The Anonymous Production Assistant

There’s Nothing Wrong With Ambition

Your script probably isn’t very good. Even if it is good, probably no one will read it. Even if they do read it, they probably won’t give you the money to make it. Even if they give you the money to make it, the movie probably won’t be very good. Even if it is good, […]

You’ll Never Get It Right

A long Twitter exchange last week reminded me of a great, probably apocryphal story{{1}}– A famous director was being driven home from Paramount after a long day’s shooting. As they inched along Melrose, the director pointed at a burger joint on the corner and said, “I hate that place.” The driver asked why. The director […]

Don’t Move!

I have a hard time getting into the Emmys. Unlike, say, the Oscars, there are way too many nominees for me to have seen everything worth seeing, and to therefore have an informed opinion on who should or shouldn’t win. I mean, I loved Peter Dinklage’s speech in the courtroom in Game of Thrones, and […]

I Hate Your Work

Recently, I got rejected. Not by a significant other or a friend, or even an employer like this blog usually focuses on. I had a client hate the spec I was commissioned to create for them. It sucks wholeheartedly, of course, but it’s a testament to my progress these past long years that I wasn’t offended, […]

If It Makes You Ha-ppyyyyy…

Robert commented on last Thursday’s post, but for some reason, WordPress thought it was spam. Strange, but whatever; it’s available to read, now. Go ahead and take a look. Robert gives us a lovely sentiment (in all caps, to emphasize his point), “DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.” I wish I could. I wish I was […]

Movie Magic

I directed a short film earlier this year that prominently featured a pregnant woman.  In a burst of verisimilitude, we actually got a real pregnant woman to play the part.  She provided her own costume and baby bump and everything. Here’s the thing about maternity clothes, though– they’re designed to conceal, or at least de-emphasize, […]

Falling Behind

Today, I saw a teenager wearing a t-shirt bearing the phrase, “Class of 2012,” a year reserved, until recently, for science fiction. For some reason, he wasn’t shooting robots with a phaser while riding a dewback on his way to Thunderdome. (By the way, I watched a documentary called Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Did you […]

Learning Experiences

In film school, I worked on a sitcom pilot for the campus TV station. It was for a class, so if you wanted to be either the director, the writer, or the producer, you had to interview with the professors. They made three highly questionable choices. There were a lot of funny people on our […]

Video Killed the Fi-i-ilm Star

I know lots of people who can’t stand HD. I worked for an AC who would say, “I don’t care what the resolution is, it’s still video.”  Really, do you know anybody outside the business who can even tell the difference between HD and film, much less cares? More pertinently, I had professors proclaim there […]