We had planned to release a blog today on the ins and outs of pitching; however, sad news a few days ago, finally confirmed, has prompted us to juggle the Cat! calendar a bit, and bid a fond farewell to one who we considered to be a touchstone for any scribe struggling to swim his or her way through the murky waters of Hollywood.
Mystery Man, he of the 101 Best Of and The Story Department‘s “MM on Monday”, a screenwriter and dedicated contributor to Script magazine, has died.
MM was a keen story analyst, and had his finger on the inside pulse of Hollywood (could anyone forget his coverage of the play-by-play draft wars of the “Raiders” Story Conference?). He also was a generous mentor to many screenwriters, offering insight, support, and encouragement along the way; his generosity was thus that he donated his earnings as a contributor to Script to charity. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Blake and of Save the Cat!, writing words of comfort and encouragement when we went through our darkest day last August. Without his support, and that of others, we would have been stuck at the Dark Night of our Souls, unable to see clearly how much of the story was still left to be told. We looked forward to each MM blog, each tweet, each article, as he offered intelligent and thoughtful insight into the art and the craft of writing for Hollywood, peppered with elevated tongue-in-cheek banter.
The internet has been boiling over with writers sending condolences, sharing stories, and expressing shock and dismay over this loss. Our deepest sympathies go out to MM’s family and friends, to his extended family at Script, and The Story Department, and to the countless scribes around the world. Mystery Man, you were truly an original. We will miss you.
Read Mystery Man’s lauded Script article (hosted by The Story Department)
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I loved Mystery Man and am so sorry to hear this sad news. My deepest sympathies go out to all who loved him and will miss his genius and humor. RIP Mystery Man!
What a loss to the literary world…I so enjoyed his wit, humour and unselfish support shown through the sharing of his knowledge and experienced opinions.