A Day in the Life of a Megalomaniacal Producer/Director

Having a taste for punishment (Making it in the industry).

   I speak with alot of my fellow filmmakers about breaking into the business and the many obstacles that one may face on their way to the top. Its a very tough business and will be discouraging more often than not, but I thought I would share some advice for the up and coming that get discouraged along the way.

   One day while I was skipping class in college and watching television, I came across an episode of America's Next Top Model. On the show, a model-to-be was struggling to take "sexy" pictures because she was sitting in a rather uncomfortable position. She began complaining, and the photographer says "Sorry honey, there is nothing comfortable about fashion." This saying has stuck with me ever since. One would think that life would be great once you start finding lots of work and making all the money (or at least some of the money) and being famous, but that is simply not the case. This industry is tough, and it will always be tough, whether you're an A-list star or a blog writing hopeful. Of course there are perks to being a star, but you're always going to have to hustle in the industry to get work and stay working. Once you realize and accept this truth, then you've already won half the battle.

   To win the second part of the battle, you have to acquire the stomach for punishment. It sounds ridiculous but it is a necessary evil. I played football in high school and in college. My teammates and I wanted to be the best players we could be, but the only path to this goal was through 100 yard sprints (I was a lineman so trust me, fat players don't like to run) and painful practices. The only thing we could do to succeed was to learn to respect the punishment of the game. If we couldn't stomach the punishment, then we couldn't handle the game. The same holds true for anything in life, including the film industry. In your career in the film industry you'll have to encouter personal development issues, rejection, crappy meaningless jobs, so on and so forth. However, when you learn to love and respect the punishment of the film industry the failures do nothing to your confidence and only heighten the awareness of your own progress.

   So to close, and to make a long story short, your difficulty in this business is all a matter of perspective. Once you've gotten a stomach for punishment, then what can stop you?

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty"-Winston Churchill