Donuts and Joy
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 setting up a live comedy show to celebrate my birthday in August.
And I 97% did it! I’ve got the show all booked, graphics done, and blurb written. I just need to clarify a tech question then I can send all the info into the theater. Hopefully the ticket link will be up very soon and I can start promoting away.
That said, if you’re going to be in the Los Angeles area, save the date for Friday, August 16th at 7:30 pm at Lyric-Hyperion! My actual birthday is the next day, Saturday August 17th, but I decided to do the show the night before, because I love basking in the glow of a good show the day after.
It was a small, specific, limited goal so I got it done. Will I learn from this when setting this week’s goal? Or will I once again dance with the beast called hubris? Let’s find out!
ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK--
As I sat down to write this week’s blog, I was once again SHOCKED to discover I actually got quite a lot done.
I still have a lot I want to do and I’m objectively running behind on a lot of it. I want to climb fourteen mountains so it’s easy to focus on that, rather than looking back and going, “Hey, I climbed three mountains last week.” The blog is really helping with perspective. So, thanks again for reading!
I got some great forward movement on the feature film I’m trying to get in front of the camera this year. Had a fantastic meeting to get the budget finessed, the number of shoot days locked in, and other important practical needs. Also had a very brief, very direct chat with an entertainment lawyer about getting vital paperwork set-up for fundraising. All key, important steps!
It was also a big week in Star Wars world. I’ve been a fan since the days where official promo shots of Darth Vader looked like they were taken at a Sears Family Portrait Studio so I’m lucky that talking about Star Wars on the ForceCenter Podcast/YouTube Channel has become my part-time day job. This week was the premiere of the new Jedi-focused mystery show, The Acolyte, and I had great fun discussing and analyzing the first two episodes. If you’re interested you can find the YouTube discussion here!
And on Saturday, I had a great one-two punch of adventures that reminded me about one of the most important parts of creative work: ACTUALLY ENJOYING IT.
Saturday afternoon, I walked to the Hollywood Heritage Museum. It’s located across the street from the Hollywood Bowl in the actual barn where the first feature length film was produced in 1912 by Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille. As part of the Museum’s 100 Years of MGM celebration they hosted a talk and book signing with the great Russ Tamblyn—famous for West Side Story, The Haunting, and Dr. Jacoby in all three season of Twin Peaks.
Mr. Tamblyn is 89 and very sharp for his age. He was full of joy and warmth. Before his talk they played a reel of his famous roles. In reaction to a little shoulder pop move he did in West Side Story, Mr. Tamblyn shouted out from the audience, “Wow! What a great dancer I am!”
He told stories that veered from Jerry Lewis to Neil Young to David Lynch. He was so caught up in telling stories and getting laughs, his wife had to gently encourage him to wrap it up so people could actually buy his book.
It was great to see an actor I long admired, an actual bona fide living legend, but more than anything it was great to see someone in the twilight of their life looking back on it with appreciation and humor.
Finally, on Saturday night I attended a screening of short horror films. I’ve been participating in a group called Just Scare Me. You have two months to make a horror short (no longer than 6 minutes) or you owe the group $100. Each round, there’s a private screening at a toy store.
On Saturday night, I shared the 6 minute teaser for the feature film. This is the one I filmed in late April back in Minneapolis. And the reception to the short was fantastic. Big laughs at the right places, great tension during the scary parts, and lots of kind words afterward about both the concept and the execution.
As the film was screening, I was able to take a deep breath and just…enjoy it. The acting from my friends Sam Landman and Natalie Wass, some of the shot composition I really like, the sound design I’m particularly proud of, etc.
There’s a lot I want to accomplish with my film pursuits. I want to find more success. I want to find financial stability. Right now, I need to get a lot more work (and fundraising) done to make the feature happen at all. But as Mr. Tamblyn’s great talk reminded me, I never want to lose the joy in simply creating. Taking an idea from a nebulous thought that exists only in my head and making it an actual reality that can be projected on a screen.
MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
I’m struggling with this week’s goal. In order to move forward with the feature film, I need responses from other people. But it’s foolish to set goals based on what other people do. I can only control myself. So I’m going to control my goal and make it about actions I can take. My goal this week is to send a combined total of 15 messages about fundraising, casting, and locations. Once more into the email breach!
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? Is it creative? What are the challenges? What are the joys? Will donuts be involved? How can I help you finish your monsters?
LIGHT PLUGS—
The kind patrons of my Patreon keep my production company, Strange Path, afloat. Costs for computer programs, accounting fees, film festival submissions, etc. Right now, our short film The Narrator starring Phil LaMarr is available exclusively to patrons months early. Other films coming to Patreon soon!
I also wanted to share about Vote Forward—it’s a program where you sign up to write letters to voters. There’s a typed form and you add a personal message about WHY voting matters to you, nothing partisan. The org has done follow up studies and it really works to increase voter turnout. My goal this year is to write 200 letters. I’ve written 40 so far. If you’re interested, you can find out more by visiting Vote Forward!
A LITTLE SKETCH--
This week’s sketch went sideways on me. It’s a sentient donut appreciating a self-portait the donut made of itself. Then I made the donut in the painting look real shocked. Sometimes we make the art, sometimes the art makes itself. Regardless, I hope you and your sentient donuts have a great week!
