Ring The Fucking Bell

You know it’s weird. I have a ton of people who’ve made movies around me. There infrastructure that you would have on major motion pictures is available to me and to people who are connected to me. Only one person has really taken me up on my offer to help them with their movies. I get the occasional friend from “back then” that will solicit my help. And I have a brotherhood with the Tellos, who I’ve done plenty of projects with. The Tellos are the most prolific in terms of talking about a project and then executing. Well, my friend Bennie does too. That guy is always positive. He makes me look like a total fucking twat. He has a great attitude, is always living on the fray, but excited about making movies. I’m really fortunate to have met him randomly and especially glad he is in this town. He’s experiencing the bumps and bruises, but soldiers on. Probably no surprise either that I met him through a friend of a friend to the Tellos.

I like being around people who just do stuff. It doesn’t matter what it is, they just do something. The actress in “Poolside” does too. She can’t stand waiting for projects coming to her, so she pushes forth. She’s gathered a lot of steam on her own, since…again, people respect people who just do. They tolerate talkers. But the people who make something are the ones that really get the brass ring.

I often think about what others are in the process of doing. I heard on some podcast that people consider show business one big waiting room. Which is that people wait for something to happen. Anything. Doing something, then waiting for stardom. Waiting to wait. Moving on to waiting…and so forth. It’s pretty accurate. Waiting doesn’t mean just waiting. It is putting a lot of irons in the fire and seeing what comes of it. The other part of that adage is “balloons in the air.” I think that means that people are waiting for the balloon to pop and deliver your message to someone that will get in contact with you. I’m not sure. But, it is somewhat…that random.

The more people you know, the more you have invested in the business. I’d gone to a barbecue where everyone there knew everyone else. Money people eating grilled food with movie people.  The more you know. I think it was meant as a mingler to figure out what possible future any of us could hold. You never know where the next big idea comes from. And as I wrote in a previous blog, the start of something new is more exciting than anything. For me, I just need to hunker down and finish what I started. Oh…that’s another thing. People do start a lot of things. The caveat to this is that it now must be finished. People do start doing something. The minute the interest wanes, they move onto something else. The trick is the make the risk and investment big enough that the interest continues, while concurrently just finishing your fucking project. It could be anything. Know this, you are never alone when it comes to this phenomenon in the “art world.” Rarely do artist feel complete. There is sometimes a debilitating pain that lingers for a while as your project is “out there.” There is no mystery as to why artist pop open pain suppressors. This could be drugs or alcohol. The danger is to muscle through the process, make something you are proud of, and move on. Movies are a bitch, because you are judged in a harsher light. Most people think they can do better. Most people will have an opinion. Most people feel entitled to tell you what is wrong with your movie. Most people will hate you for it. Read any critics forum, and even the best of movies will have their detractors. This is a neverending line, similar to in “Airplane!” when they form a line to calm the stewardess down by smacking her, hitting her with a bat, nuns with boxing gloves and so forth. People who pay hard earned money to watch your art, isn’t the same crowd that purposefully go to your gallery to view your portfolio. Movies are meant to speak to a wide berth of humanity. If you failed this, you are a person who just made a lopsided apartment complex, with tenants that will spend their time gutting you. Would you deserve it? Possibly. Listening to sound reasoning isn’t a bad thing. Shrugging it off, and content to take their dough is one way to go about it. That’s the P.T. Barnum approach. Sucker born every minute. But, to deliver a good product for which no one will burn your likeness in effigy while pleasing people is honorable. Especially if you take them out of their morbid angry gloomy village for a few hours. Hell, a few minutes. I honestly don’t know if I have the skill to do this properly (as I’ve lamented ad nauseum). I tend to feel more awe in the people who have gotten box office clout. The people who have a few movies that people are willing to want to go see. It’s certainly an ego boost to know that you have the same interest as others. In that sense, making movies is about ringing a bell and hoping others respond to the tune. You make lifelong friends this way.