Here's an interesting story. The other day I happened to mention to someone that I curate a cinema. Their response? "Where do I sign up?"

It made me laugh, and I had to resist the urge that I always seem to have where I give all sorts of reasons why it's not as cool as you think it is. But then I stopped myself for a moment of reflection.

It is cool. I get to watch movies. A lot of movies. Some are definitely better than others, but there are definitely a lot of them. Movies about everything you can imagine, in every language there is. In a strange way, movies have provided me an education I would never have gotten otherwise. I've learned a lot about a variety of historical events (particularly revolutions of Latin American and Spain), about a variety of cultures, and even about filmmaking. I see a variety of styles and strategies filmmakers use to tell their stories, and I even get to see careers of filmmakers and actors as they develop and grow. It's pretty fantastic.

But the truth is, the movie business is like the Mississippi: It runs far and wide, can be incredibly shallow, and always seems to be kind of muddy. What I do is just a teensy-weensy part of the industry. If it were on a pie chart of the whole business, it would be the half of a half sliver that annoying girl on a diet always asks for. There are so many components of the movie industry (many of them for accountants and lawyers, naturally), that it seems impossible to fathom how people find their way into it. I actually got in by accident. And truth be told, I only have the tip of my toe in the industry.

Sometimes I wonder what diving in would look like. What kid of jobs in the industry would be the coolest?

Well, of course I'd love to be a director. That would be pretty sweet, foisting my opinions on everyone. Being the boss (if only for a little while). I'd also love to be a screenwriter. Obviously, I enjoy writing. I also like to think I have a talent for it. Also, working on sets is pretty freaking cool. It's like a magician telling you the secret to all the tricks, then doing them right before your eyes, and it's still magical. Plus, there's some kind of collective agreement within crews to generally not be jerks to each other and help each other with whatever needs to be done. It's an atmosphere of teamwork that is often a missing in the world these days.

If you get into the more business-y side of things, I think it would be awesome to work in acquisitions or development. One of them is finding awesome movies and buying them for distribution, and the other is working with screenwriters and producers and so forth to help them make the best movie possible. In a way, they're very similar, since they both involve being able to recognize talent.

Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I don't plan on making a leap to another tributary anytime soon. But really, can't we just dream about stuff sometimes? What would you do if you worked in the movie biz?

Not too long ago, I started talking about how I make certain choices when I program movies. It has to do with the actors, and it has to do with the photography.

And it has to do with the writing. Sometimes I watch movies and think that the writer is some sort of evil genius because they seem to be inside my head, writing exactly what I want to hear, even though I don't know I wanted to hear it. The first season of Dexter did that. Mad Men does that.

Then there's the other kind of movie. The kind that has half-formed characters reciting ridiculousness that has you rolling your eyes so often you think you might have seen your brain at one point. Transformers gave me lots of glances at my own grey matter. So did Avatar.

Most stuff lies right in the middle. The stuff at the ends is easier to spot. But the thing about writing is that it's not what is written that is genius. It's the stuff that isn't written. The stuff that characters say without talking: the subtext. Good subtext makes a move great. It can also be very difficult to write, because oftentimes, people write their own lines in those pregnant pauses, and that's not always that the original writer intended. But in a way, that's okay. If someone is willing to invest enough in a character to imagine what's going on in their head, then the writer has accomplished something.

And yet, it's not all about the writer. What's written isn't always what you see. As writing guru Robert McKee says, "Don't mistake words for writing..." (see video here) Actors take what writers write, then make it real. Good actors make it better than it was before. So in the end, what you see on the screen is really just the essence of what was written.

Lastly, writing screenplays is now turning a corner that doesn't really bode well for some. As with most industries, the powers that be are always looking for 'the sure thing' (no one told them that doesn't really exist). In order to find that sure thing, many in Hollywood have turned to fancy analysts, who comb through scripts (at a mighty hefty price, I might add) and suggest changes to the story that will make it more marketable, popular, or whatever it is that makes it the most money possible.

So, you can listen to the analysts, but there are also numerous gurus and experts that have about a bazillion tips and tricks for writing the best script possible. I'm guessing that the real thing is having a great idea, but being able to express it and tell a great story definitely has to happen. Here's guru John Truby with lots to say.

What is the best writing you remember in a movie? How about the worst?