You Are One Sad, Strange Little Blog

I caught some sort of spark today and have been doing some feverish opening-sequence work on my past Thesis film -- probably a side-effect of watching another clever Fiction short from classmates and feeling envious that nothing I've shot has turned out festival-worthy. So while returning to my Thesis to further repair it, I was reminded of this list I compiled once on a group project.

For obvious reasons, I scribbled them on paper and stuffed them away instead of voicing them to the team. But they're pretty good, so maybe if I get some nerve, I'll bust one of these out next time I find an appropriate situation.

1) Your work makes me want to commit ritualistic suicide to spare my family the shame in knowing that I had the power to stop you and didn't.

2) Choosing something for you to work on is like selecting which way to be mauled by a rhinoceros.

3) I keep considering sacrificing you to the gods to appease their wrath. Ghana could have water right now, if only I had burned you alive already.

4) Are the planets aligned, or do you just suck this badly all the time?

Wow, I'm a really nasty person when my grades (and pride, and creative investment) are on the line. "Does not play well with other children." But in truth, it was probably a really good (and really vital) lesson to learn about dealing with people who aren't going to agree with the plan and inevitably get their way. Probably half of the movie business is about playing give-and-take with not just studios, but talent and critics and audiences. Being able to wrap up a movie with a professional attitude, regardless of how it stacked up to your expectations, means a quicker and smoother transition into the next opportunity to make a masterpiece.

I'm not sure I'm quite there yet, but I'm a heck of a lot closer than I was four years ago.