Hello friends and welcome new subscribers! If you are new here: this newsletter comes once a week on Sunday mornings, with occasional midweek bonus posts.
I got a lot of great feedback on this Vulture article about the unglamorous financial reality of indie filmmaking. It is embarrassing, and even risky, to share stuff like this — hence, “of the 22 filmmakers we reached out to for this piece, 17 did not respond or declined to participate.” Oy.
If I could have added maybe one more thing, it would be this: I am highly aware nobody owes me a living for making my little movies. I am lucky to get to make them at all and shocked/thrilled anyone gives me any money for them. I am certain Daniel, Dustin, Sophy, and Joel feel the same way. Getting to do the work I feel I was put on this earth to make — that is the prize.
And on that note: YOU GUYS LOOK AT THIS POSTER!!!
Some Wild Inside updates:
• WORLD PREMIERE is in Central Park on 7/29. It is free, but please RSVP, as we anticipate space will be limited due to demand.
• Tickets on sale for IFC Center, opening 7/31. Adding more info about special guests soon!
• More theaters in US & Canada (more being added every week), request a screening, sign up for email updates, etc.
• Find us on Instagram and here we are on Letterboxd!
Betting on myself: making time to develop new ideas
Building a structure around my work, as an independent artist, includes creating the conditions that might lead to future projects. If I stop generating new ideas, future me is screwed.
Nobody hands you a development slate. Nobody tells you to block off the time to think, read, daydream, sketch, abandon ideas, and start new ones. You have to bet on yourself enough to make that time, and find a structure that works for your own, idiosyncratic self.
Here is mine…
Starting way back when I was a college professor and needing to fit in my creative work around my other work, I’ve used a creative sprint model for jumpstarting a new phase of development. Every six months or so, I deliberately step away from my day-to-day responsibilities and try to generate a handful of new creative ideas worth pursuing.
This is my “10 Ideas in 10 Days” Challenge. And I will be doing this again, very soon, like starting in a few days!
The goal isn’t to emerge with 10 fully formed film concepts; that would not be possible in this time frame. The goal is to get a handful of ideas to the point where I could pitch them to another human being in a few minutes, and see how it feels.
If I come away with two or three contenders — or, honestly, even just one good idea — that’s a huge success. It’s also a great way to quickly rule out a lot of ideas from my ongoing, vague, “I should look into this” list, which I find lessens my mental load.
Below, I’ll share how I’ll be doing it. If you’re looking to stress-test a couple of project ideas of your own, you can play along.
Maybe you want to do this with a friend or collaborator? Even better, because you will need someone to pitch, in Step 6.
If you do try this method, even an abbreviated version, please let me know by replying to this email or leaving a comment on this post.
And please: ask me in 10 days how I did. 😬