Craig Mazin is a lucky man. Many people spend a lifetime looking for their niche, their place in the world. This guy found his niche. In case you don’t recognize the name, from an online bio I found:

“Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and director. He was born in 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from Princeton University in 1992. He began his entertainment career in marketing; he was an executive with the Walt Disney Company in the mid-90s, responsible for writing and producing campaigns for studio films.

As a screenwriter, his credited work includes Senseless, RocketMan, Scary Movie 3, and Scary Movie 4. Other projects in development include the upcoming movie Opus, an animated collaboration with cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. He has worked almost exclusively for Dimension Films and Miramax Films since 2000.

He produced and directed (but did not write) the low-budget superhero film The Specials. Mazin wrote another superhero film spoof Superhero Movie.

In 2004, Mazin was elected to the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, west. He did not seek re-election, and his term expired in September 2006. Mazin runs a website called The Artful Writer.”

Ran.

Just two posts at The Artful Writer since November, 2010. Why, I wondered. Then I noticed…

He wrote The Hangover 2. Sold a ticket or two over Memorial Day…

I like no bullshit guys. Mazin doesn’t lie to you because he doesn’t need your money. I’ll miss The Artful Writer. Here are a couple tastes:

First, from a post about Professional Screenwriting Trends:(Mazin’s writing is italicized)

“This isn’t an article for everyone. But if you’re a working screenwriter in Hollywood right now, it’s an article for you. And if you’re hiring writers, it’s definitely for you.

Things are trending poorly.

Ask around. You can talk to baby writers, typical writers, A-listers, marquee names and practically any agent in the business…and you hear a lot of the same gripes. Since the double whammy of the strike and the economic collapse, the companies seem to have changed a number of business practices, and all at screenwriters’ expense.

I’m going to argue that these changes will ultimately be at their expense as well.

What’s happening out there?

The changes have come in three basic areas.

First, compensation seems to be down. You can still get your quote, but there’s a resistance to paying it, and bumps have become harder to negotiate, no matter how well-deserved they are. Some writers are being told that their quotes will not be honored.

Second, one-step deals are proliferating. At certain studios, they are the only option.

Third, the amount of work required to even get a job has expanded tremendously.

The question of quotes is easy enough to explain. Everyone’s stock price dropped, credit got tight, the DVD market began to soften, and the companies slashed costs. They haven’t just gone after writers. They’ve got after everyone. Directors, actors…even themselves. It’s hard to tell a man who is gnawing on his own foot that he’s eaten too much, but that’s the argument I’ll make in a bit. Similarly, one-step deals are an obvious hedge against the dreaded “we got the first draft and hated it so much we know that we’ll never like the next one but oh my God we have to pay for it anyway” syndrome. The third situation…the overpitching…is a further hedge. Why should the companies buy a blueprint for a house when they can walk into a model home, sleep in it for a night, and then decide if they want to buy?

I’ll tell you why.

All of these changes are shortsighted. All of these changes come with unintended consequences. And all of these changes aren’t going to get studios better writing. On the contrary. This stuff is going to backfire…”

From another great article, Screenwriting is Free…

“Don’t buy this crap…

I just got back today from the Austin Film Festival. I had a terrific time, spoke on a bunch of panels, met lots of people and had an all-around kickass time.

But.

I want to talk to you. You go to screenwriting conferences because you want to be a professional. You want to sell a script. You’re a student. You want to learn.

Good for you. Listening to and questioning the people who do the job you want is a smart move.

What is NOT a smart move is listening to the people who DON’T do the job. And who are they? Oh, you know who they are. They’re selling books. They’re selling seminars. They’re “script consultants.” And for a small fee, or a medium fee, or a goddamned flat-out ridiculous fee, they’ll coach you right into the big leagues!

Horseshit. Let me say it loudly and clearly: IF THEY WERE ANY GOOD, THEY WOULD BE DOING WHAT I DO, NOT DOING WHAT THEY DO.

Dig? Simple rule of thumb: don’t spend a dime on a book, a lesson, a seminar or advice if the person selling DOESN’T HAVE A REAL MOVIE CREDIT.

Lastly, one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read,  I Am Wasting Your Time:

“Seriously, it’s a trap

I’m talking to you, the aspiring screenwriter. You haven’t sold anything, or maybe one thing a few years ago. Been a while since you cashed a real check for writing; maybe you never have.

But you know what you do have? A community. You have the scribosphere. It’s a rich, vibrant support group, where you can seek out information, inspiration and encouragement for your creative and professional ambitions.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let’s be real. It’s mostly a waste of time.

I’ve been to the places you go. Done Deal, the blogs, the forums…even my own are potentially ruinous for you.

I’ll explain.

When I started in this business in the early 90′s, we barely had email (and we tied an onion on our belts, which was the style at the time), much less all the stuff you whippersnappers have. If I had a question, you know who I asked?

The frickin’ sky. Then I curled up into a ball and fretted.

But mostly I just wrote.

And there, of course, is the problem. You’re all so saturated with discussions, analysis and interactions that many of you would rather talk about it than actually do it.

At their best, sites like mine offer you a chance to slip away from your work, maybe learn something…and maybe procrastinate for a bit in a relevant way. At their worst–and I’m afraid I see more “worst” than best–these sites are a trap. They function like some nightmarish barrel of crabs, where the ones on the bottom fight to make sure none of the others rise to the top. The inhabitants of the scribosphere are often jealous and petty, doling out horrendous and uninformed advice mostly to regulate their own fragile emotional states. “Do what I tell you. I know what I’m talking about!” types the man who is terribly frightened that he has absolutely no idea what the hell he’s talking about.

Everybody on the internet seems to know The Right Way. Everyone is ready to beat you about the head and neck with snark and attitude and smug superiority. Everybody seems to have perfected the art of “participating in a forum.”

But you know what 99.99999% of them haven’t figured out?

How the hell to be a professional screenwriter. A real, consistent, steadily-employed professional screenwriter.

So here’s the deal. Are you a real, consistent, steadily-employed professional screenwriter? You are? Good. Enjoy. Use the internet as you wish.

Are you an aspiring screenwriter who is completing drafts, getting your work out there, hustling for gigs and trying to perfect your craft? Good. Enjoy. Use the internet as you wish.

Are you a wannabe who is spending more time arguing, posing and socializing on the internet than you are actually writing?

It’s a trap. Retreat.

All the zeros you’re fighting with and winning points against and PM’ing with and snickering about? They last thing they want is for you to actually tune them out and write something. Because if you did, you might stop being an unaccomplished internet tough guy like them…

…and actually become a professional screenwriter.”

Craig, I aspire to your honesty. Keep taking no prisoners.