[NoHo Arts District, CA] – The State of Show Business: “Better the Devil You Know.”
So, as I wrote about last month, I am in the progress of preparing to shoot a film in Ireland later this year. Along with that comes a lot of issues tha,t frankly, I am not very good at. I am of course talking about funding, logistics, and expectations. Funding is better left to people that understand the intricacies of investing rather than gifts. Logistically speaking, a film production is as easy as when Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush, twice. But, when I speak of expectations, I am the most vulnerable. In my everyday life, I steer clear of expectations of others. I feel it is unfair for me to place my code of conduct and ethics on unsuspecting others. I would rather take people at their word and then accept what happens. But, in regards to making a movie, that edict is hard to live by.
In Ireland, I have a team of lovely wonderful people helping me to make this movie. It is hard enough to be over 5,000 miles away and not know exactly what promises are kept and what plans are in progress. I feel that my team in Ireland has a common passion and purpose, so therefore my complete trust is with them. But, what happens when that trust is strained, or worse yet, broken? One must evaluate the situation and then decide whether a decision is being made out of the good of the project or fear. In my case, I rely heavily on relationships and past experience to help guide me to the best answer. As a film gets closer to going into production, it is imperative that all ships are sailing in the right direction. When things go slightly amiss, you have two choices. The first being to fight and hopefully be victorious over those that act out of fear. Or, you take a step back and try to evaluate if this current situation is salvageable or is it better to relent and fight another day. In my case, I chose the latter.
Without going into specifics, I felt I was thrown a curve ball that at first seemed to jeopardize my plans for the film. But, after recognizing the situation with clarity, I decided to find another way. And fortunately for me, the solution came looking for me. I guess what I am trying to say is that making a film is fraught with unforeseen difficulties, cancellations, miscalculations, scheduling conflicts, losing locations, weather concerns, budgeting woes, etc. It is the nature of filmmaking that what can go wrong, will go wrong right before you say action. That is the devil we know. Trust the process. Trust your system. Trust your people. Keep an open mind and be ready to improvise. In my varied experience, it has become my belief that no one can, per se, ruin your film. But that the collaboration of like-minded talented people will be your salvation and your ticket to great art. The nay sayers are not in charge. The Dreamers are.