September 4, 2024

A Nice Weekend of Rejection

This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly blog/newsletter/blogletter about the creative process. I'm sharing adventures in art and life as well as setting CLIFFHANGER goals for myself, so--

DID I MAKE MY GOAL?

Last week, I committed to completing a revision pass on the script for the horror feature film I’m producing.

And I did it! This round of revisions was easier because I was having FUN. Amazing how that works.

I’m on spooky Draft 13 of the script. Goals for this pass included addressing a couple of good notes from a co-producer, making one scene scarier, making another scene slightly funnier, making one character more active in a specific scene, and as always TRIM TRIM TRIM.

The script is in good shape in terms of page count, but I’m still slicing away at it for one very specific reason: Because I actually have to make it.

If you’re a creative type, particularly a writer, I strongly recommend making your script real—a staged reading, a short film, a thread on blueksy, etc. I’m very precise about my writing, but I also need to accept that reading it on the page is not the final goal. This is a guide to making the film so I should be writing toward that end goal. Nothing motivates writer-me like the specter of future director-me and editor-me being furious with past writer-me.

Also motivating: I do not want to look back at this blog post and shake my head in disgust at past-me advocating this but not actually doing it.

ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK--

I had some very nice times with my wife, Sara, this holiday weekend: Sipped some fine cocktails at the Dresden Room, cleaned our poor over-stuffed apartment, and visited the Hollywood Heritage Museum where I was delighted to get side-eye from the Gill-Man.

The other thing that happened a lot this week was REJECTION. Between film fests, some potential investors, and some asks for people to work on the horror feature, I got some pretty big NOs this week.

And I braced for impact. Like when you smack your elbow on the corner of a table and it hurts but then there’s that frozen moment of wondering…How much is this going to hurt? How debilitating will it be?

It was like that except the elbow was my emotions and shockingly the answer was…it didn’t hurt as much as I expected.

Everything takes practice and by its nature filmmaking gives you lots and lot of practice whacking your elbow on the rejection corner.

People will tell you that show business (and many other challenging things, like just being a human in the 21st century) requires A THICK SKIN. I’m not a big fan of that because, to me, a thick skin implies cutting yourself off, building up a defensive layer. Which is sort of the opposite goal of being an artist. An observant, intuitive person who is actively trying to be open and understand the world. A THICK SKIN makes me picture a baby duckling riding around in a tank. Fun, but sad.

With this week’s rejections, I was not protected by thick skin that can TAKE anything. (A weird donut hurt my feelings, for god’s sake.) Instead, I handled the rejections fairly well this week because I separated the fantasy from the reality.

The fantasy was how amazing the YES would be. How much a specific YES would help my career or the film. Posting instagram photos at this cool festival’s step-and-repeat. This actor I admire knocking a favorite line in my script out of the park.

But the reality is it didn’t work out for any number of reasons. Stuff that may or may not have anything to do with me or the quality of my work. The reality is I only want an actor or an investor to say yes if they’re truly excited about the project. If they really believe in me. I only want a festival to say yes if my film really fits with their program and they’re excited to present it.

Once I let myself mourn the FANTASY of everything turning out great, it was easier to accept the REALITY that this one wasn’t in the cards. There are other festivals, other actors, other investors. My job is to persevere and find the right matches.

And as always, stepping back and having a sense of humor about it helps. I’ve been lucky to get scripts to actors I admire. Who have passed on the scripts. So I have action figures of people who have said no to me, staring at me in my apartment. Overall, pretty damn lucky.

LIGHT PLUGS—

And speaking of rejection, I’m moving the plugs section up because I have a huge thing to share and favor to ask!

To supplement traditional investment in the horror film, I’ve set-up a fiscal sponsorship with the great Twin Cites org, Film North. They can accept one-time, tax deductible donations that will go directly toward funding the film!

So if you’re interested in making this film happen, please check out the page for the upcoming horror film, DEAD MEDIA.

MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--

A lot of the work I need to do for the film this week isn’t quite measurable or quantifiable. I need to cast away, fundraise away, communicate away. But for my goal, I need something I can control, so here goes! This week I’m committing to getting started on sketches for costumes and storyboards. Another fun goal!

YOUR GOAL FOR THE WEEK--

I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you're working on this week in the comments below. What's your goal? Are donuts involved? How can I help you finish your monsters?

A LITTLE SKETCH--

This week’s sketch is inspired by my discussions of fantasy and reality (and the David Lynch book I’ve been reading, Room To Dream.) This person has fantasy on one side and reality on the other: But which is which??? Some weeks, I draw cartoon hot dogs, some weeks it’s this. I contain at least one multitude. I hope your realities and your fantasies all go great this week. Thanks for reading!