Thursday Thirteen: What I've Learned So Far

On Becoming Film Producer

1.  Failure is your friend. I could trot out the expected cliche, 'Failure is a great teacher'. It's true, but not my point today. Each failure adds value to the next attempt. 

2.  Never take no for an answer. Sooo obvious, right? But it's a miracle how many times we chicken out when someone puts an obstacle before us. I grow feathers far more often than I'd like to admit. 

3.  Be humble! If we were Spielberg, we wouldn't be talking to the assistants.

4.  Assistants are your friends.

5.  Don't be seduced by the glamour. Say this to yourself whenever your ego starts resembling that of a mini-mogul; "It's about the work." 

6.   It's the screenplay, stupid. If the story sucks, don't bother.

7.   Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Sometimes we must compromise in order to win the bigger battle. So what if this film is going straight to video? You're building a reputation. Which brings us back to...

8.   Reputation is everything. The movie business, probably more most, is a relationship business. Don't be a jerk and don't lie; unless you want to be known as a jerk and a liar.

9.   Learn from everyone. 

10.  Help others wherever possible, you never know how that might come back to you in the future.

11.  Don't give up.

12.  Don't give up.

13.  Don't give up.

These are some of the things people have taught me matter so far. It's mostly common sense stuff. But you'll be amazed how quickly sense flies out the window when getting started in the biz of Dream Making. Yes, I'm still uncredited...for the moment. However, this is still good advice and your mileage may differ.






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