Guest Post
Sal Burton is character in my novel, The Holden Age of Hollywood. While he appears in a mere seven pages of the book, he is a character that most readers gravitate toward. “I love Sal,” they often remark, which makes me as a writer want to explore him further. And that’s what I did in this piece of added content I created for my book. It’s modeled after Esquire Magazine’s What I Know pieces, and it was a fun way to get into the mind of an indelible character from my novel. Hope you enjoy…
What I’ve Learned Along The Way…
Sal Burton
Screenwriter, 58,
Santa Monica, California
By David Allen Case
I write movies. Don’t act like I discovered a cure for cancer.
Sure I’ve fallen in love. The falling is great. But it scars.
Buy me a drink, I’ll tell you a story. Pay my tab and we might work together
someday.
Always go with your gut. But don’t be hard on it when it’s wrong.
Kids these days don’t write. They text and twitter telegraph-like sentences
with two thumbs and no thought.
So much has been written about me over the years even I have trouble
separating the fact from fiction.
There’s nothing sadder in this world than a pawnshop in Hollywood.
I always have a dog. It’s the one constant in my life.
I used to think LA was New York resting on its laurels. Now, I know it.
No, I will not read your script. Please stop asking.
People ask why I haven’t written anything in a while. Anyone dumb enough
to ask isn’t going to get the answer.
I’ll always have Hats. No one can take that away.
I could have written ten films and people would still ask, what are you going
to do next?
People still inquire about who the girl in Hats is based on. If a woman’s doing
the asking, I tell her she reminds me of her. Works every time.
Meyer Holden told me he was leaving. My response: “You’ll be back.”
I’m glad he’s back, albeit under his own terms.
It’s harder to write a good review than a bad one. There’s solace in that.
No matter how bad a day it is, walking my dog makes it better.
Don’t chase fame if you’re going to resent it when it starts chasing you.
Acting is about becoming one person you’re not. However, writing is about
being countless characters you wish you could be.
Unless you’re Hemingway.
Regrets are for losers, but, yeah, I have a few.
When the phone stops ringing, you can either enjoy the silence or start
making some noise.
Years ago I asked an exec if he read my script. He said, why would I read
it when it’d lessen my enthusiasm for it? I hated him for saying that, but
admired his honesty.
I like wine when I’m trying to get laid. Beer when I’m not. And scotch when
I’m trying to forget women altogether.
I know why no one has ever asked me to a best man. Unfortunately, that
doesn’t make me a better man.
Every Tom, Dick and Harriet with an idea for a movie has a beginning and
end. However, if you don’t know what happens in the middle, you got
nothing.
Years ago I tried my hand at stand-up comedy. No believes that. They
think it’s joke. Which makes me laugh.
Hollywood is cold to those without talent and warm to those with money.
Kid walks into a bar, says he’s never heard of me. Hour later he’s quoting
one of my movies. Funny how that is.
Of course I’m writing. Whether I ever show it to anyone, well, that’s
another story.