I wonder if there's any negatives to sequestering yourself away in a room for most of the day, endlessly churning through the most raw and agonizing experiences of your life as you search for a nugget of pure, brilliant cinema, only to know that a) you're not getting it made ever and this is just a fantasy and b) the industry is rigged and c) even if it did get made, it wouldn't have justified all the years of sitting alone in a room. (Also D, they gave Chipmunks a trilogy and you got a size 8 font mention in a local film festival once).
Meh. There’s really no downside to trying usually. If you write a screenplay or make a short film then worst case scenario you did something you presumably enjoyed and brought it to completion. So long as you don’t quit your job or spend a year’s salary making it then there’s no real problem.
Plus it usually takes an extremely long time to actually get anywhere, even if you’re really talented. I’m pretty sure almost every critically acclaimed filmmaker right now is in their forties or older. And sometimes shit can just change overnight. Christoph Waltz spent decades doing German TV movies and then just randomly got a gig in a Tarantino film that made him a household name and two-time Oscar winner in the matter of a few years.
That's very true. But I do think the accessibility of it is changing. This is all from observation and some experience, but if you look at YouTube filmmakers they definitely didn't put as much time as today's greats did. That certainly isn't Orthodox film making by any means, but if you look at like PlayTheGameFilms, or Casey Neistat's old videos, or anything like that, it didn't take as long as it did back then. And that's what I'm mostly looking to do, short films on YouTube/Vimeo.
If you’re an actor or a writer waiting for your big break you’ll probably never find it
Your best shot is self-funding some short film out of your own pocket and submitting it to a festival. I believe Kevin Smith maxed out a bunch of credit cards to make Clerks and Robert Rodriguez literally volunteered to be a medical test subject to get his first project made. That’s the only way to make it if you weren’t born into a rich family or already have a bunch of connections.
Then there’s the rare case like Tarantino who just basically fell ass-backwards into a million dollars to make his first movie
What people never talk about though is that it’s not like you make it and then coast forever, you have to constantly be maintaining your career and keeping yourself relevant. You could direct some masterpiece or win best actor then in ten years be doing a show on the CW because you made a bunch of really bad career choices
Yeah, that was fucking stupid. Its a very common thing to ask for scripts, as that subreddit is dedicated for it, and that guy just didn't think it was OK.
12 comments
1 in_hazmat_suit 2017-12-30
inb4 stickied.
1 MasterLawlz 2017-12-30
Nah, I usually only sticky my posts that have zero drama whatsoever
1 in_hazmat_suit 2017-12-30
Could you please do it anyway? So that my prediction comes true?
1 thisplaceisanonsense 2017-12-30
I wonder if there's any negatives to sequestering yourself away in a room for most of the day, endlessly churning through the most raw and agonizing experiences of your life as you search for a nugget of pure, brilliant cinema, only to know that a) you're not getting it made ever and this is just a fantasy and b) the industry is rigged and c) even if it did get made, it wouldn't have justified all the years of sitting alone in a room. (Also D, they gave Chipmunks a trilogy and you got a size 8 font mention in a local film festival once).
1 netwoke 2017-12-30
Damn.
1 MasterLawlz 2017-12-30
Meh. There’s really no downside to trying usually. If you write a screenplay or make a short film then worst case scenario you did something you presumably enjoyed and brought it to completion. So long as you don’t quit your job or spend a year’s salary making it then there’s no real problem.
Plus it usually takes an extremely long time to actually get anywhere, even if you’re really talented. I’m pretty sure almost every critically acclaimed filmmaker right now is in their forties or older. And sometimes shit can just change overnight. Christoph Waltz spent decades doing German TV movies and then just randomly got a gig in a Tarantino film that made him a household name and two-time Oscar winner in the matter of a few years.
1 netwoke 2017-12-30
That's very true. But I do think the accessibility of it is changing. This is all from observation and some experience, but if you look at YouTube filmmakers they definitely didn't put as much time as today's greats did. That certainly isn't Orthodox film making by any means, but if you look at like PlayTheGameFilms, or Casey Neistat's old videos, or anything like that, it didn't take as long as it did back then. And that's what I'm mostly looking to do, short films on YouTube/Vimeo.
1 MasterLawlz 2017-12-30
If you’re an actor or a writer waiting for your big break you’ll probably never find it
Your best shot is self-funding some short film out of your own pocket and submitting it to a festival. I believe Kevin Smith maxed out a bunch of credit cards to make Clerks and Robert Rodriguez literally volunteered to be a medical test subject to get his first project made. That’s the only way to make it if you weren’t born into a rich family or already have a bunch of connections.
Then there’s the rare case like Tarantino who just basically fell ass-backwards into a million dollars to make his first movie
What people never talk about though is that it’s not like you make it and then coast forever, you have to constantly be maintaining your career and keeping yourself relevant. You could direct some masterpiece or win best actor then in ten years be doing a show on the CW because you made a bunch of really bad career choices
1 HodorTheDoorHolder 2017-12-30
Listen to what OP says. He's actually a pretty well-known screenwriter.
1 thisplaceisanonsense 2017-12-30
Snuff films aren't screenwriting.
1 starship_litterbox 2017-12-30
Also, never work for free...r-right?
1 netwoke 2017-12-30
Yeah, that was fucking stupid. Its a very common thing to ask for scripts, as that subreddit is dedicated for it, and that guy just didn't think it was OK.