The Serendipity of Clutter: Episode 1.02

"There is no future. There is no past. I live every moment as if it were my last."
- Mimi, "Rent"

It's amazing what you can accumulate in a quarter century in the entertainment business. Contacts, friends, a reputation, or, in the case of my boss-- mounds and mounds of crap. Sorting through this stuff requires patience, fortitude, hours of valuable time, and hopefully a healthy dose of tranquilizers.

But every once in awhile, you find something kinda interesting. Today it was rejection letters from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They're a lot like the rejection letters of today-- transparently formulaic and patently disingenuous. The difference is the print and paper quality, as well as the fact that these artifacts from the pre-computer days have some fun typos and unexpectedly prescient titles. ["One Night in Paris" was rejected by Angelini Brothers Productions in July 1982--probably a wise move, even if the project didn't involve the infamous Hilton]

But they've got history-- hell, some of them are older than I am. And the carbon-copy printing methods of the past means that even today you'll smear ink all over your hands if you're not careful. So should I ruminate on how things have changed in the business? How these mimeographed missives hearken back to an idyllic time in the film business? Muse about these rejection letters representing old-school notions of respect and class....and who am I kidding?

I'm an overworked, live-in-the-now twentysomething-- I don't give a flying monkey poop. Stop making me sort this crap and just let me throw it all out.

So that's the question of the day, folks. Save it or toss it. Or in the case of my boss, save it or sell it.