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“If the actors are going to hold nothing back in front of the camera, I can hold nothing back in front of them. They have to be able to trust me, to know that I “feel” them and what they’re doing. This mutual trust is the most important element between the actor and me.” -SidneyContinue reading “Trust”

“The most important element in an actor’s performance is confidence.” -Howard Hawks When faced with a difficult task, you can be confident you can accomplish said task for one of two reasons: Direct experience. You’ve done this exact thing before. You can do it again. Indirect experience. You haven’t done this before. But you’ve doneContinue reading “Direct and Indirect Experience”

“Thinking in bets starts with recognizing that there are exactly two things that determine how our lives turn out: the quality of our decisions and luck. Learning to recognize the difference between the two is what thinking in bets is all about.” -Annie Duke “Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there isContinue reading “The Hand You’re Dealt”

The passion project you’re about to embark on will be harder than you ever could’ve imagined. It will cost more and take longer than you think. All kinds of things will go wrong that you never could have planned for. You will be pushed to your absolute limit. And beyond. Still want to proceed? Good.Continue reading “Eyes Wide Open”

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.” -Jean-Luc Picard As a producer, you need to be both optimist and pessimist. Your optimism and boundless enthusiasm are needed throughout the project. Especially at the outset when you’re the sole driver making it happen. Your pessimism isContinue reading “The Optimistic Pessimist”

One of the awesome things about being a writer or producer (sometimes you’re both) in a collaborative medium like theatre or film or television is you get to set the table for other talented artists to do amazing work. Your passion and persistence provides a platform for other artists. It’s an amazing gift for themContinue reading “Setting The Table”

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” -Mother Teresa “First do what is necessary. Then do what is possible. And before you know it you are doing the impossible.” –Continue reading “One Drop”

“At around twenty-eight, twenty-nine, or thirty years old, after my kids were born, I figured I’d hit some plateau that was adulthood—where I believed things would just stay level for about forty years while I would do great work and have interesting experiences—then rather uneventfully I would begin to decay and die. But this wasContinue reading “Trying To Get On Top Of It”

“Friends don’t owe! They do because they wanna do.” -Rocky’s advice to Paulie in Rocky III Don’t do it out of guilt. Don’t do it because you think you owe it to them. Don’t do it expecting a certain response or result. Don’t do it to get some kind of status or reward. Do itContinue reading “Don’t Owe”

“The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet.” ―Alan Watts, The WisdomContinue reading “The Right Path?”