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Stolen Myths and the Writers Strike
A good story, well told is more valuable than dragon’s gold
As readers of this page know, I occasionally ask writers from various backgrounds to contribute their thoughts. This week’s essay comes from Matt Greenberg, a fantasy, science fiction and horror screenplay writer based in Los Angeles. His credits include Pet Semetary, Halloween H20 and Reign of Fire. This essay points out a key worry for screenwriters as they enter the third month of a strike: theft.
Almost 100 years ago, a young woman named Arndis Thornbjarnardottir left her home in Reykjavik, Iceland and journeyed to Oxford, England where she had secured a job as an au pair. It was her first time away from her native country. Though her English was quite good, Arndis felt scared that she wouldn’t be able to understand the inhabitants.
Arriving at Oxford train station, she got a pleasant surprise. Her new boss — a 30-something scholar recently hired by the university — greeted her in fluent Icelandic. His syntax was archaic, closer to Old Norse (he’d learned the language from ancient books), but his warmth was genuine and Arndis felt welcomed in his home.
Over the course of the next few years, Arndis helped the scholar and his wife raise their son. At night, she regaled the boy with stories of her native…
