"Mikecosta" says:

The problem with Millar (aside from his chronic tardiness and barely-concealed disdain for both his audience and Superhero comics in general) is the fact that he's an idiot who speaks out of his depth and profoundly distorts what information he does have to suit his own goals - whether it's to create a false rumor about Eminem starring in "Wanted," or pontificating on how Hollywood is going to be the motivator for the collapse and ruination of American comics.

As someone who has worked in the upper-echelons of Hollywood for his entire professional career, I can say that Millar speaks as one totally out of touch as to the economic realities of the industry, and the current level and direction of the town's attention. As someone who has been reading and paying attention to comics even longer than that, I can say that Millar is utterly misrepresenting both the fortunes and intentions of his peers. And as a rational and intelligent human being, I can say that even aside from all that specialized knowledge, his argument is poorly defended and holds no validity.

There is an unfortunate, yet widely popular belief in comics that the movie business is just like comic book industry only cooler, with more money, bigger exposure, and hotter chicks. Even though this could not be farther from the truth, it's understandable why people think this; it benefits Hollywood to appeal to our demographic with an intentionally rose-colored, geeky view of who they are and what they produce, and it benefits creators like Joe Q and Mark Millar to sound even more awesome and cool since they're get attention from such an exclusive and powerful club.

The fact is that Hollywood is nothing like comic books, and this is a major reason why, despite the money at stake (which is often considerably less than reported) people who want to work, or have been working, in comics can find the movie business to be incredibly inhospitable and difficult to find success in. One of the key differences is transparency and access. Consider this: Joe Quesada must be among the 5 most powerful people in comics. He's certainly one of the most currently visible and influential. And yet anyone from anywhere, regardless of their professional standing or "connections," may meet him, shake his hand, have a conversation with him, maybe even hang out with him at a bar during convention season. Could you imagine Stephen Spielberg or Tom Cruise putting themselves in that position? The very idea is absurd; the Hollywood gatekeepers are too impenetrable.

This translates into very real consequences on a professional level as well. For instance; as we all know, Marvel's biggest crossover in perhaps 20 years is occurring right now. Yet, it's common knowledge (and also painfully evident in the execution) that this event had it's first genus at a retreat a little less than a year ago. It started off as an idea thrown around by a few writers and editors, and those same creators are bringing it to you now, with the inclusion of a few artists. There is almost no interface whatsoever between fan and creator, between creator and publisher. Personalities, visions and projects remain nearly intact from beginning to end, even in the most massive projects conceivable.

Compare this now with "Civil War's" chief analogue in showbiz, the big tent-poll blockbuster. In movies, this kind of project that takes years to come together, with dozens of false-starts, talent-attachments and dropouts, long periods of inactivity, eventually employing a half-a-dozen writers to over-rule each other on subsequent drafts. And this is before it's even greenlit. Then you deal with and hundreds of pages of notes and memos from faceless execs, directors hired and fired, stars with unreasonable demands, and even more writers hired for a polish and for on-set rewrites. Then a different set of compromises in post. Then another set in distribution.

If you are a writer who is used to being a phonecall away from your editor, to whom the worst thing that could possibly happen is an edict that they may have to change a few of your lines without your consent, or that you may not use the character you wanted for a crossover, that's a rather drastic change to make, and certainly not a pleasant one. Sure, there are good people in Hollywood (I myself am fortunate enough to work for one of them) but on the whole it is not a good town. This town will kick you and ____ you in the ass, ESPECIALLY if you're a writer. You not only surrender control of your work when you write out here, but you surrender control of your work's entire destiny - there's a better than 80% chance that what you write will never see the light of day, even after it's purchased. Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Martin Scorsese, every major name you can think of has got twice as many movies that they haven't been allowed to make as those they've had. If guys like that have trouble getting a project off the ground, what chance does an unknown have?

I don't imagine there are very many full comic book scripts that Grant Morrison has taken the time to write that have never been taken through production and published. This is one of our greatest writers. Yet, he wrote "Sleepless Knights" quite a while ago. It's been in development at Dreamworks for years, and only a very lucky break is ever going to get it out. Chances are, we'll never see it. Warren Ellis's "Global Frequency" pilot at least made it to production, but it wasn't picked up, just like three-quarters of the pilots out there. Ellis is currently at work writing another pilot himself. Does anyone really expect to ever see it?

That's the reality of Hollywood. Being a professional writer here is not easy, nor is it pleasant - believe me I am one, and I work with others all day. A motion picture production company or studio, even a "cool" one like Focus Features or the Weinstein company, is not the Marvel bullpen by any stretch of the imagination. Personal relationships, while at a premium to do business, are sullied and warped by fear and greed. The number of people looking to write out here is greater than in comics by at least a factor of 10. And unlike the smaller, more personable world of comics, this industry is vast - the people you have to hustle for work are most often no better than strangers. And trust me, unless your name is Ron Bass, Richard Kelly, Allen Loeb, Akiva Goldsmith, David Koepp or David Benioff, you have to hustle. People may want BKV to write the "Ex Machina" movie, but that doesn't mean that Marty Scorsese is asking for him to write his next picture, the way he is John Logan or William Monahan.

And further damning to Mark's thesis is the fact that, indeed, Brian Vaughn IS writing "Ex Machina." Warren Ellis IS writing a new pilot. Bendis, Morrison, all these guys have been paid for screenwriting. And yet... they aren't leaving comics. Mostly for the reasons I've above enumerated, I'd guess. Hell, Geoff Johns actually worked in movies before he left them to write comics. Mostly, certainly, because he has a deep love of the medium and it was his dream. But also, possibly, because he had several scripts purchased or optioned (including one pilot) and none of them went anywhere. Writers like their work to be seen. If you work in comics, it will be. If you work in Hollywood, probably not. Joe Mad left his dream job in video games for this very reason.

So why should we think that, in the next few years, things will suddenly change? Trust me, Hollywood is only going to get tougher. Marc may imagine himself some sort of soothsayer for the comic industry, but he's illiterate to the writing on the wall for movies. While comics are in an upswing, Hollywood is in desperate, dire straights. People over here are getting antsy. Box office receipts are down and not recovering. Huge-budget sure-things are underperforming. At least two of the big five agencies are constantly rumored to be on the verge of collapse. This is not the land of plenty, out happily poaching writing talent that the vast majority of people in this country have never read. Just because a production company uses a chunk of change from it's discretionary fund to pay a comic book writer more money than he's ever seen to option his book does not mean for a second that creator is now an in-demand screenwriter. John Cassaday has signed a deal to direct a movie. Fine. Sam Keith directed a movie a few years ago too. Ever see it? The only comic book creator of any stature to achieve what could reasonably be considered a modicum of success and exposure here in the industry is Frank Miller, and even he had to wait nearly 20 years from Robocop 2 until now. The 2000AD analogy is not quite apropos here.

So let's not get hysterical, Mark. Hollywood does not want you so bad that they'll make all your dreams come true, if only you stop writing comics. You can stop scaring the kids with your wishful thinking now.

Millar responds:

Wow. No idea who that Mike Costa guy is (even if he IS from the upper echelons of hollywood ) but I think his first paragraph or two pretty much sets up his agenda. He's also completely missing the point, comparing newbies breaking into Hollywood, newbies breaking into comics and comic guys breaking into Hollywood. He says it's difficult for us to set up a meeting with Scorcese or whomever, but the point of my article is that it's not. Not for comic guys right now. I've never had a movie out in my life and have had some meetings with some of the biggest names in the biz. I'm going out in October and have meetings with two of the most famous directors on the planet. All based on the fact they want comic guys.

I don't know who this guy is or what he's worked on, but comparing comic guys working in Hollywood 20 years ago to now is just out of touch. They're in big trouble, yes, but they splash a LOT more cash around than my own industry and the fact they're so keen to court a new talent pool (comic guys) is a sign of them desperate for something new to reinvigorate themselves. Again, the analogy with DC and 2000AD holds up well. The comic stuff has had some success in Hwood for the last 5 years and they're hoping that going directly to the source material is going to be a boon for them. And that doesn't come from Mark Millar, former writer of Swamp Thing and blinking Hollywood newbie, that's from the top guy at CAA. And they're kinda well connected.

MM

You know what I hear? I hear that all the novel publishers are coming after the lawyers next, what with the success of John Grisham and Scott Turow. Hell, even hacks like Lisa Scottoline publish well-selling novels. You know what this means? No more Supreme Court by 2030. Armageddon is upon us. The Executive Branch will reign supreme. Prepare your immigration papers now.