Recently I've been speaking to a number of people involved in drama production, development and script editing. They have offered support and advice to me while I'm working to expand my portfolio as a script reader. They've all been wonderfully insightful, generous and encouraging, and gone far beyond what I could reasonably have expected when I initially contacted them in terms of mentoring and assisting me. These people, I seriously like. These people, I would consider myself honoured to get the chance to work with in any capacity.
BUT...
One other person I encountered (not in an official 'meeting' setting, thankfully!) was exactly the opposite. As I approached and politely offered a few introductory words, I was quickly cut off with an abrupt and somewhat derisory sneer. As a result, I will remember this person just as clearly as those who have treated me kindly, but of course in an entirely different light. I will remember what their company is called, what sort of things they are likely to be working on, their name, and what they look like. Behaving hurtfully toward someone who is approaching you because they respect you and your profession is extremely low.
I don't bear grudges, so that's not the purpose of my remembering the way they treated me. I will bear this person in mind because, in years to come, I may fabulously lucky enough to be in a position to choose between working on two equally excellent projects; but this person is attached to one of them. I will, of course, count this as a strong reason to select the other project; not out of bitterness or spite, but because it's sensible to want to work with people who are personable and easy to connect with. I wouldn't want to go out of my way to put myself in a position where I had to spend large quantities of professional time with someone who was interpersonally difficult. This actually applies within any industry I can think of; not just film/television.
It's like these people are participating in a strange activity I like to think of as 'anti-networking'; the philosophy behind that being 'why create a positive acquaintanceship when I can put someone down and piss on their chips?'
While I accept that people have bad days, and not everyone wants to be bothered with young hopefuls badgering them for tips; in this case I hadn't even managed to ask a pertinent question before I was cut off. From the speed of my dismissal, I can deduce that I wasn't the first to be treated in this way by them, nor would I be the last. So this person has probably alienated a decent number of people before their careers have even fully taken off. So it's not just me that will have that bias against this person hidden at the back of their mind...
And I bet that'll come back to bite that dismissive arse on the... um... arse...
