Let the Right One In

Guess what's gonna happen in film?

Any guesses? Any?

You're gonna get fucked over. Most likely by people you consider friends. Brian Grazer once told a class full of people who asked him the most important lesson to learn in hollywood 'Every day I work with people who's fucked me out of millions of dollars and I do it while I have to grin through my teeth.'

Truer words have never been spoken. Three lessons I preached that I never followed. Never write something before you have a contract. Never work with a friend whom you know 'you'll figure it out later' and never trust someone - well most people, ever. EVER.

And it's a gift that keeps on giving. People will never STOP fucking you over. they won't learn their lesson. It won't be a magical two hour movie where you'll overcome adversity and become bigger people. bigger people become bigger because they got paid, and pal, if you got fucked over, you ain't gettin' paid.

That shouldn't mean that you don't trust people in the business. I trust my editor, more than almost anyone else. I trust my brit James Williamson out in England. I trust my contact out in NY Dana Abercrombie. I trust forcesofgeek managing editor Stefan blitz. I trust a couple other people out in HW. everyone else I don't even remotely trust. Not even the least. and If I do work without a contract, with unspoken understandings I'll just be fucked. bent over and taken sideways fucked. Its a part of life.

I realized tonight a person i thought was really close to me fucked me, and fucked me good. But i'm not mad at him, after all, he was simply playing by the rules of the game. I don't even have a reason to be upset. But I'm still fucked over. Where does that get me?

A lesson learned and some vasoline. Don't let the same thing happen to you.

EVER.

writing vs. a career

this is easy -

I write because I love it. it's what makes me a big part of who i am.

I work at banana republic because it pays the bills - in no way shape or form would I ever choose BR over film.

They can't co-exist. one is not bert, and the other ernie. This is not sesame street. We are not singing songs telling people how we got to this point. If we did - the song would go

Can you tell me how to get
how to get to a lackluster career!

Heya Dave!
Heya bird thats big.
You seem stressed?
I am big thats big! I'm stuck at a lackluster retail establishment that has customers treating me like a second class plaything.
That's too bad Dave.
I KNOW - bird that's big.


Children - did we learn anything? We learned that dreams in their whimsical fancy are often shattered by unrealistic expectations. Anything good that happens in film always comes with a that snapshot dream, of everything working out. But rarely does everything work out - in fact, I don't think it ever has. Tom B from LOTR never got his due time. Michael still has to work with Megan Fox on Transformers three despite his alleged crew not liking her, and Somehow Avenue Q is still not turned into a movie.

But you can have it all (you can?). Well, no, not really you can't. At least not long term. At some point and time your gonna reach that crossroads - are you gonna go to chinatown? Are you going to choose a family over a career? I've seen that happen many times in my family, and I don't think they regret that decision. I know right now though, that I would. I'm not an adult yet, at least not in the complete sense. I still make stupid decisions. Or a slew of stupid decisions.

The philosopher Fred Flinstone once said 'yabba dabba doo.' Did he say that because he was happy with his work situation? he couldn't of achieved much more than a construction job at bedrock time. Was he happy with his wife and child? Or was it that delicious fucking steak every night that drove him wild? Fred in a lot of way's is like us. He seems to have it all, but he has to make a choice. At the end of the day what did he choose? Was he really happy? Only you can figure that out when you ask yourself 'yabba dabba doooo.'

PS. Fucking Fred, learn some real english already. You're not a fucking caveman.