I just refuse to believe this wasn't a scam. Maybe the linkedin was fradulent too. The movie industry is fucking retarded but not dumb enough to think Wogglefuckery is a serious endeavor.
I 100% believe it's a scam and the LinkedIn is a part of it. "I'm very well connected" lol okay. But she's on Upwork looking for crumbs split into $500 installments. Right. Next she'll say iTunes gift cards are an appropriate way to pay.
If it's not a scam, this lady should rethink how she finds clients. Get a proper website, go to conferences, offer to mentor for schools/marginalized groups/fellowship programs, get on the jury of some Coverfly contests or something. Get word of mouth as a reputable script doctor. Don't prey on an oblivious woman who *doesn't own the IP she's pitching* and blow a bunch of smoke up her ass. There's plenty of douchebags on Coverfly (who actually own the IPs they're trying to sell) who won't need their moms to financially bail them out if you waste their time. Go prey on their hopes and dreams instead.
$1500 isn't unreasonable for a script doctor, or even a round of notes from someone REALLY good. But I wouldn't expect someone who can charge that much to be using Upwork. I mean, anything's possible, and times have been rough, so there's a non-zero chance it's real.
But introductions? To fucking Pixar? For public domain IP?*
Nah bro. Reminds me of those fake model/actor agencies that would charge fees for headshots and promise they'd get you in front of Calvin Klein or something.
In this case, script doctoring/notes is a legitimate service, but nobody would guarantee introductions in this manner. Especially for someone who's ONLY project is based on public domain. So yeah, seems like a scam.
*One thing that fascinates me about Cherie is how close her creative output gets to actually being... anything. They're technically transformative works, at least as transformative as any fanfic. Every famous franchise has been deeply influenced by franchises that came before, if not outright directly inspired. If she let go of some of the specifics, and let herself hear other ideas in the spirit of collaboration (crucial in film and TV) there's no reason she couldn't create an original fictional world all her own.
If she was a competent writer, I mean.
It's just fascinating to me how she insists that her Wogglebug is THE Wogglebug of Oz, except he's also entirely her own property, and she knows Oz better than everyone else.
Like, Cherie, sweetie, just change his name. Change the place names. File off the serial numbers. Writers have been doing this since copyright law was invented. The Flintstones was just the Honeymooners but with cavemen. House MD is literally just Sherlock Holmes except a doctor. The word House is even a play on "homes." This is not that big a deal.
Except then she'd have to face that nobody actually cares about this except her, I guess. The purgatory of the true artist. Alas.
