without warning

previously published by me elsewhere:

Like a literal metaphor for the hurdles of getting through the proverbial doorway into the "real" film industry, the five of us local indie folk stood there locked out of this weekend's location.

And don't think I didn't consider checking for unlocked windows, or testing my own skills at breaking and entering, either. Desperation often yields surprising results, and thought directions.

In many ways it's not so much getting knocked behind schedule yet again that gnaws at me. The other side of that locked entranceway represents something more to me.

Although still dealing with voluntary and deferred payment type positions, it's still a job to me and unlike every other I've ever had I look forward to doing it, so a scrub brings about a fair amount of disappointment.

For this current movie's production, it's certainly not the first bout either. We've dealt with one setback after another, worthy of one of those truly Hollywood movies about people overcoming great odds.

There have been: less than dependable people involved on either side of the camera, who have flaked out on us; hard to cast roles, still unfilled several weeks into production; false leads on major locations, some as far as 300 miles away; loss of promised locations, requiring re-shoots; sickness overtaking main actors and crew; as well as serious equipment trouble, necessitating nearly three weeks hiatus from production. And I'm sure I've skipped a bunch.

And in a lot of ways, the capitalistic roots of this country and, to a degree, this business come to mind. The money factor has been in my mind for many years.

My path to film started in the writing department, as I spent many years focusing on writing scripts, and developing stories.

One day it occurred to me that I couldn't have been drawn to a more expensive art form. It seemed to me that painters or sculptors or musicians or whoever else could get their materials together with more ease and less expense than what I could in essence birth with pen and paper but could pretty much do nothing with until I broke into Fort Knox.

So, I wonder, would all of these things really be solved with more cash flow? Or it is just an excuse?