Genius is not a noun -- but it can be found in a process.

Guess what? We built our ecosystem completely wrong.

if you are not going to find what you are looking for, maybe what you looking for is not what you think it is

Initially, this is going to appear to be confessional. Maybe even a bit boastful. I do not intend it to be either. Please read on and allow me to explain.

In this effort to clarify a few points of a very particular process, I can only use myself as the example. And there lies the rub, chum. Proceed with your eyes open and your ears warm. First impressions are… just first impressions.

There is one sure-fire method I’ve found to both get films financed and to survive for a long time as a producer or filmmaker. Unfortunately though, it comes damn close to the classic non-advice of “just make the good ones”… and then maybe adding some icing on top. But it is also quitequite true.

If you want to get this movie made or survive as a producer, you best figure out how to consistently deliver quality work on a regular cadence.

EZPZ, right? And yes if, that sounds very close to my secret formula of how to build an audience, you are right, because that is essentially what you are doing but with the audience here being “the industry”.

Unfortunately, even if you find a way to consistently bring interesting projects to market, it is not going to be enough. Sad to say, but true it is. But before you run off and pick up that big kitchen knife, don’t jump to the conclusion that your passion will not be enough. This is a post that will restore your hope for film. Your passion is the key to all — and you must preserve it all costs.

Now, my next point may seem like we are swerving off the road, but again, I have a specific destination in mind.

This much I know to be true: even though I know I consistently do good work on a regular cadence, I also know I consistently fail both in my specific projects and my overall goals.

I am proud of the actions and results of my collaborators and me, but I am very disappointed in the world I am part of. I have no problem seeing the bright side or making lemonade from what I have, but I know this is where I am, and I know change does not come fast. My overall disappointment in… everything… forever… does not hold me back, and in some way – and, granted, this may be me rationalizing my behavior – I think it helps me appreciate things deeply.

And for that, I am very happy.

Care to play a little armchair analysis of the self-inflicted type?

I had no father. Or rather, I did but he died when I was quite young. Mom was pretty awesome, but also pretty busy, and certainly faced a series of non-stop exhausting challenges. Single parenting in the 1970’s was no joy ride.

I was different from the others in my neighborhood, town, and school system — but not in the easy to classify sort of different. I knew how to pass and generally liked a good time, so it wasn’t hell, but I still felt a sort of non-belonging.