• Home
  • About Emmy-Winning Blog
  • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Screenwriting from Duluth
Screenwriting from Church Hill, Mississippi »

“The Help” Smackdown

August 22, 2011 by Scott W. Smith

“The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days.”
Tom Long
Detroit News 

It really wasn’t a fair fight. Sure Conan the Barbarian has that big sword, but it was three against one. Conan verses Aibileen, Skeeter, and Minny. Three strong women played by Viola Davis, Emma Stone, and Octavia Spencer in The Help.

I’m not one to follow daily box-office trends, but you have to take notice when a film like The Help takes the top box-office spot over the new release of the $90 million Conan the Barbarian and last week’s box-office champ Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The Help is a $25 million film set in Jackson, Mississippi and centers around the always slamdunk Hollywood concept of black maids in the the 1960s.

While the film is anti-high concept, it’s no mystery why this film has made $70 million in its first two weeks of release—the film is based on the bestselling book of the same name written by Kathryn Stockett.  It was Stockett’s first novel and took her a year and a half to write the first version. Her first rejection letter read, “Story did not sustain my interest.” Her 40th rejection letter stated. “There’s no market for this kind of writing.”

In an article written by Stockett in MORE Magazine she said that 40th rejection letter made her cry and, “That was a hard weekend. I spent it in pajamas slothing around that racetrack of self-pity—you know the one, from sofa to chair to bed to refrigerator, starting over again on the sofa. But I couldn’t let go of The Help. Call it tenacity, call it resolve or call it what my husband calls it: stubborness.”

But her rejection wasn’t over. Her manuscript would be rejected 20 more times before she landed an agent. Three weeks later that agent, Susan Ramer, sold the book to Amy Einhorn Books. It’s since sold more than 2 million book copies, and the e-book version became the first title to sell 1 million Kindle version.

Stockett was born in Jackson, Mississippi where the story takes place and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She spent nine years in the magazine business in New York City and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She was 40 years old when The Help was first published.

Now her work, after a few years and a few tears, (and with a little help from writer/director Tate Taylor and an incredible cast of characters) is the number movie in America. Want some advice from Stockett?

“I can’t tell you how to succeed. But I can tell you how not to: Give in to the shame of being rejected and put your manuscript—or painting, song, voice, dance moves, [insert passion here]— in the coffin that is your bedside drawer and close it for good. I guarantee you that it won’t take you anywhere. Or you could do what this writer did: Give in to your obsession instead.”
Kathryn Stockett  

P.S. If I was going to retire from writing the Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places blog—this would be the perfect post to end on. That’s not my intention, but after a few years you think you’ve written all that you can write about writing and you think it’s time to move on. I need stories like Stockett’s (both her book and her journey as a writer) to inspire me.

Somewhat related posts:
Screenwriting Quote #93 (John Grisham)—Ole Miss graduate
Writers Getting Older (Touches on writer Alfred Uhry who wrote Driving Miss Daisy)
Martin Luther King Jr. & Screenwriting (Tip #7) —Touches on a trip I took from Jackson to Atlanta

Scott W. Smith

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Movies | 2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. on August 22, 2011 at 4:30 pm Robert Barnes

    It’s a fine story.


  2. on August 22, 2011 at 6:05 pm cavman

    They wasted $90 million remaking Conan with someone I’ve never heard of?

    After selling 2 million copies, I might put all those people who sent me rejection letters on my Christmas card list.



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,337 other followers

  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with @Casey Neistat wp.me/paP6U-kep https://t.co/6WckMlbgiD 1 week ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • Why Movie Stars Have Big Heads
    • The Perfect Logline
    • Protagonist = Struggle
    • The Major or Central Dramatic Question (Tip #101)
    • Average Length of a Movie Scene (tip #21)
    • The Devil Speech by James L. Brooks
    • How an Oscar-winning Screenwriter Uses Index Cards
    • The Bomb Under the Table
    • Writing "Scent of a Woman"
    • ‘Hamilton’ and The Drama of a Good Love Triangle
  • Recent Posts

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with Casey Neistat
    • ‘I Love L.A.’—Random Memories (and a Few Life Lessons) from Living in Southern California Back in the Day
    • Magic vs. Grit
    • ‘Hollywood in Your Pocket’ Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and Shot by Greig Fraser
    • The Importance of Learning Cinematography (or at Least Understanding Its Role in the Filmmaking Process)
  • Pages

    • About Emmy-Winning Blog
    • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)
  • Categories

    • Book Reviews
    • Film History
    • filmmaking
    • Filmmaking Quote of the Day
    • Miscellaneous
    • Most Viewed Posts
    • Movies
    • Off Screen Quotes
    • podcasting
    • Postcards
    • Quotes from the Road
    • Screenwriters
    • screenwriting
    • Screenwriting & Life
    • Screenwriting Biz
    • Screenwriting Quotes
    • Screenwriting Road Trips
    • screenwriting tips
    • Television
    • Video Blog
    • writing
    • Writing Quotes
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Digg!
  • Archives

    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • RSS Screenwriting from Iowa

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with Casey Neistat
      ”Seek out interestingness.”—Casey Neistat It’s not like Casey Neistat and I are hanging making films together, but yesterday I started his online filmmaking and storytelling class. It’s not a sponsored thing either. Just taking it to pick up how he does what he does so well. Part of his secret sauce is spontaneous filmmaking. Just […]
      Scott W. Smith
  • Blogroll—Favorite Posts from Others

    • ASPIRING TO ACT, WRITE, DIRECT—TomCruise.com
    • BURN IT DOWN—John August
    • CASE STUDIES IN FILM EDITING—Oliver Peters
    • DAVID MAMET'S MEMO— Movieline
    • EVERY SALE HAS A STORY—Blake Snyder
    • FILM FINACE OVERWHELM—Stacy Parks
    • IT'S THE CONCEPT STUPID—Max Adams
    • LISTEN TO A MOVIE—Scott Myers
    • MISHA GREEN INTERVIEW—Scriptshadow
    • QUERY LETTER SAMPLE — Michele Wallerstein
    • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK—Scriptsnotes, Ep 73:
    • THE 'RAIDERS' STORY CONFERENCE—Mystery Man on Film
    • THE "A" LIST—Christopher Lockhart
    • THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO MOVIE VILLAINS—Screenwriting Spark
    • THE TOTAL FILM-MAKER BY JERRY LEWIS—Cinephilla and Beyond
    • VINCENT LAFORET—chasejarvisLIVE

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Join 1,337 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: