Bob Gale is a Screenwriter-Producer-Director, best known as co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of "Back to the Future" and its sequels. No need to mention his other credits here, that’s what IMDb is for. In addition to writing movies, Gale has written comic books including Spider-Man and Batman, thus proving to his father that he did not waste hours and hours reading comics in his youth. He has also served as an Expert Witness in over a dozen plagiarism cases, even though this has occasionally required him to wear a suit and tie (oh, the horror!). When he’s not in production, writing, shooting off his mouth or wasting time on the internet, he actually does take out the trash, even when his wife doesn’t ask. Well, sometimes he does…
Bob Gale
The Brevity Act: Time for a 28th Amendment
by Bob GaleEarlier this year, Congress passed a “Stimulus” Bill. It was 973 pages long. This past Friday, the House passed a “Climate Change” Bill. It was more than 1200 pages long.
This got me wondering: how long, exactly, is our Constitution? How many pages did it take our country’s founders to lay out the structure and functions of our Federal Government?
Easy to answer. I found the Constitution online and copied it into a Word document, in Times New Roman 12 point type. So how long is it?
Including the preamble, all signatures and all 27 amendments, it’s 20 pages.
Without the signatures and amendments, it’s 11 pages. (more…)
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Troopathon 2009: The Most Important Job There Is
by Bob Gale
I’ve never robbed a house. Nor trashed one. And I don’t plan to take up breaking and entering as a second career. But as a screenwriter, with an active imagination, I always have an excuse to do a “what if…”
So, what if there are two houses next to each other. Fairly similar in size. In the first driveway is a Prius with a bumper sticker “War is not the answer.” In the second is a Ford Explorer SUV with a gun rack and a bumper sticker “Proud Member NRA.”
Which house would I rob, pillage and trash?
Duh. (more…)
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Attach Strings To Everyone Taking Taxpayer Money, Not Just Corporations
by Bob GalePresident Obama has done something I heartily agree with. He’s telling companies that if they take government handout money – er, bailout money (a.k.a. our tax dollars) — there are things they can’t spend it on. For example, he’s set limits on executive pay, with a high end of $500,000, along with severe limits on perks. He’s attached strings to the money.
This, to me, is a basic principle of civilized life: “If you want something from me, I get to make the rules.” I’ve heard this ever since I started getting an allowance from my father. Its variation is stated simply, “beggars can’t be choosers.”
If you want a paying job from me, you have to show up at work at the time I decide, and do what I require for the amount of time I choose. In return for that, I will pay you a sum which I’ve decided is what the job is worth. In addition, I have the right to set other rules, such as “employees have to wear shirts and can’t wear flip-flops.” If you don’t like my rules, then don’t take my job or the money that goes with it. No worries, I’ll get somebody else. (more…)
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