A Blink of Hopelessness.

Today, I had a moment of Panic. For a moment, a blink of the eye, a sense of nothingness washed over me. Just one moment where I thought: What is the point?

I am driving for this big extradionary career in something that I love. I work absurd hours to get to this dream career and as a result my relationships with family and friends falter. Sometimes I just get to that point where I think maybe my dream is too big, maybe I'll never reach it.


Maybe I will settle and become a video production high school teacher? That one thought of settling shakes me out of the moment of nothingness and makes me think of those great filmmakers who came from nothing and who gave everything to get to where they are today.

It makes me think of Robert Rodriguez, who was almost kicked out of the University of Texas at Austin film school and who sold his body to medical experiments to pay for the film that put him on the map. A film he shot during his summer break for practice: El Mariachi.

He went to the extremes for his art and since his debut film El Mariachi has made a wide assortment of films. 

Filmmakers like Rodriguez give every aspiring filmmaker a small grain of hope to hold onto.

El Mariachi
the film that put
Rodriguez on the map 

 Various grind-house films Rodriguez has made since his debut.  

The Myth finally with distribution

After it's debut in SXSW, The Myth of The American Sleepover has finally found distribution through IFC films.  This is great news for filmmakers and film lovers alike, who will finally get to see this classic in the making.

Claire Sloma (Left) in a scene from
The Myth of the American Sleepover

The Myth of The American Sleepover tells the story of four young Detroit teens who look for love and adventure during their last weekend of summer. The film provides a debut role for Claire Sloma who plays one of the teens and stars in the film. We can only hope that we will see more from her in the years to come.

The director David Robert Mitchell has been praised for the coming-of-age drama and is said to be one of the most promising debut filmmakers of the year.


IFC is set to distribute The Myth of the American Sleepover next year.  

Raising FOX's standards

Finally there is hope for comedy series on Fox after the end of Arrested Development.

While Fox may not be the most booming television network for comedy now, competing with NBC hits such as 30 rock, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. And now even ABC has been thrown into the comedy race after the addition of last season's hits, Modern Family and Cougar Town.

Raising Hope
on FOX
Tues. 9pm EST

With the rise of ABC as a comedy network, Fox had been shoved to the side last season. Now Fox is making a wholehearted come back with the introduction of the new comedy, Raising Hope.

Raising Hope is the story of  25 year old young man, Jimmy,  who discovers he has a child of his own when a past one night stand is committed for murder and sent to the electric chair. Jimmy decides to raise the child himself in the trailer-park setting where his family lives.

Raising Hope is a well rounded comedy that should be on the top of every television addicts must see list. And luckily for us Fox just picked it up for a full season!

Bond with power

Assistants.  

In Hollywood they are considered the lowest of the low, the first wrung on the ladder .  But just take a second and think. Who is taking your calls? Who is making your meetings? Who is getting your meals? Who is dealing with the clients when you can't? Assistants.  

Whether it be your assistant or someone else's, assistants are key in any company or any important film execs. life. 

Ever treat someone else's assistant like shit? It will come back to you. Next time you schedule an appointment and "There is no availability until Christmas" That might not be entirely true. That's what you get for being a jerk.  

Now this may not be true for say when another major Film Exec call that assistant's boss. But if an equally lowly person in Hollywood treats an assistant like shit if will come back to them. Aspiring Directors, Screenwriters, etc. we are all hanging from that first wrung just taking different paths. We might be assistants and that seems "below you" but in a few years  you will be pitching your scripts to us, so be nice now and be rewarded later. Further more we get enough from our boss' before we take the same shit  from you. 

I once meet a man at a networking event. He stumbled over to me, wine in hand. "Hey, sweetie are you an actress?" 

Slightly offended I said, " No I'm a Buyer." Boy did his ears perk up at that one. Sellers search for buyers at these events to pitch their next big film. 

"Who are you with?" The interrogation began. 

"What's your position?" 

"Assistant to the President" I say beginning to get his angle. 

That calmed him down and he began looking over my head for someone better to talk to because if I'm not a film buyer or an actress then what use am I to him?

"An assistant? Assistants have no power. I always go to meet with people and their assistants change too much. I can never get meetings." He says. 

Here's a few tips aspiring director: 

          1. That exec probably didn't want to meet with you. 

          2. If you treated that assistant like this; your name "got lost in the shuffle." 

Take my advice assistants may seem lowly now but those assistants will be the producers, film execs., and buyers in a few years.  

They are the ones you want on your side. 

Networking

The soul of the film festival is not the stars, the galas, and not even the films; no the soul of the film festivals is driven by the networking of the top industry professionals in the "filmmaker" hang outs. 

Toronto International Film Festival 2010 started off with a bang on Friday September 9th, 2010; setting off the fall festival circuit and networking for the fall season. The festival brings together thousands of industry professionals and brings industry together to a centralized location from critics to producers and everything in between. 

This year TIFF launched it's "Filmmaker Lounge" with a complementary happy hour for the industry delegates. Although it is a great idea; it seems that most of the industry remains at the Hyatt where industry head quarters is located. That is where the real business takes place. 

The Filmmaker Lounge, remains empty of industry professionals for the moment, but once the P&I screenings release and the industry programs end at 5:00pm, I image the filmmaker lounge will become the place to be. Because despite working for major companies; even the top execs can't resist a free drink or two. 

-Keep it Canted.