20 Examples Of The FKATFB's Practice Of SOTADTO
Pt 2 of 2 on Peak Hypocrisy's Tells
Yesterday, I shared why it feels like we are in the Era of Peak Hypocrisy in our industry. Let’s dive a little deeper shall we. What are symptoms? Can you spot them?
I am sure you know how to win at cards and negotiations of all sorts, right? Look for the tells — those reveals that show the truth beneath the truth. And yes the wise speak another layer of lies designed to confuse you further. So you have to learn to see the beneath beneath the beneath. Yup. You have to always wonder what is the real tell and not the one to make you look there when the action is still here. Still though, it makes sense to start with the obvious ones: the scratch of the nose or scalp, the wiggle of the ring, the reach for the glass. These are those (below). Yet never forget, as much as they are lies, the speaker means it with all their heart when they say what they say. Usually they believe it with all their hearts, that is. Some of them are just f’n liars and sociopaths.
And if you dig this, I am happy to explore the even bigger lies we tell ourselves to trap us in this present hell. It’s a favorite topic of mine, but perhaps best savored when are both at the bar. But you know I like to draw me up some lists!
The Everyday Lies We Are Told & Tell Ourselves In The Film Business
“I love movies”. No, you don’t; at least not really. If you did you’d risk your job occasionally to try to make something wonderful. The truth of the film business is everyone’s top priority is keeping their job. So they pick the thing to suggest for greenlight or to help that they think is the one that they most likely won’t get fired for, not the one they believe in. If you loved movies you’d at least say “I want to fight for this film until the end of the earth, but I fear that you might fire me for promoting it, but I love it so much” — or something to that effect.
“We want our leaders to have vision.” Don’t get me started on this. Every indication out there is to the contrary. A good idea executed once or twice is all that is needed — and that is what is best rewarded. We don’t want things thought through. We don’t want some to examine the repercussions — and particularly in advance. Most importantly we don’t want leaders who rock the boat; their job is to maintain the status quo. Call it what it is, or truly encourage some vision around here please.
“We believe a good leader is a mentor to their team”. You say you are, but you know you aren’t; like everyone else, you are most dedicated to keeping your job. If you were a leader and mentor you would be trying to train your team to take your job. Real leaders manage themselves into obsolescence, at least in their current position. Stop hanging on to that thing you have. You’ve been there for how long now? If you have a good team, the five year mark as your exit should be your goal. Time for a new challenge. What has your team been doing if they haven’t been figuring out how to do your job better? Did you hide what you did? That’s selfish! What if you got hit by a bus? If you trained them like a real leader does, they should be able to take over in a flash and do better than you even dreamed possible. This one sometimes is stated as “Mentorship is really important to us/me” but…. Really, really? Are you committed to doing it? Have you always? Are you doing it now? Have you consistently raised up those that work for you?
“The Film Business (or the FKATFB) is a meritocracy”. It’s not. We have to make significant efforts to get it closer. I am very proud that I came from a humble background and found a place in the industry. I am very proud that this is true for most of the directors I championed throughout my career, and the same holds true for the numerous producers and executives I have mentored. That said, it simply is not true that the best work gets made and championed or that the best people rise — or even are able to get started. There are many symptoms and many ramifications from NOT being a meritocracy. It being so clear, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking hard work, good ideas is all it takes to make it in our business. Even equal opportunities won’t move us into the realm, but it will help. All large corporations could start with paid internships that actually train people.
“Our relationships are important to us.” and “This is a relationship business” Hahahahaha. I could write a whole post on this. Oh yeah, I did. And then I also wrote one on how to fix what we broke when we forgot what we did — or seemed to. But see? I don’t just complain; if I point out something we can do better, I try to provide a RCA (Recommended Course of Action) too. Why? Because relationships really do matter to me and this really is a business of relationships.
“A bias for action is an asset for us”. Oh if only it was so. This was the most compelling line I bought when I went to Amazon — and it was really true there for awhile. There’s something to the ethos of “move fast and break things" and “don’t ask for permission; seek forgiveness later” that our industry still needs to learn. Yet as much as the entertainment industry would like to claim they’ve appropriated these lessons from start-up culture, those songs aren’t tunes we can even hum yet. Our industry is risk adverse in everything it does. We do not reward the doers. We don’t support, financially or otherwise, those that take the first steps.
“No one knows anything (in the film business)”. I love this because everyone says it but no one who works in the business actually believes it. We know so much… but it is still not enough. And we know everyone knows so much, because they prove it regularly. This statement gets double points because it is not even the quote they thing they are quoting. They just do part one and don’t carry it to the conclusion. William Goldman wrote ““Nobody knows anything...... Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one.”
“Good ideas are always welcome here.” Hahahahaha. Have you ever heard of the company or boss that likes to be told how to do their job? I mean, besides ME that is…. I find most collaborators actually don’t want you to go much beyond the idea that they are trying to execute. They find the additional suggestions distracting. And embarrassing. What are you doing coming up with more ideas when they haven’t even completed your last one? Trying to make them look slow? Or worse? They classify the additional good ideas as annoying. I know you don’t think this applies to you, right? But we should all try sometimes not to respond at all, when the knee-jerk is to shoot down the suggestion; instead nod thoughtfully and say you will think about it. Double points if you actually do think about it, but even just the getting rid of the reaction or even the tell will be a big win in my book.
“We will get back to you right away”. Yes, this is the first tell of bullshit or maybe a general symptom of The Ghosting Epidemic. The tell is the lack of insertion of “try”. They know they won’t, even if they are sort of trying. To me it is a bit like the classic signifiers of bullshit, like “the check is in the mail” and far more crude ones from earlier days. If we surface it, hold it as the joke that it is, maybe they will use it less? Too many are in need of remedial training on how to restore trust and confidence.
“We have a double bottom line where we will both do good and do well.” Yeah, the letter is in the mail. I wish you well in senior year. I will get back to you right away, too. Can I sell you a bridge? Don’t get me wrong. I love the intention of this. I want more of it. But I think it is such a tricky thing. If you are trying to do good, it will bump up against the need to also do well (aka make money). And even more so in reverse. You have to truly show it matters to you to do good. You have to be transparent in how you are doing that. You have to be honest in why sometimes you can’t. Once you declare such intention you will be held to a higher standard and once you slip it will have greater repercussions for all of us. Otherwise you are just another company. False virtue signaling undermines the good intent. Perhaps just shut up about the doing good part and let that side of things — the work — speak for itself. It’s hard. I appreciate the effort. I just want to see the effort if you going to make the claim.
“Movies matter to me.” Okay this is a really close sibling to what I started this list of common industry bullshit off with, but it really is its own thing. When things matter to you, you work to build a hospitable environment for them. You try to come up with best practices to help lift the good into the great. You try to understand all the influences on the art and business there of. You become a lifelong student of it. Saying something matters to you requires you do the support and maintenance work that helps it thrive. Love is a champion, whereas meaning (i.e. what matters) is a prioritization system invested with sincere effort. Without either, it is all just another activity for you.
“I love the theatrical experience!” How often do you really go? And what have you done to help it lately? Do you make a point of championing the films your really love?
“Cinema matters to me” but all you’ve watched lately is one series after another? How often do you worship at the temple of OALSASITD? Are you trying to build the temple better?
“I want to diversify the film business.” Are you trying to limit what people see or what qualifies for an Oscar? Are you still relying on past performance comps to greenlight? If you are an executive, have you found the business reasons to consistently back projects outside of your personal taste? Do you use the most inclusive hiring practices?
“We are talent-friendly.” Do you know what that means? Have you thought to consider what it would mean to actual design things specifically for this?
“We are going to help you build your careers”. Do you offer to send your employees back to school to get more training? Is there a way that you have planned their growth? Do you provide guidance or just criticism? Can all employees list the skills they gained last year and the ones they will get to gain next year?
“It all starts with the script.” But you don’t support development. No one does.
“We are all about quality.” And instead you make a heaping pile of mediocrity?
“I want to make things better.” What does that look like? If you don’t yet have a clear idea of that, you haven’t really thought about it so how can that really be important to you.
“Even if I can’t make them, I love Indie Films.” — then why don’t you support them? Do you try to help the indie system thrive, or are you just waiting for it shrivel up and die?
Which one of these (or couple) resonate with you most? Did I leave something off? Am I over reacting? Has my skin gotten thin, and I’ve lost my TPP shell? I don’t think so, but I am looking for those tells.
I want to apologize for getting a wee bit negative on this post. I actually think this is funny, and I hope some of you do too. Nonetheless, we must speak truth to power. And sometimes when you open the valve, a flood comes forth. I guess I had an itch. I hope I haven’t scratched in a wound as a result. I mean it all with love. I am looking in the mirror. Let’s all be truthful. Walk the walk if we are going to talk the talk. We can set some better rules of engagement, can’t we?
"it's all about the script" - "but you don't support development" "false virtue signaling undermines the good intent." "Love is a champion, whereas meaning (i.e. what matters) is a prioritization system invested with sincere effort." Love. Love. Love.
I find it worth mentioning that you had to "apologize for being a wee bit negative" as if true love was not dependent on the necessity of deep evaluation for the sake of necessary (and transformative) growth, especially now. I just wanted to offer you some encouragement to keep reflecting, imagining, critiquing, and dreaming. I truly believe it's all leading somewhere great, but it takes visionaries (as well as intelligent reflective criticism) to get us there. Thank you.
I love this post with a melancholy love.
We Indie Filmmakers on the edges dream that there's some place closer to the center of power where things get better. But, that doesn't seem to be true. The closer I get, the more I listen to people with VAST experience inside the machine (like you) the more I feel that Hollywood is like the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz: the movies are the curtain, but instead of it just being a guy pulling levers, it's a sniper aiming at everyone!
The hope I have is that the malevolent Wizards of Hollywood define the machine, and Hollywood was founded because Edison owned the machine. It started out as a town of rebels. Now, we just need to figure out how to exploit the machine they built (like the early Hollywood pioneers) and use it to build something good, that people will love, that will be in dialogue with culture, and maybe make the world just a little bit better for more people.