All the while, Mendelson nods knowingly, satisfied that the students have grasped the tough issues involved. Mendelson talks with Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss during a break in the filming of Billion Dollar Movies in 1988. The China Boy project is the high point of the class. Goldman wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , but wound up cutting the original premise of the screenplay. When 18 or 20 out of 24 people tell you that this paragraph sucks or this scene doesn't ring true, you listen.
Collaboration is central to the class.
When you're dealing with creativity, you're equals. It has nothing to do with who's older or who's been in the business. For nine months, he develops this partnership with the students, teaching a mixture of curiosity and passion. He also teaches the students how to apply their knowledge. Among other things, they learn that after the script is written they have to figure out how to fund it, who's going to direct it, casting, locations, and scheduling for shooting.