“You have to know how to fail with happiness on your face. Just keep going. And never, never stop. Keep going.” -Winston Churchill
You’ve decided you want to produce something.
Great.
Don’t expect affirmation. In fact, some will think it’s a bad idea. They’ll question your sanity. They might even try to talk you out of it.
Don’t expect the artists you want and need to collaborate with to be excited about your idea. Even if you have close personal relationships with them and have made great art together in the past, this is something new. You have to get them to see what you see. Ala Robert DeNiro pestering Martin Scorcese relentlessly into making Raging Bull.
Don’t expect there to be a blueprint for how to make it. There are no rules. Or if there are, you might need to get creative with your “rule following.” Read this great interview with Al Ruddy, producer of The Godfather. (He once told a great story at our theatre about how he’d be in the lobby of the hotel where actors were staying. These were actors he wanted to cast in a film he was making. He’d call them up from the lobby phone and ask them if he could send them the script to read. They would agree and he’d say, “Great, I’m in the lobby now. I’ll be right up to your room with a copy of the script.”)
Don’t expect it to be easy.
Don’t expect it to be cheap.
Don’t expect it to be fast.
Don’t expect to be thanked. (Ever, ever, ever.)
Don’t expect to make any money.
Don’t expect any critics to like it.
Don’t expect any audience to show up.
You still want to produce?
Great.
You’re ready.
Go make your art.
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