Tuning Up the Life

With Starmind production behind me, it's time to take stock and tune things up. I'm sharing my personal goals and challenges with y'all, just in case someone has a helpful thought or insight.

At this point in my career, I’ve sold one screenplay. My literary representation has interest from every major agency. My most important directing skill - my casting ability - has proven itself again and again. Eight years in film finance have taught me how to make a movie (and even a movie company) sustainable.

My long-term plans are built out of short-term goals, and I’m achieving those. I’m not so worried about where I’m going to be in ten years. My ability to create production value is strong, I have good exhibitor relations, I have good representation, and my screenplays are winning me allies. Things are moving in the right direction, and I have enough support to build myself a place in the industry as an independent genre producer and director.

At the same time, my days just aren’t as efficient as I'd like. For the longest time, my job-job was cold-calling film investors for independent feature films. My producers always gave me carte-blanche when it came to educating myself on behalf of the investors, so those years gave me a deep working knowledge of the business of film. That said, I kept that job far past the point of diminishing returns… and my commissions never earned me a debt-reducing wage. When my creative efforts were finally demanding enough of me that I couldn’t meet my commitments as a finance exec, I wound up struggling for a year before taking work as a charity fundraiser. The pay is more reliable and the hours are VERY flexible.

That said, it seems like a guy with my salesmanship, a deep working knowledge of the production process, excellent writing skills, and all the social media tools I’ve mastered along the way should be able to find a solid paycheck SOMEWHERE. What's more, I invest in the places where I work. No matter what resources I'm given, I'll find ways of using them to build the future I want. Left to my own devices, I am always productive. My work ethic is matched only by my creativity.

I’m not an orchid, you know? I’m more like kudzu. I barely need to be watered.

It seems like if I can get my standard of living to increase just a little, and if I can kill just one more bird with each stone I throw… all those dials that are now in the red will go green. The tide of debt will stem and turn. My health will improve. The engines will hum.

If you have suggestions, I'm all ears!