Going pro?

So yesterday I received an e-mail from an old friend telling me about www.craigslist.org which is a job site. I looked there and I saw an ad for independent writers for weekly urban newspaper.

I figured, what's the worst that can happen? He tells me I'm not qualified? So I sent him an email.

Are you looking for a movie critic?

I am an aspiring movie critic and I would like to find out more about your publication and whether or not we can work something out. I consider myself to be pretty hard to please.

Let me know. Here are 2 samples for you to look at.

And I included my blog entries for Brokeback Mountain and Hide and Seek.

He replied with one line. One simple line.

movie critics are a dime a dozen...whats unique about you?

Sounds like a bit of a dick remark at first, and I was a little taken aback. But after I thought about it for a little bit, I thought "Susan, if you're gonna let that dick remark offend you, you need to grow thicker skin."

So I typed up a response.

Although unique is a relative term, I understand your question and can appreciate your position of having to ask. We've all heard the saying, opinions are like rectums- everyone has one and usually they stink. I think you'll find a distinct difference between my opinion and others. As I said, I consider myself pretty hard to please.

One thing I have to offer is the fact that I know the difference between opinion and criticism. I worked as a store manager at Blockbuster for four years and collected close to 700 films in my own personal collection. Since the move to DVD, I sold a lot of my VHS so my collection has diminished significantly, but those are just the films I owned .. Thats not even a significant portion of the amount of films I've seen .. Also, I am pursuing my Bachelors in Cinema Studies and I am a straight A student, so the art of film is not lost on me. I dont particularly agree with most novices and their opinions on movies. Most of them are looking for a regurgitation of films from the past. I am constantly looking for unique ideas, pride myself on knowing one when I see one, and I am not easily fooled. I can offer a unique opinion that not many other people can give.

Additionally, my writing technique is not frilly or frou-frou, and even though I am female, I can still appreciate testosterone movies as much as any man can. In fact, I often prefer them to Chick Flicks. Romance needs to be realistic and not condescending in a film, or else it makes me gag. This is not to say that the romance genre is a lost cause to me, but given the choice between Seven and Titanic, Ill let that boat sink and not shed a tear.

I guess it comes down to this: there are few people out there who know as much about movies as I do. If the average person has a general knowledge about film thats a 5 on a scale of one to ten, mine is an 8.5. Now maybe you are looking for a 10 like Leonard Maltin, and if you can find one, you have my blessing to hire him instead. I'm not going to blow smoke and say I know everything because I know that I still have quite a bit to learn. Im not about to call up NBC and tell them to fire Gene Shalit; I am looking for something thats low-key and made for a novice with a bit of intellect, as I consider myself to be.

So, maybe I answered your question; maybe I didn't. Maybe you didn't like my answer. I like to look at it this way: if movie critics are a dime a dozen then you get what you pay for.

Susan

He responded:

"I appreciate your spunk and your 'up-yours' response. "

He said that if I send him a couple more samples of my writing and write about politics, environment, etc we'll talk. I don't think I'm what he's looking for. But it sure felt good to stand up for myself!

So am I going pro? We'll see. I have a few things to take care of for school and then I'll try to get creative.