My Holden Caulfield Rant

If you are the type that doesn’t like taking shit from anyone, the only solution is to open your own business and work for yourself. If you make movies, you will always be at the service of others. As a cinematographer, I answered to the director. As a producer I answer to the banks and the general audience. It is to the degree in which you want to function, depends on where you flourish. People in this town are impotent losers. Especially in post. I deal with a lot of them. I am one of them. Just the nature of the beast. But, if you’re from the perspective of not wanting to answer to dicks, being a dick…you need to change the position of which you do things, or just quit.

It’s frustrating, since the people who care the least will most likely be your supervisor. For the most part, people who had hopes and dreams (people aged 50 and above) in the movie industry will play passive-aggressive games with you. Undermine and marginalize your position. All to feel more important. There are many people who are okay to live in the middle, but if you have aspirations, holding your tongue can be very difficult.

You know how they control you? A normal paycheck. And the fear that you need them more than they need you. For the most part, it is true. You can train most primates to do anything in the movie industry. The amount of which you pay them, or treat them will determine the output you get. My vocation is a dying breed. I would say there are less than 100 of us in the world. While the general public would believe this to be “job security” the sense is that what I do is outdated and obsolete. I know there’s one piece of shit I work with who can’t wait until it goes away. He’s worthless as a “producer” and nabs credit when he wasn’t even involved. That’s the type of people you will deal with. As a scrapper, I tend to give as much as I receive. This nitwit rides me for not being consistently busy.

“Don’t work too hard” and shit like that. I want to kick this dude’s teeth in. Since he’s a “producer” and has no discernible skill to speak of. Producers…in this day and age, are worthless. It’s not a skill (as my friend Kris use to declare). It took me a while to figure out what he meant.

It means if you can form a sentence, suck up to people, and use a phone, you are a producer. You know what type of people this creates? Two face shallow asshats. At a certain point this dude doesn’t even know when to turn off the schmooze. It becomes his natural language. What is known as a “phony.” If this type of person bothers you, DO NOT come to Hollywood. If you have a shred of dignity, you will vomit yourself skinny if you ever see yourself falling into this trap. Because we’re all about relationships. No one wants to burn any bridges. This specific dude loves power tripping out of boredom. He takes joy in getting this junior assistant producer to be his lap dog. It’s aggravating to any humanist. I know this won’t scare a lot of you away, but…I felt compelled to tell you, if you can’t deal with these people…be your own boss.