Values And Ethics

Today at Babylonian, I talked to a guy who is also a screenwriter, but in his case, he's a real one: worked on a FOX sitcom during FOX's early years, wrote three episodes of Boston Common this year, does polishes of screenplays, etc., etc. Anyhow. I asked him why he's working at Babylonian doing fan club stuff rather than working on staff on a sitcom, since he clearly knows people who might be able to help.

My reasoning being: Working on the fan club is important, but you make bucks if you're on staff at a TV show.

He replied: He doesn't want to do TV, he wants to write movies. And there's nothing on the air he particularly cares for.

I'm so concerned with getting in on the showbiz game that I can't imagine deciding I wasn't going to do something simply because I didn't want to.

This was my problem when I was at Apple. I didn't particularly like working on the project I was on (the first three years of it were okay, but after that it was downhill) but I couldn't wrap my mind around stopping -- it was a very well-paying job, I had intelligent co-workers, I could pretty much set my own hours (as the old joke goes, You can work any 60 hours a week you want).

Darin changed this. He said, "Just quit." Previously, this had not been in my vocabulary. Just turn down money? Admittedly, Darin wanted me to quit to go to something, not to run from something.

Darin went further than that, actually. He told me that he chose jobs on the basis of how interested he was in them, not how much he got paid. Of course, Darin gets paid a lot, so it's really easy for him, right? Actually, I know Darin would do that no matter what he did for a living; it's his modus operandi.

Where am I going with this? I found myself wondering if I'd take a job writing for television -- any writing job, even for Baywatch Nights, and keep it because I'm so concerned about being in the game that I won't let it go. Now, when I'm just starting out, this is definitely what anyone does: you take what you can get. But after that, when I'm already established and don't have to do it, what will I do?

Will I go for the security over the satisfaction? What do I value more: money or creative fulfillment?

I have no idea why I torture myself with thoughts like this. But I can ask Darin about it -- he's coming down this weekend! Praise be.