THANKFUL WRITER

I was pleased to see your story on women execs and producers in the film industry, especially Lynda Obst (“A New Kind of Networking,” by Irene Lacher, March 2).

Several years ago, I wrote a letter to her in response to an article she’d written concerning the care and feeding of good writers. I asked her to read my screenplay, and her story editor, Stacey Sher, called me back and agreed to read it.

Though they didn’t buy my story or even option it, Ms. Sher spent almost 25 minutes on the phone with me detailing what I might do to make my script better. I thought that was a class act on both their parts, especially since they were right in the middle of preproduction on “The Fisher King.”

I’ve since gone on to write novels, but I’ll never forget how Ms. Obst took the time to say yes to an unknown and unagented writer. This is where I say thank you. Thank you.

DONALD SOMMERFIELD

Chatsworth