Taking The Pressure Off
Outside of the "industry", there are many of us ready to focus on the fun of filmmaking again.
There is a lot of doom and gloom in our industry right now. The past several years have not been kind to creators of the silver screen. It’s a struggle to stay motivated and connected to this great love of ours.
I spoke to a friend recently. She works for the same major studio that I do. She expressed a feeling of missing the days of making short films in her hometown. She painted a picture of the ethereal feeling of making it happen, with other creators, for no other reason that to make a movie.
Let’s go back there.
I don’t remember the moment I fell in love with cinema. Maybe it was sitting on the couch with my mother, watching greats like Redford, Poitier, and Streep paint our living room with color. Or when I was in my first play at 10 years old and I watched the carpenters building and designing the sets, the costumers dancing in a world of brightly colored fabric that would become our costumes.
Or maybe it was the very first time I booked a role and the young NYU student director called “ACTION” and my life lit up.
I DO remember that what I fell in love with was the MAGIC.
What a gift. What a joy.
My husband and I have decided to spend the summer in New England. To step away from Hollywood and refocus on what it means to wake up connected and to re-fuel our creativity. We have been here for two weeks and it has already changed the way I am looking and thinking about the future of film.
Rather than waking up and thinking about the future of an industry, I am waking up and observing the slowness of real life and the abundance of stories that exist in every moment. I am remembering why I became a producer and why I enjoy making film.
I want to work with up and coming directors and writers who still have the fire in their gut. I want to read scripts that bring new ideas and explore old ones and help make them into award-winning projects.
I want to have fun making film again.
And then see where it goes.
My advice on this beautiful Sunday? Stop worrying about the future.
Remember why you started.
Absolutely! I’m diving into a new feature with all of the joy.
I've been somewhat ignoring all the bad news because I still gotta try to make my movies anyway, y'know? What am I supposed to do, "Oh the industry is struggling to find its footing now, I guess these images in my head aren't worth pursuing..."