Wow, thank you for that. I had the opposite response in another thread - after getting near 400 rejections, I have to wonder if it's me after all.Speaking of things that wouldn't get made/published today....I watched an interview with Norman Jewison on the weekend for his film "In the Heat of the Night" and he said (with a trace of bitterness) that if brought that script to a major studio today it would get turned down.
I think what he was referring to was the dearth of originality in scripts being bought today. I thought of Mario and his struggles. It ain't you, bud, it's them. Julia Cameron says a similar thing in her memoir.
Very true how big studios have become way too cautious. Too quick to run away from anything controversial (unless it's gross out comedy or horror, which is confrontational in a safe junior high way more often than not) and especially drama.* Yet people still seek out challenging and emotionally real entertainment. There's a mental disconnect in "da 'Wood" about what studios think audiences want vs. what they really do want.
It's an uphill struggle, and I'm getting too old and I need some income stat. For my family, for my car, for me having a life and love life. Sitting home alone sending out queries all weekend, every weekend, is a losing proposition.
* For some factual perspective, for those interested: I just landed the Scoggins Report, a grid of what studios bought in 2011. Dramas accounted for 13.2% of sales on pitch (116), while comedies led by 34.9%. Fantasy and horror are dead last with 1% each. I get interesting shit like that through my industry newsletters and tracking boards, like the open jobs grid that lists all the books currently in development at any given time.