he has a boss.

Maybe on the site you referenced, you should search producers and not directors. Directors--especially glancing through the list you referenced--are mostly film students working on their own projects. Producers are more likely to be interested in your idea and line up their own director for your project. I would not recommend trying to sell a director your concept. Largely because they often think what they come up with is better than anything you could, especially if they've gone to a film school. Just my experience. And while it may seem a bit prejudicial, you may wish to approach producers with more Jewish surnames as they may be more inclined to review your material. Marketing your material is about knowing your demographic. In the US, prejudice is alive and thriving unfortunately. There is racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, political, well you name it. That is one reason that identifying information is not provided to script readers in contests. But in the real world, it can't be avoided when marketing your own materials. Good luck.

Good to know. I often search directors.

 

[gorillaonabike]

Tell him you will personally free Palestine if he decides to work with you.

Tell him the moment the project is over, you will live up your end of the bargain.

Man, you've got a gift for comedy.

Although, I have the opposite issue. I have a perfectly English name and then a 17 stone (240lb) Chinese guy shows up (me). Causes all kinds of confusion, not least to me...

 

[AudioPostExpert]

...how could someone reach the rank of producer, director and writer, with such a childish way of thinking?

Describing oneself as a Producer, Director and Writer used to mean something. More and more though there is little or no "reaching the rank of", because people now seem to commonly describe themselves as what they want to be, rather than what they actually are! With a few hundred dollars of equipment/software, a few free days and a couple of mates, one can make a scripted home video, post it on youtube, get a couple of hundred views and call oneself a Producer, Director and Writer!

More and more it's not a case of reaching the rank with a childish way of thinking, it's the other way around, if they didn't have a childish way of thinking they wouldn't be calling themselves a Producer, Director and/or Writer in the first place! Unfortunately, this problem isn't just limited to those 3 roles but to pretty much all the film roles. In my own field there are now countless people advertising themselves as Sound Designers and/or Composers just because they have a laptop with a cracked copy of Cubase which they used to make some sounds or music for their mates' home videos.

G

 

[sfoster]

If you wrote directed and produced something, then you're a writer director and producer.

Maybe an amateur one, not professional, but still an accurate title.

 

[Inarius]

Describing oneself as a Producer, Director and Writer used to mean something. More and more though there is little or no "reaching the rank of", because people now seem to commonly describe themselves as what they want to be, rather than what they actually are! With a few hundred dollars of equipment/software, a few free days and a couple of mates, one can make a scripted home video, post it on youtube, get a couple of hundred views and call oneself a Producer, Director and Writer!

More and more it's not a case of reaching the rank with a childish way of thinking, it's the other way around, if they didn't have a childish way of thinking they wouldn't be calling themselves a Producer, Director and/or Writer in the first place! Unfortunately, this problem isn't just limited to those 3 roles but to pretty much all the film roles. In my own field there are now countless people advertising themselves as Sound Designers and/or Composers just because they have a laptop with a cracked copy of Cubase which they used to make some sounds or music for their mates' home videos.

G

If you wrote directed and produced something, then you're a writer director and producer.

Maybe an amateur one, not professional, but still an accurate title.

Last week me and my friend tested how his new car drifts on sand. He asked me to take video of that, and I did. So now I'm producer, director and operator

 

[AudioPostExpert]

If you wrote directed and produced something, then you're a writer director and producer.

That's kind of my point. If I raced my Ford Focus down the street against my mate's Honda Civic can I now advertise myself as a racing driver, even if I've never been to a commercial racing circuit, let alone actually competed at one? Or, if I film my cat for 20 minutes then trim it down in iMovie to the 30 seconds where my cat actually did something vaguely interesting, can I now advertise myself as an Editor?

It's a grey area, at what point can I call or advertise myself as an Editor? If I'd used Premiere instead of iMovie to trim my cat video would that make me an Editor? What about if I'd applied a preset fade out? 20 years or so ago if someone said they were a Producer, it meant that's what they did professionally, for a living. Today, if I produce something, say a short film of my cat, then I'm a Film Producer or if I produce a tune in Cubase then I'm a Music Producer.

G

 

[WalterB]

.............but how could someone reach the rank of producer, director and writer, with such a childish way of thinking? I would understand if he had Arabic name, but no, his name is Angel Mendez, from NY..............

Oh well, lots of people have strong opinions they themselves deem valid, but seem childish from the outside.
And a lot of people choose sides in conflicts they aren't really part of.

Everyone thinks he or she is right. Or at least almost everyone.

I think it's not nice to be judged by your origins instead of your merits.

 

[sfoster]

That's kind of my point. If I raced my Ford Focus down the street against my mate's Honda Civic can I now advertise myself as a racing driver, even if I've never been to a commercial racing circuit, let alone actually competed at one? Or, if I film my cat for 20 minutes then trim it down in iMovie to the 30 seconds where my cat actually did something vaguely interesting, can I now advertise myself as an Editor?

It's a grey area, at what point can I call or advertise myself as an Editor? If I'd used Premiere instead of iMovie to trim my cat video would that make me an Editor? What about if I'd applied a preset fade out? 20 years or so ago if someone said they were a Producer, it meant that's what they did professionally, for a living. Today, if I produce something, say a short film of my cat, then I'm a Film Producer or if I produce a tune in Cubase then I'm a Music Producer.

G

Sure it's a bit of a grey area with everyone having cell phone cameras, etc.
At this point I'm considering myself an amateur independent film maker.. two shorts under my belt, focusing on it full time, auditioning very serious actors that actually want to be in my next one..

Basically if it's what you're really trying to do with your life, and you're actively working and doing it.. well then I'd say that's what you are.

But if you race once and have no desire or plans to do it again, well then probably not so much a racer. Anyway who cares where my grey area is, you're right it's not as cut and dry as it used to be