Shut down!
Tonight I had a funny experience. A classmate and I are attempting to put together a theatrical presentation that will involve two minute monologues written by 5 current UCLA students, 5 UCLA faculty, and 5 UCLA alumni. We’ve got the students and faculty nailed down, but are now attempting to get some named alumni to add some spotlights to the project.
We have a professor who is participating in the project, and he invited us to talk to a guest of one of his classes tonight, who is an Oscar-winning director-writer. I’m not going to say who he is, but let’s just say that if you look sideways towards a story that might be about someone with the same last name as a famous Phillies third baseman, you could at least get a clue who I’m talking about.
I’m doing the quick pitch of the project to him. He seems interested in the concept. He stops me and asks, “And you would like to know if I could be involved?” His voice sounds hopeful, to be honest.
“Yes, we’d love if you could be a part of it.” My partner and I nod excitedly.
“No. I’m way too busy. But thank you.”
And just like that, the conversation is over. But you know what, ever though we felt like we had gotten slapped in the face and punched in the stomach at the same time, you never hit the homerun unless you swing the bat.
So we don’t regret it for a moment!
I don’t know anything about baseball so I have NO IDEA to whom you are referring.
ditto, Jess!
The post wasn’t really meant to be a “guess the director” game, guys! Not sure you would even recognize his name and I’m almost positive that Jessica, you’ve seen nothing by him.
Just think Jason, statistically you only need to repeat that experience with about 98 more times before you a hear a “I’d love to. Just name the time and place.” Oh the world of writer’s rejection, we walk a a dark, narrow road, my firend (you moreso than me at present, but I know the feeling all too well.)
So true, CJ! Fortunately I think I’ve made a ton of progress in my ability to handle such rejections. We literally just laughed about it afterwards. Handling rejection and despair is probably the number one skill a creative person has to develop.
Yeah, and the most counter-intuitive given their sensitivity about their efforts. Do you feel like the program at UCLA did well at training you for that aspect of your career?
It’s not an official goal of the program to teach you that, but a couple instructors in particular have talked about it, plus, I’ve been able to assemble a group of writers who are dedicated to helping each other through the darker times.
Michael Colleary, one of the writers of Face/Off, taught one of my workshops and he talked at length about facing and defeating disappointment and despair. He said that the people who didn’t make it were those who just decided they were tired of getting up off the floor again after being knocked out. He said deciding to get up and keep fighting was the best skill you could develop, and to realize that no matter who you are, you will be bitterly disappointed sometime in the future.
i love this idea but there is one giant flaw in it.
Some people simply suck…
and they are never gonna be good…
But don’t you think those people are good at SOMETHING?
Maybe not something that will make them famous, but something nonetheless.
Josh I think people that really don’t have what it takes aren’t even allowed into the ring.
And… People with little talent can be successful, too.
what ring, Jase?–maybe I am missing something…
I was furthering the boxing metaphor! A boxing ring.
No I get that it’s a metaphor–I wasn’t clear, though–do you mean they aren’t allowed into UCLA? Aren’t allowed a chance to live?
What is the boxing ring alluding to?
Oh, I see. OK, I’ll expand on this at some point, but I’ve recently been awakened to the fact that failing at a high level is a high accomplishment in its own right. The boxing ring, to me, is a high level.
Let me give an example. Next week one of my scripts will be sent all over town and read and considered for a possible purchase or option. We’re talking Warner Bros, Universal, Dreamworks, all these studios and producers that you and I and the rest of the country know about.
There is a chance they will all reject my script. But come on, look at the level I “failed” on! I was read by all those people! It’s much better to fail on that level than succeed on a much much lower level. Eventually you move up and keep failing and then you finally succeed and look where you are.
The people Colleary is talking about aren’t some dreamers who never actually write a quality screenplay. He’s talking about the good writers who take pitch meetings and get SO CLOSE to a greenlit movie and yet it doesn’t happen and eventually they quit and move on. So that’s the boxing ring, the higher level of having meetings and knowing that people are talking about you, even if it’s just to reject you for now.
There are personal boxing rings for every person, this is mine for now.
Got it, thank you for expounding!
wow, that is a real payne.
haha exactly.