No Excuses!!! There are many who believe if you’re not born into this industry with famous parents or born into lives of privilege, then you don’t stand a chance at becoming a filmmaker, or at achieving success outside the “Normal, Real World Jobs”…

For the rest of us… Let’s make some F***ING MOVIES!!! Let’s show em’ all you don’t need the fanciest equipment or huge budgets… just passion and dedication, a great story, and a few talented people willing to fight with everything they have to achieve their dreams and create amazing stories.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to be a storyteller or filmmaker. Sure, it certainly helps and has it’s benefits. However, some of the greatest movies ever made didn’t have monster budgets, cutting edge visual fx and equipment, or A-list actors… just an amazing story, and an extremely passionate and talented cast and crew, who made the most out of what they had at their disposal.

Some of our greatest role models, actors, singers, movie-makers, business owners, or writers fought their way to the top, kicking and screaming and shouting as loudly as they could until they were finally heard. They had the talent, passion, and dedication BEFORE they were famous. The sad thing is, most people didn’t respect them or take them seriously until AFTER they the fame and fortune.

Who knows… that P.A. on the set working for the next to nothing wage could become the greatest director ever known a few years from now. At the same time, maybe they had the potential, but lacked the courage and gave up too early. The competition is stiff, and they’re as hungry, or possibly even hungrier than you… or are they? There are some who are born into privilege, and it’s not to say they don’t deserve success, but even those born with the odds against them from the beginning can rise above the masses, IF they are driven by passion, dedication, and talent. This road we travel today is what forges our talent for tomorrow. When they finally achieve success… it wasn’t “luck”… they sacrificed and worked their asses off to make their dream a reality.

Money and fame don’t make someone better or more important than you. It just helps us live a more comfortable life, and gives us the ability to help others in ways we maybe can’t now. And yeah… then maybe it would also help us get a Technocrat or Phantom Camera for our next film. Until then, use what you have. Master your skills with the minimal requirements. Test your creativity and imagination. Make a short film, a one minute film… just DO SOMETHING!!! If we sit on our asses waiting for someone to give us our big break, we may be waiting a lifetime. Instead, FIGHT FOR IT!

In this industry, we tend to not take people seriously until they have fame and fortune… but we forget to look at where they started, and how they achieved their success. Even worse, we tend to not take ourselves seriously. We can easily fall into the idea of “It’s too difficult”, or “It’s not worth the risk”. We all have to start from somewhere. We don’t just wake up one morning and suddenly have everything we want (lottery winners excluded)… in some cases, it can take a lifetime to achieve, but even then, it was a life worth living. I firmly believe it’s the journey that shapes us, not the destination.

Walt Disney once quoted:

We don’t make movies to make money… We make money to make more movies.

Most of us have our “9-5 jobs”, bills, families, obligations, commitments, and other distractions… yet we still are driven by a desire to create. We have a primal instinct inside us to fight, to create, to follow our hearts, despite the mockery and ridicule and challenges we endure. A 12 hour day on the set just isn’t long enough. We crave more and we love it.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting fame and fortune, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it myself. But if that’s your only goal, then you’re in the wrong business. You’ve probably got a better chance at winning the lottery. So if someday success, money, and fame come your way… congratulations! You deserve it! Enjoy it!

I do what I do because I’m driven to do so. It’s an addiction, a passion, and a way of life. I’m all in. All my cards are on the table, and I’ll continue to surround myself with like-minded people who share the same passions and dedication as myself. For those who stab me in the back, betray my trust, or use me to advance their own careers while attacking my own… Karma will decide their fate.

As I’ve said before:

Many people have felt I’ve been wasting my life to make this wild dream a reality. The reality is, it would be a waste of my life to not fight wildly for this dream.

I’ve got nothing against privileged individuals, and there is no jealousy or envy. I respect someone not because of their social status or income bracket, but instead of because how they treat me and others. Give me respect, and I’ll give you mine. It’s that simple.

This is my battle cry for those among us who are dreamers, visionaries, and storytellers. It’s a slap in the face for those who are too afraid to even try. I have no sympathy for laziness or excuses. It’s too easy to feel like we’re not important because we don’t have the fanciest equipment, big budgets, or Hollywood connections. You’ll never realize how great you can be, until you realize how great you already are.

 


To keep updated with samples of my work, please visit my facebook profile, I AM CINEMA.

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