BK,
I read your notes and, as I've told you privately several times, the details may be different, but our stories are essentially the same.
I, also, took on a Hollywood big shot early on...which certainly did major damage to my (writing) career path.
Yes, even though I was in the right, it was a stupid thing to do.
But, looking back, I'm not really sorry that I did it.
It's very important for me to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning, and had I not taken this guy on, I might not be able to do that.
Remember what Oliver Pettridge says: "A Man Must Stand for Something".
Also, like you, things changed for me in the 1990s. I'd sold my first screenplay in 1989, then during the 1990s, I got involved with Roger Corman, who kept me quite busy for most of the decade and well into the new century. Not all of the films I did for him are classics, but I made a good living [He paid me quite well.] and I had a satisfying writing (with some directing) career.
Yes, there's been a lot of depression over the years, but I can honestly say (at age 68), it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the opportunities in Austin.