The Yale expositor., 1916-12-21

goes up to Central park and falls out
of oitermobile running thirty miles
an hour. The first time he falls out,
maybe, the feller that works the cam
era wasn't looking, so he's got to fall
out again. This time somebody moves
the camera so he falls out n third time,
and one way or another they keep that
actor falling out of an oitermobile GO
ing thirty miles an hour from half past
nine TO lunch time. Supposing he does
get five hundred dollars week. Is
that "a life? 1 ask you"
"Just the same, it's lot of money to
pay" Zapp said, land furthermore all
the moving picture actors gets con-
tracts for year already"
''But what is such contracts worth?"
Birsky asked. "If moving picture fell
Ter wants to get rid of such a con-
tract, all he has got to do is to get
the party of the second part to play
Ned in a fillum where Ned escapes
back from a cliff five hundred feet
from the sheriff by leaping on horse
high, y'understand, and the widow
can frame the contract and hang it
in the front parlor as a sowveneer of
the two weeks when her husband used
to make five hundred dollars week."
Zapp sighed heavily.
81 got designer which has me un-
der a three years contract since last
Tuesday already" he said, "and if
could hire Maxine Elliott for q model
and c. NJ. Schwab for salesman, 1
couldn't get rid of that murderer's
designs for the cost of the Innings
alone. There's big money in it for
somebody who could persuade that
swindler to play in fillum where Ned
gets locked in a burning ranch by
the Mexican for a thousand dollars a
week. 1 would pay two weeks salary
out Of my own pocket, and If they
amt got a ranch to burn would even
give the moving picture concern
house out in Borough Park which 1
got vacant on my hands since 1913"
Maybe you think such a thing ain't
possible that a waist designer should
get job as a moving picture actor?"
Birsky said. Believe me, Zapp, the
last thing In the world which is nee
essary in the moving picture business
is experience-in particular the actors
and the people which writes the see
narios. You remember In the old
days, Zapp, that everybody thought he
could sell clothing. Well, nowadays |
every fool thinks he could be NOV
ing picture actor, and most of them |
are. It's the same way with writing |
the scenarios. Take any retail dry |
goods concern today, and everybody |
from the cash girls to the store super |
intendent is writing scenarios on the /
side. Also, Zapp, If you go into a
street car and a fellow opposite you
is talking to himself, y'understand, you |
might think he's lunatic, Zapp, but |
as a matter of fact he amt crazy by |
from three to ten dollars, on account !
n Is doping out a scenario which he |
would sell for somewheres around that |
price to a moving picture concern.
IL you see a man stand |
still on the sidewalk and make marks |
on an old envelope with pencil, that /
amt no sign that he's trying to figure |
how it could be he is overdrawn at !
the bank two dollars and forty-fve
cents. No, Zapp. A feller could make
a living nowadays collecting old enve-
lopes and selling 'em to people to
make memorandums Of scenarios on"
"How do they do it?" Zapp ex-
claimed. 81 could no more write see
mario and get away with 1t as a check
for million dollars"
That's because you amt never tried
to write n scenario" Blrsky said. "All
you've got to do is to take play like