Silence
Here's me, walking away from set on a quiet snowy night in Winnipeg, just before Christmas.
It's quiet where I am now, too. In the hotel room where I am writing while my wife is away on her set, here in Louisiana.
Very very very quiet.
I've been told that if I want to parlay my recent movies into work directing episodes--which is where the work is--I need a reel. I spent the morning looking at reels. I looked at reels of directors who've done three Sopranos episodes, a half dozen Six Feet Unders, multiple West Wings. Directors who've directed well known features and also been nominated for Emmy awards for directing half hour comedy. First of all, I am blown away that some of these people would need reels at all. When I had my own show on the air I was hiring directors by the handful and believe me, by me none of these people would have needed a reel--I would have hired them off their resumes. So what's the deal? A changing business. Fewer jobs. More directors. Younger producers.
I don't have Sopranos episodes or 30 Rock or The Practice. I have four pretty good cable movies. And with those movies I'm going to shell out the 5K it's going to cost to get a reel that at the end of the day will be right there in stack with the reels that are bulging with high-end episodic and features and.....
A scary step to be taking.
Scarier, though, not to take it.
And then there's the silence as I sit at my desk and write and the phone is not ringing, the email box is empty and there is just the blinking cursor.
Here's my prayer for today:
God help me see this silence as a gift. A space in which to write the next wonderful thing. Help me see that God. Help me.
posted by Tom at 1:12 PM
4 Comments:
Tom:
two things, though it's NONE of my business:
The cup is always half full and half empty; it's just so goddamn hard to see that when you're dying of thirst and the water level won't rise...
I really do believe that if you really can reduce your request to: "Help!" help comes. Not what you want, not what you expected, but "help."
I hope it comes to you.
Oh, and as someone who used to be in the business, couldn't get arrested after he turned fifty, and is now an office worker:
Count those blessings. One of them is what took you to Louisiana...
T@C
Troll, If it means I get to hear words of wisdom from you, my business is always your business.
Tom -
Something I learned long ago (but at which I NEVER seem to be very good at personally): You've got to promote yourself -- because no one else is going to do it for you.
Early in my career, I thought that good work would get me noticed, and make me rich and famous.
I was slow to realize that all I got for working harder, smarter and longer was, "Thanks. Nice job."
And others -- with much less skill -- were getting the plum assignments, because they grasped the concept of self-promotion and politics.
- - -
I sympathize with your frustration about your need for a reel. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been in a screening room with stacks and stacks of reels -- most good, but few truly great -- thinking, "What makes any of these people the right choice?" In far too many situations the decision was based on "who knew who," “who just had lunch with who” or "who wanted to work with so-and-so."
- - -
If you want emails, you must send some (many) out.
If you want phone calls, you must make some yourself.
And get your reel in the stack.
- - -
You've got to promote yourself -- because no one else is going to do it for you. (Even if you think you're paying someone to do it for you.)
Sorry about being preachy here. (Who am I to talk?)
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