Crash and Burn

213 - Oh the horror… So I was in the running for theirs Directors Guild Producers Training Program. What it is for those who don’t know is a training program set up to place a certain number of people as second, second assistant directors on film and TV projects for two years. Thousands apply since it is the only real training plan in the industry. So I made it past all these initial steps, the application process, the test (which is harder that any ACT/SAT) then the essay and resume section, and even went to something called the group assessment center. Basically, they stick you in group situations, then have you work together to see how you perform. Now, I felt I did pretty well as far as the tasks were concerned even though we didn’t finish one of them. I even though I did OK in a debate section. However, I crashed when we had the follow-up interview. Talk about impersonal representation for the Guild. Believe me; it isn’t populated by people who want to see you make it. They really got hung up on me having a family, and saying I was never going to see them, and what would happen if I was with a director who wouldn’t let me go home to my family etc…. So I got a call that night telling me that I didn’t make it past that section and had been cut.

Cut..

And on with the show I would like to say. I wasn’t really expecting anything from it (since there really isn’t a special effort to get white males into the industry since there are so many of us overrunning the place anyway) but I still had high hopes for it. My desire and aspirations far outweigh my luck. I honestly don’t have any connections down here in Movie land and whenever I talk to someone on the inside they always say things like “what you really need to do is talk with someone who is in the biz”! I know, the irony is not lost on me. Everyone is so worried about their own skin and trying to survive in this cut-throat industry they could care less about the newbie’s. The ones who are set in it are so far from reality they have distanced themselves from all of us wanting a break. Talent, it seems is only worth something here after you have established yourself.

My corporate job isn’t helping any. I feel like my eyes are bleeding because I accidentally resized my screen and I can’t get it back to it original size. Poop! I went to the networks Upfronts meeting where they announce all the new shows and schedule in the fall and was un-impressed. A lot of talking, a lot more of the same kind of TV and the whole thing is set up to excite investors into advertising. The funny part about it is that they took place in NY and all the shows are shot out here. Corporate companies will undoubtedly spell the end of creativity in any form of the film medium.

I just got off the phone with my son. He mainly just says “yea” or “yes” to all the questions that I ask but today he told me about going to the park, worms and sung me a lullaby because his daddy was tired. I hope that I will always be able to find beauty in simplicity in everything that I do. It’s amazing that no matter how jaded you feel by the world, feelings of peacefulness can overshadow the negative through intimate contact with those you love. That is beauty