We read my screenplay "Bordertown" at the Long Island Screenwriters Group. The group, mostly comprised of actors, read members' scripts aloud and comment on them.

It didn't go quite as well as I hoped. For one thing, they all found it difficult to read. The script contains a lot of unfamiliar words and Spanish words. They had a lot of trouble just pronouncing them.

As for their impression, they generally liked it (some parts got some pretty good laughs), though the end of the selection didn't get the response I hoped for. I meant it to end in a strong "act out" (in TV, the dramatic event, cliffhanger, etc. occurring right before the commercial). The selection of the script didn't have the great pay-off I thought it would, probably because it was a cold reading and the script just wasn't read well.

I finally decided to participate and now it's even worse: You have to read four scripts, all of which are assigned! I'm just in a masochistic mood, I guess. And make no mistake, these scripts are bad. They're not even written in proper screenplay form, which really bothers me, since it shows laziness. It doesn't take long to learn--not if you're willing to make an effort.

There's a great book, David Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible," that tells you everything you need to know: when to write all caps, the difference between a series of shots and a montage, etc. You can learn it all by looking at the sample screenplay he provides in the book.

I just read a script form a guy who's been a TriggerStreet member for four years and the script wasn't even close to being written in proper screenplay form. That's why it pisses me off that my own scripts are overlooked. They may not be artistic masterpieces, but they do tell a story and they are in correct screenplay form--a form I made the effort to learn.

I joined TriggerStreet.com awhile back. Founded about 5 years ago by Kevin Spacey, the site allows writers to post screenplays for review, provided they review other writers' scripts. Initially, you had to write two reviews before you could upload your own script--one assigned to you, the other, one of your own choosing. I didn't participate because that requirement seemed too burdensome.

I finally decided to participate and now it's even worse: You have to read four scripts, all of which are assigned! I'm just in a masochistic mood, I guess. And make no mistake, these scripts are bad. They're not even written in proper screenplay form, which kind of annoys me, since it shows laziness. It doesn't take long to learn--not if you're willing to make an effort.

There's a great book, David Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible," that tells you everything you need to know: Write the character's name in all caps when he's first introduced, write all caps for sounds, the difference between a series of shots and a montage is, etc. You can learn it all by looking at the example screenplay he provides in the book. It took me about half an hour--no exaggeration. I just read a script form a guy who's been a TriggerStreet member for four years and the script wasn't close to being written in proper screenplay form.

The screenplay contests must be full of these kinds of scripts. That's why it pisses me off that my own scripts are overlooked. They may not be artistic masterpieces, but they do tell a story and they are in correct screenplay form.

I registered with InkTip.com, a service which posts screenwriters' log lines ( TV Guide description) in the hope of attracting producers who use the site to find scripts. I'm trying to figure out which is a better log line for my screenplay "Bordertown":

1. A private eye operating out of a U.S.-Mexico border hamlet investigates a Mexican version of the JFK assassination, complete with multiple gunmen, a fall guy, the death of witnesses, and a far-flung conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of government, or

2. A professional wrestler turned private eye investigates a Mexican politician's murder.

I currently have the first one posted on the site and, though some producers have looked at my log line, no one has looked at my treatment, synopsis or script. The site logs all that information.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me.

I'm trying to sell my screenplay, "Bordertown." Log line: A private eye from a U.S.-Mexico border hamlet investigates a Mexican politician's murder.

My plan is to look for movies that are at all similar to my script and send query letters to the production companies that made them.The problem is my script is pretty unusual and doesn't have any close antecedents. I found the address of Robert Rodriguez' company on imdb Pro and sent him a query letter. My script is a little like "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," especially the part about the Amado Carillo-type drug trafficker who may or may not have died while having plastic surgery to disguise his appearance..

I have to get copies of the Hollywood Creative Directory (a list of production companies) and Hollywood Representation Directory (a list of agents).

I finished "Bordertown," the screenplay I was working on for a long time. It's about a private detective from a US-Mexican border hamlet investigating a Mexican politician's assassination.

Now, I'm trying to come up with an idea for my next one. Any suggestions?

Thank God there was a new episode of AMC's Shootout today. It's preempted more often than it's shown. Anyway, I love this show. If you haven't seen it, it features Variety editor Peter Bart and former head of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Peter Guber, talking to actors, directors, movie company executives, etc. It really gives you an insider's look at the movie business.

Still, I have to laugh at the opening where Guber is described as a mogul. Peter Guber--a mogul? Under his tenure at Sony, the studio released such mega-bombs as "Bonfire of the Vanities," "Hudson Hawk," "Radio Flyer" and "Last Action Hero."

Still Sony gave him a $275 million severance package and the seed money to start his own company, Mandalay Entertainment.

Sorry I dissed you, Peter. I take it all back. Anyone who could make such great deals for himself really has some impressive negotiating chops, even if he doesn't have much in the way of filmmaking skill. Peter Guber--You the man!

With today's loss, it's official. The New York Mets suffered the worst collapse in major league baseball, ever. The Mets beat out the '64 Phillies to become the greatest chokers in baseball history.

All I can say is, if I owned the Mets, heads would roll!

In September's Atlantic Monthly, Matthew Scully begins a series deflating Michael Gerson, George W. Bush's putative speech writing genius. It seems many speeches Gerson supposedly wrote, and for which he took credit, were written by others.

Of course, in politics, taking credit for others' words is nothing new. Joe Biden's plagiarism of British Labor leader Neil Kinnock's speech comes to mind. But I bet you didn't know that Reagan/ Bush 41 speech writer Peggy Noonan, touted as an eloquent Conservative spokesperson, is little more than a plagiarizer. She lifted all her famous catch phrases, not only from the same author, Thomas Wolfe, but from the same book, "You Can't Go Home Again:"( 1.) "Morning in America," p. 384, (2.) "thousand points of light," p. 392 and (3.) "kinder, gentler," p. 570.

I believe I'm the only person to call her on this, whereas many people have criticized Biden. That's probably because Kinnock's speeches are on video, while Wolfe's lines are in a book. What does this say about Americans? That we don't read? That we give credit to people who don't deserve it? All I can say is: I can't believe these assholes are hailed as geniuses, when I can't even get a job!

I went to see "Transformers" last night, thinking --because of the generally favorable reviews--that even though it's directed by Michael Bay, it would somehow be better than Michael Bay's other uniformly crappy films. It wasn't.

The kids in the theater seemed to like it, but I found it an incomprehensible mess.