My film school friend came across this blog about a
production assistant/office aide who quit the movie industry because of the
behavior of a Academy Award nominated director. People guessed it to be Alexander
Payne. The guy’s movies are boring and stupid. He’s got as much relevance as
that other fly-by guy who did “Napoleon Dynamite.” A hipster’s messiah.
Well, that wasn’t my point as much as it’s very strange to
hear of a subpar movie maker behave so poorly. She blabbed about the insanity
that went into making (presumably) “Election.” The shit that “Entertainment
Tonight” won’t show you. Because it hurts people like Reese Witherspoon and
Matthew Broderick. People are shitty people in general. I’m not sure this chick
should be surprised at the morally bankrupt people of this town. But I
understand, NO ONE should trade their dignity for fame (and/or fortune). Most
people do though. Or attempt to swallow their pride. It’s a very feudal society
in that we all have to prove we belong here. This chick chose the wrong test to
take.
I gripe and moan about the assholes in this town, probably
to my disadvantage, but to sidestep it all, or attempt to, you can put yourself
out the game, as she did. OR…play the game by your own rules. Does that mean
you will starve for a period of time. Probably. Or no one will want to partner
up with you. But, the way the business is what it is now, you can do what you
want, where you want, and how you want. So the reliance on assholes like Payne
to make your life miserable has softened. BUT a big warning: because you run
away from adversity, is sometimes the best path, but I would always ask
yourself whether you’re quitting for the right reasons. If these people were
immature asswipes, to end your career short to juvenile behavior seems…soft. In
which case, sayonara and next man up. HOWEVER, if you find you can’t look at
yourself in the mirror or dread living, yeah…move on, this business isn’t for
you. Her experience genuinely is not uncommon. I’ve heard worse. But I will
say, we do all have the capacity for cruelty. The Stanford test shows if we’re
put into the role of warden, our prisoners will feel the brunt, despite they
are only role playing and are really our friends. It’s the nature of who we
are. Unfortunately, to move forward, sometimes it does require a thicker,
short-termed memory skin. Though, what really happens is, this gets passed on
to the next unsuspecting schlub. No one ever treats a person poorly, if they have
a job that sucks and no one else wants to do it. Why? Then you may be moved
down. EVERYONE seems to have a mentality of privilege working in movies since
everyone is enamored by them. If you break through to the position of power, it
will corrupt you. Or people may perceive it that way. In which case, you don’t
really have the time to deal with these assholes anyway.
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