The other day a letter from Harvey Weinstein to Errol Morris popped up on the interwebs, lettersofnote.com to precise. It's a fascinating note on how to sell oneself from one of the most successful and powerful distributors and producers of all time. Even in 1988, it was probably an anathema to receive a letter like that, in 2010 it's all part of the awards season gaming.

What really caught my notice on Letters of Note, as I was looking at past posts, was a letter from Otis L. Guernsey to Alfred Hitchcock. In it, Guernsey effectively relinquishes any rights he has to the idea of a man being mistaken for a master-spy who only exists on paper, a concept that Guernsey himself pitched to Hitchcock years earlier.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST is the resulting film and it's easily in the top 5 of greatest Hitchcock films and in probably at least the top 20 of greatest and most influential American made action-thrillers.

While the economic realities have changed since 1957 (there are a multitude of ancillary and merchandising rights that didn't exist then) the fundamental soul of production hasn't changed. A good idea will always remain a good idea, yet it takes great execution to create anything tangible from that idea.

Read up on the history of Hollywood and you'll find story after story of well-known directors, writers and actors turning down projects--even their own--they know they are an ill fit for. You'll also discover stories of financial and critical flops, which with the benefit of hindsight, the producers and creators will freely admit they should have handed over to someone else--or even just stopped production all together.

It may be hard to let go of an idea because it could be loss revenue or because it's a dream project. But, to not let go when there's the possibility that someone can take that idea and produce something memorable, something that has impact, is sometimes silly and just plain hubris. 

I'm not saying you should give up your rights, as much as I'm suggesting you should keep in mind that film is a collaborative medium that excels when the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.