The Player
written by Michael Tolkin
Griffin Mill: Well, I listen to stories and decide if they'll make good movies or not. I get 125 phone calls a day, and if I let that slip to 100, I know I'm not doing my job. Everyone that calls, they want to know one thing: They want me to say "Yes" to them and make their movie. If I say "Yes" to them, and make their movie, they think that, come next New Year's it's going to be them and Jack Nicholson on the slopes of Aspen. That's what they think. Problem is, I can only say "Yes," ... my studio can only say "Yes" twelve times a year, and collectively we hear about 50,000 stories a year. So its hard, and I guess sometimes I'm not nice and I make enemies and that's what I was to David, an enemy. His story lacked certain elements we need to market a film successfully -- suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex, happy endings. Mainly happy endings.
Kudos and much thanks go to Mikko for the donation of this monologue, it is very much appreciated.