Kyle Doyle

As I said, you're entitled to your opinion, but if you read the 6-part series you'd realize that it was almost entirely about the development of my craft and how "Sideways" came into being. I think, after nearly 13,000 words chronicling 10 years of my life that resulted in this international success that I'm entitled to say that a lot of people got a lot more credit than I ever did, cashed in with no regard to integrity or anything. And, even then, I'm incredibly generous with my compliments. The truth of the matter is: the guy who created this world was, more or less, left in the dust, while others wantonly capitalized, however minimal, or in some cases just got lucky, their involvement, and how little they've done since of any merit. After all 6 parts I took a risk and thought that most would want to know what became of all of them. Obviously you didn't. But if it's craft and the development of myself as a writer, the development of my own singular sensibility I think I acquitted myself pretty well in disinterring that. And there's more on my blog at rexpickett.com. I'm all about the writing life and what it takes. It just so happens that it's not as pure a world as you might think. How would you feel, e.g., if a producer whom you handed a director to on a silver platter never once thanked you at the many awards show where he stood up and accepted a Best Picture award. Or all the actors and all the awards they won. Never once mentioned my name. And all the awards show that I wasn't even invited to. Maybe you're right, maybe I do have an axe to grind a little bit. Deservedly so. Thanks for the dialectic nonetheless. Wish you best with your projects. And I refer you to Tennessee Williams's great essay, "The Catastrophe of Success," widely available on the Internet.

Hear, hear, Rex. In my 10 years of hanging around the industry, I've learned that there are two kinds of people: Those who tell you what you want to hear and those who tell you the way it is. The latter group consists of 3 people. I joke...Sort of. From the moment I first read the series in its entirety, you've had my respect. Your willingness to answer any and all questions after each segment is a testament to the generosity I've experienced time and time again over the last two months. Life is too short for bullshit...I, for one, appreciate your sincere candor.

Whining? You are the only one to accuse me of that in this entire series, including the postscript. That's the problem when someone lays it on the line and puts themself out there in a candid and truthful way. There's always someone who's going to judge your motives or misconstrue the intent. I made it abundantly clear that I am extremely happy with what happened with my book that became a movie. I made it abundantly clear that I harbor no grudges, that I'm only reporting the facts. Many others in my shoes wouldn't have been so generous in the showering of compliments as I have on others. I left out a lot of things that would have sounded like whining, even if they were true, and would have made some people look really bad, but I didn't. I would have halted this series after the first installment if I thought it wasn't anything but a truthful, and inspirational, telling of the story of a writer's life. And in sharing that, I woke almost every morning to a feeling of validation for having taken the time to dig deep into my soul to deliver this story. I did it for writers, and others in the film business, everywhere. I never once did it for myself. You're entitled to your opinion, of course. but it smacks more of someone who's deludedly concluded that I'm ungrateful or something, I've had nothing but warm comments until the above. And to suggest I haven't moved on? Did you even bother to read the piece? I've moved way beyond, and even though the "Sideways" play may seem regressive, it's actually anything but. I have so many projects going on right now it's not even funny. Hell, I'm writing a TV pilot for a young talented woman for no money up front. I just rewrote a terrific script of a friend of mine's on The Pointer Sisters. For nothing. No credit. And I did it gladly. Whatever, dude, whatever.

Kyle, any person who has worked inside Hollywood and is willing to write honestly about that experience will sound like he or she is "whining." What you want is a cheerleader who'll give you all the "yes, you can" cliches that make this country great. That is not real Hollywood. That is The Big Lie. But to leave you with a quote by the late, great Oscar Levant, regarding Hollywood. "Underneath all that fake tinsel, is real tinsel."