Anything Goes : Be realistic! by Simon King

Sometimes creative people shouldn't be realistic.

Sounds reasonable to me. However. I never see falling in your resume. JK!

Actually... I just noticed I don't have my resume up! Thanks for the heads up.

That's not negative. That's being realistic. Most directors that have made features have had to work on a lot of film sets and prove them selves before they get the chance at a decent budget film. Amazing how people with little to no track record think they will get the money

Man, what I wouldn't give for a $30,000 budget. Not every project I have could be made for that, but several could.

I guess I see both sides of it...we're all dreamers. To make it in this industry the odds are equivalent to winning the lottery while getting struck by lighting and watching the Cubs win the World Series...yet, here we all are--chasing the dream. But, a dream without a plan is just a dream...slap a deadline on it and you've got a goal. To me, I say shoot for the stars, but don't be upset if you land on the moon.

I see both sides of this, and that is why I advocate for "creatively juiced" folks have "analytically grounded" friends they are partnered with. I feel that for a project to truly be a success you have to have both, and they need to trust each other, and be willing to listen intently to each others vision. The creatives hope and soar and have a vision of the end product, the analytic's have the road map to get them there through all of the real world , day to day pot holes that come up. The plan has to have the wings to see the vision, but also the practical steps put in place to make it a reality, not just a wish.

"I say shoot for the stars, but don't be upset if you land on the moon." This I like. Much better than "Be realistic" in my opinion. I have never, every wanted to be realistic. If I had I would have never left my home and family and headed to Los Angeles. My parents told me to be realistic. Not being upset that I have not (yet) reached the stars is good advice. Being realistic is not in my nature. Being realistic seems counterproductive for the creative person.

Sure, shoot for the stars, maybe you'll reach the moon but if your rocket has limited fuel don't be upset if you plop into Reseda. I fully agree that we all need dreams and we should push hard to make them reality. However, the film BUSINESS is a highly competitive one where every player is looking for the best actors, the hottest equipment, the coolest locations, and... a thick wallet. We must accept that the thickness of the purse defines what we can expect in the way of experienced talent, state of the art tools, and exotic locales. There is NOTHING wrong with making a film with your friends on a Sony HD consumer camera in your friend's apartment. What a great place to start! Do it! Find out how to block a scene, how to compose a shot, how best to control sound and light, how to effectively tell a story from idea to page to screen, and how to get someone beyond your family to see the results. Learn to do this on whatever doubloons you can scrape together and THEN ask for tens of millions of dollars to take your project to Cannes.

^^Amen

The problem is the money. I, being a writer, know full well how much my film will cost. That's why I concentrate on the substance of "the character.

Simon, Not negative, when someone points out the cold, hard facts. I agree, I have spent the last year learning Adobe Creative Suite CS6. I by default am a better editor for it. I am a self proclaimed Producer, without any credits. Other then my own 'dung' as you call it. With that being stated, I firmly agree that a movie does not need a ton of money to get aloft. As a matter of fact if as Chris stated would be more utilized. I think you would see more projects come to fruition, As I always tell my G.Friend, with a chuckle. Another Writer or Actor with a must read script, where they get off a Lear Jet and hop into a Ferrari. Who is going bank roll that? With computers of today / technology. One can make a movie at their desk top and a large Green Screen. Great Gatsby was shot majorly with Green Screen. Like Robert Rodriguez "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" 10 k for the whole movie. made 10 Mill. Fools and their money soon part. I see how getting a Union involved costs an arm and leg. I was invited to a trade show at a union facility where a chair was charged 85.00 for the day. AND you cannot bring your own. That is how these people think they need more money. When a computer, green screen, 2500 hours of lessons and a few good actors with some access to assets/wardrobes/locations and voila' -you is producing. I bet if you throw some dung on the wall like Quentin Terrentino you will get a budget. Money does not make you good. Like buying DiVinci's paint brush and thinking you are going to paint a masterpiece!

Spike Lee and Ron Howard both came out of the Roger Corman studio - where they learned to make films with very few locations and re-use props. They begged borrowed and stole equipment. I think it really helped Spike Lee focus on the story and dialogue. His first films were very low budget.

I certainly dont think its about "giving up on the dream". I think it's trying to be realistic with what you can achieve. Personally If you can prove that you can make a decent film with almost no budget, then your onto a good start. As Mark mentioned, some of the directors we know today worked hard and proved they could handle films at low to no budget long before they moved to the next phase. Its like going to the bank manager and saying "hey pal, give me 2 Million Dollars." The bank manager will say "What proof do you have you will pay it back?". "Well, cause Im awesome. Isn't that enough?".

It all comes down the the STORY.

Sunny... So very true! You can hire the most expensive actors use the latest and greatest equipment and film it at every exotic location around the world but if the story sucks... well, you have nothing but an expensive sucky story on film.

Money does not make movies. Money just makes making movies easier, it buys stuff, and time, and locations, etc. When you have money you lose creativity because you're not looking for how to create scenes out of what you have. You don't develop good problem solving. I'll never understand why indie filmmakers brag because they have X amount of money to budget with. How is your story? Character development? I've seen movies that spent 10s of thousands and all they seemed to accomplish was spending that money.

More than a few times the comment that has risen to the surface is that is is all about STORY. How VERY, VERY true! Without the written word we have nothing to film.

I'm kind of sad reading many of these comments. So limiting to "be realistic". The people I admire in the business are those who weren't realistic, those who took crazy unrealistic chances. I'm glad they did. I'm going to continue to be unrealistic in my career path. I'm okay if I fail shooting for the stars. I know I couldn't live with myself if I held back even a little bit so I could say I was realistic.

I understand Parker's feeling. But if the FIRST space mission had been to put a person into an untested rocket and point it at Pluto I have a feeling it would have failed. We started with a fruit fly and then a monkey. Russia sent up a man and then after a few more decades the USA managed to reach the moon. Being realistic does not limit your ability to be creative and imaginative!

Beautifully Stated, Here are two Examples of waiting around 30 years for pay dirt, Robert Downey Jr. and Kiefer Sutherland, Bryan Cranston...

The OP is absolutely correct. I have those 5-10 million dollar scripts in my back pocket in case anyone asks, but I also have two 30k films to show as proof I can direct and edit, and if someone wants a script that'll cost 100k, I have that too ready to go. Anyone planning a career in film should cover all bases. When that ridiculous request for 30mil falls through, have a Plan B for 10-30k. Like the immortal Casey Kasem used to say, "keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

@Parker but your statement is very realistic. Everyone should give it their all if they truly love and believe in their craft, but realistically few will garner the level of success they envision, especially if they are looking for a quick payout. I learned about screenwriting and the film industry from an in-law who sold a script for close to half a million. After that he and his manager who came along after the fact were turning down projects left and right saying they couldn't/wouldn't work on a film under 1mill. Now they are both broke with few if any industry ties left. For the 98% of us who won't luck out with a lighting in a bottle project or aren't the child of a industry bigwig, the ones who will make it are those dedicating to grinding it out.

E.B. I'm sorry that's the way you took my post. I'm sorry you think I was saying the relying on luck is better than working hard; "grinding it out". You are correct, realistically few will garner the level of success they envision. Most of the people posting here believe it's better to be realistic. I don't. I believe in "grinding it out", I believe in working hard, but I don't believe that being realistic is an advantage. I now see that most people (most people posting here anyway) prefer being realistic. I don't. I'm in the minority here. You all have great reasons to be realistic. I don't. I refuse to even consider that I will be one of the many who will not garner the level of success I envision.

Cynical, like you mentioned, yet substantive nevertheless!

Parker I didn't take your statement like that and I didn't mean for mine to infer that I did. I believe your statement is realistic in that you understand you are going all out and there is a chance for great success and a chance of failure. I believe to be in this business you have to take chances and shoot for the stars but also understand if you want longevity and the first project you submit doesn't catch lightning in a bottle it is a lot of hard work involved. There are some who enter the industry thinking this is a get rich quick scheme, those are the ones I'm referring to when I say some people are not realistic.