Goldman is the screenwriter behind some of the most successful and critically acclaimed movies of all time. His filmography includes blockbusters like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, Marathon Man, and All The Presidents Men. He has received a lifetime achievement award for his accomplishments and is considered by many to be a master of the craft.

Okay. I had been slacking in my role as chair of the screenwriting committee for Pitt In Hollywood and decided to humor myself by trying to contact William Goldman for an interview. So, with a call to The Writer's Guild, then to William Morris, I was finally on the phone with the office of David Wirtschafter, Goldman's agent. All requests had to be faxed, they said. So, dutifully I typed up a letter of request explaining who I was and what I wanted, and drove down to the local Mailboxes Inc. to fax my letter. At this point, I expected that my fax would get crumpled and lost in the daily turbulence of the William Morris offices.

About an hour later, my phone rang. A gruff, scratchy voice on the other line said, "Is this Michael Darling?"

"Yes," I said

"Bill Goldman. You wanted fifteen minutes of my time? You've got it. Go."

At this point, I nearly hit the floor. Literally. I'd been running into the room to answer the telephone, my rabid dog nipping at my heels, and leaped across my father's bed to grab the receiver off the nightstand just before the answering machine picked up.

My mind went blank. All of those films and books and the things I'd read about Hollywood---nothing. I managed to mumble something about college and writing and Oberlin, where he attended, but really, I was stalling. Caught with my pants down. Thankfully, he agreed to call back in an hour.

An hour on the dot and the phong rings. I had questions. Did I record the conversation? No. I gathered Goldman doesn't like being recorded. It was the first thing he asked and when I said no, his response was "Good. Now I can curse." And curse he did.

I promised not to post too many of the details from the conversation, (mostly because I couldn't guarantee that I'd get it all right. My memory sucks...) but if I had to choose anything to paraphrase, it's this. On our role as screenwriters, as well as the most basic advice to give to an aspiring student, it's this: Read The Little Engine That Could.

This classic story is a perfect metaphor for the craft. In the end, the writer is like an engine, and our role, as Goldman put it, is "to get the damn toys over the mountain." It's nothing earth-shattering, but I still like it. And It's good to put on a 3x5 to keep in front of you while pounding away at the keyboard.

I could go on, but I'm nervous about quoting in printed form for the website if it's not completely verbatim, so if you're that curious, find me at the next meeting and I'll paraphrase a little more for you.

Anyway, the point of this story was not to provide a transcript of the conversation. I simply wanted to share this so that anyone out there who is considering contacting a favorite actor, actress, writer, director, etc, can see that this is not an impossible thing.

Lastly, I'll say this about Goldman--he is one of the classiest, most frank and open people that I've ever had the pleasure of speaking with.

The key to making contact, from what I was able to gather, is simply to be honest about your intentions. That is, when you write your letter, state who you are, who you're with (Pitt In Hollywood), and why you want to speak with whoever it is. And I think it helps if you mention that you're not looking for any assistance in finding an agent or selling a script or whatever it is you'd eventually like to do--but only say it if you mean it!

Agencies get thousands of inquiries every day. You have to stand out. Show personality. Make them want to speak with you. And always thank them for their time. As you already know--Out There, time is money. Don't waste it.

Good luck....

-Mike Darling