I hope you kept that article, sounds like it could still be relevant.
Very interesting Page 2
I'd have been sorely tempted to do a 'reveal' just to gauge their response...
I don't think they appreciate streakers RedZed333, unless you are a woman, unless they are a woman, in which case they wouldn't enjoy it.
Quote: Bill Jaguar @ July 7 2011, 10:56 AM BSTI don't think they appreciate streakers RedZed333, unless you are a woman, unless they are a woman, in which case they wouldn't enjoy it.
Ooh, you are awful...
I might be reading it wrong, but it sounds like Bushbaby is admitting she didn't actually do what she said she did (I expect the "bottle of red" excuse to arrive any moment).
In any case, the story is fishy. It doesn't make sense that a Two and a Half Men script would be accused of racism - the show is many things but it doesn't really tread on the toes of any minorities. That sounds more like bitterness borne from personal experience to me.
And even if the OP's story were true, what would it prove that a British prod co wasn't interested in a script for an American style studio sitcom? One of the biggest US sitcoms of all time, Seinfeld, never really made it over here (except tucked away late night or irregularly programmed years later on cable) and that had already proven itself to be a worldwide smash. Now consider you were a reader and you had a script land on your desk from a writer with no proven track record. A script that maybe wasn't even a pilot episode (and if it was, would have been 8 years stale). A script written for an overseas audience that featured dialogue you just couldn't picture coming from an English actor's mouth? Would you fight to have sets built and actors hired and a crew assembled? Would you stake your reputation on that script?
And to castigate that reader for not being dumb enough to fall for your ploy - that's just nuts. For whatever reason, they made the right call. I've heard this trick done before in Hollywood - embittered writers circulating the Chinatown script with new character names and screaming "I knew it, they're all out to get me!" when it comes back with a rejection note. Some stories are just products of their time. There are so many factors outside of the quality of a script that will decide whether it's commissioned or not - the state of the industry at that moment, budget contraints, casting, audience demographics and just plain old luck. Do yourself a favour - spend less time complaining and more time writing. Nothing good is going to come of this "nuff said" business. Your job isn't to pull a fast one on your readers, it's to get them excited about your script. If you've no respect for your audience, expect that to come through.
Quote: David Bussell @ July 7 2011, 11:05 AM BSTIt doesn't make sense that a Two and a Half Men script would be accused of racism - the show is many things but it doesn't really tread on the toes of any minorities.
Nice example of covert racism, there... 
Quote: RedZed333 @ July 7 2011, 11:19 AM BSTNice example of covert racism, there...
I don't follow.
Quote: bushbaby @ July 6 2011, 10:40 PM BSTAs an experiment, I submitted a sitcom months ago to various companies and got the usual replies/rejections.....the characters are stereotyped..... be careful of racism......the humour appears to be 70s style...........we have something similar.etc etc etc, usual excuses. What is interesting is that the script was verbatim....except I changed the names of the characters...of an episode of the award winning....Two And A half Men. Nuff said
Yes, but award winning in America. Since it hasn't been remade in this country, it probably isn't what people are looking for. The characters may be stereotyped as opposed to British shows, or shows held in greater esteem than Curb Your Enthusiasm. Not that 'the characters are stereotypes' is much to go on. I supposed you could come up with the reverse critism 'I didn't recognise any of the characters'...
Quote: David Bussell @ July 7 2011, 11:21 AM BSTI don't follow.
Nor me??
Quote: Kev F @ July 7 2011, 10:28 AM BSTBrilliant scheme, Bushbaby.
I did exactly the same thing, way back in 1996, for a short lived magazine called Comedy Review. It was myself and Danny Wallace, who was a staff writer at the time, who ran the project.
The script we sent was a rewrite of the first episode of Friends, which was brand new on Channel 4 at the time and not, we thought, widely watched. Indeed our script fooled almost everyone. Only one company spotted it as a ringer, and got very snotty on the subject of plagiarism. Most rejected it with form letters. And one company invited us in for a meeting. Sadly Comedy Review got cancelled before we could go to that meeting, though we've always suspected it was a sting and that they'd already rumbled our plan.
It's a fun experiment and the finished article never actually saw print, but always worth trying.
Kev F
Did it never print? I very clearly remember reading an article in something with that very premise...
I think it is something of a mistake to try this with an episode of an American sitcom. As any fairly direct transfers of US shows display something is lost in translation (Brighton Belles, That 70s Show). I've no idea why we somehow enjoy the same scripts in 525 and with an accent, but it seems to be the case. And it's frankly suicidal to try it with a show as marmite (and, to my eyes, largely hated in the UK) as 2 and a Half Men.
It remains a tricky business to get into... but I stand by my position that we should stop going around trying to find ways to prove we're undiscovered geniuses (genii?) screwed over by the system, and just try to write better next time. This really doesn't prove that every rejected script is gold.
People should stop focusing on excuses - yes, it's a tricky business to get into, some places might not deal with the slush properly... but your script might still suck.
Bear in mind that I've had nothing but positive experiences from sending scripts out to prod. cos. I can't recall getting a standard rejection, one clearly read it but didn't like it, one read it and championed it. Agents are trickier, but the rest have been great.
David, they refer to jewish quite often 
####It remains a tricky business to get into... but I stand by my position that we should stop going around trying to find ways to prove we're undiscovered geniuses (genii?) screwed over by the system, and just try to write better next time. This really doesn't prove that every rejected script is gold.#####
I'd agree with that Antrax. There are thousands of better/funnier/up-to-date writers than myself.
Quote: bushbaby @ July 7 2011, 12:51 PM BSTDavid, they refer to jewish quite often
Yes, but referring to and denigrating are two different things. I haven't watched enough of the show to know whether it's discriminatory (certainly I can't find anything online to suggest it is) and I'd be surprised of Chuck Lorre allowed his show to bait people of Jewish faith.
Quote: JohnnyD @ July 7 2011, 8:53 AM BSTYour plagiarised script got the same notes that your scripts get. Unbelievable!
Smells a bit fishy to me. Certainly bitter.
Quote: David Bussell @ July 7 2011, 2:13 PM BSTYes, but referring to and denigrating are two different things. I haven't watched enough of the show to know whether it's discriminatory (certainly I can't find anything online to suggest it is) and I'd be surprised of Chuck Lorre allowed his show to bait people of Jewish faith.
Its within the humour; not baiting......but someone I guess will always take it the wrong way, or as an excuse to reject a script
Quote: bushbaby @ July 7 2011, 4:29 PM BSTIts within the humour; not baiting......but someone I guess will always take it the wrong way, or as an excuse to reject a script
Eh?
They're not looking for excuses to reject scripts.
There looking for reasons to accept them.
It our job to provide these reasons.
Sending 'fake' scripts strikes me as a fairly pointless exercise.