After posting a couple days back about my misadventure with the scripts, I was contacted by a pal (whom we’ll call “Henry Kissinger” since I don’t know if his actions were approved by his employers; a secret identity will hopefully keep him safe) who works at an office supply store with a copy area. His offer: Print up all the corrected copies of the script at a considerable discount.

It was an offer I couldn’t, as they say, resist. This would give me fixed versions* of the screenplay – not only ones to replace the dozen I already bungled, but ones I was expecting to have to print up in the coming weeks. My goal was to wind up with 25 copies total, enough for major cast and crew. At 82 pages each, that can add up.

Henry somehow worked it out to get me all 25 copies at an 80% discount – just $40 total. Yes, that’s $40 more than I had paid for the original bungled copies (which will now see their value skyrocket on the collector’s market!), but I knew “free” wouldn’t last me forever, printing-wise. Overall, a pretty darn good deal. Thank you, Henry Kissinger. You’re a nice guy.

I won’t be picking up the scripts until the weekend, but I’m adding the cost to the budget total now because, I dunno, I just wanted to.

*By my last count, there are four different versions of the screenplay in circulation that are all labeled “final.” I finally locked it into a read-only file to prevent further tampering. If I want to revise now, I’m gonna have to grab some pink paper, just like the pros.

UPDATE (9:45 PM): Just heard from Mr. Kissinger: The official cost is even less: $34.34. Total budget: $35.40. When we make the movie, we’ll be sure to pass the savings on to you!