Hey, Filmmakers!
I just watched this great deep dive by Frame Voyager into Alex Garland's career as a writer and director, looking at the ups and downs he's had in this industry and why he's likely made the choice to step away from directing "for the foreseeable future". I think it's a great video, but it opens up an even better conversation about "quitting". In this industry, we can be REALLY hard on those around us and ourselves for being perceived as giving up or quitting. But sometimes, we have to experience things, pursue interests, and most importantly TRY, before we'll know for sure if something is right for us. I'm a fan of Alex's work and I'm truly excited to see Civil War in theaters, so I was sad when I saw the headlines pop up that he was "quitting". But after looking into things a bit more, I think I respect him even more now than I did.
Alex is a true storyteller and he exposed himself to every type of storytelling that he could and pushed himself out of his comfort zone again and again to tell the stories that he wanted to tell. Now he can step back and say for sure that he loves one part of the process more than another and can move forward with a focus on writing over directing. He may still change his mind someday and find his way back to filmmaking for the right story or situation, but I think it's pretty amazing that for now, he knows what he wants and needs as a creative. Even more, he's not afraid to speak up and say that. He's not quitting. He's putting his effort and energy into what's right for him currently. What's braver than that?
Check out the video here:
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"In this industry, we can be REALLY hard on those around us and ourselves for being perceived as giving up or quitting. But sometimes, we have to experience things, pursue interests, and most importantly TRY, before we'll know for sure if something is right for us. You're right, Ashley Renee Smith. Stepping back doesn't always mean quitting. Stepping back can mean preparing to move forward. And sometimes if we don't step back and prepare, we (and our projects) will end up in a mess.
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I was at the AMC Empire 25 test screening of Civil War in Times Square. This was Feb 9th 2023 . Sat in a row in front of him and his team. The screening of the film went pretty well apart from a horribly loud sound mix that left all of us nearly deaf.
I saw him in the lobby after and I wanted to approach and say congratulations on another great film but he looked pretty miserable. I mean, before the scores and focus group were even finished he was not looking too happy with it. I do wonder what went wrong. I thought the film was solid. Apart from casting Nic as the commander in chief. Then again, we did elect Trump.