This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly 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?

My goal for last week was to make some concrete forward movement on booking screenings for our horror film Dead Media and work on the outline for the next feature film.

And I did get both of those things done. Mostly because they were nice soft goals of general forward movement rather than concrete goals of fully completing something.

But the point of tracking goals is not to get an inhuman, herculean task done each week. The point is to choose what to focus on so I absolutely make time for it.

So the goals:

Booking screenings for Dead Media is the single most important thing I need to do in my career right now. But it’s also a thing that relies on other people answering messages. Which is a thing I can’t control. Fun!

Regardless, I got a list of potential venues together and sent it off to a friend who’s helping me with some producer work. She got a volley of emails off so the ball is rolling and it’s really great to have the help.

Working on the outline for the next film! This is important to me for two reasons. One, I want to make the next film as soon as humanly possible and the first step toward that is having a script ready. Two, for soul-health, I really want to make time to actually be creative while there’s so much stressful producer work to do.

I’ve got a list of ideas for the next film going on my phone. So this weekend, I made time to put on a nice Duke Ellington record, turn the lights down low, and start organizing all the ideas into an outline, list of characters, etc.

I also ended up with specific questions so I can brainstorm while going for a walk. Walk-writing is my favorite kind of writing.

Also, this week I did some work on taxes, updated the IMDb page for Dead Media, and did some more work on the Dead Media website. Plus, the tickets went live for Dead Media’s first film festival appearance. You can get tickets now for both screenings at the Nevermore Film Festival in Durham!

A NICE THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

I can’t talk about nice things without acknowledging the absolute horror of the murder of Alex Pretti this weekend.

I believe in taking a break from the news and making time for self care. But it can feel callous to turn away during these moments. Particularly when I’m worried about my friends and family in Minnesota. It’s hard to turn off the news after I literally saw one of my friends running away from a cloud of tear gas. I also find myself irrationally checking the news as though my seeing something in real time will change the event.

But after talking through it with Sara, I decided continuing with my plans on Saturday afternoon and evening would be the best for my mental health.

Long story short: I had tickets to see two movies. One each by the artists who have probably made the biggest impact on my filmmaking: George Lucas and David Lynch.

I don’t always list these favs when talking to industry folks in Hollywood. Saying it out loud would likely be met with a grimace of concern and/or judgment. Lucas is seen as commercially viable but artistically questionable. Lynch is seen as artistically beloved (by a small cadre of indie weirdos) and commercially disastrous.

Despite a big and obvious difference between, say, Blue Velvet and The Phantom Menace, Lynch and Lucas are similar in that they’re both very idiosyncratic filmmakers who found a path to make exactly the films they wanted to make with minimal to no notes from corporate executive types. And despite massive differences in style, they do have many themes in common—duality, the human battle between fear and hope, a reverence for the organic & flowing over the rigid & mechanical, and to hear Lynch describe the ether where ideas come from often sounds like a Jedi describing the Force.

In the afternoon, I saw Lucas’ first film, THX-1138 at The Egyptian Theater. If you haven’t seen it, the film is a very artsy dystopian tale where humanity is being crushed under terrible factory conditions and automated pre-recorded responses from health service providers to religious figures. A very timely movie that came out 55 years ago and BOMBED at the box office.

In the evening, I saw Mulholland Drive at The Academy Museum. The film is about (among many other things) the dual nature of Hollywood as both a dream and a nightmare. It came out in 2001 and was critically acclaimed but had a very limited release and didn’t make much money. It regularly remains on lists of the best films of the 21st Century and best films about Los Angeles. Lynch was nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Despite all that, Lynch struggled to raise money for another traditional feature for the rest of his life.

So, two films from two artistic heroes. Both films that had a hard time on release from a certain point of view.

And I saw them both in packed theaters with hundreds of engaged, curious people of different ages and backgrounds.

It was a nice reminder that MONEY is often what drives the NOW. But quality, honesty, artistic integrity, empathy in storytelling—those are the things that matter in the long run.

In both art and justice, the road may be long but it’s worth traveling.

LIGHT PLUGS

Three light plugs!

DEAD MEDIA MAILING LIST: We’ve got a mailing list for Dead Media. I’m only going to send out messages occasionally with concrete info and asks for help—screening dates, sales news, help getting the word out, etc. You can sign up here if you’re interested!

SHORT FILMS ON YOUTUBE: I’m still planning on releasing three of my short films on YouTube. I want to release one a week. I really want to promote these extensively on social media, but I keep wrestling with whether it feels right in this moment. But it would still be a huge help if you subscribed to my YouTube channel and hopefully it will feel right to put out the short films soon.

DONATIONS TO DEAD MEDIA: We need all the help we can get for film festival submission fees, advance money to book theaters, etc. Through Film North, you can make a one time tax deductible donation here. Thanks for all the help and support!

MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--

I’m going to dance with danger here and make a slightly more concrete goal. For next week, my goal is to gather all info needed to make a decision on a key Dead Media screening.

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? How can I help you literally finish your monsters?

A LITTLE SKETCH--

This week’s sketch was part of my journey out into the world on Saturday. Before seeing Mulholland Drive, I had a drink at the Academy Museum’s bar. I was enjoying being out in the world, but a part of me also felt like no one should be going about their normal lives. Everyone should be screaming, like I was on the inside. When I sat down at the bar, the people next to me were speaking in hushed tones about the Minnesota people’s response to fascism. How impressed they were and what other places could learn from them. “It’s like the whole state has whistles,” they said. It was a balm to hear. So I sketched this. Thanks to everyone in Minnesota, blowing the whistle on fascism.