Locked!
Last night at about 9:15 PM I locked picture. No more cutting, no more editing: the movie is what it is. From now on it's just people asking me which bird sounds I want in which forest scenes and deciding on exactly what frame the music cue should start in a love scene. And yes, one frame one way or the other can have a huge impact on what you, the viewer, will feel watching the scene. The big surprise at the end of the process was that the head of programming for the network had no notes on the cut she saw. None. Zero. We asked the underlings at the network: is that common? The underlings at the network said: No, she always has notes, lots of them. My mind, wouldn't you know, went straight to thinking that she watched it, threw up her hands, said "It is what it is, I don't even know where to begin, just air the goddam thing." But you know what? Most likely she thought it was working fine and didn't need any messing with. Which, by the way, is not quite the same thing as loving it, or thinking that yours truly she might want to hire to direct another movie for her network...
Regardless of all that: My movie made it through. The notes I got only made it better. Anything that's on screen or not on screen I can't blame anybody for. So when you watch it, address all complaints not to the management but directly to your waiter.
Tomorrow I cut the international version, which has to be five minutes longer. That means putting back in five minutes of stuff we cut out because it was dull, or didn't work, or wasn't needed for the story. The Foreign Sales Lady, who lives in Munich, tells us that we need more scenes with big wide vistas because Europeans, when they watch American movies, want big wide vistas, which they don't get in Europe. Yeah. I can just see some guy standing in a video store in Dusseldorf trying to decide which video to rent and going "Wow, Helga, let's get this one, it's got big wide vistas in it." An agent I know once told me that she and her husband were going out to dinner with Foreign Sales Lady one night in Munich and she went to meet Foreign Sales Lady at her office and walked in the door and saw her husband extravagantly fucking Foreign Sales Lady on the rug, an image I can not get out of my head every time I see or talk to Foreign Sales Lady. When Foreign Sales Lady says wide vistas I just see a wide vista of Foreign Sales Lady, who is herself something of a wide vista, to be honest, riding some guy on the rug in a slick Munich foreign sales office while the guy's wife stands at the doorway wondering what just happened to her life.
The big question, now, is: what's next? I'm pitching three pilots this week. I'm sitting here at my desk prepping the pitches. Sketching out the characters. Coming up with possible episodes. Figuring out how I can gracefully cancel the meetings because I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT ANY OF THEM. They're not show ideas. They're hare-brained get-rich-quick schemes. Maybe I'm just tired after the intense rush of work on the movie. Maybe I'm genuinely evaluating my life and my work. But either way all I want to do is NOTHING. I've actually spent the morning calculating how long until I can retire (I think 13 years) and how much a month I'll have to retire on at the current rate of income and pension and social security etc. etc. etc. Does anybody else feel this way about their career? That they're ready for the golden pastures?
Regardless of all that: My movie made it through. The notes I got only made it better. Anything that's on screen or not on screen I can't blame anybody for. So when you watch it, address all complaints not to the management but directly to your waiter.
Tomorrow I cut the international version, which has to be five minutes longer. That means putting back in five minutes of stuff we cut out because it was dull, or didn't work, or wasn't needed for the story. The Foreign Sales Lady, who lives in Munich, tells us that we need more scenes with big wide vistas because Europeans, when they watch American movies, want big wide vistas, which they don't get in Europe. Yeah. I can just see some guy standing in a video store in Dusseldorf trying to decide which video to rent and going "Wow, Helga, let's get this one, it's got big wide vistas in it." An agent I know once told me that she and her husband were going out to dinner with Foreign Sales Lady one night in Munich and she went to meet Foreign Sales Lady at her office and walked in the door and saw her husband extravagantly fucking Foreign Sales Lady on the rug, an image I can not get out of my head every time I see or talk to Foreign Sales Lady. When Foreign Sales Lady says wide vistas I just see a wide vista of Foreign Sales Lady, who is herself something of a wide vista, to be honest, riding some guy on the rug in a slick Munich foreign sales office while the guy's wife stands at the doorway wondering what just happened to her life.
The big question, now, is: what's next? I'm pitching three pilots this week. I'm sitting here at my desk prepping the pitches. Sketching out the characters. Coming up with possible episodes. Figuring out how I can gracefully cancel the meetings because I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT ANY OF THEM. They're not show ideas. They're hare-brained get-rich-quick schemes. Maybe I'm just tired after the intense rush of work on the movie. Maybe I'm genuinely evaluating my life and my work. But either way all I want to do is NOTHING. I've actually spent the morning calculating how long until I can retire (I think 13 years) and how much a month I'll have to retire on at the current rate of income and pension and social security etc. etc. etc. Does anybody else feel this way about their career? That they're ready for the golden pastures?
posted by Tom at 9:47 PM
4 Comments:
again, great job on directing this movie.
i'm eager to hear about the pilots and how the pitches go.
Way to go, Tom. And the "wide vista" scenario... aces! I can only imagine.
Best of luck on the pitches. I look forward to hearing about the next project.
Oh Tom...What an image!! That gave me a huge giggle. I bet something comes up that stirs up your juices even if the 3 projects now on your desk don't...sometimes it just takes something a little different. And of course I don't have a career, but yes I think when you get to a certain age re-evaluation is a natural occurance...is that what Granny called the mid-life crisis? And good job on the movie, I know it's going to be enjoyed by many.
Tom:
be careful what you wish for. I watched most of the dancers disappear at around 25, most of the actors disappear around 35, and for some reason it never even occurred to me that I might get the axe sometime between 45 and 50. SURPRISE!
I was doing great, had cash stashed away for retirement -- and some 12 years to go to get there now... but no jobs coming in.
It does cause you to sit and take stock a bit. My Big Identity Crisis was probably set off by the arrival of the twelve-month anniversary of my last job.
So: in short, be careful what you wish for.
yr occasional reader and constant admirer
the Troll
Post a Comment
<< Home