The Xanax of My TBR Pile: Companion Books to Spike Lee Joints!

Jeff Balsmeyer's storyboard from Do the Right Thing: A Spike Lee Joint; companion book to the Universal Pictures film.Popping a Xanax -- the miracle chill pill for symptoms of stress and anxiety -- will dissolve all your worries, according to NYMAG. Although I’m no medical expert, I would argue that listening to music is also an effective alternative solution for those of us trying to get out of the funky mood we find ourselves dealing with from time to time. Speaking of alternative remedies, reading books can be just as beneficial to combatting periods of stress and anxiety, as music.

Besides being cheaper than Xanax, books last longer and have more user-friendly side effects. This is one of the reasons why I look forward to each title in my (growing) TBR pile, such as books written by famous director Spike Lee; chronicling what it took to get a number of his films including She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Malcolm X off the ground. I’m currently working my way through one of them and enjoy Lee’s journal entries about how the movie characters were developed, viewing pages from the storyboards for a major scene and learning about the impact that making his film(s) had on actors.

• Spike Lee’s Gotta Have It: Inside Guerilla Filmmaking (1987)

• Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Dace (1988)

• Do the Right Thing: A Spike Lee Joint (1989)

• Mo’ Better Blues (1990)

• By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of Making Malcolm X (1993)

At times on this blog, I’ve been clear about my frustrations with the experiences I’ve had so far pursuing a career in the film industry. Sometimes just the mere thought of going through the stages of production budgets, casting, location scouting, post-production, etc. again makes me want to hurl. That’s not to even mention the uncertainty that comes when a movie is in the can and there’s another uphill battle of distribution, promotion and all that comes with getting people to watch it. So, I have a good feeling that reading the companion books to Spike Lee joints will help me take a step back to understand that every single film production comes with its own sets of challenges.

Something borrowed...For some reason when I read about other people’s movie making journey, especially someone as accomplished as Spike Lee, there’s a new sense of excitement for how they put a film together out of ideas in their heads and legal pad scribblings.

Suddenly, movies don’t seem too far out of reach and are fascinating again like they once were before I was logging hours of video footage into a cohesive document for the editing stage, and sitting in empty movie theaters.

Thanks to people like Spike Lee who pull back the curtains on show business from time to time, I have a good reminder that movies -- although a grueling undertaking from start to finish – are a powerful medium when treated as such. So the next time I’m feeling bad about filmmaking and the many challenges that come with this path, it’s nice to know there’s relief at the library or bookstores like Barnes and Noble rather than the nearest pharmacy.

X is for Xanax

How many books are in YOUR TBR pile?

Regardless of genre, what movie would YOU recommend to cure stress and anxiety?

Monday Movie Meme - Waiting Tables #Etsy #RedCross #Handmade

#IndieFilm writer/director Nicole Ayers fundraising for the American Red Cross. Photo by Cameron Avant. During a recent tour stop at Jake’s Pizza and Grill for my Red Cross fundraiser, I met with Cameron Avant, a podcaster and television camera operator who joked that I looked like a waitress.

The vendor apron I wore that day could understandably double as a uniform for serving food, given the location we were in and the nature of this Dinner-and-a-Movie style fundraiser. Having Avant’s comment in mind, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is made to give a nod to SunFlowerFreckles, a handmade clothing and accessories shop on Etsy that sells aprons like the one I wore as well as character bowtie clips.

In addition, let’s use this week’s Monday Movie Meme to recognize the sometimes unappreciated work of restaurant staff everywhere: Waiting Tables.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring people who work as a member of the wait staff at a restaurant, diner or some other eatery.

Here are my selections for this week’s Waiting Tables theme.

Personal Velocity

A woman gets a waitressing job in a diner after fleeing with her children, from an abusive husband in this romantic drama starring Kyra Sedgwick.

Set It Off

A waitress gets stiffed with the bill by a group of friends planning what is supposed to be their last and final bank robbery in this action crime drama starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Blair Underwood.

Lighten Up

An unassuming waiter gets caught between a couple’s unfulfilled desires during a birthday celebration at a diner in this comedy, made by yours truly!

What movies have YOU watched that feature scenes where people are waiting tables?

Also, shop for handmade bowties, fabric wallets, toys, handbags and additional items by SunFlowerFreckles on Etsy!

What’s LOVE Got to do with it? A Closer Look at Making Movies #atozchallenge #IndieFilm #LA #Photography

l-r: Actors Rodney Benson and Mike Gaudioso shooting a scene in the short film ABYSS: THE GREATEST PROPOSAL EVER.Although my interest in being a film director blossomed from a childhood fascination with an uncle’s video camcorder, I’ve since realized that cinephiles who want to dip their feet into filmmaking are in for a rude awakening. 

Just because you love watching movies, or have been in awe of people making them doesn't mean it's reason enough to want to create films yourself; No amount of fondness in the world will sustain you through the crap that comes with production and other aspects of the job.

Do I believe we should all do what we love? Yes, but to an extent.

I've loved basketball for some time, but that doesn't mean I ever wanted to compete against Dwayne Wade for an NBA championship title. I also love “LAW & ORDER: SVU” and “CSI: NEW YORK” and used to think being paid to write about those shows was among coolest gigs I ever had -- until that job got old real quick. I eventually dreaded having to not only watch these series, to also pay attention to aspects of each episode that, when I was just a regular television viewer, didn't care to notice.

Self-Portrait by L.A. Photographer Estevan OriolStill, it seems that a love for one’s art, at least at some level, must be present if we are to see our ideas and goals come to fruition – for it is part of the recipe for success. “For me, I have to love what I’m doing so that I can feel like doing it. Otherwise, it’s just a job,” says Estevan Oriol, a world-renowned photographer and documentary film director based on Los Angeles.

Given Oriol’s lasting experience in the arts – he’s a former tour manager for rap groups Cypress Hill and House of Pain, and directed music videos for various artists including Eminem and Blink 182; I recently invited him to address the impact, if any, that love has on the quality of one’s work.

He quickly points out his certainty that love is required to make great art. “Sometimes, there are jobs that come up that I have to do, where I must focus on the art; I have to check myself and tell myself that even though I don’t want to do it, I have to get into that ‘love-what-I-do’ zone, or else I’m gonna put out some shitty stuff,” says Oriol, who also points out how the work suffers if it’s creator doesn’t fancy their art.

Chevy Bombs Car Photo by Estevan Oriol“If you do it half-ass because you don’t feel like doing it, it’s gonna show. So, you have to get in the mood to do it -- even if you’re not; and put everything into it because sometimes people won’t have enough money to pay what you normally ask or what you’re worth, but when you do the job, you have to do it just like they can afford [your work].

If you have one job for $10,000 and you have one for $5,000 -- the rest of the world doesn’t know what you’re getting paid, so you have to put [the smaller gig] out like you’re doing a $10,000 job or everybody’s gonna be like ‘oh look, he must have only gotten paid a little bit of money for this; because it’s poor quality work.’” – Estevan Oriol

The thought of making movies seems exciting, and it can be, but after writing screenplays, producing short films and trying to develop a feature length project, I’ve found some comfort in knowing that just because I can, doesn’t mean I should. That goes for any of the professional or personal paths we’re on. It's a whole new ballgame when you're suddenly depending on the thing you love to put food on the table. Film is an expensive and physically, mentally and emotionally draining hobby. I believe that more benefits must be factored into the equation, for one to choose film as a profession and stay the course; what started as a fun activity fizzles quickly when you’re in the trenches of trying to finish that last scene, for the 6^th, 7^th – or 18^th time.

New York based film producer Ted Hope once said “If we don’t want to lose sight of what is needed to make a great movie, we have to make sure we don’t lose sight of why we want to make the movie.” I understand how his train of thought factors into making the best work possible by understanding what your intentions are and operating from a place that supports those objectives. I’d like to think that we all want to make work that we can be proud of; how that measures up to seeing a return for my efforts, however, has more to do with what form of payoff it brings and less to do with an adoration for filmmaking.

'Plain Us' by Amir MotlaghIt often feels like I lost a lot of the love I had for making movies and all the while, other factors kept (and keeps) me going. Time and more experience will only tell if this stifles my work’s potential in any way. Besides, “’Great art’ is a concept,” according to director Amir Motlagh, who helmed several award-winning short films, a feature film “WHALE” and more recently, the electronic pop EP “MEAT ON YOUR LONELY BONES.”

While Motlagh shuns the notion of preferential treatment for in the arts, he does recognize an underlying thirst for making fresh ideas come to life, which manifests itself on screen. “Aside from getting into a pedantic treatise, I would assume that you have to have a binding passion or drive for doing something so fleeting as working almost solely with the imagination. I don't even want to mention the uncertainties, as that's almost an afterthought. Why else would you want, or better yet, need to tell stories?” he says.

There are moments when I’m so wrapped up in editing or shooting that no other activity measures up to the pleasure that comes from the task at hand. Then, there are many other instants where it seems like I’m either just going through the motions or am ready to throw in the towel on being a filmmaker. So far, I’ve learned – sometimes the hard way -- that having a love for cinema is not the only reason to make movies. One should be able to get something else out of it beyond the sheer joy of creation.

Is LOVE the driving force behind YOUR career of choice?

Do YOU agree or disagree that the value of one’s creations (or even one’s output in the workplace) are influenced by the amount of LOVE one has for producing it?

Be sure to read the previous post about Killing Your Babies! A Lesson from Kevin Smith.