Have Fun Fighting For It

“Every time you make a film you should be prepared to descend into Hell and wrestle it from the claws of the Devil himself.” -Werner Herzog

Any project can go into turnaround (stop moving toward production and release) at any time. Any project can suddenly, and without warning, transform so significantly it is hard to call it the same project anymore. Life can change in an instant. And there is no going back.

There isn’t any rewind button on stage any more than there is in life. Film seduces with the promise of do-overs, but as I once did on a pilot, you can hear them say, “moving on,” “we got it,” or “new deal,” after only one take and realize that one take is all the editor will have of you to choose from (happily, my worry was unneeded: I’d done well, and since my character was named Winchell, one of the other actors started calling me, “one-take Winchell” as a compliment that helped knock me out of my actor-insecurity moment).

Life happens in the now. Breathe, commit to what is happening this moment, and have fun. After all, that is part of why we choose this, right? (Herzog quote from Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog on doing what you love and his advice to those heading into the world of film.)

While the universe can smile on creation, inertia opposes changes like creation. Creation is always a challenge to the status quo. Still worth it. It’s like an adventure, an adventure that has your career, your feelings, and maybe even your finances wrapped up in it. Your film is a high-stakes realm of creation, and the resistance to it can, and will, take various forms. Nonetheless, snatch your creation from the jaws of oblivion.

Yes, sometimes tradeoffs may need to be made, changes required for something to see the light of day in the most advantageous way, but so too every movie that has ever been made. Our challenge is not simply to make great work but to make great work in the face of the complicated and sometimes diametrically-opposed-to-successful-creation things you have to work with. Things like finances, people’s personalities, and at least a dozen other elements might present challenges, and our task is to face them and solve our film anyway. Good luck!

“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.” -Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

© Copyright 2016, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com

David August is an award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer.