Go see Carrie Fisher.
Especially if you are a Jewish woman, or love them.
She seemed so accessible, (receiving and inviting marriage proposals) that I thought, why not give her my script? So I hand-delivered it, telling the fresh-faced librarian-type young woman that "no signature" was necessary.
Here is the letter I delivered along with the script, a two-page pitch and a bio:
Wednesday or thereabouts
Dear Carrie Fisher:
My name is Jill Nagle. This isn’t a marriage proposal, but I have been known for many years as a Sacred Yenta Pimp so I will put your name on my docket and daven for you. This is no small thing, I have brought together a number of couples.
Anyway, I saw your performance on Sunday, and was so enamored—I recognize your humor as the distinctly Jewish girl brand I so love, and also propagate. I was inspired by the love and laughter with which you surround the tough topics. It’s a refreshing dose that helps us all take ourselves a bit less seriously—brava.
I wanted to offer you this doorstop as an expression of my appreciation. After all, who doesn’t need a unique and interesting way to open a door? It also doubles as stepstool, should you need only an inch or so of increased height. I should also mention that similar items have proved superlative at roach clobbering, should you find yourself in a tropical climate. Other insects as well, I have found, can be rendered equally dead when bludgeoned with something similar to the enclosed.
Finally, if I have enticed rather than repelled you with my chutzpah, and you choose to peruse this doorstop/stepstool/insect mortality aid for its textual properties, read on and I’ll tell you a bit more.
First Crack is a psychological thriller about a techie-cum-rookie journalist who investigates a psychotherapy cult and gets sucked in. The “cult” and its leader are based on a real-life grassroots group I was a part of for many years. The main character is completely fictional, as is his situation. The drama stems from the protagonist’s competing interests. These are first, finishing the story to propel his new career and avoid financial ruin; two reaping the benefits to his own psyche (and that of his ailing mother) the group confers when he first fakes, and then masters, the groups practices; and lastly, three, his vigilante interest in succeeding where others have failed to beat the errant guru at his own game.
Here’s some 411 on me: I’ve got a couple of books in print—Whores and Other Feminists (Routledge, 1997), a collection of writings by feminists in the sex industry. I followed that up with Male Lust: Pleasure, Power and Transformation (Haworth, 2001), a collaborative effort which I sometimes refer to as “Johns and Other Feminists.” The book survived my breakup with the lead editor. I’ve also got many articles, interviews, essays, book reviews, etc., and a fair amount of erotica, including a few “best of” collections.
I’ve worked with screenwriter James Dalessandro (1906, Bohemian Heart) on a script about the life and work of Edgar Cayce, this century’s best-documented psychic. I have other scripts in the works as well, including a dramedy called the Cyprian Guild, based on a true story of the rise and fall of a professional organization of educated, upper-middle class prostitutes, whom the police took down one by one and extorted funds from in one of SF’s biggest—and least protested—vice scams ever. Another is called Dining, about a food reviewer who, facing her own mortality, gets up-close-and-personal with her favorite chefs (heretofore strangers) to discover the ultimate secrets of sensual pleasure. Those are just a couple. I’m way ADD and my brain is always cluttered with ideas, some of them even good ones.
I’ve also taught parenting classes – check out www.awakeparent.com. No I do not have multiple personality disorder but yes I do have multiple personae :-). So now you’ve met a few of them. Oh, and there’s my blog: www.jillnagle.com, soon to morph into a more commercial site, but for now replete with the random meanderings of my undisciplined mind. Peruse at your own risk.
I have enclosed the script, a two-page pitch and my bio. I leave for LA Friday morning April 11th and return the morning of the 14th, and probably again within 30 days after that, if this new flame keeps getting fanned! I would love to have coffee with you if you are game, here or there. My best friends are also all warm, witty, razor-sharp Jewish women—you feel like mischpocheh, and I wish you the best regardless.
Warmly and sincerely,
Jill
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